Now that USC is returning Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy, it seems like everyone is jumping on the NCAA violation bandwagon. The biggest accusation at the moment involves Florida first round draft pick Maurkice Pouncey who has been accused of accepting $100,000 from a NFL agent before the Sugar Bowl. If he is found guilty, Florida could be forced to forfeit the Sugar Bowl giving Cinci an undefeated season.

Hmm…first he resigns, then he’s back…sound familiar Pete Carroll?

The NCAA is also taking a look at tight end Wesley Saunders who may have joined players from UNC (also under investigation) in a trip to Florida funded by NFL agents.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to stave off the NCAA dogs, Alabama is looking into a party thrown by NFL agents which was attended by Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus. Same party? I don’t know. Whatever the case, Alabama coach Nick Sabin hit it on the head when he said,

What the NFL Players Association and the NFL need to do is if any agent breaks a rule and causes ineligibility for a player, they should suspend his (agent’s) license for a year or two,” Saban said. “I’m about ready for college football to say, ‘Let’s just throw the NFL out. Don’t let them evaluate players. Don’t let them talk to players. Let them do it at the combine.’ If they are not going to help us, why should we help them?”

I’ve got to agree with him. If the agents don’t play by the rules, get them out of the picture.

But wait, that’s not all. Florida and Ole Miss are both in trouble for violating Facebook etiquette. Apparently it’s against NCAA rules for coaches to post comments to recruits Facebook page and that’s exactly what they did. Both are “secondary violations.”

Facebook violations…did I just say that?

Finally, in case you missed it, Michigan’s Brad Labadie, director of football operations, has resigned taking the fall for the NCAA’s investigation into the UM football program. Supposedly Labadie was responsible for keeping better records than he did. Funny, I thought Rodriguez was all about burning players records.

The latest word in the conference expansion chaos is that Texas is making a commitment to the Big 12 effectively shutting down the Pac 10s dreams of a 16 school expansion. Chris Brown of Orangebloods.com, who seems to be the most accurate voice of late, is reporting that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has come up with an offer that might put a cork in the re-expansion floodgates.

According to Brown, Beebe has secured a television deal that could nearly double current revenues for the Big 12 schools. The 10 schools of the Big 12 will also divvy approximately $20 million in penalties paid by Nebraska and Colorado for flying the coop. Finally, and this might be the clincher for Texas, individual schools will be free to pursue their own television networks. According to Brown, this could amount to another $3-$5 million for Texas–not an option of Texas joins the Pac 10.

With Texas back at the Big 12 table, that leaves Texas A&M. Apparently Texas A&M does have an invite from the SEC and did have enough votes to make the move. However, according to Brown, the dissenting voices were loud. No question Texas A&M was worried about losing their long-time rival to the Pac 10. However, if Texas stays put, the Big 12 offer may be too much to turn down.

Collective Sigh
I’m not counting on anything until the dust settles but I surely hope that this puts an end to expansion talks — at least for now. Conference realignment is something that can affect college football for years and this was all happening way to fast. Beebe may have just taken the gun off the table and given everyone a chance to breath. At the very least, Notre Dame owes him big.

Other than Notre Dame, I don’t see much advantage in the Big 10 going to 16 –at least not with the names getting batted around. (Rutgers, Maryland, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Boston…did I miss any?)

Name Game
Not that it needs to be said but if all goes through, the Big 12 will have 10 schools and the Big 10 will have 12. Do we just swap names and call it even Oh, and it looks like Utah will join Colorado and head for the Pac 10, another aptly named 12 team division.

Finally, I hope Colorado’s travel budget is in order. With the Big 12 staying in tact, they’ll only need to travel half-way across the country to play in their division.

It’s official. The Nebraska Board of Regents just passed a motion to apply for membership in the Big Ten. Now, it’s up to the Big 10 to accept the application. Unless Notre Dame has some sort of amazing pull on the Big Ten, let’s welcome the Corn Huskers.

Motion passed unanimously.

(I’m watching the meeting on live feed so no outside sources to link to at the moment. You’ll have to take my word for it)

Update
They’re taking a few questions now but press conference scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (Nebraska time)

Update
It’s official. Big Ten has accepted Nebraska to the division. Nebraska begins Big Ten play 2011 season.

Al Joad: Ain’t you gonna look back, Ma? Give the ol’ place a last look?
Ma Joad: We’re going’ to California, ain’t we? All right then let’s go to California.
Al Joad: That don’t sound like you, Ma. You never was like that before.
Ma Joad: I never had my house pushed over before. Never had my family stuck out on the road. Never had to lose everything I had in life.

Colorado announced yesterday that they will be joining the Pac 10 effectively bringing down the house of cards that has become the Big 12. With the announcement comes this morning’s story on TMZ that Oklahoma State will also head west to the Pac 12.

And as we all await Nebraska’s announcement this afternoon that they will join the Big 10, expect the rest of the Big 12 South to fall into place following their predecessors down the mother highway to the land of milk and honey.

Although Missouri (who apparently hasn’t heard from the Big 10) has pipe dreams of holding the Big 12 together, don’t count on it. Don’t worry Missouri…it will all be over soon.

Although it is all speculation at this point, it seems all but certain that Nebraska will announce their intent to join the Big Ten tomorrow. This could be the trigger that leads to the implosion of the Big 12, the explosion of the Pac 10 and a complete restructuring of college football. And while I could once again attempt to sort through the implications of a move by Nebraska, the Columbus Dispatch does a good job of it here, Orangbloods.com’s Chris Brown talks about it here and there’s an interesting proposal for four regional football (although a pipedream) here.

In the meantime, there’s other big football news today coming out of the Pac 10.

USC facing two-year post-season ban and loss of 20 scholarships
Wow. The NCAA handed down their penalties yesterday after improprieties regarding Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. According to the LA Times, USC football will be banned from Bowl play for the next two years and lose 20 scholarships. And that’s just the football program. No word yet on basketball penalties. I guess we know now why Pete Carroll was so quick to get out.

Hey Seantral, how’s Ohio State looking now?

Makes you wonder what the NCAA has in store for Michigan?

Masoli out at Oregon
So much for the triple double secret option. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has been kicked off the Oregon football team for good. Masoli was suspended earlier this year after being charged with robbery. He got in trouble again leaving Oregon coach Chip Kelly no choice but to drop Masoli from the team. A tough decision (or maybe not) for Kelly but glad to see him do the right thing. Like Blount, Masoli had his chance. Unlike Blount, he blew it.

Buckeye football ranked second academically in the Big Ten
You hear that Michigan? The Columbus Dispatch is reporting this morning that Buckeye sports are up all around academically with the football program falling second only to Northwestern.

Although improved, it looks like the basketball program still has a little work to do.

The Big 12 dominoes are stacked and it looks like Nebraska may be the first to fall. According to the Omaha World-Herold, Nebraska could announce that they’re joining the Big 10 as early as Friday. The World-Herold reported yesterday that an “executive at a Big 12 school” told them Tuesday evening that Nebraska would be announcing their intentions soon.

The World-Herold went on to say that although they couldn’t confirm the announcement with NU all signs point to Friday:

“NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman has declined all interviews about conference realignment and expansion. He is expected to address the topic with the Board of Regents at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.

Direct confirmation from Nebraska of a conference change for the Huskers wasn’t immediately available. Sources at two other Big 12 schools told The World-Herald that their athletic directors have instructed them to be ready by week’s end for a briefing on probable Big 12 changes.

Nebraska A.D. Tom Osborne offered implicit confirmation Tuesday night that the timetable on national conference realignment has been accelerated.”

In an earlier post, I said that conference realignment would come down to whoever was first to jump. At the time, I was thinking that the first move would come down to an offer to Texas from either the Big 10 or the Pac 10. I hadn’t considered the impact of Nebraska leaving first. If Nebraska leaves for the Big 10, that will make the Pac 10’s offer to the entire Big 12 South all that much more attractive.

The Dallas Morning News adds to the story pulling from Rival.com’s interview with Chip Brown on ESPN radio yesterday. According to Brown, Nebraska moving to the Big 10 could have a big impact on the Notre Dame factor. According to Brown, conversations between the Big 10 and Notre Dame have been “hot.” It looks as though the Pac 10’s love letters to The Big 12 South is forcing Notre Dame to wake up and smell the coffee.

As much as Notre Dame likes to believe they are the be all and end all of college football, if Nebraska goes to the Big 10, the Big 12 South has that much more incentive to head west to the Pac 10. With the Big 10, the ACC/Big East, and SEC all turning into 16 team divisions, Notre Dame is suddenly starting to realize that they may not have a date for the prom. No matter how much Notre Dame likes to believe that big wins over Army and Navy justify a shot at the national championship, it just won’t hold up in the world of super conferences.

In an attempt to hold on to their glory days, Brown says that Notre Dame has told the Big 10 that if they join the division, they want the expansion to stop with Notre Dame and according to Brown, the Big 10 has agreed.

So (granted this is all accurate), if Notre Dame joins the Big 10, Nebraska stays in the Big 12. It also means that Missouri stays in the Big 12 and for the most part, the Big 12 North stays in one piece–much less incentive for Texas to bail out taking it’s friends in the south with it. However, if Notre Dame says no to the Big 10, then chances are the Big 12 get’s decimated.

Given a choice, I like the idea of Notre Dame joining the Big Ten and it all stops there. Notre Dame is a natural fit for the Big Ten both geographically and historically. It would also be a lot of fun to see the Buckeyes pummel Notre Dame on an annual basis. If the cards do fall, there’s nothing wrong with Nebraska. A team full of corn-fed boys playing hard hitting football fits pretty well with the Big 10. However, I’m not overly excited about filling out the 16 with the Big East. Once again, we may find ourselves struggling to justify strength of schedule in the Big 10.

However, if we do go to super conferences of 16 teams, I would think the impact on the BCS system would be huge as a playoff system would naturally fall into place. Problem is, what do you do with the Boises and other non-super conference schools that want to make a run at it?

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting this morning that they have obtained emails between Ohio State President Gordon Gee and Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany in which they discuss adding Texas to The Big 10. While it is no secret that the Big 10 has been eying Texas for some time, the emails provide an interesting insight into the soon to be changing world of college football.

According to the Dispatch article, Gee had spoken to University of Texas president William Powers and that there was interest in talking to the Big 10. The emails discuss money, branding and what was termed by Gee a “Tech problem.” And although the Dispatch wasn’t able to confirm what Gee meant by a “Tech problem,” it appears that Texas Tech may not meet the academic standards desired by the Big Ten.

Academic standards…wow, leave it to President Gee to keep college athletics somewhat grounded in academics.

No question the addition of Texas to the Big 10 would make for some serious college football. Bringing Texas into the mix would mean that the Big 10 (or whatever we call it) will include the two largest schools in the country with the two most financially lucrative athletic programs in the same league (yes, I’m talking about Ohio State and Texas).

And then there’s the Pac 10
Not to be left out of the fun, Rivals.com is reporting that the Pac 10 may try to jump the gun by offering expansion opportunities to Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado. Along with the offer comes a new Pac 10 television network which means big revenues for the schools involved.

Bob Condatta of the Seattle Times and ESPN’s David Ubben take it a step further this morning suggesting that a full blow merger between the Pac 10 and Big 12 may be in order.

Whatever the case, if the Big 10 doesn’t move quick, the Pac 10 will. The power of restructuring will be determined by the first to the jump.

The money brought in by the Big 10 Network is one of the advantages of joining The Big 10. According to the Rivals.com article, the BTN brings in about $20 million per school. If however, the PAC 10 could bring in Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado, just think of the instant audience and massive revenue of the affiliated “Pac 10 Network.”

To be honest, although I’ve been trying to keep up with all the possible league changes, I’m losing track. Chip Brown, who wrote the Rivals.com article, breaks it down much better than I. He rejects Gee’s optimism regarding Texas and breaks it down like this:

So the Big Ten continues to focus on Notre Dame and is seriously considering whether to invite Missouri as well as three schools from the Big East (Rutgers, UConn and either Syracuse or Pittsburgh) . Such a move would likely collapse the Big East, where Notre Dame plays its sports other than football, and might cause the Irish to finally acquiesce to joining the Big Ten.

If that happened, there would be a strong likelihood that four super conferences of roughly 16 teams could emerge: the Big Ten, the SEC, a collaboration of the Big 12 and Pac-10 as well as a collaboration of the Big East and ACC.

Whatever happens, college football is about to change–forever. It may not happen this year (although it could) but it’s going to happen soon. Leagues like the Big 12 may be left in the dust as the Big 10, Pac 10 and SEC become massive, revenue producing football powerhouses. If it has to happen, I’d much rather see Texas in the Big 10 than schools from the Big East. Nothing like the potential rivalry with St. Petersburg Bowl Champion Rutgers.

Back in the early days of the Big Ten Network, I used to write on this blog how I hated the BTN. At the time, my hatred was based on the frustration of the availability of Buckeye broadcasts. Now that the BTN has made almost all games available, a revaluation may be in order because the success of the BTN may forever change the world of college football that I so dearly love.

Reason #425 why I will never be a Florida sports reporter

Always Remember the Rules of Gator Fight Club:
Rule #1: You do not talk about Tim Tebow

Rule #2: You do not talk about Tim Tebow

Rule #3: If someone says something that could be implied as talking about Tim Tebow, it’s over.

Rule #4: When someone says stop, or goes limp, even if he’s just faking it, the fight is over.

Rule #5 Only two guys to a fight.

I could go on but you get the point. Apparently Jeremy Fowler, a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel, implied on his blog that Florida wide receiver Deonte Thompson broke Rule #1 when he said:

“Things are going to get better here in the future. Any receiver would be happy. You have a guy like (John) Brantley throwing the ball, spreading it around to everybody….You never know with Tim. You can bolt, you think he’s running but he’ll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything’s with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback.”

In the blog post, Fowler went on to explain that Thompson, who didn’t quite produce the receiving results he had hoped, was saying that the almighty Tim wasn’t a “real quarterback.”

To make matters worse, Fowler’s colleague at the Sentinel, Mike Bianchi, joined in breaking Rule #3 and #4 along with Rule #1 and #2.

Naturally, as the leader of the Urban Meyer Club, Urban Meyer is quick to pounce on anyone who violates Rule #1 least bit rules #2, #3, and #4. Fowler just happened to be the one to show up at practice Wed. When Myer saw him, he was quick to point out that Folwer had violated the rules and that if he did it again, he would be banned from Gator Fight Club forever.

Not only did Meyer express his concern over the flagrant rules violation, he physically threatened Fowler telling him, ““If that was my son [Thompson], we’d be going at it right now…be very careful.” For good measure, he added that Fowler was a “bad guy.”

Naturally, since Bianchi wasn’t on the receiving end of Meyer’s threats, Bianchi continued the discussion no his blog today.

Finally, ESPN posted the memo released by the Florida Athletic Dept. regarding their new media policy.

I especially like this gem from the revised style guide:
Terminology – Tim Tebow / Our Lord and Savior

And this rule regarding press conferences:
DO NOT: Look Coach Meyer in the eye.

I’m I the only one who thinks there’s something wrong with this?

The New York Times is reporting that Seantral Henderson has not signed his letter of intent (USC) and will not until USC faces the NCAA later this month to discuss possible violations.

As late as yesterday afternoon, Henderson’s father was telling reporters that even though he was sitting in a television studio in New York, he still hadn’t narrowed his choice beyond his original six.

Let’s step back for a moment and consider what happened yesterday. You’ve got an 18 year-old-kid facing what is got to be the biggest decision in his entire life. In what has become a national feeding frenzy, he’s been thrust into the spotlight and constantly badgered about the outcome of his decision. Coaches are recruiting him hard. Fans and reporters are speculating. If he so much as blinks, it is front page news.

Then you’ve got CBS and their quest for ratings. They fly the kid and his family to New York, put him on national television and tell him, “Decide Now!”

This is messed up.

Don’t think so? Watch that video above. Is it just me?

I normally don’t write much about the recruiting process. As a former teacher, I’ve seen a number of kids go through this on various levels. While it is a very exciting time in a young athlete’s life, it’s not always the best thing for the student, especially if they are facing academic difficulties. It takes a strong personality to withstand the impact of being told at a very young age that you are better then others, that your future is important enough that we want to televise it nationally. Some handle it well. Others, well, let’s just say it’s an abnormal situation.

And don’t think that it just happens during the senior year. I once had two students pulled from an 8th grade class, a special education class for children with emotional/discipline problems mind you, because Joe Paterno was at the high school next door recruiting and wanted to meet them.

As a Buckeye fan, yeah, I get caught up in it. I want to see Henderson go to Ohio State. The kid is huge, quick and talented. Just think of the lanes he could open and the protection he could provide. At the same time, we need to step back and let him make the decision that’s best for him and that may be exactly what he’s doing.

On Tuesday, I spoke to SI.com’s Kristian Dyer who told me, “I don’t think Seantrel has even decided on a final three yet, let alone make a decision. He’s got a strong support network and I know he is regularly talking about it with his father, Sean. When a decision is made, it won’t be a knee jerk – it will be solid.”

What we saw yesterday was a knee jerk decision brought on by fans and the media. He has until April 1 to decide. We all need to step back and let him.

Besides, we all know that in the end he’ll make the right choice. When he does, we will welcome him as a Buckeye.

Up until just a few hours ago, chances are you’d never heard of Gerret Gilbert. And why would you? As the freshmen back up to Colt McCoy, he’d racked up a mere 124 yards passing and 11 yards rushing. Chances are he expected little more from his trip to Pasadena than a visit to Disney World and a great sideline seat for the BCS championship game.

Little more then ten minutes into what might have turned into a dominating Texas victory, Gilbert suddenly found himself standing behind a really big football player about to handing him the ball. Three or so very conservative plays later, his running backs failed to punch it in settling instead on a field goal and Texas was on the board.

Not to take anything away from Alabama but I think it’s safe to say they are lucky McCoy got knocked out so early. Through most of the first quarter, the Texas defense was absolutely smothering. Alabama also got off easy after throwing an interception on a botched fake punt and then standing back and watching as Texas smothered a kickoff to regain the ball deep in Bama territory. Alabama managed to hold  Texas to field goals on both turnovers but it may have been a much different situation with McCoy at the helm. (McCoy went out shortly after Texas intercepted the fake punt.

I also can’t believe that the impact of losing McCoy didn’t have an impact on the Texas defense. As the realization of what had happened settled in, Alabama took to the ground scoring 24 unanswered points in the second quarter.

I would love to know what happened in the Texas locker room during the half. Did Coach Brown give the speech of a lifetime? Did McCoy pull his team together? Whatever happened, it worked. Texas held Bama to 0 yards in the third quarter (or at least until the last 39 seconds), Gilbert found his passing arm and with only 6:15 left in the game, Texas had pulled to within three points. Not only that but the freshman quarterback threw a beautiful two point conversion in the process.

But then, just as it looked like Texas could pull it off, just as Herbstreet pointed out that the offensive line had protected Gilbert and that he hadn’t been sacked all night, the kid got blind sided from behind giving up the ball on the three yard line. Bama punched it in on their third attempt with only two minutes left.

Gilbert threw another interception which the Tide converted for six but at that point it really didn’t matter. Although the score may show a commanding Alabama win, it was anything but. Texas played a great game and it was disappointing to see them lose in the way they did.

Random Thoughts

How about the post game interview with McCoy. Talk about the words getting stuck in your mouth. He eventually pulled himself together and in his Texas drawl said something about faith and a big rock. The injury sounds strange. Says he can’t feel his arm, like it’s dead. Kind of scary stuff.

What’s with the crowd chanting “SEC.” Please. You almost got your ass handed to you by a freshman quarterback. Give it a break.

Thursday night BCS Championships Blow I’ve been saying this for a while but seriously, these weeknight bowl games have got to go. I’ve tried to watch at least three bowl games this week and I don’t think I’ve made it through an entire game without falling asleep yet. Thank goodness for DVR.

College football needs to end on New Year’s Day. By this point, the BCS Championship feels like an after thought. It would be one thing if it were a playoff situation but it’s not. The only people still watching are Texas/Alabama fans and a handful of college football fanatics. And to be honest, without the drama of McCoy, this fanatic wouldn’t have been nearly so interested in the game.

I was in Phoenix for both Ohio State BCS Championship games and what a difference a week made. Granted the move to Glendale didn’t help but with the Florida game, it felt like we were in the way. The excitement of the Fiesta Bowl was gone, locals were back to work and for the most part, it felt like the game was just another traffic jam. I can’t believe a BCS post Rose Bowl didn’t have the same effect.

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