Akron (MAC)
Arkansas State (SB)
Florida Atlantic (SB)
Houston (CUSA)
Kansas State (B12)
Kentucky (SEC)
Louisville (BE)
Mississippi (SEC)
Rutgers (BE)

For those of you keeping score at home, you'll note that there are nine teams on the list. While its a safe bet that two of these teams might end up being paired up, it looks like the race is on to see who can get to the cupcakes fastest.

WOAI-TV reported Tuesday night that Coker was interested in the job.

"I knew that I wanted to get back in coaching after I left Miami," Coker told the Express-News. "But it would have to be the right opportunity at a school with the right leadership. I see that at UTSA. I think it's a school with great potential. Another plus is that San Antonio is a great city."

Coker, 60, said he sent his resume to UTSA about 10 days ago and talked with athletic director Lynn Hickey by phone last week.

"That's as far as it's gotten," Coker said, adding that Hickey did not indicate whether or when Coker might be interviewed.

I've always thought that Coker - who won a National Championship and three Big East titles at Miami - got a raw deal. His .800 winning percentage is the best in college football history and his teams were ALWAYS in big games.

Coker's not a perfect coach - nobody is - but it would be great to see him back on the sidelines.

With Michigan State out of the club, the only FBS schools that have not played an FCS opponent are Southern Cal, UCLA, Notre Dame, and Washington.

Forty schools won't be play a D-IIA school this season but - sadly - Michigan State won't be one of them.

HT: DaWiz

Joe Paterno received a three-year extension at Penn State.

Todd Graham signed a ten year extension that will keep him at Tulsa through 2018.

Oregon State gave an extension to Mike Riley to keep him on the Beaver sidelines through 2015.

Mark Dantonio's new deal extends him through 2016 at Michigan State.

Utah coach Kyle Wittingham signed a five-year, six-million dollar contract extension.

Minnesota is preparing a contract extension for Tim Brewster, but not everyone is happy about it.

Mike Van Gundy is a man... with a seven-year, $15 million contract extension.

Buffalo's Turner Gill signed his contract extension with the Bulls and will be on the sidelines through 2013... or until he takes a BCS job.

Georgia Tech signed Coach of the Year Paul Johnson to a seven-year extension.

North Dakota coach Chris Mussman received a two-year extension for the Fighting Sioux.

Western Michigan has agreed to a five-year extension with Bill Cubit.

Duke has inked David Cutcliffe to a two-year extension, extending his contract through 2015.

Kevin Sumlin is getting a contract extension at the University of Houston.

More to come in the following days.....

USC starting QB Mark Sanchez suffered a dislocated kneecap during practice and may miss the season opener. Arkansas transfer QB Mitch Mustain (8-0 as a starter with the Razorbacks) will replace Sanchez if he can't go against UVa. Redshirt freshman Aaron Corp is listed as the #3 QB on the depth chart.

Ohio senior OL Mike Eynon hit five of six numbers in Ohio's Mega Millions Lottery, netting $250,000. Had he matched all six numbers, he would have cashed in a cool $34 million. Eynon plans to donate money to his church and invest the rest.

The NCAA has reaffirmed its previous decision and denied Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk's appeals for an additional season of eligibility. Mauk was injured in 2006, prior to transferring from Wake Forest to Cincinnati. He appealed based on his arm injury and was denied. Mauk's second appeal stated that he had been injured when taking a redshirt in 2004, but the NCAA ruled that he lacked sufficient medical documentation to support the injury claim. Mauk may make a run at the NFL as an undrafted free agent or remain with the Bearcats as a graduate assistant.

Former Tiger Ray Ray McElrathbey, who captured the nation's attention for taking on the responsibility of raising his adolescent brother while at CU, will graduate from Clemson this weekend with a sociology degree. McElrathbey, who was dismissed from the team this year in an ugly PR incident, has two years of eligibility remaining and is pursuing his football career and graduate education at Howard.

Rest easy, Buckeye fans. The Ohio State football team has returned to wearing white socks after experimenting with black socks last season, causing a small uprising amongst some of the more vocal OSU traditionalists.

Southern Cal has won a trademark ruling against South Carolina for the right to use the "SC" moniker. The Trojans - who already have the rights to the "USC" name, which they allow the Gamecocks to use - will have exclusive rights to use "SC" logos, prompting South Carolina to rebrand baseball and other jerseys. The Southern Cal case against a Utah high school for using the "USC Trojans" name is still pending.

The Houston Cougars have unveiled new jerseys for this season, with white replacing navy as an accent color on the red jerseys and a return to classic block lettering/numbering style.

While the study takes all recruiting into account (not just college football) it's interesting to contrast who spent what on how successful their efforts are percieved to have been by contrasting them to the Rivals.com college football team recruiting rankings.

College Recruiting Expenses vs. College Football Recruiting Rankings

A few other notables from the top-twenty in spending:

Texas - $1,156,800
Oklahoma - $1,120,800
Georgia Tech - $1,111,900
West Virginia - $1,094,200

Here's a few interesting takeaways from the report:

- Recruiting budgets at the top-twenty spenders repesents just 1-3% of the athletic departments budget.
- 21 schools spent more than $1 million on recruiting.
- USF had the lowest spend among BCS schools at less than $500,000.
- Louisiana-Monroe spent the least in DI-A - $134,300.
- Of the BCS conferences, the SEC spends the most on recruiting ($13,129,700) while the Big East spent the least ($6,125,700).

The complete list of spending by school is online... enjoy.

Here is the explanation from the NCAA's advisory document highlighting the rule revisions:

Face-Mask Foul (Rule 9-1-2-q). There is no longer a foul if any player grabs an opponent’s face mask without pulling, twisting, or turning it. The five-yard penalty has been eliminated. This change does not change the safety aspect of this rule. Pulling, twisting, or turning an opponent’s face mask remains a personal foul with a 15-yard penalty.

I think this is a good revision to the facemasking rule. While some may argue that it leaves too much to interpretation, I don't see a significant difference. Under the old rule, the referees were tasked with determining intent and/or severity. Under the new revision, it's the exact same thing - the referees must determine intent and/or severity.

The key difference will be that under the revision an incidental facemask touch will not alter the outcome of the game and I think any revision that puts the game in the hands of the players/coaches is a good one.

Now... if the NCAA would just do something about cut blocks....

Citing analysis from the Knight Commission, the USA Today article states that BCS conference teams only half as likely to be punished as non-BCS teams for failing to meet the assigned APR minimums.

"The NCAA's heart is in the right place. They want to improve the academic performance of student-athletes," says Nathan Tublitz, a University of Oregon biology professor and co-chairman of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics, an alliance of faculty senates at Division I universities. "But rules are only as good as their enforcement. At the moment, the enforcement seems a bit lax."

Across Division I, fewer than one in three teams with subpar APRs -- 218 of 725 -- were sanctioned in the past year. The percentage fell to 25% in the six power conferences and climbed to 49% in the other five Bowl Subdivision leagues (Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Western Athletic).

Surely the NCAA wouldn't play favorites with the BCS schools... would they? Well... you draw your own conclusions.

Two mid-level universities, San Jose State and Alabama-Birmingham, were docked more scholarships — a combined 23.62 in six sports — than all 65 schools in college athletics' six biggest-name, biggest-money conferences.

...

The Pac-10, for example, saw only three of 14 subpar teams sanctioned (21%) while the neighboring Western Athletic saw 23 of 34 (68%) and the Mountain West 10 of 15 (67%).

OK... now what word do you use to describe penalizing the WAC and MWC three times more frequently than the Pac10? How in the heck does that not make everyone's WTF radars go crazy?

Sunday Morning QB directs us to an article in The State that says the NCAA is handing out golden tickets to the biggest schools because they are willing to throw money at the problem.

Though 218 teams were penalized, losing either a scholarship or practice time, 492 were eligible to be penalized but were not:

- 256 teams were exempted because they represented a "low-resource" institution and could not afford more academic support because of smaller budgets.

- 59, including South Carolina State’s men's basketball program, were left out because of the school's or sport's individual characteristics. One example would be if the team’s APR is above that of the school's general student body.

- 253 teams, including Clemson's men’s basketball, were exempted because none of their players went 0-for-2 -- leaving school early and not being eligible to return.

- 66 schools received a waiver after submitting what the NCAA called an academic improvement plan.

The NCAA didn't release the list of programs that received the waiver, but USC, Ohio State, Indiana and Purdue were among those schools whose teams were mentioned in media reports. Those big-time programs promised the same basic improvements: an academic tutor on road trips, increased tutoring, etc.

((emphasis added))

Ah, yes... the "have's" keep having while the "have-not's" get... penalized.

So... what's a mid-major to do? If a school can't pony up the money to boost academic support and keep atheletes eligible, then it might be time to reconsider FBS (DI-A) membership altogether.

At Boise State, President Robert Kustra also is joining the NCAA board as the WAC's representative and similarly views the league-to-league disparity as a challenge rather than an injustice.

"It may mean (committing) more institutional resources. It may mean a stronger academic support program," he says. "I think each university has to evaluate itself and make the decision whether it can afford the appropriate level of financial support … or whether it needs to self-evaluate and say, 'You know what? Division I doesn't work for us.' The fact is there is Division II and Division III for schools that don't think they have the resources to make their athletes successful in Division I."

And there you have it - no black helicopters or tin-foil hats required.

Perhaps the NCAA is attempting to systematically thin the herd of Division I-A schools, keeping the coffers full and the big dogs well fed. And if that's the case, then the APR is really just (yet) another standard intended to weed out the lower revenue schools, a la the minimum attendance policy (which has yet to be enforced).

And while I wouldn't even disagree with the NCAA for trying to push some teams into the lower divisions -- there are too many DI-As, in my opinion -- if you're going to have minimum standards, you have to apply them fairly, right?

A level playing field for all is the entire basis of amatuer athletics, right, NCAA?

HT: SMQ

Who schedules the most cupcakes? Here's a breakdown of the non-conference schedules for each of the BCS conference teams, with games against FCS schools (ie DI-AA cupcakes) highlighted.

ACC - 14 cupcakes
Big XII - 10 cupcakes
Big 10 - 9 cupcakes
SEC - 9 cupcakes
Big East - 7 cupcakes
Pac 10 - 2 cupcakes

(For reference, here's how it looked in 2004, when the ACC & Big East were Kings of the Cupcakes.)

HT: OU-Ron

Note: I incorrectly noted the FCS acronym in the original post. I have updated it as per your comments. I still have no idea why we can't call the DI-AA the DI-AA, but... I digress.

Quinn, now playing for Montana, was arrested for driving under the influence this week when officers spotted his truck on a mudflap violation.

In the most recent alleged offense, police stopped Quinn just after midnight for a mudflap violation and for making a left-hand turn into the wrong lane, near the intersection of Front and Pattee streets. The officer arrested Quinn on a misdemeanor DUI charge after Quinn refused a breathalyzer and requested a blood test, Ryan said, though neither was administered. Quinn posted bail one hour after he was booked into the Missoula County Detention Facility.

It is the second DUI arrest for Quinn, an all Big Sky conference selection last year, in the past ten months.

Montana has placed Quinn on indefinite suspension, pending a further review of the charges.

((drumroll))

Through the effort of the college football blogs, fans have made cash donations totaling $20,176 to emergency relief efforts of the Red Cross, CARE, and the International Rescue Committee in 60 hours time.

Wow. Just... wow.

And now for the nitty gritty....

Cash donations made by college football fans: $20,176.00

Team Donation Standings: (Team Total Donated - (Smackdowns) = Final Standing)

1. Michigan    $7,260.00 - (0) = $7,260.00
2. Ohio State    $2,550.00 - ($170) = $2,380.00
3. Florida    $1,820.00 - ($100) = $1,720
4. Alabama    $1,075.00 - ($50) = $1,025.00
5. Georgia Tech    $700.00 - ($0) = $700.00
6. Texas    $605.00 - ($10) = $595.00
7. FSU    $470.00 - ($0) = $470.00
8. Oklahoma    $440.00 - ($0) = $440.00
9. Auburn    $455.00 - ($45) = $410.00
10. Virginia    $400.00 - ($0) = $400.00
11. Case Western Reserve    $300.00 - ($0) = $300.00
12. Georgia    $255.00 - ($0) = $255.00
13. Nebraska    $250.00 - ($0) = $250.00
14. SMU    $235.00 - ($0) = $235.00
15t. LSU    $225.00 - ($0) = $225.00
15t. West Virginia    $225.00 - ($0) = $225.00
17t. South Carolina    $200.00 - ($0) = $200.00
17t. UCLA    $200.00 - ($0) = $200.00
17t. Virginia Tech    $250.00 - ($50) = $200.00
20. Tennessee    $150.00 - ($0) = $150.00
21. Boston College    $135.00 - ($0) = $135.00
22. USC    $250.00 - ($119) = $131.00
23. Ole Miss    $125.00 - ($0) = $125.00
24. Mississippi State    $111.00 - ($0) = $111.00
25. Illinois    $101.00 - ($0) = $101.00
26. Notre Dame    $100.00 - ($0) = $100.00
27. Arizona State    $95.00 - ($0) = $95.00
28. Purdue    $55.00 - ($0) = $55.00
29t. Gonzaga    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. Washington    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. Rutgers    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. McGill    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. Emory    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. Middleburg College    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
29t. North Carolina    $50.00 - ($0) = $50.00
36t. Michigan State    $30.00 - ($0) = $30.00
36t. Kentucky    $30.00 - ($0) = $30.00
38t. Arkansas    $25.00 - ($0) = $25.00
38t. Miami    $25.00 - ($0) = $25.00
38t. Texas A&M    $25.00 - ($0) = $25.00
41. Penn State    $20.00 - ($0) = $20.00
42t. Colorado    $10.00 - ($0) = $10.00
42t. Appalachain State    $10.00 - ($0) = $10.00
42t. South Florida    $10.00 - ($0) = $10.00
45. Arizona    $0 - ($20) = -$20.00

Conference Donation Standings: (Net Donation Totals)

1. Big 10 - $9,846.00
2. SEC - $4,276.00
3. ACC - $1,980.00
4. Big XII - $1,320.00
5. Pac 10 - $456.00
6. Big East - $285.00
7. Conference USA - $235.00

As promised, Fanblogs will be sporting the the Michigan Wolverines logo this week in honor of the UM fans.

Again, to all the college football fans, thank you all for your generosity and for making a difference!!!

I still have about 30 donation emails in my box from this afternoon, and I will get them updated ASAP.

Money raised to date: $13,917.00

Team Donation Standings:
1. Michigan - $4,035
2. Ohio State - $2,160 (inc $170 neg)
3. Florida - $1,605.00 (inc $100 neg)
4. Alabama - $505.00 (inc $50 neg)
5. Texas - $480.00 (inc $10 neg)
6. Oklahoma - $410.00
7. Florida State - $370.00
8. Auburn - $330.00 (inc $25 neg)
9t. Case Western Reserve - $300.00
9t. Virginia - $300.00
10. Georgia Tech - $275.00

Lurking: Tennessee, Nebraska, South Carolina, SMU

NOTABLE RIVALRIES:

Michigan $4,035 vs. Ohio State $2,160
Florida $1,605 vs. FSU $370
Alabama $505 vs. Auburn $330
Texas $480 vs. Oklahoma $410
Texas $480 vs. Texas A&M $0
FSU $370 vs. Miami $25
FSU $370 vs Penn State $20
Virginia $300 vs. VaTech $100
Georgia Tech $300 vs. Georgia $55
Oklahoma $410 vs. Nebraska $250
South Carolina $200 vs. Clemson $0
UCLA $100 vs. USC $0

Now... just a reminder... today is RIVAL SMACKDOWN DAY for the Charity Bowl. So... as you make your donations today, please be sure to note if your donation should count FOR your team or AGAINST your rival.

Ready to donate and support your school? The particulars:

1) Make a donation online to the American Red Cross, CARE, or the International Rescue Committee.

2) Email the donation confirmation to kevin@fanblogs.com and state your team affiliation by 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.

3) Results will be displayed at Every Day Should Be Saturday and Fanblogs throughout the week, with the final results shown by Thursday, May 15th.

4) The winning school will have its colors displayed at EDSBS and logo/mascot shown on every page at Fanblogs.

ALL DONATIONS MUST BE IN TO FANBLOGS BY 8PM EDT (5PM PDT) TONIGHT

Money raised to date: $11,116.00

Team Donation Standings:
1. Michigan - $2,985.00
2. Ohio State - $2,305.00
3. Florida - $1,570.00
4. Texas - $480.00
5. Auburn - $355.00
6. Florida State - $350.00
7t. Case Western Reserve - $300.00
7t. Virginia - $300.00
8. Alabama - $230.00
9t. South Carolina - $200.00
9t. Georgia Tech - $200.00
9t. SMU - $200.00
10. Oklahoma - $185.00

Lurking: Tennessee, Nebraska, Va Tech, LSU, Notre Dame

As we mentioned yesterday, today is RIVAL SMACKDOWN DAY for the Charity Bowl. So... as you make your donations today, please be sure to note if your donation should count FOR your team or AGAINST your rival.

Ready to donate and support your school? The particulars:

1) Make a donation online to the American Red Cross, CARE, or the International Rescue Committee.

2) Email the donation confirmation to kevin@fanblogs.com and state your team affiliation by 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.

3) Results will be displayed at Every Day Should Be Saturday and Fanblogs throughout the week, with the final results shown by Thursday, May 15th.

4) The winning school will have its colors displayed at EDSBS and logo/mascot shown on every page at Fanblogs.

ALL DONATIONS MUST BE IN TO FANBLOGS BY 8PM EDT (5PM PDT) TONIGHT

As of 4p -- exactly 32 hours after we started -- we've blown past the $10,000 mark with more donations still to tally. Please, please keep the donations coming in... and get ready for the BIG TWIST that's coming tomorrow!!!!

Money raised to date:   $10,085.00

Team Donation Standings:
1. Michigan - $2,460.00
2. Ohio State - $2,305.00
3. Florida - $1,325.00
4. Texas - $480.00
5. Auburn - $355.00
6. Florida State - $350.00
7t. Case Western Reserve - $300.00
7t. Virginia - $300.00
8t. South Carolina - $200.00
8t. Georgia Tech - $200.00
8t. SMU - $200.00
9. Alabama - $180.00
10. Tennessee - $150.00

Lurking: LSU, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Notre Dame

Updated as of 4p EDT - May 13, 2008

Notably missing from the list? West Virginia, Clemson, Miami, USC, UCLA, Texas A&M, Penn State

Ready to donate and support your school? The particulars:

1) Make a donation online to the American Red Cross, CARE, or the International Rescue Committee.

2) Email the donation confirmation to kevin@fanblogs.com and state your team affiliation by 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.

3) Results will be displayed at Every Day Should Be Saturday and Fanblogs throughout the week, with the final results shown by Thursday, May 15th.

4) The winning school will have its colors displayed at EDSBS and logo/mascot shown on every page at Fanblogs.

The coming "twist": RIVAL SMACKDOWN!!!!!!!

Tomorrow (Wed, May 15th) is our last day of the College Football Charity Bowl and all eyes are going to be focused on the leaderboard. I know there are some fans out there that do not want to see their rival at the top of the board. So... tomorrow is going to be RIVAL SMACKDOWN!!!!!

Tomorrow, you will have the chance to make a donation and choose to credit your donation to your favorite team, or taking your donation off of your rivals board. Your choice!!

The Charity Bowl runs through 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.

Money raised to date:   $3,095.00

Team Donation Standings:
1) Michigan - $1,000
2) Florida - $500
3t) Auburn - $130
3t) Alabama - $130
4t) LSU - $125
4t) Ohio State - $125
4t) Ole Miss - $125
4t) Nebraska - $125
5t) South Carolina - $100
5t) Oklahoma - $100
5t) Mississippi State - $100

Lurking: Michigan State, FSU, Georgia

Conference Donation Standings:
1) SEC - $1,315
2) Big 10 - $1,175
3) Big 12 - $225
4) ACC - $200
5t) Pac10 - $0
5t) Big East - $0

Updated as of 9p EDT - May 12, 2008

Ready to donate and support your school? The particulars:

1) Make a donation online to the American Red Cross, CARE, or the International Rescue Committee.

2) Email the donation confirmation to kevin@fanblogs.com and state your team affiliation by 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.

3) Results will be displayed at Every Day Should Be Saturday and Fanblogs throughout the week, with the final results shown by Thursday, May 15th.

4) The winning school will have its colors displayed at EDSBS and logo/mascot shown on every page at Fanblogs.

The Charity Bowl runs through 8pm EDT on Wednesday, May 14th.