Columnists' Corner

Scott Rabalais, Baton Rouge Advocate: Is this the No. 2 team in the land? Louisiana State, despite a 45-0 victory over Mississippi State, turned in a pedestrian effort.

Jim Mashek Biloxi Sun Herald: The good news for Mississippi State is that its through with LSU. The Bulldogs play Tulane on Sept. 8 in the Louisiana Superdome, a team obviously closer to their skill level.

Brad Rock, Deseret News: Hold on Utah fans, the season is not over yet. Or maybe it is.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Barry Alvarez was 1-10 in his first season at Wisconsin. Bill Snyder was 1-10 in his first season at Kansas State. Just sayin', Iowa State fans.

Eric Crawford, Louisville Courier-Journal: Who said Louisville doesn't hold open practices? The Cardinals had one last night.

Steve Politi, Newark Star-Ledgers: Rutgers cleaned up on Buffalo and the hero was quarterback Mike Teel, who is now 14-3 as a starter.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Taylor Tharp was cool in the pocket and Boise State ran its winning streak to 14 games.

Ed Graney, Las Vegas Review-Journal: The Nevada Las Vegas food chain: Eat or be eaten.

Big Ten Network, Cable Battle Gets Dirty

Iowa State fans were running into the streets, pitchforks in hand, to protest Thursday night. It had nothing to do with the Cyclones' 23-14 loss to Kent State. It had everything to do with the Big Ten Network and its business partner, Fox Cable Networks.

Mediacom said it was not allowed to broadcast the game because Fox, which has rights to Big 12 telecasts and had granted approval in the past, denied the request, according to the Des Moines Register. The Big Ten Network has yet to secure an agreement with Mediacom, and the cable outfit in essence implied that Fox, the Big Ten's partner, denied the request in order to put more pressure on Mediacom to agree to the Big Ten's terms.

Mediacom put the above image on the screen and provided the radio broadcast of the game. The image gave directions on how to sign an online petition and the number to University of Iowa president Sally Mason to voice complaints. Fox said Mediacom was merely raising a fuss because it didn't have exclusive rights to the telecast, which was streamed over the Internet at Cyclones.com.

We have an email into the Big Ten Network and hope to have more on this later in the day.

Yet Another Incredible Site

Maybe nothing can prepare you for watching Syracuse coach Greg Robinson scream at a player, which we expect to see Friday night when the Orange play host to Washington in what should be an entertaining nonconference game.

But preparation is the name of the game, and for the weekly grind, you have to check out College Football Season, a reference site that has an emphasis on conference strength and scheduling trends.

This is another dazzling piece of work by a reader, Sam, who was kind enough to fire an email at us Thursday. Frankly, our head has been spinning since.

There is so much information on this site we haven't a clue as to where to begin. To see the possibilities, click here to take a look at last season's numbers.

Let us know what you think. College Football Season has been bookmarked under Toolbox on Wiz Resources for future reference.

USC: The Team to Beat

USC opens Saturday with a scrimmage against Idaho, then comes a biggie on Sept. 15 at Nebraska. Other dates to note: Oct. 20 at Notre Dame and Crewcut Charlie Weis and Dec. 1 against UCLA at the Coliseum. Click in the image for a closer look at the poster.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio.

Game of the Week

A year ago, California walked into Knoxville with high expectations. The Golden Bears walked out 35-18 losers, and it wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

On Saturday, the rematch takes place at Strawberry Canyon, and it is our Game of the Week.

This year we will ask some of our blogging partners to help us break down the big game from week to week. For openers, we'd like to welcome the gang from Losers With Socks, a fine Tennessee site that has been getting in rips all week on the Golden Bears. Click here for one good rip.

But is Tennessee in trouble? Quite possibly. Quarterback Erik Ainge is hurt, and that could mean the Volunteers are headed to Shreveport or Memphis for the postseason.

Expect quarterback Nate Longshore and coach Jeff Tedford, pictured above, along with some guy named DeSean Jackson, to make life troublesome for the visitors. Yes, if we had any money, it would be on Cal in this one. The Golden Bears are not only going to win, but they will cover the 6.5 points.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Crystal Ball

Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News: Give him Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, USC and Florida State. Hmmm. That is four favorites.

Jody Demling, Louisville Courier-Journal: Could one possibly be game enough to take Northern Colorado and the 59.5 points against Hawaii?

Boston Herald: Sorry Jim Harbaugh. Take UCLA and lay the 17 points against Stanford, which is coming off an 1-11 season.

Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Picking the winners and losers in the Big 12.

The Quad, New York Times: The experts at the Times tackle five top games.

New York Post: Saturday's heros tackle the spread.

Oklahoman: The staff picks five games, including Oklahoma State at Georgia.

Kansas City Star: Six staffers give their opinions on 16 games.

For the latest lines, check with Doc's Sports.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: The NCAA granted a waiver for Oklahoma to establish a fund to assist with funeral expenses for the family of Herman Mitchell, the Sooner recruit who was gunned down last Friday in Houston.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: College football insider: Notes, quotes and anecdotes.

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Dancing at Clemson's zombie zoo will resume Monday night despite concerns by some fans that the stadium structure could be damaged.

Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade: The owner of a South Toledo cell phone store denies he introduced a gambler to Harvey "Scooter" McDougle, a Toledo running back who earlier was the focus of an FBI probe into pointshaving involving Rocket games.

Kevin Tatum, Philadelphia Inquirer: Navy serves as a measuring stick to rebuilding Temple.

Associated Press: Arkansas announced plans for a Spanish radio network to broadcast games for the state's rapidly growing Hispanic population.

Associated Press: Former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead Sam Houston State past Angelo State, 17-13.

Here is today's mystery link (please scroll down).

USC's McNair Tries to Clear the Air

USC running backs coach Todd McNair remained at the center of a storm Wednesday over two 1990s convictions for mistreating dogs, first brought to light by the site Bruins Nation.

McNair told the Los Angeles Times that both cases stemmed from his failed attempts at dog breeding.

"I had a number of different breeds at different points of time over a couple years," he told the Times. "I realized I got in over my head. I wasn't able to maintain it properly and it cost me."

But law enforcement officials told the paper that "all indications" showed McNair was involved in pit bull fighting.

"We didn't witness a dogfight taking place, but . . . that's what the dogs were used for," East Greenwich (New Jersey) Township police official Charles Barone said. "There was a treadmill used for [dog] training, and we found the dogs in an unsheltered, wooded area far from the highway, where they were held down by [automobile towing] chains connected to large tire rims. It was deplorable."

A judge ruled there was insufficient evident to convict McNair of dogfighting, but officials were able to convict the former NFL running back on 17 counts of animal cruelty and failure to license dogs. He was fined more than $4,900.

Police emailed several crime scene photos from the 1996 incident to the Times, including an image of one dog's mangled face. We have found what we believe to be that image online. Instead of posting it, we have chosen to only link to it. In other words, the image comes with a warning. Here is that link.

The Times' story also details a 1994 incident involving police shooting and killing a pit bull that was suspected to have belonged to McNair, and a 1993 incident that led to McNair being charged with animal neglect. He was convicted for failing to display tags on two dogs and received a sentence of probation and a fine.

McNair also tried to clear his name in story posted on USC Rips It, which is a site operated by USC. The story was authored by Ben Malcolmson, a former writer for the Daily Trojan who tried out and made the team in 2006. Malcolmson told the Wiz earlier this month that he is now employed by the USC athletic department and works on the site directly out of the football office.

The Daily Trojan also has an editorial titled, "Bruin blog site did not practice good journalism." Bruins Nation, of course, has a response for this. The teams play Dec. 1 at the Coliseum.

The Great Schedule Creator Is Back at It

We told you last Friday about reader Tom's fantastic college football schedule link. He has been tinkering with it the past few days and his creation has evolved into something really special. Again, you must check this out! The link is here, and we've also updated the link on our Wiz Resources page, under Toolbox, titled Strangest Brew Schedule.

We will let Tom explain all the new features:

"This update allows you to make your own schedule grid. You input your time zone, week range, whether or not you want logos and then select your teams. Teams can be selected individually or each conference can be selected by clicking the appropriate button. The grid can be as small as 1 team for 1 week up to the full grid for the whole season.

"I plan on trying to keep the schedule dates/times up to date during the season and may add in scores of completed games and TV data if I can easily import the data."

Ohio: The Rush Is On!

Ohio, fresh off its appearance in the GMAC Bowl in Frank Solich's second season, is back for more with running back Kalvin McRae, the first Bobcast in 30 years to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Ohio has games in September at Virginia Tech and at home against Wyoming.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, USC.

The John David Booty Video

Who says bloggers don't do good work? In this case, insanely great work. Our friends at Trojan Wire have put together a remarkable highlight video of USC quarterback John David Booty, complete with selected shots of the Song Girls. You'll want to check this out. One can't imagine the hours of work it took to put this together.

Reporters' Notebooks

Michael Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan said he took out a loan for $28,000 to purchase an insurance plan that would protect him in the event of an injury that would be "detrimental to my draft position."

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee's Erik Ainge has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand, but Phillip Fulmer believes his quarterback will play against California.

Paul Strelow, Columbia State: Clemson is in discussion with Alabama about staging a neutral site game at the Georgia Dome in 2008.

Greg Hansen, Arizona Daily Star: A column that will definitely anger any Brigham Young fan.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: What is the Big Ten really up to? It wants to gouge cable subscribers.

Molly Tanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington to going to be thin at cornerback in Friday night's game at Syracuse.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American, Britton Banowsky, commissioner of Conference USA, Wright Waters, commissioner of the Sun Belt and interim Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe are in the running to become Big 12 commissioner.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma has filed a waiver request to the NCAA and if granted, the university would raise money for the family of Herman Mitchell, the Houston-area recruit who was shot and killed last Friday.

Mark Fagan, Lawrence Journal-World News: Kansas football is back, and businesses in Lawrence are preparing for a "million-dollar weekend."

Jeff Carroll, South Bend Tribune: Why justice isn't even-handed at Notre Dame.

Rick Cleveland, Clarion-Ledger: Now that Mississippi's Jerrell Powe has been declared ineligible for the season, he should do the right thing and enroll in a junior college.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Thanks to Hester Graphics.

USC Assistant Twice Mistreated Dogs

USC running backs coach Todd McNair, in his fourth season with the team, was twice convicted on charges related to mistreatment of dogs in the 1990s, according to reports.

"I really don't want to comment on something 14 years ago, and especially something I was cleared for," McNair told Gary Klein of the L.A. Times Tuesday night.

The site Bruins Nation made mention of a 1996 incident involving McNair on a post earlier Tuesday. The Times then confirmed the 1996 incident and found another similar charge brought against McNair in 1993.

McNair, a former NFL player, was charged with animal neglect in July 1993 when he was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. He was found guilty, fined $500 and put on probation.

In March 1994, police in the New Jersey Borough of Paulsboro shot and killed a pit bull for biting and locking onto a neighborhood dog. They suspected the dog belonged to McNair, and discovered six more chained in his yard. He agreed to move them.

On March 30, 1996, McNair was charged with cruelty to animals, failure to obtain licenses and keeping animals for the purpose of fighting on his property in East Greenwich, N.J. Animal control officers found up to 22 pit bulls, including 17 adults and five puppies.

"I've never seen anything like it," Gloucester County officer Charles Barone told the Philadelphia Daily News in a story dated April 4, 1996.

Police Chief William Giordano told the newspaper: "These conditions are deplorable."

The Rocky Mountain News reported later that year that the dogs were attached to heavy automobile towing chains. Some of the dogs were found in standing water, and many were scarred. Several had fresh wounds and one had a broken leg.

Although authorities believe McNair had been training the dogs for fights, they could not prove it. In October 1996, McNair was convicted of cruelty to animals and neglect. He was ordered to pay nearly $25,000 in fines and perform eight hours of community service.

USC coach Pete Carroll told the Times he became aware of the incidents about a week ago and addressed them with McNair.

"We looked into it to make sure we knew what happened," Carroll said. "That was a long time ago."

Hit Us With Your Best Shots

Going to a game this weekend? This is your chance to be a playa. Send us images of the tailgate party, cheerleaders, band, mascots ... heck, even the game! It's a good way to get a cheap pop for your website or any other cause you feel like promoting (within reason, of course). Remember to send descriptions with your images. The address: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Penn State: Fight On!

Penn State opens Saturday at home against Florida International, but will Joe Paterno lead the team out onto the field? If not, Nittany Lion fans can at least remember the grand, old days in the 2007 poster schedule. Click in the image for a closer look.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Hours after Oklahoma recruit Herman Mitchell was shot to death in Houston, a Sooner fan started to raise money to help cover the cost of the funeral. But after raising $4,500, he was told to stop by Oklahoma officials because his actions would constitute an NCAA rules violation.

Allison Sherry, Denver Post: Ralphie, Colorado's 1,300-pound mascot, is nearing the end of her prime, and officials are raising funds to bring on board another Ralphie.

Ed Miller, Virginian-Pilot: Virginia, which has ventured west of the Mississippi only 13 times in 119 seasons, will leave a day early for its opener at Wyoming.

Kathleen Kreller, Idaho Statesman: Winning has a hefty price, as some longtime Boise State fans are finding out.

Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News: Texas coach Mack Brown was given a fat raise.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, who we're told has lost "quite a bit of weight," lost some out of his wallet. He donated $1 million to the university.

Ronnie Woodward, Raleigh News & Observer: East Carolina's Rob Kass, the projected starting quarterback, will be suspended for the opener at Virginia Tech.

Eric Crawford, Louisville Courier-Journal: Is Louisville SEC-ready? The Cardinals are, and they should show the world by scheduling some powerhouse teams from the powerhouse conference.

Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News: How conferences are working to keep their officials away from scandal.

Associated Press: Notre Dame defensive lineman Derrell Hand, arrested last month on a misdemeanor charge of propositioning a prostitute, was suspended for three games by Crewcut Charlie Weis.

Jeff Overley, Orange County Register: Former USC quarterback Todd Marinovich has been charged with felony drug possession and resisting a police officer.

Brigham Young Fans Want Independence

Brigham Young's frustration over the Mountain West Conference's TV network, The mtn., has reached such a level that some Cougar supporters are calling for the team to leave the league and go it alone.

"Is independence a viable, productive financial move to consider?" writes Dick Harmon of the Deseret Morning News.

According to experts contacted by Harmon, being independent might be good for football, but the rest of the Cougar teams would suffer mightily.

Going independent is not easy. Writes Harmon: "A move to go independent in football could take a decade to pull off just in scheduling contracts. And who would want to play the Cougars in Provo during a key stretch of Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-10 conference play?"

What is likely to happen is a shakeup of Mountain West. "If BYU administrators consider looking into becoming an independent, it might be to just placate irate boosters who do not like the current TV deal. ... I do know, BYU will not stand by with the status quo of its TV deal.

"But jumping leagues or going independent? Formation of a new league would be more plausible, maybe even doable."

That Sly Fox Paterno ...

The terrific site Sports by Brooks informs us that the Penn State quarterbacks are now using a PlayStation 3 during position meetings, a stunning development given that Joe Paterno barely knows about text messaging.

Actually, this appears to be the work of Paterno's son, Jay, the team's quarterbacks coach, who has loaded the Nittany Lion playbook onto a Madden game for use in the video game machine.

"The good thing is nobody's ever late for our [meetings] — not that they're ever late — but they're all about 20 minutes early now because they all want to get in there and turn it on and beat each other," Jay Paterno told Sam Ross Jr. of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Thanks to M Zone for the image.

Orange Fever at Texas El Paso

Granted, there is a lot of territory in Texas, but Texas El Paso will leave the state for only three of its 12 games. Name another team that will venture outside the state only three times during the course of the 2007 regular season. And one of the Miners' out-of-state trips is a 45-minute jaunt on Interstate 10 to Las Cruces to play New Mexico State.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Edward G. Robinson III, Raleigh News & Observer: Rob Kass, projected to be East Carolina's starting quarterback, was arrested early Saturday on charges of driving while impaired.

Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun: Former USC tailback Emmanuel Moody is transferring to Florida.

Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle: Texas coach Mack Brown is expected to get a pay raise that will put him over the $3 million threshold.

Suzanne Halliburton, Austin American Statesman: Texas receiver Limas Sweed says he will play in the opener against Arkansas State.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Five burning questions about the Southeastern Conference as we enter Week 1.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan likes Tennessee to win the SEC East and Louisiana State to win the SEC West.

Ron Higgins, Commerical Appeal: It will be critical for Mississippi State to keep quarterback Michael Henig healthy Thursday against Louisiana State. Backup Josh Riddell has been suspended.

Troy Phillips, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: North Texas' Todd Dodge is making the rare jump from high school to Division I-A. Reaction to Dodge's hiring has ranged from respectful to lukewarm to downright ambivalence among Sun Belt coaches.

Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register: The Iowa-Northern Illinois game at Soldier Field in Chicago is a big financial winner, with each team getting at least a $1 million payout for the nonconference game.

Ed Barkowitz, Philadelphia Daily News: Here are 50 things you didn't know about college football.

Brian Bennett and Alex Davis, Louisville Courier-Journal: The pizza business must be good. Louisville received a $10 million pledge toward stadium expansion from Papa John's International, its founder, John Schnatter, and his wife, Annette. It was the largest gift ever bestowed upon the school's athletic department.

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: Louisiana State may have Mike VI, a new Bengal tiger mascot, in his habitat across the street from Tiger Stadium by the Sept. 8 home opener.

Brian Davis, Dallas Morning News: When Sam Houston State opens Thursday against Angelo State, the Bearkats' quarterback, Rhett Bomar, can finally begin a new chapter in his life. No more talk about Oklahoma, NCAA violations or Big Red Sports/Imports.

Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle: Houston will honor its scholarship to Jerrod Butler, the offensive lineman whose playing career is over after he suffered cardiac arrest during a workout.

Pitchfork Nation: How about an Arizona State-Miami game to start the 2008 season?

The Quad, New York Times: It's first and 10 for the Times, which enters the college football blogosphere.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

Vindication for Delany? Perhaps

You might remember last February, when Big Ten commish Jim Delany, no doubt sore over his league's pathetic showing in the postseason, took a shot at the Southeastern Conference.

"I love speed and the SEC has great speed, especially on the defensive line, but there are appropriate balances when mixing academics and athletics," wrote Delany in a letter addressed to fans of the Big Ten and college football.

Now perhaps there is a measure of vindication for Delany. Rivals has released the results of a study of the players from the recruiting class of 2007 who did not enroll or have not yet enrolled in school for the fall.

The Big Ten lost only four recruits: two from Illinois and one each from Michigan State and Purdue.

The SEC? Half the teams in the SEC lost at least four recruits, including an amazing 10 lost recruits for Auburn. In total, the SEC lost 45 recruits.

Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Best Team Money Can Buy Hits the Road

Think your team has a fatcat? Forget about it. T. Boone Pickens, who we've chronicled time and again, is a man among boys when it comes to a bankroll. And his team is Oklahoma State.

T. Boone State opens Saturday between the hedges at Athens. Consider this your last warning, Georgia.

T. Boone State is bringing a high-powered offense and questionable defense, but in time, the bankroll will help clear up those defensive problems.

In advance of T. Boone's visit to Athens, he gave an interview to Carter Strickland of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"I know we are not going to win every game," said T. Boone, 79. "But what I want is a football team and a program that could do that. We may not win every game, but I want to have a chance to win every game. We may go undefeated. I'm not sure that I have got that much time left.

"But I'll do anything within my power as long as it is honest to try and make that happen. Anything they need."

In late 2005, T. Boone forked over $165 million to the Oklahoma State athletic department. Well, that money was in the Cowboys' hands for less than an hour before it was transferred to a fund controlled by — you guessed it — T. Boone. He has since parlayed it into $300 million in a challenging market.

Then there is the "Death Pool," or "Gift of a Lifetime" if you're an Okie State fan. Twenty-eight donors agreed to name Oklahoma State as beneficiaries of lift insurance policies worth $10 million each.

Flush with funds, Okie State decided to build an athletic village just north of campus. Of course, some of the land needed for the project was seized through eminent domain.

Recruits are starting to notice, as Strickland points out. Oklahoma State has 19 commitments and is rated 21st by Scout.com for 2008. The two previous years the Cowboys cracked the top 25 in recruiting rankings for the first time.

Hopefully this won't impact alternative admissions given to student-athletics, which have been rising at an alarming rate at the university.

Week 1 (Hawaii Favored by 59.5 Points)

We are happy to welcome back Doc's Sports as one of our sponsors. To start each week, we take a look at that naughty business of oddsmaking. It's legal in Las Vegas and strictly against the law elsewhere, but for some odd reason, people you meet on the street can tell you that on Saturday, California is a 5.5 favorite against Tennessee, or that Oklahoma State is getting 6.5 points at Georgia.

Before we forget, you can get a copy of Doc's 2007 Sports Journal by going to this link.

This is certainly the biggest Thursday of the season, with 16 games scheduled, highlighted by Louisiana State (-18) at Mississippi State and Oregon State (-7) playing host to Utah.

On Friday, Navy (-21) is at Temple and Washington (-3) is at Syracuse.

Games of note Saturday: Nevada (+21) at Nebraska; Virginia (-4.5) at Wyoming; Washington State (+14) at Wisconsin; Georgia Tech (+2.5) at Notre Dame; Wake Forest (+6.5) at Boston College; Kansas State (+13.5) at Auburn and, last but not least Northern Colorado (+59.5) at Hawaii. Yes, you read that right. We can't ever recall seeing a line that high.

On Monday, Florida State (-3.5) is at Clemson. Numbers are in flux, so get all the data at Doc's by clicking here.

All the Basic Food Groups Covered

They don't make coaches shows like they used to. Watch Bear Bryant and host Charlie Thornton bust out the Coca Cola and Golden Flake potato chips to open the Bear Bryant show, then Bryant drones on for a couple of minutes about 1979 victory over Auburn. Thanks to Sunday Morning Quarterback for finding this gem.

Past classic coaches videos: Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Hayden Fry, Lou Holtz, Bobby Ross, Dan Devine, Gary Barnett, Pat Dye, Terry Bowden, Jim Tressel and Eddie Robinson.

Those Gangstas From Iowa City

OK, we've been a tad harsh on the Iowa Hawkeyes of late, so we thought it was time to give the team that has won 13 of its last 25 games a break. Things could better this fall. No Michigan and no Ohio State on the schedule. Thanks to Drinkn From a Firehose for this.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News: A Lansing public relations firm employed by Comcast Cable has apologized for an employee posing as a fan unhappy with the Big Ten Network and criticizing Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany on Spartan Tailgate.com and sites that cover Michigan and Northwestern sports.

Wendell Barnhouse, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Gone are Troy Smith, Paul Posluszny, Chris Leak, Garrett Wolfe, Daniel Sepulveda, Brady Quinn and JaMarcus Russell. Who are the replacements?

Paul Buker, Oregonian: Sammie Stroughter, Oregon State's All-American receiver, returned to practice after taking time off to deal with personal issues, but nobody is saying if he has returned for good.

Doug Robinson, Deseret Morning News: It's year two of The mtn., the Mountain West's TV venture, and a year later, nothing is fixed.

Pete Pelegrin, Miami Herald: The story of a 28-year-old who had a $90,000-a-year job and became a father last year, but then decided to quit work and go back to college, at Florida International. He made the team as a walk-on linebacker.

Mark Tupper, Decatur Herald & Review: Illinois' Memorial Stadium, undergoing a $120 million renovation, is strewn with debris. But officials say the work will be complete before for the Fighting Illini's Sept. 8 home opener against Western Illinois.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: We'll know about the strength of the Big 12 by the third week in September. By then, nine key nonconference games involving Big 12 teams will be in the books.

Mike Baldwin, Oklahoman: Oklahoma State's opener at Georgia is a "money ball” game. A win between the hedges would be worth more than your typical September non-conference victory. A lot more.

Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia coach Mark Richt issued a public apology for what he described as "knee-jerk" comments he made two days earlier about the the lack of an indoor practice facility.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell will start the season on the bench after losing an appeal over his one-game suspension. And suspended Gamecock safety Emanuel Cook underwent an appendectomy over the weekend, shortly after being released from jail on a gun charge.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: Tennessee running back LaMarcus Coker was reinstated to the team, but won't play in the opener at Cal.

Rachel Carter, Raleigh News & Observer: Meet East Carolina, the team much of the country will be pulling against in the opener against Virginia Tech.

Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: How important is it to have experience at cornerback? Only one of the 16 teams with 11 victories in 2006 started two freshmen at the position. That team was Texas Christian.

Jeff Carroll, South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen confirmed what readers to this blog have known for months. He had elbow surgery.

Here is today's mystery link.

Another Handy, Dandy 2007 Schedule

Our post from Friday of reader Tom's online Division I-A college schedule grid was a hit. Within hours, loyal visitors Darin and Dan emailed us a schedule that is in Excel format and has been floating around the Internet. This one is organized by conference and has all the snazzy helmet logos. You can download it by clicking here. Certainly handy if you are away from an Internet connection and want to do a little research.

Mapquest: Spurrier Was Right

It's all clear now. No wonder South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was pushing for softer admissions requirements at the university. Check out this answer from Lauren Caitlin Upton, South Carolina's entry in Miss Teen USA 2007. She was the third runner-up.

Power to the Purple

Unfortunately, the site's design doesn't allow us to showcase Northwestern's poster schedule in the proper fashion. You can, however, click in the image to get a better look. There is something to be said about Northwestern playing host to Northeastern in the opener. Of course, it just happens to be North Shore Community Day at Ryan Field.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

This Is What $16 Million Buys You

The Rose Bowl has completed a $16 million project to upgrade facilities, and if you're a UCLA player, you have to like the new digs. It seems like you could fit the Spruce Goose inside the Bruins' remodeled locker room, which is 110 feet long by 50 feet wide. We have reader Johnny to thank for sending along these shots.Coach Karl Dorrell may have an open door policy. Unfortunately, he's not in his office at the moment. Can I take a message?...
A ribbon of UCLA All-Americans stretches across the top of the lockers. The square footage for both the home and visitor locker rooms before the remodel was 7,876. Now it's 13,791. Combined, there are now 22 coaches lockers, whereas before there were none.
And stationed in each corner are large flat-panel TVs. Ten TVs and five game clocks adorn both locker areas. The media room, according to a UCLA release, has been increased from 1,825 to 5,676 square feet.

Didn't Know This Was Legal in Huntington

What do you get when you mix women + alcohol + muscular young college men modeling uniforms? A Chippendales moment at Marshall.

The Thundering Herd held their annual football clinic for women Thursday night, and from the looks of the photos, such at this one courtesy of Mark Webb of the Herald-Dispatch, the ladies really enjoyed themselves. And Marshall players didn't seem to mind, either.

Rumor has it a few of the ladies even ran out of dollar bills.

Clinics for women have gained popularity over the years and we're not sure if they are all like Marshall's event, but if they are, a few husbands probably want to know about it.

For more photos, check out the slideshow from the Herald-Dispatch. Thanks to Greg.

Auburn Goes Old School

You've all seen the shots. The old football photos of players jumping at some odd angle or striking a pose for a promotional shot. Auburn took that idea and applied it to the 2007 poster schedule. Thanks to Greg.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Going Nuts Over the Red River Rivalry

An Oklahoma City man has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, accused of causing extensive damage to another man's scrotum just because he wore a University of Texas shirt into a local bar.

Allen Beckett faces five years in prison if convicted. He is accused of verbally assaulting Brian Thomas after Thomas walked into Henry Hudson's Pub.

After about 20 minutes of abuse, Thomas tried to leave, only to have Beckett grab his crotch. The men came to blows, but Beckett didn't let go until Thomas heard his scrotum tear and blood ran down his leg.

Thomas, a Texas fan, said it took more than 60 stitches to close the wound.

Thanks to Charlie for this item!

Welcome to the Land of Enchantment

New Mexico's new $7 million, 86,100-square-foot indoor practice facility is the talk of Albuquerque, but for all the wrong reasons.

The behemoth, which sprung up this summer, is blocking the view of several homeowners. One woman planned to sell her home earlier this year. She had an offer, then word got out about the project and the offer was revoked. Now she is stuck with a home she can't sell.

The 76-foot tall structure is all she can see from her backyard. On the other side of her fence are a bunch of tractor tires left over from construction.

New Mexico associate athletic director Greg Remington said the university was able to erect the building where it pleased because the practice field is state property.

"People have said things about the practice facility blocking their view," Remington said. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

A Schedule to End All Schedules

Talk about a weekly planner. Reader Tom sent us a link to his fantastic creation: a college football schedule link. It comes in two flavors: one with logos and one without. You must check this out! An incredible piece of work. Times are Pacific. We are so impressed, we included the version with logos on our new Wiz Resources page, titled Strangest Brew Schedule, under Toolbox.

Our House. Our Team. Our Dream.

Here it is. The poster schedule Michigan fans have been clamoring for. Jim Harbaugh's Stanford Cardinal are ready to roll, on the field and in the classroom.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Person, Columbia State: South Carolina quarterback Blake Mitchell was one of three players suspended for the opener against dreaded Louisiana Lafayette. Mitchell is appealing. You might remember Mitchell from this post two weeks ago.

Brian Hamilton, Chicago Tribune: The starting quarterback for Notre Dame is no longer a mystery. For Crewcut Charlie Weis, that is. The rest of us humanoids will have to wait to until Sept. 1. Of course, Crewcut's choice is Evan Sharpley and has been for months.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: No secret here. Drew Weatherford was named Florida State's starting quarterback.

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: How did four Miami Hurricane linemen end up in the middle of Iowa?

Doug Nye, Columbia State: Former South Carolina running back Duce Staley is the newest member of the Gamecocks Radio Network.

Frank Litsky, New York Times: Some Army alumni were disturbed when the Black Knights hired Stan Brock, whose only head coaching experience was in the Arena Football League.

Mark Alesia, Indianapolis Star: I want my Big Ten TV! If you are a Comcast subscriber, it's not going to happen, at least for a while.

Gary Rivlin, New York Times: Antigua and Barbuda, a tiny nation in the Caribbean with a population of around 70,000, has put the U.S. in a bind, saying the Bush Administration's efforts to prohibit online gambling restricts trade. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Glenn Guilbeau, Shreveport Times: Louisiana State linebacker Derrick Odom was arrested on various charges related to Odom allegedly breaking into an apartment and damaging an automobile at a complex near campus.

Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle: Quarterback Al Pena, who transferred from Oklahoma State, has left the Houston program to pursue a coaching opportunity.

Wendy Beckman, University of Cincinnati News: An assistant professor of operations management has mathematically figured out how to be a winner at Fantasy Football. Thanks to Ken!

Here is today's mystery link.

Cashing In at the Box Office

Arizona's Mike Stoops isn't the highest-paid coach in the Pacific 10, but he has already pocketed $60,000 for 2007 from an attendance clause in his contract.

Stoops' deal calls for the bonus if Arizona sells more than 34,001 season tickets. As of early this week, nearly 36,000 season tickets had been sold. Stoops will get another $10,000 if ticket sales reach 37,000.

If the Wildcats average 50,000 in home attendance, as they have done in Stoops' first three seasons, another $60,000 bonus kicks in.

At least four Pac-10 coaches have attendance clauses in their contracts, including Oregon's Mike Bellotti, who gets 8% of the gross of Autzen Stadium's total reserved ticket sales, which last week topped 42,000. Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star estimates that Bellotti will pocket in excess of $450,000 from this clause.

Utah: Saturdays In the Red Zone

Utah is selling Saturdays in the Red Zone, but the Utes will be busy on Thursdays and Fridays, too. Utah opens next Thursday at Oregon State and plays at Louisville on Oct. 5, a Friday, and at Texas Christian on Oct. 18, a Thursday. The Utes play host to UCLA on Sept. 15. Yes, that's a Saturday.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald: Steve Aponavicius, who last year earned the nickname of the late punk rocker "Sid Vicious" when he became a national story as a walk-on, will start the season as Boston College's kicker.

Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald: Ticket sales for Miami's final game in the Orange Bowl — Nov. 10 against Virginia — were brisk after the team announced it would move home games to Dolphin Stadium for the 2008 season.

Jon Solomon and Erin Stock, Birmingham News: Alabama signee Josh Chapman had a grade changed on his transcript and re-submitted to the university by counselors at Hoover High, making him eligible. Hoover, the dominant prep program in Alabama, is being investigated for allegedly giving athletes favorable academic treatment.

Michael Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier refuted accusations by former Warrior player Ian Sample that the athletic department manipulated drug testing to protect star players.

Scott Cacciola, Commercial Appeal: Mississippi freshman linebacker Chris Strong, considered the top prep player in the state last season, was given the OK to play by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Sons of Sam Malone: Virginia Tech will not rename Michael Vick Hall despite the quarterback's fall from grace.

Jeff Haney, Las Vegas Sun: Football bettors are loading up on information at the Gambler's Book Shop in Las Vegas.

Here is today's mystery link.

The Iowa Facebook Pictures

Not a good week in Iowa City. First, receivers Anthony Bowman and Dominique Douglas were arrested on felony charges for allegedly racking up $2,016.76 worth of merchandise with unauthorized credit cards. Then backup quarterback Arvell Nelson turned himself in to authorities after an arrest warrant was issued for failure to appear in court on a driving-related charge.

If this wasn't bad enough, photos surfaced on Douglas' Facebook page of Iowa players with large amounts of cash and liquor bottles. Iowa associate athletic director Fred Mims confirmed to the Des Moines Register that the players in the photos are Hawkeyes.

The photos circulating are said to be of Douglas and Bowman — both 19-years-old — and Nelson, 18, with large amounts of money and liquor bottles.

Under Iowa law, Bowman and Douglas could face up to five years in jail and a fine up to $7,500. If the case is turned over to federal investigators, the penalty could result in a jail term of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. At this point, only state charges have been filed. The investigation is ongoing and other people could be involved. Officials would not say whether that could include other athletes.

Kansas State: Bring On the Cats

Gone are the days of the Bill Snyder creampuff nonconference schedule. Ron Prince has upgraded the level of competition, and his Wildcats open at Auburn and finish at Fresno State. In between are games at Texas, Oklahoma State and Nebraska, making this one challenging road schedule.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Where Are the Links?

All of our links have been moved to a separate page titled Wiz Resources. Check it out. Do you like the change? Hate it? We've created a poll on the site for feedback. In addition to expanding and reorganizing our links list (where else can you go from "The Spread" to "Better Than Porn"?), we've added two feeds for college football headlines.

A link to Wiz Resources is also available off this page, located at top right-hand corner under links.

If you want your submit a link for consideration, drop us an email at dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Reporters' Notebooks

Barry Jackson and Dan Lebatard, Miami Herald: Miami will leave the Orange Bowl after this season and begin playing home games at Dolphin Stadium in 2008. Miami made the right choice by picking money over emotion.

Paul Buker, Oregonian: Oregon State All-American receiver Sammie Stroughter, dealing with personal issues, has left the team.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: Florida's Urban Meyer has told his assistants to quit schmoozing and spend more time with their players and families.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Oklahoma's Bob Stoops announced that redshirt freshman Sam Bradford will be his starting quarterback.

Frank Dascenzo, Durham Herald-Sun: Two key early season games for the Atlantic Coast Conference: Georgia Tech at Notre Dame and Nebraska at Wake Forest.

Christopher Stock, Tampa Tribune: Florida State's Bobby Bowden, with 366 victories, didn't rule out reaching 400 wins before he retires.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

We Couldn't Resist

This is what the residents of Gotham saw on the newsstands Tuesday morning. There is nothing quite like the New York Post.

West Virginia Earns a No. 1 Ranking

West Virginia, the couch-burning capital of college football, has just added another title: top party school.

West Virginia beat out, among others, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Georgia. The Mountaineers last held the top spot in 1997. A list of the top 20 schools, according to the Princeton Review, can be found at Fan Blogs.

Predictably, administrators at West Virginia are none too pleased.

"I'm focused on the way this university changes people's lives, the research that we do and the service we provide to the state of West Virginia," said incoming university president Mike Garrison. "This is a special place, and the whole state is proud of it."

At the other end of the partying spectrum is Brigham Young, claiming the top spot in the "Stone Cold Sober" category for the 10th consecutive year.

To gain access to Princeton Review, try Bug Me Not.

UCLA: Champions Made Here

Big things are expected at UCLA, where the Bruins return 20 starters. UCLA opens at Stanford, then plays host to Brigham Young and travels to Utah. On Oct. 6, Notre Dame comes to the Rose Bowl. And before we forget, there is also that Dec. 1 game at USC.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, Florida, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Jeff Carroll, South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame coach Crewcut Charlie Weis said quarterback Jimmy Clausen showed "bad judgment" and was in the "wrong place at the wrong time" when he was cited for transporting alcohol as a minor.

Ed McGranahan, Greenville News: Clemson announced a long-anticipated "equity plan." The best tickets in Memorial Stadium will now require a minimum donation of $700.

Lindsay Jones, Palm Beach Post: Lou Holtz, who hired Urban Meyer as receivers coach at Notre Dame in 1996, was a guest of Meyer at Florida's practice.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Miami is expected to announce Tuesday that it plans to leave the Orange Bowl for Dolphin Stadium.

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: Quarterback Matt Simms, one Louisville's most celebrated recruits this offseason, will redshirt.

Dave Reardon, Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Allegations raised by former Hawaii player Ian Sample, which included a claim that school officials and players manipulated NCAA-mandated drug tests, were called "absolutely a lie" by coach June Jones.

Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Two Iowa players were charged with felony theft and suspended indefinitely from the team after allegedly stealing two credit cards last May and spending more than $2,000 on apparel and other items.

Sara Ganim, Centre Daily Times: A Centre County judge dismissed all but two charges against Penn State's Anthony Scirrotto after ruling that no evidence shows Scirrotto instigated an April 1 melee at a State College apartment.

Andrew Carter, Orlando Sentinel: Florida State has a deal pending to play Air Force in Orlando's Citrus Bowl in 2012.

Brian Christopherson, Lincoln Journal Star: Arizona State transfer Sam Keller has been named Nebraska's starting quarterback.

Carl DuBois, Baton Rouge Advocate: What team does Alabama resemble? Oddly enough, it's Louisiana State.

Many Happy Returns

Chances are you don't want to get caught having that extra beverage at the tailgate before kickoff this year. It could mean that you miss the most exciting play of the game. A return specialist like California's DeSean Jackson can make a team pay, especially this season.

In a rule change we applaud, kickoffs have been moved back five yards to the 30. And if you get a celebration penalty on the touchdown before the kick, you really risk putting your team in a hole. We are waiting for Wisconsin's Bret Bielema to figure out a loophole in this new rule.

But how much will this change impact play? Our man Marty at cfbstats is back at it, giving us a glimpse of what to expect. Only Marty can do this because he has data on every play for every team from the 2005 and 2006 seasons, including kickoffs.

Now we're not going to give away all of his company secrets. You'll have to visit Marty's site to get the goods. But we will tell you a few tidbits as a teaser:

• Kickoffs from the 30 resulted in 21.1% less touchbacks than kickoffs from the 35. That would average out to about two more returns a game this fall.
• Kickoffs from the 30 resulted, on average, with the ball landing at the 8.78 yard line, which was 3.22 yards further into the field of play than kicks from the 35.
• The average change in field position on a kick from the 30 was 5.13 yards and the rate of returns for touchdowns was about the same as a kick from the 35.

Marty has redesigned his site, added defensive statistics, and now has a blog. Check it out!

Will Notre Dame Turn Its Back on Clausen?

Jimmy Clausen, the most celebrated Notre Dame recruit since Ron Powlus, has been cited for transporting alcohol as a minor in connection with an incident a South Bend liquor store. Equally newsworthy is that the incident happened on June 23 and we are just finding out about it now.
Clausen's eight months at Notre Dame have been shrouded in secrecy. As we've stated before, the freshman quarterback (he's the one on the right; we stole this image from our friends at M Zone) is likely to redshirt this season after having surgery on his right (throwing) elbow June 5 by famed orthopedic surgeon James Andrews. And Notre Dame's starting quarterback will be Evan Sharpley. In fact, the only time backup Demetrius Jones will be in the game is if a trick play has been called (opposing coaches, are you taking note?).

We're telling you this as a public service, because it's clear that Crewcut Charlie Weis won't be forthcoming with any information. He has already declined comment on the latest incident with Clausen. Gee, will Crewcut even discipline his star recruit? Guess that question is off limits in South Bend. Seems like you could get more information out of the politburo back in the day ...
Even some of the writers in South Bend are getting fed up with the Clausen situation. And while we are at it, what's up with a Miller Lite ad on South Bend Tribune columnist Jeff Carroll's online story about Clausen's underage transporting of alcohol? We had to perform a screen grab on this one.

Sept. 8 Can't Arrive Soon(er) Enough

Oklahoma opens Sept. 1 at home against North Texas in what will amount to a glorified scrimmage, then the real season begins. Miami comes to Norman in what could be a shootout. Other notable games: Oct. 6 versus Texas in the Cotton Bowl, Oct. 13 against Missouri in Norman and Nov. 23 versus Oklahoma State in Norman.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Ronnie Andrews, the son of Florida State defensive coordinator and associate head coach Mickey Andrews, died on Sunday. Foul play is not suspected.

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: Thomas Petee, the professor who blew the whistle on questionable academic maneuvers at Auburn, has been exiled to the Montgomery campus after settlement of his lawsuit.

Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa State, which announced a new uniform design for 2008, is letting fans vote to decide the style of helmet the team will use. A look at the helmets.

Stephen Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaii will no longer perform the haka, a traditional Maori dance form, and instead will create its own war calling.

Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penn State's legal problems won't go away. Starting tight end Andrew Quarless and backup cornerback Willie Harriott were cited by university police for underage drinking.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: The way the numbers add up, it appears Miami will be moving its home games from the Orange Bowl to Dolphin Stadium.

Pete Thamel, New York Times: Boston College's Matt Ryan is the best quarterback you've never heard of. Thanks to Greg!

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: A change in attitude is credited with reducing the number of arrests of Tennessee players this offseason. A look back.

Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Christian defensive end Tommy Blake, who missed five practices to tend to a personal matter, is expected to return to the team Monday.

Greg Wallace, Anderson Independent Mail: Clemson sophomore Ray Ray McElrathbey will miss the season because of a knee injury.

Lucinda Coulter, Tuscaloosa News: Alabama standout cornerback Simeon Castille was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: Receiver Jamere Holland has been dismissed from USC's team by Pete Carroll. Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News say Holland could end up at Florida.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not. Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent!

A Dream Realized in Barrow

Barrow, Alaska in not a normal destination point for national media, but crews from ABC, NBC, CNN and ESPN gathered Friday night in the northernmost community in the U.S. — 340 miles north of the Arctic Circle — to see a dream realized.

A $500,000 artificial turf field in bold blue and gold just a few yards from the Arctic Ocean became the new home of the Barrow High Whalers.
It was a crowning moment for Cathy Parker, the Jacksonville, Fla., woman whose national fundraising campaign through Project Alaska Turf.com made all of this possible. And the Whalers didn't disappoint, overcoming many distractions — including a streaker in the third quarter — and rallying from a 16-6 deficit in the final five minutes to defeat the Seward Seahawks, 18-16. Friday's game was heard worldwide through Pennsylvania-based Black Diamond Sports.net, and you can listen to a halftime interview with Parker by clicking here. You can listen to a rebroadcast of the entire game by clicking here.Parker inspected the field before the game with North Slope Borough School Superintendent Trent Blankenship, left, and Barrow handyman "Moosie" Igtanloc. Blankenship started the program last year to combat drug abuse and a high dropout rates among students. The team, with the finest playing field in Alaska, is now a member of the seven-team Greatland Conference.
Photojournalist Terry Brown, who accompanied Parker's group to Barrow, was kind enough to send us these images. Mic Weatherly, above, broke out the facepaint in support of the Whalers.
Inupiat whaler Price Brower, left, kicks back in his lounge chair. The gametime temperature was in the low 40s and Brower kept warm dressed in his polar bear pants and parka. Temperatures in Barrow reach higher than 32 degrees an average of only 109 days a year. An Inupiat girl, also dressed for the weather, helped cheer Barrow to the victory.
The teams gathered at midfield for the coin toss, conducted by Parker. An estimated 3,000 people attended the game, including NFL Hall of Famer Larry Csonka. The field was named after Parker during a pregame ceremony.
Barrow operates out of the shotgun, with the frigid waters of the Arctic only yards from the edge of the field. One of the reasons Barrow's field is blue is because that color tends to hold heat better than the traditional green.
Barrow Inupiat native Joseph Aveognna, 6, cheers from the shoulders of Tom Gloe of Jacksonville. Gloe was among the Florida entourage in attendance. Whaler fan Devin Tiegland shows his appreciation for the new field.
Seward's Dylan Beck stops Barrow's Anthony Edwards short of the goal line, but Edwards would later score on a two-yard run to give Barrow a 6-0 lead. Seward scored the next 16 points before Barrow's miraculous comeback.
Parker, left, and Whaler fans cheer the winning score in the final minute. "Our kids played a good game," Seward coach Kelly Cinereski told Danny Martin of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, "but [Barrow] had a storybook ending."
It was nearly 10 p.m., but Whaler players didn't hesitate to take a cold dip in the Arctic after their dramatic victory.

Joining them was Evan Hall, left, a member of the Bartram Trail High team in Jacksonville. Hall accompanied the Florida group that attended the game.

Parker continues her fundraising effort at Project Alaska Turf.com, hoping to secure other facility upgrades for the Whalers.

Whaler apparel is also available through this link. A percentage of sales go to support the team. Thanks to the North Slope Borough School District.

Will They Put Fans Instead of Money First?

If you believe the sales pitch the Big Ten is spreading, there isn't a person walking the planet who doesn't want the Big Ten Network. And if you believe the spin the recently created site Putting Fans First is putting on the network, then the Big Ten is out to reach into every consumer's wallet.

While there is a stitch of truth to each argument, we have to ask: Who is behind Putting Fans First? A close look shows that the site acknowledges receiving corporate support from Comcast, which has been involved in a heated dispute with the league over the network. In other words, Putting Fans First appears to be the work of cable companies.

Regardless, this is where we stand at the moment: The Big Ten continues to pressure cable companies (through die-hard and numerous idiot fans and the lapdog press) to carry its network on the basic level of service. This would result in all customers being charged for the network, even those who don't give a hoot about the Big Ten. It would create a money gravy train for the league because every consumer gets charged. Evil stuff, but thankfully, this plan has failed.

Nonetheless, there are fans who want the network, and here is what should be done to make everybody happy in this 11th hour: Put the network on a premium level, allowing those fans who wish to subscribe to the network to shoulder the financial burden. This way, even if your neighbor doesn't want the channel, you can still get it by paying a few extra bucks. Sounds fair enough, doesn't it?

OK, boys, now is the time to get this settled. If you really want to put fans first, you'll do the right thing. It's that easy.

Thanks to the Midwest Correspondent.

Field of Beans

Scott McIntrye, a research associate with Ohio State University/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio, has been busy on the job, strategically planting a soybean field to honor the Ohio State Buckeyes.

McIntyre spent six hours planting yellow-leafed soybeans amid a more typical green-leafed variety in the four-acre field consisting of 3,456 plots.

"That's the beauty of it — people don't know it's there," McIntyre said. "You can only see it if you're flying over it about 1,000 feet in the air."

Well, they know about it now. Thanks to Eleven Warriors.

The Defending Champion Florida Gators

After "scrimmages" against Western Kentucky and Troy, Florida will start its season on Sept. 15 when Tennessee rolls into Gainesville. Everybody is going to want a piece of the Gators, including Louisiana State, which plays host to the defending national champions on Oct. 6.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle: Doctors have determined that Houston offensive lineman Jerrod Butler was stricken by sudden cardiac arrest when he passed out Monday during a weightlifting session

J. Brady McCollough, Kansas City Star: Former Arkansas receiver Andrew Norman has notified Kansas that he will not be a Jayhawk after all. It's unclear where Norman might be headed.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Southern Methodist, which averaged a Conference USA-low 15,428 fans per game last season, has launched a $750,000 advertising campaign to get fans back in the program.

Dan Hinxman, Reno Gazette-Journal: Nevada coach Chris Ault's three-year contract extension was approved, securing the longtime coach through 2012.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida senior defensive end Woody George was arrested and charged with a felony count of grand theft relating to a missing parking boot.

Michael Rothstein, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: Notre Dame nose tackle Derrell Hand, charged with soliciting a prostitute, will enter a pretrial diversion program that will avoid a trial.

Howard Fischer and Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Arizona defensive end Louis Holmes pleaded guilty to criminal damage and must enroll in an anger management course.

Here is today's mystery link (language warning).

Arkansas' Nutt Finally Earns a No. 1 Ranking

Keeping track of which coach is on the hottest seat of them all is best left to professionals. Thus we turn our attention to Coaches Hot Seat, the authority in tracking the coaching carousel.

Currently assuming the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll is Arkansas' Houston Nutt, followed by Washington's Tyrone Willingham, Virginia's Al Groh, Wyoming's Joe Glenn and Mississippi Madman Ed Orgeron. Coaches Hot Seat has them ranked, 1 through 119.

This is one great site with a wealth of information, including a list of cost per victory. Illinois' Ron Zook, who is pulling down $1,241.750 a year, won only two games last season, meaning the Fighting Illini were on the hook for $620,875 per victory. Colorado's Dan Hawkins was the runnerup, followed by Iowa's Kirk Ferentz.

The site also maintains a list of coaching salaries, with Alabama's Nick Saban and Notre Dame's Crewcut Charlie Weis at the top and Louisiana Monroe's Charlie Weatherbie at the bottom.

Best in Merchandise? It's Texas

For the second year in a row, Texas has topped the Collegiate Licensing Company's list of team merchandise sales, reports John Maher of the Austin American-Statesman.

The Georgia-based firm represents nearly 200 colleges, as well as bowl games, athletic conferences, the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy. CLC's most recent rankings reflect the fiscal year from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.

Notre Dame finished second, followed by Florida, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Penn State.

Completing the top 25: Louisiana State, Florida State, Auburn, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Miami, Clemson, South Carolina, Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma State and Minnesota.

Texas Christian, which finished 58th, made the biggest jump with a move up of 12 spots from last year.

Ohio State fans take note: The Buckeyes are not affiliated with CLC, so these rankings are missing a powerhouse in world of collegiate merchandise sales.

Any Sting Left in Yellow Jackets?

All eyes will be on Georgia Tech when it travels to South Bend for its opening game against Notre Dame. A victory over the Fighting Irish could springboard the Ramblin Wreck to a big season. Thanks to Jeff at Ramblin Racket for digging up this movie-style poster schedule.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Bob Gillespie, Columbia State: Three South Carolina boosters have filed a lawsuit against the school for breach of contract, claiming officials have taken away their right to free parking at Williams-Brice Stadium — a right they say they earned between 1978 and 1984 by contributing $140,000 to the Gamecock Club for three lifetime Silver Spur memberships.

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: Tailback Emmanuel Moody, USC's second-leading rusher last season, reportedly will transfer to another school. Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News says that school could be Oklahoma State.

Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News: The husband of Shari Acho, Michigan's associate athletic director and football academic counselor, authored a commentary for Sports Review Magazine titled "Was Jim Harbaugh Drunk, Or Merely Truculent?"

Noah Bierman, Miami Herald: Florida's athletic department is giving $6 million to the academic side of the operation. And winning apparently has helped attract students. More than 25,000 high-school students applied for 6,600 spots in this year's fall class — a record.

Jack Stripling, Gainesville Sun: An update from Florida's Urban Meyer: "We stink now. Our attitude is good, but our execution is awful."

J. Brady McCollough, Kansas City Star: Another Arkansas player is transferring, and it's a former Springdale High player. Receiver Andrew Norman is headed to Kansas.

Ryan Thorburn, Boulder Daily Camera: It's looking like freshman Cody Hawkins, son of coach Dan Hawkins, will be Colorado's starting quarterback. Plus a video interview with Cody by Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: All-Big 12 receiver Limas Sweed sprained his left wrist during a Texas scrimmage and could miss the opener against Arkansas State.

Berry Tramel, Oklahoman: Here's a vote for Miami to stay in the Orange Bowl, at least through the 2009 season.

Jim Moore, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Something called Romeen Abdollmohammadi could be Washington State's kicker.

Jenn Kistler, Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State players will sport pink socks and stickers on their helmets, their coaches will wear pink golf shirts and the marching band will wear pink in the Aggies' Sept. 29 game against Arkansas Pine Bluff in a push to raise money for breast cancer research.

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Show Me State Tries to Stick It to Nebraska

Missouri fan Joe DeSimone, a frequent poster on message boards, became enraged last week when Nebraska fans flooded a Tiger website with messages.

"These arrogant Nebraska fans," DeSimone told Mike Dearmond of the Kansas City Star, "they think they’re so entitled to be great because they were once great."

DeSimone decided to try and make life difficult for the Cornhusker faithful, who will spill into the Show Me State on Oct. 6 in an attempt to turn Faurot Field into a sea of red. DeSimone started a campaign to help sell tickets to Missouri fans and keep the invaders out of Columbia, and it appears his efforts have been a success. Missouri officials said the ticket office was flooded with calls last week from Tiger fans wanting to purchase tickets.

"For the first time in my life, I think there are going to be fewer than 15,000 Nebraska fans at Faurot Field." he said.

Nebraska was guaranteed a ticket allotment of only 3,850. Another 4,000 tickets went on sale last Friday, but DeSimone said Tiger fans snapped up more than half of that allotment.

A block of 10,000 tickets remain for late-buying season-ticket holders, but DeSimone is optimistic that his followers will snare up to 7,000 of that allotment.

No Shortage of Challenges for Nevada

Nevada is searching for its third bowl game in a row under coach Chris Ault. The Wolf Pack will have to earn it, opening with games at Nebraska and Northwestern. After returning home for three homes, including the battle against Nevada Las Vegas for the Fremont Cannon, Nevada travels to Boise State. And you have to think the Wolf Pack is hoping for snowy, cold weather on Nov. 16 when Colt Brennan and Hawaii come to Reno.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Rob DeBoer has agreed to step down as South Carolina’s sideline reporter while embroiled in a federal lawsuit that alleges the former Gamecock player marketed an online music retailer that a judge called a "classic pyramid scheme."

Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle: Jerrod Butler, a Houston offensive lineman who collapsed during a workout on Monday, remains in stable condition at Methodist Hospital.

Tom Kensler, Denver Post: Colorado coach Dan Hawkins canceled Tuesday's practice and replaced it with a trip to the paintball center.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: With the hiring of Nick Saban, has the pendulum already shifted and is there anything Tommy Tuberville and Auburn can really do about it?

Frank Dascenzo, Durham Herald-Sun: Thirty-one losses and three wins later, not to mention a 20-game losing streak dating to Sept. 24, 2005, Duke's Ted Roof is feeling the heat.

Joe Perez, Norwich Bulletin: Connecticut coach Randy Edsall, long viewed as a coach on the rise, could be on the hotseat.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Make him the czar of college football and he would take away freshmen eligibility.

Kyle Whitfield, Times-Picayune: Louisiana State sold a record 68,230 season tickets, the third year in a row the team has set a record.

Jim Thomas, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Former Michigan State and Louisville coach John L. Smith has been hired by the St. Louis Rams to do advance scouting.

Jeff Carroll, South Bend Tribune: Will all this quarterback secrecy pay off for Crewcut Charlie Weis and Notre Dame?

Terry Hutchens, Indianapolis Star: Indiana players will be have a reminder of late coach Terry Hoeppner on their jerseys and helmets.

Eric Lacy, Detroit News: Here are five of the most significant athletic facility improvements completed, underway or planned at college campuses across the country.

Nick Zaccardi, Commercial Appeal: Bob Toledo likes a challenge, and he has one in trying to resurrect Tulane.

Brad Rock, Deseret Morning News: Funny story about Brigham Young fan Brennen Thorne purchasing a new truck only to be given license plates that carried the inscription "441 UTE."

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Cashing In on Katrina in Tuscaloosa

We now know one reason for the condo boom in Tuscaloosa, and if you have a million dollars stuffed in that shirt pocket and don't know what to do with it, we have a tax break for you.

After Katrina devastated a sizable portion of the Southeast in 2005, Congress approved the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act. This bill contained a variety of tax breaks designed to stimulate construction in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama and offered tax-free bonds to developers to finance big commercial projects like shopping centers or hotels.

And condos.

In Tuscaloosa, about 10 condominium projects are going up, several near Alabama's Bryant-Denny Stadium. Builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art. One of the projects is said to be The Traditions.

Buyers, many of whom are Crimson Tide alumni or ardent football fans not entitled to any special Katrina-related tax breaks, are lining up. So are real estate investors who are purchasing the condos with plans to rent them out.

While all of this is perfectly legal, the people who were hardest hit by Katrina are seeing little if any impact from the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act.

Even the Alabama site The Legend of "Bully" Van De Graaff is critical of what is happening in T-Town:

"Whether the University of Alabama likes it or not, their fingerprints are all over this because of the location of these condos. For a school that is attempting to shed the moniker of 'cheater', this will not change anybody’s mind."

Losers With Socks also pointed out that in June, authorities suspected someone intentionally killed a row of live oak trees that stood between Bryant-Denny and The Legends, a new condo development with prices starting around $360,000

Thanks to Tom and Mike for the tips.

Did Big East Get the Best of SEC in 2006?

If there is one thing the 12-game season has taught college football fans, it's that the big boys have an unending appetite for a cupcake. You know, a lower-level opponent that is happy to travel to play Goliath and accept a fat paycheck in return. The end result is something like 42-7 or 52-3. Afterward, Goliath's coach and players talk in glowing terms about how much they respect Directional State while chalking up another victory toward becoming bowl-eligible.

Wendell Barnhouse of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram takes a detailed look at what goes into scheduling, including I-AA teams openly shopping their availability. Teams strike a deal with a I-A opponent and then try to better the game guarantee by talking with another I-A school.

The competition for cupcakes has become so intense that some teams are finding it impossible to fill their schedule. Hawaii has long benefited from an NCAA rule that allows (because of travel considerations) it to schedule an extra game and for any of its state-side opponents to schedule an extra game. Scheduling competition is so great that even a trip to Hawaii isn't good enough these days.

The Warriors could find only one Division I-A team (Washington) willing to journey to Honolulu. Hawaii had to schedule two I-AA teams and still wound up with only 12 games.

Which BCS league plays the most games against other BCS opponents? It's the Big East, which played 18 games last season. The Big East also had the best record (11-7) and was perfect in the postseason (5-0).

The SEC, which has a sparkling 24-1 record against non-BCS teams and was 8-0 against I-AA teams in 2006, was only 9-6 against BCS teams. In the postseason, SEC teams finished 6-3.

As for overrated conferences, try the Big Ten, which is a wretched 11-17 in the postseason since 2003.

Bottom line: Score one for the Big East and score one for playing other BCS opponents in nonleague games. It pays off in the postseason.

Pirates Are Ready to Leave Port

East Carolina will be involved in one of the most emotional games of the season when the Pirates set sail for Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech on Sept. 1, the Hokies' first game since the tragic campus shooting on April 16. Skip Holtz's team also has home games against North Carolina and North Carolina State along with a trip to West Virginia. Thanks again to Dave of Carolina On Ice for digging up this poster. If you have the official poster of your team and wish for it to be displayed on the site, send a crisp image to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, Nevada, Georgia Tech., Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Post-Standard: Fans say Syracuse needs to pay attention to detail when it comes to the new Block S on the team's helmets. Plus, coach Greg Robinson is upset with his team.

Brian Bennett, Louisville Courier-Journal: Louisville receivers Scott Long and Chris Vaughn, who were arrested last year after driving around downtown Louisville shooting a paintball rifle at people, promise that their troubles are behind them.

Mike Pramik and Molly Willow, Columbus Dispatch: Time Warner Cable might show Ohio State's opener against Youngstown State, even though the cable company hasn't reached an agreement with the Big Ten Network. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Tony Barnhart, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Look who's smiling now! Jim Harbaugh's comments that Michigan cuts academic corners has to have brought a smile to the face of SEC commissioner Mike Slive.

Alex Abrams, Morning News: Arkansas receiver Marcus Monk is out four to six weeks after arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee.

Baton Rouge Advocate: Ryan Perrilloux, Louisiana State's embattled sophomore quarterback, was pulled from media day after briefly talking with reporters.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Arizona continues to have success luring players from Hawaii.

Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News: Texas Christian's secret to success? It might be that the Horned Frogs recruit players from small towns.

Scott Cacciola, Commercial Appeal: Linebacker Chris Strong, who was provisionally admitted to Mississippi last week, has already made a big impression with the coaching staff.

Frank Dascenzo, Durham Herald Sun: Here are 10 games in the opening week that you don't want to miss.

Amy Weaver, Opelika-Auburn News: Former Auburn president William Walker, 69, died. He made the mistake of taking a late-night flight with athletic director David Housel to Louisville to talk with Bobby Petrino about his interest in becoming the Tigers' coach in 2003 and going behind Tommy Tuberville's back. Thanks to Greg.

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Public Service Announcement

Once they tee it up to start the season, many in the reading audience will no doubt be facing stress in their relationships. The lawn will not get mowed, the dog will not be walked. That leaky faucet? Not going to get fixed. Consider this your final warning. Address those issues now so you won't have problems when the games are on the line!

The Scoop on USC Rips It

The rage around USC the past week had nothing to do with John David Booty or even the Song Girls.

A blog on the site USC Rips It appeared on the scene, and it immediately raised eyebrows with the media because of the access given to blogger Ben Malcolmson, pictured below, a former member of the Daily Trojan.

Malcolmson, taking a page from the George Plimpton playbook in the spring of 2006, decided to try out for the team with the sole intent of chronicling his experience for the student newspaper.

Twenty-eight students tried out, and two days later Malcolmson learned he made the team. "I have covered the team for three years," he wrote. "Now I'm part of it."

It turns out that Malcolmson, whose playing days are now over, is still a member of the team.

In an email interview, Malcolmson gives us the scoop on his involvement with the site.

Question No. 1: Word is that you are on USC's payroll or are being paid to do the site through the football office. Is this true?

Malcolmson: "Yes, it is true. I am employed by the USC athletic department and work directly out of the USC football office.

"We believe this is a revolutionary concept, to have insider journalism like this, and the response we're getting has been awesome."

Follow-up questions: Who came up with the idea? What is the relationship with the sports information office? Is there coordination with that office regarding anything you write?

If a player gets into trouble (arrest, suspension), will that information be reported?

You were a journalism major and worked at the Daily Trojan before you joined the team last year. Rules of engagement in journalism would not allow one to be paid by the source. With those ethics breached, from a journalist's standpoint this would appear to be a way to control the news. Do you agree or disagree?

Malcolmson: "Coach [Pete] Carroll originally started the site about a year ago, but I started working in April and, along with quarterbacks assistant Yogi Roth [who has a background in media], we've sort of taken this site and run with it.

"We're run completely out of the football office, so there's not an hour-by-hour relationship with the Sports Info office. They have their site that's for press releases and a really cool revamped video section for all sports, while USC Rips It.com is solely a football site. I work with the [sports information directors] a lot, but we definitely have our own circuses to deal with.

"In response to your question about a player getting in trouble, I'd say that every situation is different. There will be situations that I wouldn't be able to write about and certain situations that I'd be able to write about with a better perspective than other sources.

"It goes the same for the newspaper writers and fan websites out there. Sometimes they can write certain things, while sometimes they can't, for whatever reason. We're hoping the access I have, combined with the unique perspective I have, will produce the most entertaining and informative content about USC football.

"Yes, I was a journalism major and a reporter for the Daily Trojan before making the team [my journalism work is actually why I made the team, if you remember correctly]. USC Rips It.com is different than P.R. or simply controlling the news. It's a revolutionary way of disseminating information — the mixture of my access and perspective [as a former player and journalist] provides the most appealing and revealing look at the Trojans."

Is West Virginia the Team to Beat?

With Steve Slaton and Pat White leading the way, this is arguably West Virginia's most anticipated season ever. The Mountaineers will have to be at their best early on the road, with games at Maryland and South Florida in September. In October, back-to-back games on the road against Rutgers and at home against Louisville could determine West Virginia's title hopes.

A reminder to send your team's official poster schedule to dawizofodds (at) aol.com

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Earplugs Required

We have yet to see if Crewcut Charlie Weis' incoming freshmen can tackle, but we just learned that they can't sing. In nothing short of a pathetic performance (Crew even said so himself), the freshmen band together and butcher "Notre Dame, Our Mother."

Crew later told reporters: "It was terrible yesterday. ... The alma mater might not seem like a big thing to you guys, but it means a lot to me. It's important that the guys know the words to the alma mater and the fight song."

Thanks to Fan Blogs and Blue Gray Sky.

Reporters' Notebooks

Bernie Lincicome, Rocky Mountain News: Colorado coach Dan Hawkins is one tough customer and wants his team to adopt his attitude.

Scott Cacciola, Commercial Appeal: Alabama defensive back Simeon Castille on new coach Nick Saban: "He's kind of tricky."

Steve Yanda, Washington Post: The last thing Nebraska's Sam Keller wants is a repeat of the way things unfolded last summer at Arizona State.

Jake Trotter, Oklahoman: Barry Switzer is back. The former Oklahoma coach will co-host XM Sports Nation This Morning, a live call-in show that will focus on college and pro football.

Scott Rabalais, Baton Rouge Advocate: T.C. McCartney, the son of the late Sal Aunese of Colorado, has started his journey in hopes of becoming a prime-time player at Louisiana State.

Mark Tupper, Decatur Herald & Review: Heralded Illinois freshman receiver Rejus Benn has suffered a sprained shoulder and is expected to be out "a couple of days."

Reporters' Notebooks

Chris Foster, Los Angeles Times: After two days of meetings and nearly three weeks of legal limbo, receivers coach Eric Scott will be allowed to return to the UCLA team.

Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press: Hail to the hypocrites. Michigan's arrogance is academic.

John Henderson, Denver Post: With kickoffs being moved back to the 30, expect to more starters on special teams.

Pete Bosak, Centre Daily Times: Police in State College are busy making plans for Notre Dame's visit to Penn State's Beaver Stadium.

Eric Hansen, South Bend Tribune: With the opener roughly three weeks away, here's what we know about Notre Dame.

Adam Kilgore, Washington Post: The team won 10 games last season, became the fourth team in four seasons to beat USC and returns 16 starters. Yet Oregon State continues to go unnoticed.

Rick Bozich, Louisville Courier-Journal: How does Kentucky's schedule compare to that of Louisville and Indiana? The Wildcats' schedule is clearly the most demanding.

Paul Finebaum, Mobile Press-Register: The man who played a hand in putting Alabama in the dumpster by running Gene Stallings off and then making a series of idiotic decisions with the athletic department now is pushing Steve Spurrier close to the edge.

Here is today's mystery link. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State.

Iowa State, Nebraska Get Some Air Time

NASA flight engineer Clayton Anderson, who earned a masters degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State in 1983, is giving his former school favorable visibility during his four-month stay aboard the International Space Station. During a meeting in Houston last year, Iowa State president Gregory Geoffroy presented Anderson, 48, with a university pennant, hat and shirt to take on the mission. The pennant can be viewed on NASA TV while Anderson goes about his work.

Anderson, who grew up in Nebraska and is a 1981 graduate of Hastings College, hasn't forgotten about his ties to the Cornhusker State. He hopes to attend a Nebraska game this fall after he returns in October and has high hopes for the team entering the season. "I hope it'll be 7- or 8-and-0 and headed to a championship." he said.

The Pissing Match Continues

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh took his position on the firing line again this week, telling ESPN's Pat Forde that everything he said about Michigan's ability to get borderline players into the university is true.

Harbaugh, a Wolverine alum, also took a shot at Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, saying comments by running back Mike Hart were, in essence, orchestrated.

"Mike Hart is just repeating their messages. When I was a player, there would have been nobody saying anything like what Mike Hart said about me. We would have been too afraid of the consequences.

"That wouldn't have happened while Bo [Schembechler] was there. I'm glad, as the head coach of Stanford, I don't have to deal with those repercussions."

But is Forde's piece, which takes a stance in support of Harbaugh’s assertion that too many players are being steered into the “general studies” program at Michigan, fair and balanced?

That might not be the case, according to Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. Snyder writes:

"Forde stated that 'only one junior has declared a major, according to the [media] guide [in movement science]. In 18 years of covering college athletics, I've never seen virtually an entire junior class without a major.'

"That’s outdated information. That was from the spring media guide, before most juniors declare majors in the summer. In the fall media guide released last week, only two juniors [of 19] remained undeclared, and one is Antonio Bass, who has missed significant school time because of his leg injuries.

"And to use a media guide as the basis for the research is a bit limiting and selective, given Forde has no idea why some majors are listed and some are not."

Thanks to Image of Sport.

A Ticket to Notre Dame-Penn State: $1100

If you want to see them play, you're going to have to pay, especially if you're a Notre Dame fan.

The ticket broker agency Ticket City released a list of the top 50 average prices for a ticket to games this fall, and games involving the Fighting Irish hold down four of the top five spots.

A ticket to Notre Dame's game at Penn State on Sept. 8 tops the list at $1100. A ticket to the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 17 is listed at $1000.

USC-Notre Dame on Oct. 20 is at $950, followed by Notre Dame-Michigan on Sept. 15 at $696 and Boston College-Notre Dame on Oct. 13 at $661. You can see the complete list by clicking here. Thanks to Kevin of We Are Penn State and also Michael for the tip!

Book 'Em Horns!

After a dizzying number of Texas players were arrested in the offseason, you knew it was only a matter of time before we heard from Oklahoma fans. Here it is: Mack Brown's Texas All-Character Team, 1998-2007. We thank Tom Kirkendall for this beaut.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: The NCAA declined to reconsider its ban on text messaging and instant messaging as a recruiting tool.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Here is the rap on each of the coaches in the Big 12 South.

Mike Carmin, Lafayette Journal and Courier: Purdue receiver Selwyn Lymon said he has recovered from an offseason stabbing and is ready to contribute.

Scott Dochterman, Cedar Rapids Gazette: There is a winner in the dispute between cable companies and the Big Ten Network. Bar owners with DirecTV are ready to cash in on the impasse.

Scott D. Pierce, Deseret Morning News: Judging by the mountain of email, fans are still upset about The mtn.

Kevin Scarbinsky, Birmingham News: It appears Nick Saban is scooping up all the talent in Alabama.

Ron Higgins, Memphis Commercial Appeal: No excuses this year, says Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom.

Eric Prisbell, Washington Post: Did you know that Hawaii's Colt Brennan threw for more yards last year than Michigan's Chad Henne and Ohio State's Troy Smith combined. And Brennan did it in fewer attempts.

Brian Murphy, Idaho Statesman: Boise State would be wise to embrace a trip to China to play Oregon.

Mick McGrane, San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego coach Chuck Long, who arrived with a "win now" speech, has lowered his expectations after a 3-9 campaign in 2006.

Joseph Person, Columbia State: Responding quickly to Steve Spurrier’s scathing comments, South Carolina officials could recommend changes to the school’s special admission process for athletes as soon as September.

We would like to cordially invite you to the world premiere of "Out of the Blue," a film about life and football at Boise State. Thanks to Statue Left.

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So Long Amato, Hello O'Brien

North Carolina State ushers out the Chuck the Chest era and brings in the Tom O'Brien era with this effort sent to us by Dave, who also runs the site Carolina On Ice. Given the current heat wave gripping the Southeast, Dave's site is a good place to visit.

And a reminder for those of you in Raleigh-Durham area. On Friday, the Wiz will be guest of Joe Ovies on 850 the Buzz sports radio. The segment is scheduled to run at 9:20 a.m. (Eastern). Be sure to check out 850 and 620 The Blog.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Catch a Good Buzz in Raleigh

If you in happen to be in the Raleigh-Durham area Friday, tune in to 850 the Buzz sports radio. The Wiz will be guest of Joe Ovies and the segment is scheduled to run at 9:20 a.m. (Eastern). Also be sure to check out 850 and 620 The Blog. It's one of the best — and certainly the best blog by a radio station — around. ... If you're interested in having the Wiz on your show, drop him a line: dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Did Nutt Want the Alabama Job?

A possible "Smoking Gun" has surfaced in the long-running soap opera at Arkansas. Enter Sherri Darby, an employee of the Department of Finance and Administration who shares a home with Teresa Prewett.

Prewett, a friend of Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, sent a critical email to then-Razorback quarterback Mitch Mustain on Dec. 7, 2006, and critics alleged that Nutt was behind the email. Mustain has since transferred to USC.

Nutt, of course, has denied any involvement, but that didn't stop John David Terry from filing a lawsuit against John White, the chancellor of the Fayetteville campus, and Alan Sugg, the president of the University of Arkansas, alleging that the men failed to properly investigate Prewett's email.

Although that case was thrown out, Terry is back at it and has filed a new case against White and Sugg. This is where Darby enters the picture.

Several of Darby's emails, which were obtained through a subpoena, reveal that Darby traded between 3-12 emails with Prewett and Nutt during the period of Dec. 5-8. Some of the emails allegedly have been deleted, further fueling speculation of a coverup.

There are other gems in this latest document (PDF downloadable), which the site The Hog Blogger has posted. One email alludes to Nutt's possible interest in the opening at Alabama, created when Mike Shula was fired on Nov. 26. This exchange between Darby and Sherry Hamilton, a friend of Darby and Prewett:

"Teresa just said if the job is offered, [Nutt] is taking it. He will not interview. It will have to be offered. He wants the job from a recruiting standpoint. It recruits itself. I still think they will go after [Steve] Spurrier first."

What Do the Players Have to Say?

Terrific piece of work by, among others, Greg Beaton and Mallory Rubin at SI.com. One starter from each of the 119 Division I-A teams was questioned about college football and the upcoming season.

The coach players would least like to play for? Michigan's Lloyd Carr, who received only one vote. USC's Pete Carroll was an easy winner, getting 28.6% of the vote, with Florida's Urban Meyer (10.9%) and Penn State's Joe Paterno (10.2%) the only other coaches to bust into double figures.
As for a preseason favorite for the Heisman, it wasn't even close. Arkansas' Darren McFadden, above, won in a landslide, getting 58%. USC's John David Booty, below, regarded as the preseason favorite, got only 10.1%.
Other questions of interest: Would you like to see college football institute a playoff. Yes was an easy winner with 73.1%. Should NCAA athletes be compensated beyond their scholarships? Yes, won with 76.5%. Do you read message boards or blogs where fans discuss your team? Players said no by 60.5%.

Thanks to Image of Sport.

Blake Mitchell, Spurrier's Main Man

South Carolina's hopes this fall might rest with quarterback Blake Mitchell, who are you can see from these photos posted earlier this summer by the excellent site Deep South Sports, likes to have a good time, especially at wedding receptions. There are more photos where these came from.

Mitchell returned to the team this week after being suspended for the first two practices for excessive class absences during summer school.

Last September he allegedly took a swing at a bouncer at a Five Points bar in Columbia. Mitchell was arrested and jailed, and although the charge was dropped, he was suspended by coach Steve Spurrier.

Spurrier refused to answer a question about Mitchell's leadership abilities during his remarks earlier this week to open fall drills.

"If he plays like a starter, he'll continue being the starter," Spurrier said.

Clemson Running the Same Pattern?

Clemson's poster arrived on our doorstep Wednesday, thanks to reader Tim, who for his efforts, gets to plug the site Arm Chair GM: "A cool site where people rate sports articles that users write."

Now we promised earlier that we wouldn't review poster schedules this year, but we would like to point out the similarity between the Tigers' 2007 effort, above, and the 2006 effort, below.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Scott Cacciola, Commercial Appeal: Brent Schaeffer, once heralded by Madman Ed Orgeron as the quarterback who would launch Mississippi into greatness, has been moved to receiver.

Darren Sabedra, San Jose Mercury News: Stanford's Jim Harbaugh took an odd path to hire the man he hopes will rebuild the Cardinal's defense. He went to the Internet.

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald: Miami city manager Pete Hernandez said his ''gut feeling'' is that Miami is inclined to move to Dolphin Stadium, and he told school officials that it likely would be permitted to escape its Orange Bowl lease and move there as early as next season.

Roger Clarkson, Athens Banner-Herald: With kickoffs moved back to the 30 this season, celebration penalties could become costly.

Kyle Tucker, Roanoke Times: Meet Ike Whitaker, an alcoholic and Virginia Tech's backup quarterback.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is expected to pitch the idea of hosting a future Oklahoma State-Texas Tech game at the Cowboys' new stadium in Arlington during a visit Friday to Stillwater.

Kate Hairopoulos, Dallas Morning News: Southern Methodist defensive tackle Charlie Berry, who plays guitar, said music distracted him and probably played a role in his being academically ineligible last season.

Ryan Finley, Arizona Daily Star: Disciplinary action against Arizona defensive end Louis Holmes will be evaluated after his legal issues are resolved, coach Mike Stoops said.

Molly Yanity, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Washington cornerback Jordan Murchison was arrested and remained in jail for failing to appear for a felony assault charge.

Chip Brown, Dallas Morning News: Former Texas safety Robert Joseph, who was arrested twice this summer, had several brushes with the law before he became a Longhorn.

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At Times, Life Can Be a Drag for McFadden

Arkansas' Darren McFadden is — shall we say — an interesting fella. In June, Kelly Whiteside of USA Today reported that the Razorback running back used to wear dresses to Oak Grove High in North Little Rock. A trusted source in the Razorback State sent along this beaut of McFadden with three of his Oak Grove classmates.

As the story goes, McFadden would raid his grandmother’s closet and wear the most hideous looking outfits he could find to school.

“He has the ugliest legs ever,” said Leecie Henson, a teacher at Oak Grove. “He would wear these dresses with tennis shoes, and after a while the teachers would get used to it. He just loves to make people laugh.”

It's tips like this that help make the site, so if you have something of equal or greater value to share, please send it to dawizofodds (at) aol.com.

Oregon, Boise State to Play in China?

Oregon is in talks about moving its 2009 season opener at Boise State to China.

The game is the brainchild of Jeff Hawkins, the Ducks' director of football operations, and Jim Warsaw, founder of the university’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

As it stands now, the Sept. 5 game would be played in either Beijing or Shanghai.

One hanging point is that Boise State wants a guarantee from Oregon of a future game between the teams in Boise.

If details between the Ducks and Broncos can't be worked out, Oregon is in discussions with other teams to make the China trip possible.

Oregon last played overseas in 1985, losing to USC, 20-6, in Tokyo.

Perhaps It Was a Bad Hair Day

Had Arizona defensive end Louis Holmes not gotten into a bit of trouble last month at the Pussycat Lounge in Scottsdale, we would have never noticed the glorious hair he has. Holmes, according to a police report, is accused of laying out a patron with one punch and ripping a doorman's Kenneth Cole blazer as he was being escorted from the establishment around 2 a.m. on July 1.

When police arrived, Holmes identified himself as "Daniel," his middle name, before stating his full name.

"It's news to me," Wildcat coach Mike Stoops told the Arizona Daily Star's Ryan Finley on Tuesday. "I don't know anything about it."

Holmes, who has a court date Aug. 16, is one of five players featured in Arizona's "Live It Live" ad campaign.

Minnesota Gets a Fresh Start

Something new and something old at Minnesota. The new is coach Tim Brewster. The old is another flabby nonconference schedule. Now the Golden Gophers aren't alone in scheduling creampuffs, but don't paying customers in the Land of 10,000 Lakes deserve better? Minnesota's out of league opponents: Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio), at Florida Atlantic and North Dakota State.

The Gophers, by the way, will be one of only nine Division I-A teams that will have headgear equipped with sensors that can detect concussions.

And since we're talking Minnesotan, check out RandBall, the fine blog of Minneapolis Star-Tribune sportswriter Michael Rand.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Reporters' Notebooks

Ray Melick, Birmingham News: Alabama's Nick Saban said that he favors a state-run lottery to help fund athletics. In this case, Nick Saban is wrong.

Bryan Mullen, Tennessean: LaMarcus Coker, the top returning rusher for Tennessee, has been suspended by Phillip Fulmer.

Bill Koch, Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati and Oklahoma will play a home-and-home series beginning in 2008, when the Bearcats travel to Norman for a Sept. 6 game.

Bob Thomas, Florida Times-Union: Former Florida State standout Terrell Buckley is returning to Tallahassee and will be a student assistant with the team.

Seth Emerson, Columbia State: Despite a public outcry to ease admission standards for South Carolina athletes, there are some people who believe the university should stand firm against any change.

Kevin Scarbinksy, Birmingham News: It ain't football season in the Southeastern Conference until Steve Spurrier pops off. So now it's official.

Brett McMurphy, Tampa Tribune: South Florida has sold about 18,300 season tickets, nearly 1,200 more than last year's total of 17,166.

Alan Trubow, Austin American-Statesman: Texas running backs coach Ken Rucker will undergo surgery for prostate cancer.

To bypass registration, go to Bug Me Not.

It's Time to Play the Numbers Game

Everybody talks a good game before their team tees it up. Now come the first set of cold, hard facts, courtesy of people who make a living off you losing. Yes, we're talking oddsmakers.

The season starts Aug. 30 and among the featured games is Louisiana State at Mississippi State. The Tigers — a sexy pick to make it to the BCS title game — are a 16.5-point road favorite. That same night, Oregon State is a 6.5-point home favorite over Utah.

On Aug. 31, Washington is a 4-point road favorite at Syracuse.

Moving to Sept. 1:

Wisconsin is a 14-point home favorite over Washington State.
Notre Dame is a 3-point home favorite over Georgia Tech.
Missouri is a 5.5-favorite over Illinois (at St. Louis).
Boston College is a 6.5-point home favorite over Wake Forest.
Brigham Young is a 5.5-point home favorite over Arizona.
Georgia is a 7-point home favorite over Oklahoma State.
Auburn is a 13-point home favorite over Kansas State.
California is a 4.5-point home favorite over Tennessee.
USC is a 43.5-point home favorite over Idaho.

On Sept. 3, Florida State is a two-point road favorite at Clemson.

The numbers are always moving, and the full list of lines can be found at Doc's Sports.

Reporters' Notebooks

Joseph Person and Ron Morris, Columbia State: South Carolina officials are willing to work with Steve Spurrier on tweaking the admissions process, but are not inclined to accept athletes simply because they meet minimum NCAA standards. Although a compromise likely will be reached, expect some rough times ahead.

Jeff Carroll, South Bend Tribune: Rebuild? "God strike me dead if I use that word," Notre Dame's Crewcut Charlie Weis said during media day for fall practice.

Heather A. Dinich, Baltimore Sun: Is Navy now snubbing Maryland? Maryland is interested in adding Navy to its schedule in 2010, but a Navy official said the Terrapins already had their chance to face the Midshipmen — last December — and turned their noses up at it.

Jim Moore, Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Year 3 in the Tyrone Willingham era is already wearing thin — another season of no fun and no felonies. But there is hope.

Mike Pegram, Indiana Rivals: Comcast Midwest Division president Bill Connors gives his side of the dispute involving the Big Ten Network. Thanks to Pierre!

Eric Lacy, Detroit News: The top five most meaningful games this season involving at least one Big Ten team.

Dirk Facer, Deseret News: Utah has reached an agreement to play Michigan in Ann Arbor to open the 2008 season.

Tamar Ben-Yosef, Arctic Sounder: It's full speed ahead in Barrow, where installation of 60,000 pounds of artificial turf is set to begin. The Whalers' first game is scheduled for Aug. 17. Thanks to John!

Cincy: Come Early, Be Loud, Wear Black

Brian Kelly is shaking it up at Cincinnati. Kelly, who arrived last fall, has already told the local media to shape up. Now he will try to work his magic with the Bearcats, who play host to Oregon State in a Thursday night game on Sept. 6.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Arizona State, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

We're Talking Notre Dame and UCLA

We had two terrific guests on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network Sunday night/Monday morning. John Walters of NBCSports.com joined us for two hours and we talked Notre Dame football. The Fighting Irish have lost an NCAA record nine bowl games in a row, and many of the losses have not been close. With Notre Dame facing a brutal schedule and expected to take its lumps this fall, does this mean the luster is coming off the program? This interview is divided into two files. The first file, which is in 34:53 length, can be downloaded by clicking here. The second file, which is 38:02 in length, can be downloaded by clicking here.

Chris Foster, who covers UCLA for the Los Angeles Times, joined us in the last hour. Karl Dorrell's team returns 20 starters and expectations are high in Westwood. Are these Bruins headed to a BCS bowl, and if not, what does it mean to the future of the program? Chris also talked about the Pacific 10 race, and you can listen to this interview, which is 31:16 in length, by clicking here.

Spurrier Threatens to Quit

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier let his employer have it Sunday, saying if the university doesn't change its admissions process, he will have no choice but to pack up and leave.

"As long as I’m the coach here, we’re going to take guys that qualify,” Spurrier said. “If not, then I have to go somewhere else because I can’t tell a young man, ‘You’re coming to school here,’ he qualifies, and not do that. And we did that this year.”

Spurrier let his feelings be known after recruits Michael Bowman and Arkee Smith were turned down by South Carolina's special admissions committee despite being NCAA-qualified.

“I’ve got to apologize to two young men that we recruited. They qualified. They signed with us in February. They were denied admission to our school,” Spurrier said. “Personally, I don’t think that’s the way you do business. I’m embarrassed that I and our coaches basically misled these young men into believing they were coming here.”

Spurrier spoke on the topic for 3.5 minutes, according to Joseph Person of the Columbia State, and the coach punctuated his points by jabbing his eyeglasses in the air.

University spokesman Russ McKinney said being NCAA-qualified does not guarantee an athlete admission.

“Our goal in the regular admissions process and any special admissions process is to try to be sure that every student admitted to the university can be successful and graduate,” McKinney said.

Reporters' Notebooks

Austin Ward, Casper Star-Tribune: Wyoming coach Joe Glenn remains furious over Syracuse's decision to back out of a 2009 game at Laramie. "I've got a new favorite team this season," he said. "Anybody who beats Syracuse."

Darren Sabedra, Contra Costa Times: Bob Murphy, 76, the longtime voice of Stanford, plans to retire at the end of the season.

Jonathan Okanes, Contra Costa Times: So what might have happened to California had Marvin Lewis, not Jeff Tedford, been named coach in 2001?

Samuel Spies and Luciana Chavez, Raleigh News & Observer: Duke middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili was arrested on charges of driving while impaired, failing to stop after an accident, assault by pointing a gun, carrying a concealed weapon and simple assault.

Here is today's mystery link.

Things Are Heating Up in the Desert

Arizona State is one of those sexy picks to make some noise, and after looking over the schedule, it's easy to see why. The Sun Devils play eight games at home, including the first four. You could make an argument for Arizona State to be 7-0 entering an Oct. 27 home game against California. Then comes the meat of the schedule, with road games at Oregon and UCLA and home games against USC and rival Arizona. We have the fine site Pitchfork Nation to thank for sending us this schedule. Below is ASU's poster featuring the team's seniors.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, North Texas, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Irish Player Faces Prostitution Charge

We now know why Notre Dame defensive lineman Derrell Hand was suspended indefinitely from the team Friday by Crewcut Charlie Weis.

The South Bend Tribune reports that Hand was arrested and jailed last Thursday afternoon after allegedly propositioning a female police officer who was posing as a prostitute.

It was all part of a sting operation by South Bend police, and Hand and three other men fell for it. The 6-foot-3, 287-pound lineman, who is entering his junior season, was released from jail after posting a $250 bond.

Hand was expected to compete for a starting spot this fall. Soliciting a prostitute is a Class A misdemeanor.

Michael Rothstein of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette speculates that Hand's future with the team is iffy at best:

"Our best guess is that this will be the last you see of Hand for a while. ... Add to it the embarrassing nature of the crime and he might not return at all."

North Texas Will Be Throwing It Up

North Texas has a new coach with an interesting story. Todd Dodge, who takes over for Darrell Dickey, is making the rare jump from a high school powerhouse (Southlake Carroll) to Division I-A coach. (Division I-A is now officially called Football Bowl Subdivision for some stupid reason.)

Dodge's son, Riley, who is entering his senior season as Southlake's quarterback, switched his commitment from Texas to North Texas after his dad got the new job.

Riley became an Internet celebrity in January, when a video was posted of him barfing during last season's state title game in the Alamodome, which can be seen below. We're not sure who is responsible for the video on the bottom, which attributes Riley's success to his ability to regurgitate.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, Iowa State, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

News & Observer's Giglio Is Talking ACC

Joe Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer was our guest on "Sports Overnight America" on the Sports Byline USA Network early Saturday morning. Besides talking about the league race, we discussed the pluses and minuses of the Atlantic Coast Conference since its raid on the Big East. You can listen to the interview, which is 33 minutes in length, by clicking here. And remember to check out the News & Observer's ACC Now, frankly one of the best newspaper blogs around. They have just started detailed previews of league teams.

A Once-Promising Career Appears Over

Tyrone Prothro's playing career is all but finished. The Alabama receiver, who suffered a grisly compound fracture of his left leg in a 2005 victory against Florida, has been put on a medical hardship scholarship, meaning he is ineligible to play this season.

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban tried to soften the news regarding the fifth-year senior by saying: "We do have a plan to try to further continue [Prothro's] rehabilitation and we're hopeful that he can come back and play football someday. But our medical staff is 99.9 percent sure this is a long-term issue we're dealing with and it would be unusual for a guy to come back. But you can appeal [to the NCAA] down the road if a guy can come back."

The bottom line: Prothro's injury should have never happened. The Crimson Tide held a 31-3 lead over the Gators with under nine minutes remaining when Prothro, who should not have even been in the game, got hurt. And Alabama coach Mike Shula should have known better. In 2004, he lost quarterback Brodie Croyle to injury during a blowout against dreaded Western Carolina.

A tribute to an electrifying player:

Reporters' Notebooks

Jim Reeves, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Josh Patterson, the 19-year-old son of Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson, will be deployed to Iraq in December as a tank driver in the Army's 4th Infantry.

Andy Staples, Tampa Tribune: Florida offensive lineman Ronnie Wilson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of battery and discharging a firearm (in this case, an AK-47 assault rifle) in public. You can hear the audio of the 911 calls from the incident by clicking here.

Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle: Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione on Oklahoma's search for a starting quarterback: "That may be the only question mark they have ... other than what [summer] jobs they're going to work this year."

Donnie Webb, Syracuse Post-Standard: A private developer has approached Syracuse University about building a new football stadium.

Robert Gagliardi, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle: Syracuse has decided to pay $200,000 in order to buy its way out of a 2009 game at Wyoming. "It's just horrible, and it shows no class [by Syracuse]," Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said.

Jim Kleinpeter, Times-Picayune: With a shaky situation at quarterback, Louisiana State coach Les Miles has lifted the suspension of Ryan Perrilloux.

Suzanne Halliburton, Austin American-Statesman: An arrest warrant has been issued for Texas freshman defensive tackle Andre Jones in connection with the armed robbery that landed Robert Joseph, his former teammate, in jail last weekend.

Joe Vardon, Toledo Blade: The Detroit-area gambler at the center of the alleged point-shaving scandal at Toledo was well known by many Rocket athletes, according to former Toledo basketball player Keith Triplett.

Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat: Despite a home schedule lacking in quality opponents outside of Miami, Florida State has sold over 41,000 season tickets.

Iliana Limón, Albuquerque Tribune: New Mexico has sold 12,530 season tickets, about 1,000 tickets ahead of sales at the same time last year.

Dave Curtis, Orlando Sentinel: Former Alabama coach Mike DuBose, now coaching at Millsaps College, wants back in the big time.

Iowa State, Chizik Hit It Hard

Gene Chizik is the new coach at Iowa State, and Cyclone fans have responded by purchasing over 34,000 season tickets, a record for ISU. Nothing will come easy for the Cyclones, whose schedule includes home games against Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma and road games at Big 12 North favorites Nebraska and Missouri.

Poster schedules: Florida State, Wyoming, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Kent State, Navy, Duke, Purdue, Missouri, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Middle Tennessee, Brigham Young, Syracuse, Louisiana Tech, South Florida, Colorado, Southern Mississippi, Washington State, Kentucky, Houston, Toledo, North Texas, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Clemson, North Carolina State, West Virginia, East Carolina, Nevada, Georgia Tech, Florida, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kansas State, Utah, Stanford, Auburn, Northwestern, Iowa, Texas El Paso, Penn State, Ohio, USC.

Double the Listening Pleasure

We have two shows and two great guests lined up for you this weekend on the Sports Byline USA Radio Network. J.P. Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer is scheduled to join us Saturday at 12:10 a.m (Pacific), and we will be talking Atlantic Coast Conference football. You can check out some of his work at the News & Observer's outstanding ACC Now blog.

On Sunday at 10:10 p.m. (Pacific), John Walters of NBC Sports will be our guest, and the topic will be Notre Dame football. John, formerly of Sports Illustrated, has a unique perspective on the Fighting Irish and will offer his opinions on what is expected to be a rather challenging season for Crewcut Charlie Weis' team. Check out his blog at NBC Sports by clicking here.

You can listen to "Sports Overnight America" over the Internet at SportsByline.com, on the American Forces Network, available in 177 countries and U.S. territories and Navy ships at sea, through the Cable Radio Network or one of the Sports Byline affiliates. Give us a call. The number is 800-878-7529.

Bill of Rights for Buckeye Nation

First a humbling loss to Florida in the BCS title game, now this. An Ohio State fan is upset over the Buckeyes' cupcake schedule. Ohio State's cushy road to an 8-0 start begins Sept. 1 at home against Youngstown State (Jim Tressel's former team), followed by a game at the Shoe against Akron. And don't forget that midseason breather against Kent. It can be argued the Buckeyes' first meaningful game will come Oct. 27 at Penn State.

Erik Johns, writing for The Other Paper, Columbus' News & Entertainment Weekly, says the lame schedule shows the need for a new set of rules. Thus, the Bill of Rights for the Buckeye Nation. Among the highlights:

Article I: "The athletic department shall not allow a game against any opponent from a Division I-AA school, regardless of whether the current coach used to work there ... If the coach wants to pay tribute to his former team from a lesser division, he can write a check to the university and leave it at that."

Article II: "The team shall not schedule more than one game per season with an in-state 'rival.' "

Article III: "With the exception of the one in-state game, all other non-conference games shall be played against teams from the SEC, Big 12, Big East, ACC or Pac-10. Notre Dame will be considered for regular-season scheduling once it wins a bowl game."

Article VIII: "After beating up on a hapless squad from the MAC or one of the service academies, the coaches and players shall not make embarrassing post-game comments such as praising the opponents’ toughness or crediting them for 'playing hard for 60 full minutes.' There’s a way to be honest about the quality of your opponents without insulting them."

Article X: "Membership in the Big Ten Conference alone is not sufficient reason for