College football 2012: welcome, and enjoy

By Ben KerchevalAug 30, 2012, 6:48 PM EDT

It’s here, you guys.

Okay, almost here. You’re going to have to wait a tad longer until South Carolina and Vanderbilt kickoff at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. But congratulations on being patient. It’s been a long eight months and I don’t know how many days since Alabama hoisted the Coaches’ Trophy in New Orleans, signifying not only the Crimson Tide’s second BCS championship in three years, but the end of the 2011-12 college football season.

What’s happened between then and now hasn’t been easy for anybody.

Oh, who are we kidding? It’s sucked.

It used to be that summer was meant for player arrests (which it still is), and more recently, conference realignment rumors (which there still are). Instead, the Jerry Sandusky trial, Freeh report and subsequent NCAA action against Penn State dominated sports talk.

We know many of you didn’t look forward to hearing about the Penn State mess on a daily basis, but it was without a doubt the biggest sports-related story of the year. One without winners, without a good ending.

The arrival of Hurricane Isaac is also rude evidence that there are things in this world bigger than football. As we all enjoy an exciting college football weekend, maybe take a moment or two to keep those in the Gulf States in your thoughts. They’re dealing with far greater problems than a fan whose team is trailing in the fourth quarter.

Sandusky, Isaac… in their own ways, they serve as reminders that football is just a game.

But it is a game we love, and today is a day for celebrating. It’s a time for sitting in your favorite chair (or your favorite bar) with a cold one and enjoying what we hope brings you to this site often.

For one night — one of many to come — we can just watch football.

Or, perhaps you’re not interested in any games tonight because you’re waiting for your favorite team to play this weekend. That’s groovy too. Wherever you watch, whenever you watch, however you watch, why you watch – we don’t care. We’re just glad you chose to spend time with us.

Enjoy the games, everyone. We’ll talk with you soon.

BYU wearing special patch in honor of LaVell Edwards

BYU Athletics

Former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Banks found guilty of rape

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By Kevin McGuireJun 24, 2017, 2:22 PM EDT

Former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Banks was convicted by a jury on Friday for rape of a female Vanderbilt student. Following 15 hours of jury deliberations, the verdict of guilty on one count of aggravated rape and one count of aggravated sexual battery was in.

”He’s shocked but understands that this is only the first part of this process, there’s a lot more to do from here on,” Banks’ lawyer, Mark Scruggs, said after the verdict. ”We have some really good issues to raise.”

Part of Banks’ defense was built on succumbing to peer pressure, suggesting he feared he may be beaten up by teammates if he did not participate in the scandalous activity. The jury, having reviewed videos and photos from the incident, some of which were shot by Banks, determined that was not a viable defense.

”Making fun of another person is not right, but we know it happens,” Assistant District Attorney Roger Moore said in closing arguments, according to the Associated Press. ”But it doesn’t give you a legal defense to commit a crime, particularly not an aggravated rape, an aggravated sexual battery. I mean if that’s the case, then we’d have the ‘football team defense.”’

Banks will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. One count of aggravated rape has a minimum sentence of 15 years.

Other former Vanderbilt players had previously been convicted for their roles in the 2013 rape. Cory Batey was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 15-25 years in prison in April 2016. Brandon Vandenbeurg was found guilty and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

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California’s state-funded travel ban to discriminating states raises mild football scheduling concerns

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By Kevin McGuireJun 24, 2017, 12:41 PM EDT

The state of California is banning state-funded travel to the states of Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Dakota. Those states are added to the previous state-funded travel bans that included Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee due to what California lawmakers say are laws that allow for discrimination against gay and transgender people.

So what does this have to do with college football? My colleague, Bryan, notes this latest decision from the state means scheduling any potential road games for a handful of schools just got a tad trickier.

UCLA, Cal, Fresno St, SDSU & SJSU won’t be able to schedule any new games involving travel to teams in EIGHT states https://t.co/QOCMLilNDc

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) June 23, 2017

This development poses a couple of issues for some California schools to address moving forward.

San Jose State is the school affected by this latest news right off the bat. San Jose State has a road game scheduled at Texas on September 9 this season. San Jose State may have to rely on some of that guaranteed money from Texas to cover the expenses, which would put a dent in the total takeaway from playing the game in the first place.

Cal is also scheduled to play at North Carolina on September 2. Cal also plays at TCU in 2021 and at Auburn in 2024. If the ban is still in operation at those times, then Cal will have to budget ahead of time to tackle the expenses. UCLA will play at Memphis on September 19.

The state-funded travel ban to these states may not be an issue for the postseason, as bowl game expenses tend to be carried by the conference and their revenue shares.

Fresno State has a road game at Texas A&M scheduled in 2020. San Diego State has no future scheduling hassles to worry about for the time being.

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When ‘physically, mentally ready,’ door wide open for Keyshawn Johnson Jr.’s return to Nebraska

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