Mocking Mallett

Nothing against Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, but this video mocking his current mode of transportation is flat out funny stuff. In all honesty, this is the same way the 'Eye got around Columbus during his undergraduate days — all seven years.

(HT: LSUfreek)

Big Ten gets more serious about expansion

While it comes as no surprise, the Big Ten has hired a firm to investigate the potential of possible expansion partners.

Spending big dollars to consultants seems to be the way of big-time athletics. But is it really necessary? Do Big Ten officials really need to spend millions for a consultant to tell them Rutgers has no football history (other than playing the first game ever), but it is near NYC?

A few interesting revelations that came out of the story are that Notre Dame remains an unlikely decision, that Texas isn't even mentioned among the initial 15 schools and that commissioner James Delaney may make a recommendation to the Big Ten presidents this summer.

Certainly the Pac-10 will follow suit soon. So where's the Big East and commissioner John Marinatto?

Podcast: Episode 60

We've been away from the podcasting airwaves for two weeks and it shows as Phil and Tom drone on for more than 40 minutes about college football. OK, we think it's pretty interesting as we dissect USC's issues with the NCAA and what might happen to the Trojans (does anyone else think the NCAA brass wouldn't mind sticking it to USC just for hiring Lane Kiffin?).

We also turn our attention to the escalating ticket prices at some of the nation's top programs, including Ohio State, which plans to raise single-game tickets to $70 in 2010. Since it's February and we can, we also make our way-too-early prediction on who'll play in the BCS Championship next season. We also can't avoid talking about the ban on eye-black messages (thanks Tim Tebow and Terrelle Pryor) as well as what might happen with Big Ten and Pac-10 expansion. Enjoy another show from Phil and Tom.

How will the Big Ten grow?

Everyone just assumes whoever the Big Ten invites to join the cash-rich conference will just jump. But that may not be accurate.

Notre Dame is still a longshot and probably out of reach. It was also a stretch to consider Texas and the Longhorns are in a pretty strong position and will more than likely remain put (or maybe consider a jump to the SEC one day).

So of course the most likely choices are Nebraska and Missouri from the Big 12 or Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers from the Big East. Look, Rutgers jumps right now. Missouri probably does the same. But is Rutgers or Missouri really the splash Jim Delany is looking for by moving the Big Ten to 12 teams?

Nebraska is better and possible. But Syracuse and Pitt aren't necessarily guaranteed to bolt the Big East for the bigger dollars of the Big Ten.

After recently speaking with a Syracuse source, he said Orange coach Doug Marrone does not support a move and would consider it a big mistake. And a recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review makes some valid points as to why Pitt should stay put as well. One key reason is the increasing intensity of the Backyard Brawl.

Now is the time for the Big East to seek new members. What are you waiting for Commissioner Marinatto?

Full-blown, super conferences

Just when we thought we were being edgy with our suggestions for a new Super 8 conferences realignment, Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples took it a step further.

Staples' suggestion that the top 64 money-making college football programs leave the NCAA and create four CASH Conferences is appealing. Especially when I see the conference makeups ... who doesn't love seeing WVU in the SEC with Louisville, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. All four conferences have 16 teams and somehow the ACC still blows.

TCU is the only mid-major to make the top 64 teams (sorry Boise State and Utah). This will never happen, but I'm glad to see others thinking of ways to improve the current system that doesn't always include a playoff. Good job, Mr. Staples.

Classic recruiting: Herschel Walker

This Herschel Walker video has been making the rounds today.

I first saw it at Dr. Saturday's Yahoo blog and then again at CollegeFootballTalk.com. Now I'm pretty sure Danny Ford bought Herschel the Camaro, but what could he do about it?

It's interesting to note that recruiting was crazy, even back in the 1970s and '80s. The video is courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

So who's next? Terry Hoage?

Will anyone in the SEC ever score again?

File it in the "old guys are still in charge" file, but the NCAA wants to crack down on taunting.

If passed, players who draw flags for taunting gestures on their way to a touchdown would have the penalty assessed from the spot of the foul, taking away the score.

Listen, I get it. Taunting is the act of immature young males, hopped up on testosterone and psyched into oblivion by shirtless, chest-thumping assistant coaches. (Okay, that might only be Ed Orgeron.) Regardless, how in hades is a referee supposed to make this call? It was tough enough to make this call with a 15-yard penalty, now you're going to take away a touchdown?

The new rule won't go into effect until 2011, so make sure to get all your taunting in early this year, guys!

Super 8 - conference realignment

Last week we presented what we think is a plausible playoff scenario that both the 'Eye and the 'Eer could live with. Well after giving it some more thought, and starting to like our idea even more, we wanted to take it step further.

Instead of using the BCS, we propose consolidating the current 11 conferences (and three independents) into the Super 8 conferences. The three losers are the Mountain West, Sun Belt and Western Athletic conferences -- stop the griping now because it makes the most sense when you see how everything shakes out. Also, no institutions are allowed to remain independent (suck it Notre Dame and NBC).

Some decisions were made because they made geographic sense, while others were the best fit for the conference. There was also an attempt not to make a Super Conference or two so everyone can compete on a level playing field in recruiting as well as for TV contracts (ESPN should love this set up). Every conference has 14 teams except Conference USA, which is too big (18 teams) and clearly the weakest conference (Fresno State and Troy are the top two), but the teams will have a brutal conference schedule and the champion would make the playoffs.

With the Super 8 conferences, a 16-team playoff is a realistic expectation and teams that don't win their conference still get a shot at the National Championship.

The Mid-American Conference is the least impacted of all with just the addition of Army from the independent ranks, while the ACC (Central Florida and East Carolina) and SEC (Southern Mississippi and Tulane) landscapes each welcome two additional schools.

The Big 10 is the big winner with the strongest newcomers-- Notre Dame, Nebraska and Missouri. The Big East has the biggest growth spurt from eight teams to 14, however two of the new teams are currently in the conference in all other sports but football. Villanova and Georgetown upgrade from FCS teams and play in the North Division, while the South adds Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Memphis and Navy.

The Big 12 is also reshaped by adding Air Force, Colorado State, Houston, Rice and TCU. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State also move to the North to balance the power. The Pac-10's growth includes one from the Big 12 (Colorado), one from WAC (Boise State) and two from the MWC (BYU and Utah).

Give us another week and we may want to make some additional tweaks, but today this is how we would like to see the Super 8 conferences take shape. Take a look below and let us know what you think.

ACC
Atlantic
Boston College
Central Florida
Clemson
Florida State
Maryland
North Carolina State
Wake Forest

Coastal
Duke
East Carolina
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
Virginia
Virginia Tech

Big 12
North
Air Force
Colorado State
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State

South
Houston
Rice
Baylor
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Tech

Big East North Cincinnati
Connecticut
Georgetown
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Villanova

South
Florida Atlantic
Louisville
Marshall
Memphis
Navy
South Florida
West Virginia

Big Ten
East Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Penn State
Wisconsin

West Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Ohio State
Purdue

Conference USA
East
Arkansas State
Florida International
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana Tech
Middle Tennessee State
North Texas
Southern Methodist
Troy
Western Kentucky
Tulsa
UAB

West
Fresno State
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
New Mexico State
San Diego State
San Jose State
UNLV
Utah State
UTEP
Wyoming

Mid-American
East
Akron
Army
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Kent State
Ohio
Temple

West
Ball State
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Miami (Ohio)
Northern Illinois
Toledo
Western Michigan

Pac-10 North Boise State
BYU
Oregon
Oregon State
Utah
Washington
Washington State

South
Arizona
Arizona State
California
Colorado
Stanford
UCLA
USC

SEC
East
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Tulane
Vanderbilt

West
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Southern Mississippi

What is Marinatto/Big East waiting for?

What the hell is Big East Commissioner John Marinatto waiting for?

He's new to the job, but just five years after Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami bolted for the ACC, the Big East is sitting idly by as the Big Ten and Pac-10 announce each is looking to expand in the next year.

Marinatto should immediately announce the conference is forming a fact-finding group that will look at expanding the Big East to 12 teams. He should also assure everyone that the group will do everything it can to retain all current members, since the Big East may be raided once again by the Big Ten.

Rutgers, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are all considered potential expansion partners with the Big Ten, especially if Big Ten commissioner James Delaney and his fact-finding group decide expanding to 14 teams is a better idea.

So Marinatto needs to be proactive and start thinking of the long-term sustainability of the Big East football schools. This could prove beneficial as he hopes to keep any Big East schools from listening to the Big Ten's overtures.

Remaining idle now will just increase the bashing by those who see the Big East as nothing more than a basketball conference.

There are a number of excellent options for the Big East ... elevating Villanova and Georgetown and adding Memphis, East Carolina, Central Florida or Navy is just one of them. But instead of just looking at the Big East we will soon present a proposal of going to eight Power Conferences.

Hopefully it will be more forward thinking than anything the Big East has to offer us.

Podcast: Episode 59

Back after a week off and both Phil and Tom are delighted National Signing Day has come and gone. It's not a national holiday for us like it is for so many other bloggers and podcasters. We watch the trends and understand the appeal, but neither of us will lose sleep over the decision of an 18-year-old. There are always some interesting story lines, though.

There's the recruit at Michigan who had some legal issues when he was a minor. With all of the problems facing RichRod, was this really the best decision? It was also interesting to see many of the top recruits from the Midwest bolt the area for Texas, USC and elsewhere. Is this a one-year trend or a bigger problem?

And why is golden boy Tim Tebow become everyone's punching bag? Joe Theismann and some back-up offensive lineman are dissing the former Heisman Trophy winner. We also look at the future of Minnesota prep star Seantrel Henderson and a 13-year-old who is going to USC.

Enjoy another show.

Recruting Rule #1

- Do not believe anything anyone says. Ever. Seriously. We mean it.

The smiling, happy fellow above is George Edwards. He was one of Florida's most successful defensive coordinators. Undefeated. Great recruiter too, if you believe this year's recruiting rankings. Sadly for the Gators Edwards left for a job in the NFL - before he ever coached a single game for UF.

Amazing timing, though. Edwards didn't announce he was returning to the NFL after his less than one month stint at Florida until the day after signing day.

Weird how that works, getting offered a job the day after national signing day. What a coincidence. I mean, if he knew he was leaving, I'm sure he and all of the Florida staff were completely upfront about that fact with all the incoming recruits.

OSU, WVU give fans something to smile about

It's National Signing Day and while we believe it's way overhyped and fans get too worked up about it. But we feel it's our obligation to at least publish what we know to be the high school and JC players who signed today with Ohio State and West Virginia.

We don't know enough about them to say much, but I'm sure a bunch of them are 3-, 4- and 5-star recruits. The most notable rejection happened to the Buckeyes as Minnesota prep stud Seantrel Henderson chose the flash, but no substance of Lane Kiffin over the more stoic aproach of Jim Tressel.

Ohio State's 2010 class
Darryl Baldwin, DL, Solon, Ohio
Drew Basil, K, Chillicothe, Ohio
Corey Brown, ATH, Springfield (Pa.) Cardinal O'Hara
Christian Bryant, DB, Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville
David Durham, LB/DE, Charlotte (N.C.) Christian
Taylor Graham, QB, Wheaton (Ill.) North
Chad Hagan, DB, Canonsburg (Pa.) McMillan
Johnathan Hankins, DT, Detroit (Mich.) Southeastern
Carlos Hyde, RB, Fork Union Military Academy
James Louis, WR, Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic
Scott McVey, LB, Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius
J.T. Moore, DL, Youngstown (Ohio) Boardman
Andrew Norwell, OT, Cincinnati (Ohio) Anderson
Verlon Reed, ATH, Columbus (Ohio) Marion Franklin
Bradley Roby, DB, Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge
Rod Smith, RB, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Harding
Jamel Turner, LB/DE, Fork Union Military Academy
Tyrone Williams, WR, East Cleveland (Ohio) Shaw

West Virginia's 2010 Class
Travis Bell, S, Glades Central (Fla.)
Barry Brunetti, QB, Memphis (Tenn.) University School
Dante Chambers, WR, Miramar (Fla.)
Trevor Demko, DE, Mount Carmel (Pa.)
Mike Dorsey, LB, Warren G. Harding (Ohio)
Qudral Forte, ATH, Booker T. Washington (Ga.)
Troy Gloster, LB, Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel
Jeremy Johnson, ATH, Silsbee (Texas)
Trey Johnson, RB, Varina (Va.)
Quantavious Leslie, WR, Callaway (Ga.)
Deon Long, WR, Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy
Ivan McCartney, WR, Miramar (Fla.)
Doug Rigg, ATH, Bergen (N.J.) Catholic
Jewone Snow, LB, McKinley (Ohio)
Quinton Spain, OG, Petersburg (Va.)
Wes Tonkery, ATH, Bridgeport (W.Va.)
Marquis Wallace, OG, Varina (Va.)
Avery Williams, ATH, Calvin Coolidge (D.C.)

Criminy ... if you want a playoff

As one of the few (if only) college football blogs that opposes a playoff to decide the national champion, we have contemplated how a playoff might work to our liking. We didn’t spend days researching every half-baked idea that’s been reported over the past decade. Instead, the ‘Eer came up with this plan at work one day and then ran it past the ‘Eye for his approval (OK, he doesn't like everything, but the overall concept works).

Now that President Obama and his Administration is looking into whether the BCS system is legal, and the NCAA is considering expanding the basketball tournament to 96 teams so naturally the playoff wave is moving fast. So we want to get our playoff plan out to the masses because it’s clearly the best option because it still incorporates the bowl games, doesn’t require the addition of too many more games than are already played, and it builds in another level of bowl games that will help alleviate some of the frustration by teams on the bubble.

The two teams that reach the title game will play two more games than each would play under the current system.

Here is are playoff scenario in a nutshell:

• Using the BCS Rankings (we would like to see the rankings improved) take the top eight teams. However, only one team per conference and they can come from any of the 11 Division I-A leagues.
• All independent programs (currently Notre Dame, Navy and Army) can be included in the playoffs at the same time.
• The teams are seeded based on the BCS Rankings. In the first round, the top four teams host a game.
• All first-round games are played on Saturday (of course they’ll be on ESPN).
• Second-round games are played at either the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, or Sugar Bowl. Each game will be played on the same date.
• The Championship Game site will be decided at least four years in advance (similar to the Super Bowl).
• The next eight teams in the BCS rankings play in the Cotton and Gator bowls, and whichever of the Sugar, Orange, Rose and Fiesta bowls that weren’t included in the playoffs that year.
• The consolation bowl matchups will be decided by a committee (similar to the NCAA basketball tournament) to achieve the best scenario for each site.

Here’s how a playoff would have worked this year:

Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Alabama (1)
2. Texas (2)
3. Cincinnati (3)
4. TCU (4)
5. Boise State (6)
6. Oregon (7)
7. Ohio State (8)
8. Georgia Tech (9)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: Georgia Tech (ACC) at Alabama (SEC)
Game 2: Ohio State (Big Ten) at Texas (Big 12)
Game 3: Oregon (Pac-10) at Cincinnati (Big East)
Game 4: Boise State (Western Athletic) at TCU (Mountain West)

Second Round Schedule Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Orange Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Fiesta Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in Pasadena, Calif.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking) Florida (5) vs. Miami (15) in Sugar Bowl
Iowa (10) vs. Virginia Tech (11) in Rose Bowl
LSU (12) vs. Brigham Young (14) in Cotton Bowl
Penn State (13) vs. West Virginia (16) in Gator Bowl

To offer a bit more context to this system, let’s look at 2008 and 2007 to see how it would have worked.

2008 Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Oklahoma (1)
2. Florida (2)
3. USC (5)
4. Utah (6)
5. Penn State (8)
6. Boise State (9)
7. Cincinnati (12)
8. Georgia Tech (14)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: Georgia Tech (ACC) at Oklahoma (Big 12)
Game 2: Cincinnati (Big East) at Florida (SEC)
Game 3: Boise State (Western Athletic) at USC (Pac-10)
Game 4: Penn State (Big Ten) at Utah (Mountain West)

Second Round Schedule Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Sugar Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Rose Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in Miami, Fla.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking)
Texas (3) vs. Ohio State (10) in Fiesta Bowl
Alabama (4) vs. Texas Tech (7) in Orange Bowl
Oklahoma State (13) vs. Oregon (17) in Cotton Bowl
Georgia (15) vs. Michigan State (18) in Gator Bowl

2007 Rankings (BCS Ranking)

1. Ohio State (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Virginia Tech (3)
4. Oklahoma (4)
5. USC (7)
6. West Virginia (9)
7. Hawaii (10)
8. BYU (17)

First Round Schedule
Game 1: BYU (Mountain West) at Ohio State (Big Ten)
Game 2: Hawaii (Western Athletic) at LSU (SEC)
Game 3: West Virginia (Big East) at Virginia Tech (ACC)
Game 4: USC (Pac-10) at Oklahoma (Big 12)

Second Round Schedule
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4 in Fiesta Bowl
Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 in Orange Bowl

Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 in New Orleans, La.

Other Bowls (BCS Ranking)
Georgia (5) vs. Kansas (8) in Sugar Bowl
Illinois (13) vs. Arizona State (11) in Rose Bowl
Missouri (6) vs. Boston College (14) in Cotton Bowl
Florida (12) vs. Clemson (15) in Gator Bowl

Poor Mark Mangino

It's not bad enough poor Mark gets mocked constantly for his weight, or that he got the axe from Kansas (Kansas!) just for being verbally and physically abusive to his players (yeah, he's the first one to do THAT)... now Mangino tops this Top 1 list from The Bleacher Report:


The 10 Coaches You Shouldn't Let Recruit Your Son

Ah, I just love lists. Top 10 this, top 5 that. whatever. Listen up - if your kid is good enough to play major college football his coach will be:

A) father figure
B) complete asshole
C) self-serving jerk
D) great human being
E) All of the above.

The answer is E. And that's probably all in the same day.