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Jordan Jefferson Doing What he Does Best: Kicking Others While They're Down

2012-02-10T05:31:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that some here at DC World Headquarters believe there's a ~~decent~~ significant chance Jordan Jefferson personally threw the BCS national championship game for some unknown sum of money. Speaking with an Atlanta radio station on Thursday, Jefferson placed the blame for the loss on the game plan (someone please send him the game film). You can check out the details here, but here's a few quick notes from the interview:

In the interview, Jefferson said, "there was a lot of things that we should've did different to catch a rhythm on offense." Yes, I couldn't agree more. #1 thing HE should've done different was tuck the ball and run on the option at least once to force the Alabama defense to bite on the QB. Instead he just pitched the ball every time without even making an effort to make the defense think there was a remote possibility he'd keep it. This left his running back 4 to 5 yards deep in the backfield every time before he could even turn the corner, with 4 Bama defenders about to jump his ass.

"Jefferson felt LSU didn't make the right adjustments during halftime to come out for the second half." I agree, once again. What Les Miles should have done was go make a public announcement at the 50 yard line ~~asking~~ begging for someone to come play quarterback. Jefferson looked absolutely dumbfounded and lost in the second half. It was as if he couldn't believe what was happening while simultaneously playing like he'd never worn the uniform before.

The LSU coaching staff definitely deserves the bulk of the blame, but Jefferson doesn't get any passes in my book. The defense did everything humanly possible to keep the Tigers in that game, and they succeeded much of the way. Jefferson's inability to find momentum on offense can't be overshadowed by the play calling. Jefferson failed to correctly read the defense and make adjustments at the line. You could see the anxiety and complete lack of confidence every time he touched the ball. You can't attribute that to the game plan. That's the result of an unprepared quarterback. Jefferson ended the interview saying this was a tough learning lesson for LSU and he believes they'll be back in the BCS title game next year. That's one thing Tiger's fans will like to hear. Another thing they'll like to hear? That Jefferson won't be back next year.

(Photo: Bostonglobe.com)

Fans Want Paterno Back on the Stagg-BLANK Trophy

2012-02-10T05:18:00.000-05:00

We have a new frontrunner for the Least Surprising Story of 2012: Penn State fans want Joe Paterno's name back on the Big Ten Championship trophy. John Teck posted a petition on Change.org urging the conference to restore Paterno's name to the hardware, writing:

"In the after math of the Sandusky scandal, the Big Ten Conference unjustly removed Joe Paterno's name from the championship trophy. In light of JoePa's recent passing, the Big Ten Conference should restore his name to its rightful place along side Alonzo Stagg on the Championship trophy. Paterno led an incomparable life, dedicated to athletics, education, and charity. His mantra "Success with Honor", and the success of his "Grand Experiment" exemplify all that is good and right in athletics and life. His contributions to Penn State and collegiate athletics are immeasurable, and his coaching record will never be surpassed. The Big Ten must honor Joe Paterno by restoring his name to the Big Ten Trophy at once."

Once the petition reaches 106,572 virtual signatures, that's the capacity of Beaver Stadium, not the amount of kids Jerry Sandusky raped on Paterno's watch, it'll be forwarded to Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney.

I think we all expected this to happen eventually, and with public sentiment inching back in Paterno's favor after his death last month it makes sense to push for it immediately. As a nation we have a habit of lionizing people after they die and only remembering the good things they did. Al Davis was an insufferable asshole for three decades but when he died this season the NFL acted like he cured leprosy. Michael Jackson may have systematically molested kids for like 22 years but when he died Columbia released concert footage and it made $261 million in theaters. Ron Goldman was a contestant on Fox's Studs but when O.J. cut his head off everyone just talked about what a nice guy he was to bring Nicole her glasses. I get it.

Penn State fans may never be able to fully restore Paterno's name, but the least they can do is try to restore it on a trophy.

Penn State fans: click here to sign the petition.

(Photo: Orlando Sentinel)

The Best $20 Million WVU Will Spend This Year

2012-02-10T05:17:00.001-05:00

In a move that should be surprising to absolutely nobody, the Big East and West Virginia have reportedly reached a deal allowing the Mountaineers to bolt for the Big 12 immediately. A day after CBS Sports announced a deal was imminent between the school and the Big East, the Charleston Daily Mail reports WVU will pay the Big East $20 million to leave the conference.

Here's the tab if you're scoring at home:

- WVU paid the Big East a $5 millon exit fee when the deal was announced in October
- WVU will pay the Big East an additional $11 million
- The Big 12 will pay the Big East the remaining $9 million
- WVU will pay Florida State $500,000 for pulling out of their scheduled September meeting

The Big East is actively working to hook Boise State a year early to fill the scheduling/prestige hole left by the Mountaineers, and with this precedent set Pittsburgh and Syracuse will likely be gone after next season.

All in all this is a good move for everyone involved. West Virginia gets to move to the Big 12 and get dickstomped by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Big East gets rid of a potentially cancerous program that didn't want to be there, gets a cool $20 million, and has enough time to make a serious play for the Broncos to move early. Everybody avoids spending their summer in courtrooms in Providence (or spending any time anywhere in Providence for that matter). Florida State gets $500,000 to help offset their players' legal fees. We get to stop writing about this every three days. Or, as Michael Scott would say, Win-Win-Win-Win-Win.

Another Day, Another Chadima Accuser At Wisconsin

2012-02-10T05:17:00.000-05:00

Guess the helmet is there to protect him from his reputation crashing down around him...

Two weeks ago the University of Wisconsin was confident that John Chadima groping a male subordinate was a "one-time lapse in judgement" that had already cost the former Assistant AD his job. That's clearly not the case. The UW Police Department confirmed Thursday that they're investigating another Chadima accusation from an "adult male," bringing the total to three overall and two this week. The first two accusers declined to press criminal charges, and the UWPD was still unaware if that trend would continue. Dane County's District Attorney is now extremely involved in the case since the most recent allegations center on conduct in Madison, and the county and school have set up tiplines for other potential victims to report abuse by Chadima.

After everything we saw at Penn State and Syracuse this year it'd be naive or downright moronic for anyone to think this is going to stop anytime soon. The day this story broke we said it'd get a lot worse before it got better. We're getting there.

(Photo: NBC26)

Tuesday Tip Drill (On Thursday)

2012-02-09T15:47:00.001-05:00

Since the season ended Jimmy and I have had a little bit of trouble keeping our calendars in order without college football to center us on Saturday, so we're having trouble remembering to do the Tuesday Tip Drill on, umm, Tuesday. For alliteration purposes we're running it today. And every other week we forget. You guys get a full refund for Tuesday, but let's do this anyway.

Brendan's Question:
Last October, the NCAA approved a measure allowing and supporting four-year scholarships for student-athletes, which many Big Ten schools supported last week. Since this is an awesome idea and a win for student-athletes 82 schools immediately signed an override petition. Official voting on the measure begins next week, and it will require resistance from 222 of the 355 Division I schools to override the decision. I'm on the record saying four year scholarships are a great idea. What do you think? Can you provide any rational justification for opposing this other than schools not wanting to commit the money to students? Should schools that can't afford four year rides for their players even be competing in Division I anymore?

Jimmy's Answer:
Let's make it official: yes, I think 4 year scholarships are the right thing to do. It's hard to believe it's taken this long for this to happen, and I'm actually somewhat surprised it is happening considering the "business" state of college football. I really don't see how the opposition can rationally think they have an argument. We've made the same statement on a variety of topics the past few months: it's about the players. They're going to school to get an education first, play football second. Their primary role is NOT to bring in $$$ for the school based on their on-field performance, and nor should they be denied the opportunity to graduate because they don't pan out as expected. I can completely understand revoking a scholarship for academic reasons, legal issues or violation of team/NCAA rules. Allowing coaches to not renew a scholarship based on performance transfers all of the risk to the student-athlete. The Dodd article you linked cites Boise State as saying, "there is never a guarantee that the incoming student-athlete will be a good fit for the program and the institution." Guess what, you're the adults and it's up to you to judge that up front. It's up to you to take on the risk of choosing who to recruit and who not to. If you pick a genuinely bad person, he'll most likely end up being processed out of the system for other reasons anyway. As for the money? Yes, if you can't afford to offer 4 year scholarships to your players then you have no business competing at the DI level. Honestly, I don't buy that for a second. You're still going to have kids that get kicked off the team, transfer to another school or leave early. If a player isn't turning out as expected, he'll end up in the coach's dog house. How many kids do you think will just sit there and be like "oh well I'm just going to ride this out." Yeah, right. We hear about kids transferring for lack of play or not fitting into a system all the time. This won't change that.

Jimmy's Question:
We've already begun to see the impact conference realignment can have on football schedules. The Texas-Texas A&M rivalry vanished into thin air as a result, and many other rivalries could be right behind it. The ACC's recent expansion will result in teams only being allowed to schedule three non-conference opponents. In an effort to prevent such a thing from happening to the South Carolina-Clemson rivalry a state representative has put forth a proposal that would force the two schools to play each year. 1) Does this proposal have any chance of becoming a law? 2) If it does, what kind of precedent is being set by allowing COLLEGE football schedules to be dictated by law? Where do we draw the line?

Brendan's Answer:
Normally I'd say there's no chance that this thing gets passed, but this is the same state that started the Civil War and just overwhelmingly elected Newt Gingrich in the Republican primary, so I guess nothing is really off the table with them. Theoretically South Carolina could force the schools to play since both are public universities, and I'm sure they could put language in there to withhold some funding from each for failing to schedule each other, but there's really no chance that that happens. The real question we need to ask is, if we can't or won't do it by law, how do we keep rivalries intact after conference realignment destroys them? We've already lost Texas-Texas A&M, Pitt-West Virginia, Missouri-Kansas, and Oklahoma-Nebraska, and that's just in the last year and a half. As the SC spokesman quoted in the article said, athletic directors and coaches need to decide schedules, so we need to incentivize keeping rivalries intact to these key players. As long as the postseason system punishes teams that aren't Alabama for one loss there's no reason for these schools to play each other when they can schedule a mid-major or FCS pushover, so we really need to kill the BCS to bring these rivalries back from the dead. If we institute a playoff system that rewards conference champions (which are decided by conference results only), then teams will be more likely to schedule quality non-conference opponents and rekindle rivalries that never should've been lost in the first place.

Then again...we've seen politicians waste their time with worse.

(Photo: Who cares it's hilarious)

Good Thing the Senate Isn't Wasting Their Time Fighting About Realignment...Nevermind They Are.

2012-02-09T06:48:00.000-05:00

I don't think any of us are proud about the amount of time and attention we've devoted to covering conference realignment over the last few months, but at least it hasn't distracted us from our day jobs. The same can't be said for the United States Senate, whose day job just involves insignificant bullshit like being the most deliberative political body in the world and controlling domestic and foreign policy for the most powerful nation on earth.

Last October, the Big 12 briefly quit openly buying double shots for West Virginia and ran some game on Louisville, leading The New York Times to speculate that the Cardinals would be joining the league rather than the Mountaineers. A majority of the lobbying for Louisville was apparently done by UL-grad and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who worked closely with two former Congressmen that now run Big 12 universities. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin released a scathing statement condemning McConnell, and called for a full Senate investigation into "whether politics is interfering with our college sports." Good thing the economy and Afghanistan are awesome and these guys have nothing more important to worry about.

We all know how it turned out. Louisville is staying in the Big East and West Virginia is suing everybody they can to leave early and cancelling non-conference games to accomodate a Big 12 schedule. Time for everybody to shake hands and play nice, right? Of course not. McConnell and Manchin still won't talk to each other and are basically lobbying like 12 year-old girls to keep the other from accomplishing anything or getting re-elected. Democracy everybody!

You know what, I take that back. Twelve year-old girls would've squashed their beef by now. Hopefully these jackasses can do the same. Or find new jobs next November.

If Virginia Tech Doesn't Give This Kid A Scholarship...

2012-02-09T06:47:00.000-05:00

...I'm gonna slap Frank Beamer in the face.

The kid in the picture is Dan Rodriguez, a Virginia native and Army veteran who has one major goal in life: to play football for the Hokies. The Post Game has a great feature on Rodriguez, who joined the Army three weeks after his father (a veteran) died of a heart attack, and was highly decorated and wounded during combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since leaving the Army Rodriguez has enrolled in community college, and is working out daily to regain the size and skill he had as a receiver, safety and returner at Brooke Point High School in Stafford.

Rodriguez' story has drawn national attention from authors, media personalities and veterans' advocacy groups, who have all pledged support to get him noticed by coaches at the Division I level. VT's Frank Beamer has seen his recruiting video, and had some positive comments about Rodriguez, but as of now hasn't seriously recruited the former two sport star.

Frank, you gave Marcus Vick a scholarship and the ACC is weaker than a crack baby's heartbeat. Give the kid a shot man.

Click Here for the full story, Dan's training schedule, and his recruiting video.

(Photo: Dan Rodriguez, via The PostGame)

Why Doesn't the Big East Just Buy Conference USA?

2012-02-08T02:51:00.000-05:00

The Big East's ongoing effort to keep its football head above water will continue in 2013, when the Memphis Tigers join from Conference USA, a move that should be confirmed by the school later today. This news comes on the heels of, and likely as a reaction to, speculation that if West Virginia's lawsuit against the conference succeeds then Pittsburgh and Syracuse will leave a year early (they were scheduled to go in 2014). Bringing Memphis in would still leave the Big East with 11 football teams that season, so expect Navy's move to be accelerated as well since the league is dead set on getting to 12 teams and a title game.

If you're scoring at home Memphis will become the ninth Conference USA team to depart for the Big East since 2005. The conference lost founding members Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida (as well as non-football members DePaul and Marquette) when the Big East expanded that year to replace Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech. The Big East has already secured 2013 moves from Central Florida, SMU, and Houston, which leaves Conference USA with only eight football teams that season. ECU has repeatedly and publicly petitioned to join the Big East, so if there are snags with the Naval Academy the Pirates could be a potential 12th school for the Big East (which would all but ensure the Conference USA & Mountain West merger that was rumored this fall).

As we said in last week's Tip Drill, the Big East will remain operational and relevant as long as they maintain their BCS AQ status, because the BCS card will always allow them to poach from non-AQ conferences. The league has little else to offer in terms of TV contracts and football revenue sharing, so if there are any major changes to the BCS in 2013-2014 they will undoubtedly be the first league to crumble. Until then the nonsensical realignment free-for-all will continue.

(Photo: Memphis Roar)

HOOAH: Army Moves Spring Game to Fort Benning

2012-02-08T02:50:00.003-05:00

It seems like confetti was raining down on Alabama and Jordan Jefferson's family was being released by the captors that blackmailed him to historically suck in the title game just yesterday, so get ready for a shocker: spring football starts next Monday. While some schools wait until March or April to hold their allotted 15 practices and spring game, others must start extremely early due to academic schedules. One such school is Army, which will begin practice on February 13. The early start would be a story in some years, but this year the focus on Army's spring practice is the finish: March 9th at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Since 2001, Army has made a concerted effort to connect the Academy and the football team to soldiers in the field, and this is one of the smartest moves the program has made. Fort Benning has long served as the "Home of the Infantry" for the Army, as well as one of five basic training sites. Army players will attend basic training graduation and tour infantry museums and training facilities while in Georgia, before playing their annual Black/Gold Game in the base's Doughboy Stadium.

You guys know our stances on the NCAA (negative), and service academy football (positive), but this is a win for everybody involved, so Bravo Zulu to USMA football for coming up with it, and the NCAA for not shitting all over it like they normally would.

Note: We didn't forget about the Showtime docu-drama A Game of Honor, which spent a year inside the Army-Navy football rivalry. Unfortunately the network aired it in the middle of bowl season, so we had way too much to write about in December to cover it. We'll have a full review of the movie this offseason.

(Photo: U.S. Army)

The Patrick Witt Timeline is as Scrambled as Pulp Fiction

2012-02-08T02:50:00.000-05:00

Patrick Witt's decision to skip his Rhodes Scholarship interview for the Yale-Harvard game was lauded at the time, then completely eviscerated in the media when The New York Times claimed his application was pulled after another student accused him of sexual assault. The Times article alleged that Witt knew about the allegations and intentionally misled the public about the true nature of his failed application, but according to a recent story in the Yale Daily News that may not be the case.

This thing is already way too complicated and layered to write anything rational about it (that's why I pulled my Rhodes application), but Deadspin has a full timeline that explains what everyone allegedly knew, and when they knew it. Basic recap: Witt's application was still active for the bulk of the media coverage about it, it was inactive before the Harvard game, he didn't necessarily lie to anyone about it, he may or may not have sexually assaulted someone, and he doesn't go to Yale anymore.

His coach though? Still full of shit.

(Photo: GoodMenProject.com ...honestly don't know if that's a joke)

The Wisconsin Scandal is a Criminal Investigation Now

2012-02-08T00:50:00.001-05:00

Last month we brought you the story of Wisconsin's John Chadima, an Assistant Athletic Director who resigned after allegedly groping a male subordinate at the school's hotel before the Rose Bowl. More details from the school emerged Tuesday, including a claim that when Chadima's accuser initially resisted him his defense was, "I thought you were gay," then threatened to have him fired. I thought you were gay? What the hell does that have to do with anything? If he thought a woman was straight would he walk up and smack her on the ass? Can I just grope women on the bus today since sexual preference is automatic consent now?

Moving on...there were no criminal charges in Pasadena or Madison when the story originally surfaced, and the California victim still hasn't pressed charges, but in the grand tradition of college athletics sex scandals the witch hunt is on.

The school recently received at least one more allegation against Chadima, which it deemed credible, and is now urging anyone who has similar incidents to report to come forward. School officials, university police, and the Wisconsin legislature have all take an active and vocal role in the investigation this week, with multiple state representatives calling for a full review of Chadima's entire tenure in Madison. With the Sandusky and Fine cases fresh in everyone's memory Wisconsin officials are scrambling to acknowledge the seriousness of these accusations and investigate all of them. Even if the investigations fail to turn up a shred of a new evidence this is the kind of law enforcement and public relations offensive that all schools will need to go on in the future when they deal with these issues. Penn State and Syracuse started behind the eight ball due to the horrific nature of the accusations against Sandusky and Fine, but each school's failure to act immediately created massive headaches in the aftermath. Wisconsin is wisely acting to try to prevent the same in Madison.

(Photo: Madison.com)

Change of Heart for the Big Ten

2012-02-07T17:31:00.001-05:00

The Big Ten conference, and commissioner Jim Delany, in particular, has been touted as one of the biggest resistors to a playoff system for years. That seems to be changing. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that, after a significant drop in ratings for the BCS title game this year, the conference has had a change of heart. Their plan is to remove the top four teams from BCS bowl consideration and throw them into a plus-one scenario, where the semifinal games would be played on the campuses of the higher rated schools. Instead of rotating the national championship game between the current BCS bowl sites, the game would be bid out just like the Super Bowl.

While I can't take credit for the higher seed semifinal home games, which makes perfect sense from a financial standpoint, I DID propose removing the teams in the playoff from the BCS picture altogether in Jimmy's Playoff Scenario. You're welcome, Big Ten. As I stated back in December, I like the idea of keeping the current BCS bowl match-ups while removing the top teams from consideration in favor of a playoff. This allows traditional match-ups to occur while also giving us what we all want to see: the top teams competing in a plus-one scenario for the national championship.

Of course, you can't help but read between the lines and see what the Big Ten is trying to do. In hoping to get a team in the #1 or #2 spot, it would force an SEC or Pac-12 foe to travel to Ann Arbor or Columbus in December. And if they end up #3 or #4? Playing Florida in Gainesville isn't that much worse than facing the Gators in Jacksonville. Whatever, I can deal with it. The Big Ten has done worse (Leaders and Legends, Jerry Sandusky, to name a few). There is one proponent to this novel idea: Michigan AD, Dave Brandon. Brandon feels no matter what you do you're going to have people complaining. Well, yes, that's true, but right now everyone is complaining for A PLAYOFF. We'll will never be in complete agreement on the setup, but A PLAYOFF is better than what's currently in place.

While the start of a new college football cycle in 2014 is still two years away, the article points out that a new system is expected to be approved this coming fall. On top of the playoff discussions, major players will also be considering instituting a 7 win requirement for post-season play and moving the national championship closer to New Year's. Both are great ideas and should pass without a problem after the 2011 bowl fiasco. As for the Big Ten's hopes, does anyone honestly believe the Badgers could have beaten the Tide if they'd played in Madison last December? I didn't think so, but at least the conference is finally warming up to the playoff discussion.

(Photo: Lost Lettermen)

Schools on the Winning Side of the Super Bowl

2012-02-07T16:47:00.000-05:00

I'm sure the last thing Brendan and the rest of you Pats fans want to see is anything associated with the New York Giants, but we wouldn't be doing our DC fans justice if we didn't point out where the current Super Bowl Champions played their college ball. The names below are based on the depth chart listed on NFL.com, so this isn't the complete roster. It's important to note that the conference association for each of the schools is based on the 2011 season and does NOT account for the current realignment fiasco. Of the names listed, only 5 come from non-FBS programs - four of which are from FCS schools while one is representing all of Division II (Dave Tollefson, NW Missouri State).

Within FBS, only one came from an independent (Justin Tuck, ND) while the non-AQ conferences were represented by 10 players. As for the AQ conferences, the Big 12 had 2, Big East - 4, SEC - 6, ACC - 8 and Big Ten - 13. The Pac-12 was not represented by the names listed, which is hard to believe considering the flood of talent coming out of USC for the past decade you'd think every NFL roster contained at least one former Trojan. Several schools contributed multiple players, but you'd never guess the two tied with the most. Hailing from the Sun Belt and ACC conferences, respectively, Troy and Boston College each had three former players get crowned as Super Bowl Champions on Sunday night. Congrats to the Trojans and Eagles: that's about the only thing you can brag about for the foreseeable future.

OFFENSE
Name	Pos.	School
Mitch Petrus	OG	Arkansas
Chris Snee	OG	Boston College
Will Beatty	OT	Connecticut
Kevin Boothe	OG	Cornell
David Carr	QB	Fresno State
Bear Pascoe	TE	Fresno State
D.J. Ware	RB	Georgia
David Diehl	OG	Illinois
James Brewer	OT	Indiana
Brandon Stokley	WR	LA-Lafayette
Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	Marshall
Victor Cruz	WR	Massachusetts
David Baas	C	Michigan
Mario Manningham	WR	Michigan
Devin Thomas	WR	Michigan State
Hakeem Nicks	WR	North Carolina
Jake Ballard	TE	Ohio State
Stacy Andrews	OT	Ole Miss
Eli Manning	QB	Ole Miss
Kareem McKenzie	OT	Penn State
Henry Hynoski	FB	Pitt
Brandon Jacobs	RB	Southern Illinois
Jerrel Jernigan	WR	Troy
Travis Beckum	TE	Wisconsin

DEFENSE
Name	Pos.	School
Michael Coe	DB	Alabama State
Mathias Kiwanuka	OLB	Boston College
Linval Joseph	DT	Eastern Carolina
Tyler Sash	DB	Iowa
Corey Webster	DB	LSU
Kenny Phillips	SS	Miami (FL)
Antrel Rolle	FS	Miami (FL)
Greg Jones	MLB	Michigan State
Prince Amukamara	DB	Nebraska
Brian Williams	DB	NC State
Dave Tollefson	DE	NW Mo. State
Justin Tuck	DE	Notre Dame
Jimmy Kennedy	DT	Penn State
Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	South Florida
Jacquian Williams	MLB	South Flroida
Michael Boley	OLB	Southern Miss
Deon Grant	SS	Tennessee
Aaron Ross	CB	Texas
Rock Bernard	DT	Texas A&M
Osi Umenyiora	DE	Troy
Chris Canty	DT	Virginia
Derrick Martin	DB	Wyoming

SPECIAL TEAMS
Name	Pos.	School
Will Blackmon	PR/PK	Boston College
Steve Weatherford	P	Illinois
Lawrence Tynes	K	Troy

(Photo: bossip.com)

Signing Day is Out of Control

2012-02-07T08:35:00.000-05:00

This isn't gonna be a curmudgeonly attack on signing day, I'll save that shit for Skip Bayless, but I couldn't go the whole week without addressing this Richie Brown thing. Last year Isaiah Crowell turned heads when he announced his intention to play at Georgia by showing up with a bulldog puppy in a Georgia sweater. With that in the back of their minds many in the media predicted more animal related announcements this month, and ESPN's talking heads openly pondered what would happen if kids brought tigers and alligators to high school gyms. Seriously. At least they weren't talking about Tim Tebow.

Long Beach, Mississippi State linebacker took the prop cake this year when he skipped all those four-legged, lower half of the food chain dwelling chumps and announced his college pick with a human effing being. Really. He dressed his brother's infant nephew in a Mississippi State outfit and unzipped his hoodie in front of a crowd that cheered wildly and probably traumatized the little dude so much he's gonna grow up into a serial killer or something.

Future recruits, please, knock this shit off. Sign your letter, put on your hat, hug your mom, and shut up. Bad things happen when you celebrate like you won something before you ever lift a weight on campus. Don't act like these guys and end up looking like this.

(Photo: Yahoo!)

Penn State Weekly Update

2012-02-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

We skipped the Penn State update the last couple weeks because even the people in the town where they found bin Laden were probably getting live coverage from State College. Here's what you missed while Joe Paterno's passing dominated the headlines. Bright side: at least we don't have to hear anything as ridiculous as this anymore.

Deadspin: Brent Musberger had a troublingly accurate prediction about Joe Pa in 2008.

Slate: Article on the appropriate way to mourn Paterno given everything we learned this season.

Grantland: And another one from a Penn State fan.

New York Times: The surprisingly huge legal implications of Paterno's death on Sandusky's trial.

Full video and transcript of Phil Knight's ridiculous speech that Jimmy wrote about.

Twitter: CBS fired the guy that erroneously reported Paterno's death...although in his defense, he was only like 6 hours early. Can't hate on a dude for being punctual.

ESPN: Jerry Sandusky "learns" names of his accusers, because unlike mall Santas he didn't ask the kids' names before they sat on his lap.

Washington Post: At least he's getting an out-of-county trial where nobody knows him.

Penn Live: These guys' stories have more holes in them than Lindsay Lohan's forearms.

There Is No Chance WVU Plays in the Big East This Year

2012-02-06T06:46:00.001-05:00

I don't care what the courts say. I don't care what the leagues say. I don't care what the schools say. There is a zero percent chance West Virginia will ever play another game in the Big East. ZERO. The Mountaineers haven't made their intentions secret, filing a lawsuit to leave the Big East before the season ended, trashing the conference at every opportunity, and painting the Big 12 logo all over their athletic facilities, but their latest move may be the most revealing. The Mountaineers have cancelled their September 8th game at Florida State, and the only possible explanation is scheduling conflicts with their new conference.

WVU needed the FSU game to fill their calendar if they were playing an 8-game Big East schedule. Playing a 9-game Big 12 schedule would leave the Mountaineers with one extra game, so they logically dropped the Seminoles instead of pushover opponents Marshall, Maryland, and James Madison, who will still meet WVU in September. Look, there is absolutely no logical explanation for this scheduling move, this late in the game, if the Mountaineers aren't going to the Big 12, so you can take it to the bank, put it on the board, or whatever else obnoxious SportsCenter anchors are saying these days. The Big East will have their day in court, but the Mountaineers are gone.

Note: FSU will need to replace WVU on their schedule with another Big East opponent, and Pitt/Syracuse are the current frontrunners since they're both bound for the ACC (the Seminoles already have in-state Big East foe USF on their schedule for September 29).

In Related News: Regardless of how the WVU lawsuit turns out Boise State has no plans to join the Big East a year early because they don't want to screw the Mountain West over. What a concept.

(Photo: Deadspin)

Hate All You Want: Cassanova McKinzy is the Smartest Person in America

2012-02-06T06:46:00.000-05:00

Birmingham, Alabama linebacker Cassanova McKinzy had narrowed his decision down to Clemson and Auburn before signing day, and made national headlines when he signed with Auburn because Clemson "had no Chick-fil-A on campus" when he visited. Everyone immediately jumped all over him and started blasting him for making his decision based on such a ridiculous factor, so I have to ask them all: have you ever had Chick-fil-A??? It's fucking amazing. AMAZING. This is the best decision any 17 year-old has made in the history of decisions or 17 year-olds. If I could go back to my senior year in high school and had scholarship offers to Harvard or a school with Chick-fil-A on campus I'd be in Alabama so fast your head would spin. Forget going to class or practice. Chicken biscuit for breakfast. Like 8 original chicken sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Brushing my teeth with polynesian sauce and strawberry milkshakes before bed every night. Getting blacked out every Saturday so I slept right through Sunday and didn't have to deal with their whacked out Christian asses locking up for 24 hours. Repeat if desired.

That said, there's literally a Chick-fil-A right in the middle of the Clemson campus, so maybe this kid actually is as stupid as someone named Cassanova likely would be. No chance the kid who took him around on his recruiting trip doesn't get cut for this. None.

(Photo: Black Sports Online)

Highlight Monday: Oklahoma WR Ryan Broyles

2012-02-06T00:02:00.001-05:00

Ryan Broyles played for Oklahoma and he was really good at catching footballs and running with them and then he got hurt and it was sad. Whatever. The Patriots lost the Super Bowl and I hate sports. Just enjoy your stupid highlights.

(Photo: TSM Interactive)

Bret Bielema Needs to KCCO

2012-02-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

There's no crying in baseball! Or college football, for that matter. I guess Bret Bielema never got the memo. Just hours after the dust had settled on National Signing Day, the Wisconsin coach was complaining about the recruiting tactics used by Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. During his press conference on Wednesday, Bielema hinted that Meyer had used "illegal" tactics to woo recruits away from other Big Ten schools (namely his). He had even more to say when speaking with Sporting News on Thursday, complaining that Meyer had not honored the Big Ten's "gentlemen's agreement" of not going after verbal commits within the conference. Much of this probably stemmed from the fact that Bielema watched one of his former commits, highly sought after offensive lineman Kyle Dodson, sign with the Buckeyes instead of the Badgers on Wednesday.

On Friday, Meyer and AD Gene Smith defended OSU's recruiting methods and reaffirmed they had done nothing illegal. Meyer's response matched the fire and intensity with which he tackles recruiting: “You’re pissed because we went after a committed guy? Guess what, we got nine guys who better go do it again. Do it a little harder next time.” In other words, he was telling Bielema to "sit down, son." This notion that once a recruit announces a verbal commitment he becomes off limits to other Big Ten coaches is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard come out of a coach's mouth. It's funny how quick Bielema is to forget that he himself was guilty of such crimes back in 2010 when he snatched an Iowa commit after a visit during the Ohio State game. I guess it only matters when you're the one stuck with the short end of the stick.

Don't worry, not everyone in Wisconsin buys into this nonsense. Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, whom Bielema asked to contact B1G commissioner Jim Delany about Meyer's tactics, had this to say of the situation when speaking with ESPN's Joe Schad: "Recruiting is recruiting until they sign. If we had somebody who changed their mind and came to us, that's okay. Urban was very aggressive but there is no pact within the conference not to continue to recruit. It's open season until they sign." Nothing like being indirectly called a whiney little bitch by your boss in a public statement, eh Bret?

As if Bielema's false and unjustified accusations weren't bad enough, he went on to say, "I can tell you this, we at the Big Ten don't want to be like the SEC - in any way, shape or form." Sorry Wisconsin fans, but it looks like you're stuck with a coach who's content on losing Rose Bowls instead of winning national championships. As for the other 11 coaches in the conference, I'm sure they'd prefer if Bielema chose not to speak on their behalf for the foreseeable future. The Big Ten has been virtually non-competitive in post season play and absent from the national championship picture for years. It all starts with recruiting, and Meyer understands its importance. Despite the grumbling this year, you're going to see more B1G coaches get in line behind Urban Meyer than Bret Bielema on this one.

Bottom line, aggressive recruiting is what changed the game in the SEC and it all started with Urban Meyer. Remember, he's the one who began the SEC's dominance of six straight national championships. Had Meyer not been successful in swaying any recruits we wouldn't have heard a peep. Had the Buckeyes gone with anyone other than Meyer we wouldn't have heard a peep. The fact of the matter is Urban Meyer is one of the top recruiters in the country. When you put him with a program like Ohio State in late November, of course there are going to be kids who change their minds. Throw in a child sex abuse scandal at Penn State and NO ONE should be surprised that he found 4 guys who'd be willing to call Columbus home instead of State College.

After two days of Bielema engaging in school yard banter, things appear to have finally calmed down. Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald stated the B1G coaches have reached an understanding after Friday's coaches meeting at conference headquarters. Regardless of the outcome and whatever takes place over the next few months, don't expect to see Bielema and Meyer get all chummy at the 50 yard line during warmups on November 17th.

(Photo: Bleacher Report; Ethan Miller, Getty Images)
(Quotes: Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com)

Les Miles Isn't a Huge Gunner Kiel Fan

2012-02-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

We already told you about Gunner Kiel, the flip-flopping QB prospect who committed to Indiana and then LSU before his mom made him go to Notre Dame last month, but we hadn't heard any official reaction from the Tigers program. We have now. Les Miles used a press conference about his recruiting class yesterday to tell the world how he feels about his lost QB, stating "We needed a quarterback in this class. There was a gentleman from Indiana that thought about coming to the Bayou State. He did not necessarily have the chest and the ability to lead a program. Just so you know."

Boom.

Good thing Gunner broke down and went to school close to mommy, because he's probably crying on her shoulder tonight after the mean things that man said about him.

I'm guessing the next round of LSU fan photoshops won't be as friendly.

(Photo: Tiger Droppings)

Jim Tressel's Going Back to School

2012-02-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

Only six weeks after receiving a five-year "show-cause" punishment from the NCAA for his violations at Ohio State Jim Tressel is returning to college football. Tressel's punishment banned him from coaching without meeting stipulations, but said almost nothing about serving in an administrative capacity. In the grand NCAA tradition of bending every rule so you don't have to break them the University of Akron has hired Tressel as the Vice President of Strategic Engagement.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer Tressel the coach can still assist Tressel the executive, so expect him to have a very active role in the Zips football program immediately after beginning at Akron on May 1.

Jimmy's the resident Buckeye fanatic at DC World Headquarters, so I'll leave the in depth analysis on this to him. Until then, pack your lunch, tie your boots up tight, and hope you don't get in a fight...

(Photo: ESPN)

Big Ten Ups Scholarships to 4 Years for New Recruits

2012-02-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

Are you sitting down? Are you drinking coffee? Grab a chair and spit that out because I've got a shocker for you: the Big Ten is making a change to football scholarships that actually makes sense for kids and helps them get an education. Novel idea right?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer and ESPN both reported yesterday that at least nine schools in the conference have done away with one-year renewable scholarships in favor of guaranteed four-year rides for their new incoming recruits. The four-year scholarships are obviously dependent on players remaining on the team and meeting academic standards, but they still provide a better security and safety net than the one-year renewables that have become the norm in college sports. One-year renewables allowed coaches to run players off the team in favor of more talented athletes, leaving them stuck at school without a way to pay for their education or pushing them into the regulation abyss of Division I transfers. This change guarantees that kids who chose a school this week will receive the same commitment from their chosen schools, and will have the opportunity to finish their education if they hold up their end of the bargain on the field and in the classroom.

We've ripped on the Big Ten, and the NCAA in general, for instituting ridiculous policies that take advantage of student-athletes, so we need to give credit where it's due. This is a tremendous change for college football and the NCAA should make immediate changes to make four-year scholarships mandatory for all incoming student-athletes. If your school can't afford four-year rides for all your sports then move to Division II.

Thanks to Brendan Flynn for the tip.

Here's the Saddest Thing You'll See This Week

2012-02-02T08:42:00.001-05:00

"Anybody know where I can get an official FCS runner-up shirt in XXX-Large? BearKatGear.com? Cool! Thanks guys! I'm gonna go take a bath with my toaster now."

(Photo: BearKatGear.com)

Alabama Falls Ass Backwards Into Top Recruiting Class

2012-02-02T08:28:00.002-05:00

Alabama brought in 2012's top recruiting class yesterday, and they resurrected their time honored tradition of having smokebombs in short skirts post incoming faxes on the big board. Well, technically a radio station did, because an unnamed SEC school complained about the girls Saban used last year and ruined it for everybody. More pictures and a surprise after the jump...

GET IT OFF ME!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to Auburn!

2012 National Signing Day Coverage

2012-02-01T21:53:00.001-05:00

National Signing Day is probably the day most of you look forward to most between the end of the season and the start of spring practice. Today came and went without too much drama, with the exception of Kevin Hart's HUGE announcement. Wondering how your school made out? DC brings you the Top 25 recruiting classes from three media sources. In addition we've also included the Top 10 recruits from those same sources and where they're headed next fall. You'll notice some significant differences between the rankings below. One thing is for sure: ending the season #1 worked out pretty well for Nick Saban on the recruiting trail.

Top 25 Recruiting Classes

	ESPN.com	Rivals.com (Yahoo!)	MaxPreps.com (CBS)
1	Alabama	Alabama	Alabama
2	Florida State	Texas	Texas
3	Texas	Florida	Ohio State
4	Florida	Ohio State	Michigan
5	Georgia	Stanford	Florida
6	Ohio State	Michigan	Florida State
7	Clemson	USC	Miami (FL)
8	Michigan	Florida State	Oklahoma
9	Notre Dame	Miami (FL)	USC
10	Miami (FL)	Oklahoma	Stanford
11	Oklahoma	Auburn	South Carolina
12	LSU	UCLA	Clemson
13	USC	Clemson	LSU
14	Stanford	Texas A&M	Texas A&M
15	Texas A&M	Oregon	California
16	South Carolina	LSU	Virginia Tech
17	Auburn	Tennessee	Notre Dame
18	Oregon	South Carolina	UCLA
19	UCLA	Georgia	Oregon
20	Texas Tech	Washington	Georgia
21	Tennessee	Virginia Tech	Tennessee
22	California	Notre Dame	Auburn
23	Washington	Rutgers	Rutgers
24	Rutgers	Nebraska	Washington
25	Virginia Tech	California	Virginia

How much do coaching changes affect recruiting? Not as much as you'd expect. Just over half the schools listed above have hired a new coach in the last 3 years.

4 schools with a first year coach: Ohio State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Rutgers
4 schools with a second year coach: Florida, Michigan, Miami (FL), Stanford
5 schools with a third year coach: Florida State, Notre Dame, USC, Texas Tech, Tennessee

I'd argue that Ohio State ended higher than it would have under fired coach Jim Tressel (and most of you SHOULD agree). Rutgers lost their coach a week before signing day and still finished no lower than 24, the only current (and former 2011) Big East team to crack the top 25.

The SEC (surprise, surprise) made out best among the AQ conferences, placing 7 teams in all three rankings, while the Pac-12 is right on their tale with 6 teams. Along with the Big East (one team), the Big Ten and Big 12 struggled to represent, each only placing 2 teams. The ACC (4) snuck in at 3rd with 4 teams and can only hope the boost in recruits will translate to more success on the field in the very near future.

Top 10 Recruits

	ESPNU 150	The Rivals 100	MaxPreps 100
1	Mario Edwards, DE *Florida State*	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR *Missouri*	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR *Missouri*
2	Johnathan Gray, RB *Texas*	D.J. Humphries, OT *Florida*	Gunner Kiel, QB *Notre Dame*
3	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR *Missouri*	Mario Edwards, DE *Florida State*	Noah Spence, DE *Ohio State*
4	Noah Spence, DE *Ohio State*	Shaq Thompson, DB *Washington*	Mario Edwards, DE *Florida State*
5	Keith Marshall, RB *Georgia*	Johnathan Gray, RB *Texas*	Shaq Thompson, DB *Washington*
6	Landon Collins, S *Alabama*	Jonathan Bullard, DE *Florida*	Ellis McCarthy, TE/DT *UCLA*
7	D.J. Humphries, OT *Florida*	Eddie Goldman, DT *Florida* State	John Theus, OL *Georgia*
8	Davonte Neal, ATH *Undecided*	Stefon Diggs, WR *Undecided*	Andrus Peat, OT *Stanford*
9	Andrus Peat, OT *Stanford*	Noah Spence, DE *Ohio State*	Johnathan Gray, RB *Texas*
10	Eddie Goldman, DT *Florida* State	Jameis Winston, QB *Undecided*	Landon Collins, S *Alabama*

(Photo: foxsportsflorida.com)