Kickoff Zone College Football Blog

Ater announcing the findings of their internal investigation yesterday, the University of Michigan football program has been getting thoroughly blasted by just about everyone in the media.

Joe LaPointe, of fanhouse, writes:

So Rodriguez, among others, received a letter of reprimand. Training hours will be cut back. Minor staff reductions will reduce “quality control” coaches.

And that’s pretty much it.

There was no reduction of scholarships, no ban from bowl games, no television blackouts and no forfeiture of victories from the record book. Does the punishment fit the crime?

Certainly, the violations revealed so far in Michigan football do not match the dirty-money odor that wafted from the “Fab Five” scandal that put the Wolverines’ basketball program on probation.

But the NCAA might increase the football penalties after it meets with university authorities in August. Tuesday’s admissions and self-imposed sanctions amount to plea-bargaining.

Mike Celizic, of NBC Sports, comments:

“I don’t think this is a black eye,” Brandon told reporters. “This is a bruise.”

This is beneath the dignity and honor Michigan had built up over more than a century of academic and athletic excellence. Rodriguez is an embarrassment to the legacy of Fielding Yost, Bump Elliott and Bo Schembechler.

Dave Hackenberg, of the Toledo Blade, argues that Michigan’s actions “fail the smell test.”

So UM self-imposed the following penalties: the Wolverines will forfeit two hours of mandatory participation time over the next two years, 130 hours, for every one hour violation that occurred in 2008 and ‘09. The number of quality control assistants and the extent of their roles will be reduced.

Throw in a couple years of double secret probation for good measure and let’s call it a day.

Dan Wetzel, of Yahoo Sports, believes that Rodriguez has no room for error, but that in the end, it will all come down to the Wolverines’ performance on the field in the upcoming season, which will be tough with the tricky schedule they face:

In the past, when he got his players, he won big. There remains plenty of optimism that he’ll do it again. He better.

In the season with no room for error, one of those watershed games looms in week one. Michigan will celebrate its nearly quarter-billion dollar renovations to the Big House. It will host a tricky Connecticut team that is a way better program than many Wolverines fans realize. It’s not unlike his first game at Michigan when Utah, a team that would wind up 13-0, won in Ann Arbor in front of many fans who neither recognized nor respected its stature.

On the other hand, ESPN’S Mark Schlabach feels like this has been overblown:

What Rich Rodriguez is accused of doing probably happens on most college football practice fields around the country. It’s like a pack of cars driving 80 mph on the interstate and only one gets pulled over.

Nonetheless, it’s an embarrassment Michigan has never had to endure before.

In all honesty, Rodriguez is accused of NCAA misdemeanors. He is accused of having too many coaches involved in offseason conditioning programs, staff meetings and film rooms. He is accused of having his players practice too long and too often. The violations do not involve cash payments to players, academic fraud or improper recruiting inducements.

Seriously, Schlabach actually gets it right, for once.  The attention that this is getting and the ridiculous claims of some of those in the media is not warranted.   Not once did I hear one mention, of cash, steroids, strippers, or players driving brand new, fully loaded, Cadillac SUVs- not to mention that based on their performances over the last two years, I doubt they’d even get a third hand 1985 Camaro from those boosters.

Tags: Big 10 Conference, College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, Law, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez, Schedule, University of Michigan, Wolverines, bcs, coaching carousel, recap, rumor mill by Tommy
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The University of Michigan has recommended that it’s football program should spend the next two years on probation, after admitting to four major violations since first recieving the complaint in January of 2008.

The school has “self-imposed” the following sanctions:

• Docked itself 130 hours of practice and training time over the next two years — two hours for every hour of violation, which is common in these cases.

• Reduced its quality-control staff from five members to three and prohibited them from attending practices and games for the remainder of 2010. It also will keep those staffers out of coaches’ meetings, despite a new NCAA bylaw that allows them to attend.

• Taken disciplinary action against the “seven individuals who shared in responsibility” and fired a graduate assistant coach. Letters of reprimand were issued to coach Rich Rodriguez and strength and condition coach Mike Barwis, among others. Graduate assistant Alex Herron, who also worked for Rodriguez at West Virginia, was fired in March.

Tags: Big 10 Conference, College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez, University of Michigan, Wolverines, violations by Tommy
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For the last few weeks, it seems that the college football world has been consumed with talks of league expansion, specifically in reference to the Big 10 conference.  What interests us here at the Kickoffzone blog is how that will affect the movers and shakers, in terms of how it could affect their power rankings, or in other words, whether it will have a positive or negative affect on their chances to play in a BCS bowl game or the National Championship Game. 

The Sporting News is taking a specific look at how the movements could affect each specific conference, in regards to their BCS bidding power and their attraction to the game representatives.  Concerning the Big XII, they have this to say:

The only scenario that could severely damage the Big 12: The Big Ten takes any combination of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri, and the Pac 10 takes Colorado. At that point, Texas would be forced to look at other options despite its long-term goal of a healthy, prosperous Big 12.

Concerning the Pac-10:

Count the Pac-10 as proactive in the search for more dollars. In February, less than seven months after taking charge, new commissioner Larry Scott said the league would “very seriously” consider adding two schools.

Colorado has emerged as the most popular candidate, but the Pac-10’s biggest jackpot would come from adding Texas and Texas A&M. No other set of potential television markets, including Denver, Salt Lake City (with Utah and BYU) and Las Vegas (UNLV) would carry the Lone Star State’s economic sway.

Even if the Pac-10 doesn’t expand, it could instigate a significant college football change. Scott has said the league will consider proposing NCAA legislation that would allow for a conference championship game in a 10-team league. Current legislation mandates that leagues include at least 12 teams, split into two divisions, to host a title game.

If one were to break down the conferences by tradition, they would have to rank the Pac 10, the Big 10, and the SEC as the standard bearers.  They’ve been around much longer than the Big XII, and have generally produced the most revenue in television deals (with the exception of independent Notre Dame).  Considering how two are now apparently considering expansion, how would the SEC, generally considered the most dominant conference in the country, respond?  Tony Barnhart writes that the SEC can not ignore what goes on in these other conferences:

So why mess with a great thing? Why not let the Big Ten do its thing while the SEC keeps doing what has made it so successful?

Here’s why: “If you are a commissioner your No. 1 job is not to take care of today,” said former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer. “Your No. 1 job is to look at least 10 years down the road to where your conference is going to be and where the competition is going to be.”

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive told me recently that the his conference will have a plan in place should the Big Ten expand to 16 teams, which could totally change the landscape of college athletics as we know it in just a few years. The SEC may never execute the plan, but there will be a plan.

That’s right, folks.  If you thought the current BCS system wasn’t complicated enough, well, think again…  College football is big business.  In the end, the powers that be will always want to have the top two teams playing for the title, whether it be through a playoff or a power ranking system.  However, for that to ever work, there will be a whole lot of red tape that will need to be cut through to ever make that dream a reality.

Tags: Big 10 Conference, Big XII Conference, College Football, College Football Power Rankings, NCAA, Oklahoma University, Preseason Prognostications, Schedule, Southeastern Conference, University of Colorado, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Texas, bcs, rumor mill by Tommy
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The BCS has responded to a few United States senators, particularly Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Max Baucus (D-MT), in regards to their criticism of the system and their ideas to fix it.  From ESPN:

BCS executive director Bill Hancock responded to a letter from two U.S. senators who are unhappy about the way the sport determines its champion — and Sen. Orrin Hatch wasn’t please with the answers to his questions.

A five-page letter and six more pages of information pulled from the BCS website about how revenue is distributed, teams are selected and the system is run were sent to Hatch (R-Utah) and fellow Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

“While I appreciate your interest, I believe that decisions about college football should be made by university presidents, athletics directors, coaches and conference commissioners rather than by members of Congress,” Hancock said in the letter, repeating a stance he has taken when lawmakers and public officials have threatened the BCS.

His answers did not satisfy Hatch, whose home state team from the University of Utah didn’t play for the national title at the end of the 2008 season despite going undefeated.

“Today, the BCS simply confirmed what most fans of college football have known for some time, that the BCS system is biased, secretive and harmful to schools and competitors,” Hatch said in a statement.

Orrin Hatch has been an opponent of the BCS system for a couple of years now.  He first started making noise about this issue after Utah was left out of the BCS title game in 2008, despite their undefeated record.  While he does have a point that the current system is very much flawed, the last thing that college football needs is for the United States Senate to overstep their bounds and try to legislate how college football is run.  Who plays for the championship is decided by a complicated formula made up of select college football power ranking systems, and while that may seem ridiculous, on the face of it, it sure beats a bunch of politicians deciding who should play for the title.

Tags: College Football, College Football Power Rankings, Law, NCAA, bcs by Tommy
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According to the Associated Press, University of Alabama backup quarterback Starr Jackson is considering a transfer:

 Star Jackson’s high school coach says the Alabama quarterback is considering a transfer.

Lake Worth (Fla.) coach Errick Lowe told The Tuscaloosa News and The Birmingham News that Jackson is weighing his options. Reached on Tuesday by The Associated Press, Lowe would only confirm that Jackson met with Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban last week.

Jackson played in five games last year as a redshirt freshman, but freshman AJ McCarron overtook him on the depth chart during the season. Highly regarded signee Phillip Sims enrolled early and went through spring practice. 

Jackson was a highly coveted talent coming out of high school, but it became apparent last season that he may not be in Nick Saban’s plans for replacing rising senior Greg McElroy after next season.  Jackson was a 2007 U.S. Army All-American and rated by Rivals as the #2 scrambling and the #5 pro style quarterback in the nation coming out of high school.  Scout also rated him as a 4 star prospect.  Whether Jackson is a bust or just not a good fit in Saban’s system is still up for debate.  While many FCS would likely give him a shot, he is said to be considering FBS Georgia State.

Tags: College Football, NCAA, Nick Saban, Southeastern Conference, University of Alabama, rumor mill, transfer by Tommy
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More and more rumblings are coming out about the possible addition of new teams to the Big 10.  Herb Gold, of the Chicago Sun-Times, believes that the conference will add as many as three teams:

My best guess? The Big Ten will add three teams. That will allow it to keep a slot open in case Notre Dame, which will continue to remain independent, changes its mind down the road.

The leading candidates? Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado to the west and Rutgers, Syracuse and UConn to the east.

What will this mean? Think about Big East basketball. More teams mean more good teams, but it also means that more programs will become irrelevant and that fans will have to understand fifth place is a really good thing. Rivalries will be watered down as Illinois and Northwestern play more games against Nebraska and Rutgers and fewer against Michigan and Ohio State.

The Orlando Sentinel speculates that Texas is the school that Big 10 officials have their sights set on:

Speculation has focused on a whole host of teams, including Texas — the biggest fish in all of the superconference expansion talk. It’s no coincidence the school is working on a contract extension for athletic director DeLoss Dodds. But why would Texas join a league without its biggest rivals? See above: M-O-N-E-Y.

Keith Fleicher, of Fox Sports Southwest, reports that his sources indicate Missouri will undoubtedly make the move from the Big 12:

            “If it were just about the money or athletics alone it wouldn’t be worth it; and a lot of our coaches recognize that, cutting recruiting ties to Texas, and so forth,” one of my more trusted and well-connected people in Missouri athletics administration told me. “But it’s hard to ignore the academic thing and it’s academic people who eventually make the call on this thing.”

            Missouri is one of the 63 members of the American Association of Universities, as are the existing 11 members of the Big 10 Conference. From the Big 12, only Texas A&M, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa State and Texas have met the AAU’s academic standards to join the likes of Harvard, Yale, MIT and Cornell in its club.

            The money issue is still out there. Missouri people will quickly tell you that last year the chunk of money it received from the Big 12 Conference was about $12 million less than what it would have received as a member of the Big 10. But, more and more people who believe that it is academics that will ultimately tilt the scales.

            “I’d be beyond shocked if we didn’t make the move to the Big 10 Conference,” my source said.  .

While dollars are obviously the major factor in expansion, Tracee Hamilton, of the Washington Post, points out the logistical nightmares that would be created for certain teams were they to join:

Ah, yes, driving to the game. Regional proximity used to matter. In the Big Eight, when I was in school, you could drive to any other campus in the Big Eight in eight to nine hours, max. Most were much closer. And people did. Nebraska and Oklahoma fans in particular would load up their RVs and come to town early on game days. They’d drive through campus, past the dorms, the scholarship halls, the frats and sororities and dive apartments, blowing their horns, which happened to play their fight songs. Fun.

Who in his right mind would drive from Lincoln, Neb., to Piscataway, N.J.? Even the most crazed Huskers fans would think twice. And how are schools supposed to get their bands, cheerleaders and — more important — mascots to the far-away games? And yes, that matters. Those are the ingredients that go into a great college football experience.

I happen to agree with Ms. Hamilton on this issue.  The proposed mergers could easily create more problems than it will solve, and will hurt attendence.  The television deals that come with it may offset the financial dent caused by hazardous travel plans, but what these schools must focus on is that this could create a lag in enthusiasm by long time local supporters.  Considering the shape that the economy is in, it wouldn’t make much sense to ask your faithful to dole out more dollars to follow their favored teams half way across the United States.

Tags: Big 10 Conference, Big XII Conference, College Football, College Football Power Rankings, NCAA, Ohio State University, Preseason Prognostications, Schedule, Top 25, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Texas, rumor mill by Tommy
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It’s already time for the annual Will Muschamp Sweepstakes.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with this yearly tradition, Tony Barnhart will fill you in:

But the dynamic changed at Texas this week as word came that DeLoss Dodds, one of the best athletics directors in the country, was negotiating an extension to his contract, which previously ran through 2011. There has been talk for several years that when Dodds, 72, retired head football coach Mack Brown would slide into that chair and Muschamp would become the Longhorns’ head coach. But if Dodds remains in place so does Brown, who is only 58 and whose contract runs through 2016 at $5 million per year.

Don’t look now, but Will Muschamp could be available for the 2011 season. Muschamp, the former Georgia Bulldog and current defensive coordinator at Texas, has one of the great deals in college football. He is the coach in waiting to Mack Brown and Texas continues to pay Muschamp handsomely to remain in that spot. Tennessee came calling last January when Lane Kiffin bolted for USC and Muschamp told AD Mike Hamilton that he was staying put in Austin.

This has really become a yearly thing.  Every year, whenever a job comes open, Muschamp is usually the first name that pops up.  And every year, Muschamp turns down whatever job is offered to him.  I don’t think he is leaving Texas anytime soon unless he’s offered at a school like Florida or Alabama (which isn’t going to happen), but I guess the rumors won’t die until Mack Brown hangs it up.

Tags: College Football, NCAA, University of Texas, coaching carousel, rumor mill by Tommy
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CBS.com senior writer Dennis Dodd has posted the “post-spring top 25″ on their website.  Reading through it, there’s not a whole lot to disagree about and I’m sure the pre-season polls will somewhat resemble it.  Here are his top 15:

1. Alabama 2. Boise State 3. Ohio State 4.  Florida 5. TCU 6. Oregon 7. Texas 8. Iowa 9. Nebraska 10. Wisconsin 11. Virginia Tech 12. Oklahoma 13. Georgia Tech 14.  Miami 15.  Southern California

I don’t disagree with his first two picks.  Ohio State will undoubtedly be ranked highly in all the early season college football power rating systems, but still have to prove that they truly belong there, and the same could be said for the Florida Gators.  The first real disagreement I have with his ranking is at #6.  Oregon is in a world of trouble right now, and even if Jeremiah Masoli were eligible, the issues off the gridiron will undoubtedly have an effect on their season, even moreso now without their starting qb.  Nebraska is overrated, while Virginia Tech is underrated and Southern Cal is right where I would put them.  Miami could easily jump into the top 10, depending on the health of QB Jacory Harris.

Tags: College Football, College Football Power Rankings, NCAA, Preseason College Football Rankings, Preseason Prognostications, Spring Game, Top 25, recap by Tommy
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“We’re getting tired of their act.  It’s starting to tick people off.”

Those words are from the mouth of a Big XII official, in regards to the latest talk of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Missouri Tigers possibly leaving their conference to join the Big 10.  From Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World:

The Big 12’s TV packages are dwarfed by deals put together by the Big Ten and SEC. The huge success of The Big Ten Network has enabled that league, which shares revenue equally, to pay its members $22 million a year generated in football compared to the $7 to $11 million in the Big 12.

“Our hope would be that the (Big 12),” Alden told the Columbia Tribune, “would continue to push harder in those areas for a new television contract for more exposure and for equal revenue distribution.”

The Big 12’s deal with ABC/ESPN runs through 2016, and its contract with Fox lasts through 2012. The Big Ten and SEC, meanwhile, will continue to maintain a healthy revenue edge until the Big 12 can negotiate new deals.

So what’s the Big 12 to do to keep its league intact? That question has prompted some to question what conference commissioner Dan Beebe is doing to secure the Big 12’s future.

“He’s doing a heck of a lot more than people think,” one Big 12 source said. “Even though you don’t hear it a lot, don’t assume there aren’t some really serious conversations going on behind the scenes.”

It became obvious late last week that Beebe has indeed been quietly working hard to create new revenue streams. It was reported Friday that ADs and commissioners from the Big 12 and Pac-10 held three days of meetings in Phoenix to discuss the possibility of an alliance.

Both conferences have cable deals with Fox that expire in 2012. They could then join forces in forging new TV contracts and creating some blockbuster matchups.

“It would open up all kinds of possibilities on what we could do schedule-wise,” Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott told the Los Angeles Times. “This (discussion) will progress at a brisk pace.”

Some speculate that news of a possible Big 12-Pac-10 alliance was purposely leaked to send a strong message to both the Big Ten and schools making noise about changing conference affiliations.

Is it time for Big 12 movers and shakers to tell Nebraska and Missouri to either get on board so the conference can present a united front or get the heck out?

“That feeling is starting to grow,” a Big 12 source said. “We have to find a way to work towards the best interest of the conference, because we’re much stronger together than individually.”

Money talks.  Sittler mentions that neither Nebraska nor Missouri have felt entirely at home in the Big XII conference.  Nebraska AD has “never been an enthusiastic supporter” of the Big XII, while Missouri have always pushed for more revenue sharing and a restructured television plan.  MO has a pretty good case, if you look at the details:

Missouri has never been a totally happy conference camper. The Tigers remain frustrated over the league’s football revenue-sharing plan, which they believe strongly favors Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska.

Half the football television money is split evenly, while the other half is divided up based on TV appearances. Missouri argues that the plan strongly favors the Sooners, Longhorns and Huskers.

Those three schools counter by challenging Mizzou and other Big 12 schools to make their football programs powerful enough to attract TV attention.

Fascinating stuff.  Were those two schools to leave the Big XII, then what would happen to Texas and Oklahoma?  The loss of Nebraska and Missouri from their conference would damage the conference power ratings and negatively influence their BCS chances on a yearly basis.  Although I’m sure Nebraska would remain on Oklahoma’s schedule, considering the rivalry, it would concievably pull the rest of the conference power numbers down in most of the computer polls, especially those which equate the strength of schedule into the equation.

Welcome to the world of the B(c)S…

Tags: Big 10 Conference, Big XII Conference, College Football, College Football Power Rankings, NCAA, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, rumor mill by Tommy
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Today, we are going to look at a couple of longshots, according to the Vegas oddsmakers.  Neither of these teams are ranked as highly by those who make the odds, but they are two wildcards who I feel have as good of a shot as any to make the BCS title game and possibly walk away with a national championship next season.  It will be interesting to see if either are rated highly by any of the college football power ranking systems out there.

Round 5:  Longshots

Though they aren’t given as strong odds as some of the other teams (coming in with 20:1), the Miami Hurricanes will go into next season with as good of a chance as any to make to be a player in the BCS rankings.  They won’t have much to worry about when it comes to BCS ratings because their schedule includes Oklahoma, UCF, USF, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.  If they run the tables next season, I don’t see how they could be kept out of a potential title game.  Going itto 2010, all eyes will be on QB Jacory Harris, a legitimate Heisman candidate.  While he was inconsistent at times last year, the rising junior has a knack for performing well under pressure and will likely cut down on his interception totals of a year ago.  His favorite returning target is WR Leonard Hankerson, who totaled over 800 yards recieving last year, to go with 6 TD catches.  The ‘Canes will have to find a running game to go along with their passing attack if they want to compete for the ACC Title and a BCS berth.

While the Iowa Hawkeyes have a little better odds (20:1), the second team that should be considered are the LSU Tigers (25:1).  Playing in the SEC West, there are no doubts that if they won all their games then they would play for the title.  Gone from last years team is RB Charles Scott, who had a disappointing season, but the Tigers are loaded with talent at every position.  Offensively, most Tiger fans are expecting a breakout year from WR/QB Russell Shepherd.  Lost in the mix his freshman season, look for Shepherd to be featured prominently in LSU’s offense at reciever, while taking snaps at both RB and the QB position (out of the Wildcat formation).  For LSU to be a contender, they need to find some consistency from their quarterbacks.  Rising junior Jordan Jefferson has the talent, but has been plagued by inconsistency, which has opened the door for Jarrett Lee to possibly take back the starting position he lost two years ago.  Reports have said that Lee outperformed Jefferson during spring practice, but who lines up under center next season won’t likely be decided until summer practice.

Tags: College Football, College Football Picks, College Football Power Rankings, LSU, Louisiana State University, NCAA, Preseason College Football Rankings, Preseason Prognostications, Rankings, Schedule, Top 25, University of Miami, recap, spring practice by Tommy
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