Stanford wins Pac-12 North, will meet UCLA again in conference title

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Oh, Oregon. If only you had defeated Stanford at home last weekend. Then your path to the BCS national championship would be clear. Instead, the Ducks needed to rely on a series of unfortunate events (for others) to even think about jumping up to the top two in the BCS. But thanks to wins by Alabama, Georgia and Florida, that path just got much more difficult for Oregon.

And now, with No. 11 Stanford’s 35-17 win over No. 15 UCLA, the Ducks’ hopes to reach the Pac-12 championship game for the second straight game are done as well. Instead, Stanford and UCLA will meet again in one week for conference title.

Stepfan Taylor rushed for 142 yards and a pair of scores and the Cardinal’s No. 2 rush defense held the Bruins to just 73 yards on the ground and forced two turnovers.

The Bruins and the Cardinal have both exceeded national expectations this year. As an unintended consequence, the Pac-12 championship game may not draw the eyeballs of, say, an Oregon-USC matchup.

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Syracuse has been getting good news on the injury front lately. Earlier this month, it was announced that not one, but two defensive starters should be good to go for Week 1 of the 2013 season. Now, the Orange can count on one of their offensive weapons to be back as well.

Running backs coach DeAndre Smith recently told The Post-Standard that Prince-Tyson Gulley, who was the MVP of the team’s Pinstripe Bowl victory last December, has been given the all-clear to play by medical staff.

“He’s good to go,” Smith said.

Gulley was one of three players ruled out of spring practices in January with undisclosed injuries. Gulley was the team’s second-leading rusher last season with 833 yards — roughly a quarter of which came in the aforementioned bowl win over West Virginia — but led the team with nine rushing touchdowns.

He is currently listed second on the running back depth chart, but will undoubtedly be considered a key contributor to the Orange offense this season.

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Last year, Alabama coach Nick Saban asked if the no-huddle offense was “what we want football to be” specifically in regards to player safety.

He has a supporter in Arkansas coach Bret Bielema. Speaking during SEC spring meetings, Bielema also cited player safety as a counter to the hurry-up, ho-huddle and recommended a 15-second substitution period after every first down.

From al.com’s piece on uptempo  offenses in the SEC:

“Not to get on the coattails of some of the other coaches, there is a lot of truth that the way offensive philosophies are driven now, there’s times where you can’t get a defensive substitution in for 8, 10, 12 play drives,” Bielema said. “That has an effect on safety of that student-athlete, especially the bigger defensive linemen, that is really real.”

For what it’s worth, Bielema is a member of the Playing Rules Oversight Panel and he’s not the only coach who feels the way he does. Not coincidentally, the hurry-up, no-huddle presence has grown in the SEC over the past year or so with Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Auburn all running their version of it.

“Offensive players are playing, too, the same number of snaps,” Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said from the same al.com article. “Are they in danger also? I mean, offensive players get hurt, too, and if we don’t substitute, they’re having to play the same number of plays.”

Yeah, don’t expect the hurry-up to slow down any time soon.

In fact, Auburn’s defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson used to be quite vocal in his opposition to hurry-up offenses. Now that he’s working under Gus Malzahn? He thinks his defense can handle it. Go figure.

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Well under two months before the start of summer camp, Utah has taken what could be a significant hit on the offensive side of the ball.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Quinton Pedroza has been dismissed from the Utah football team.  Other than the standard “violation of unspecified team rules,” no reason was given for the wide receiver being on the receiving end of Kyle Whittingham‘s boot.

Pedroza played in 14 games the past two seasons, mainly on special teams.  He did not record a reception during his time with the Utes.

However, coming out of spring practice this year, the junior was listed as a starter at the wide receiver position.

Two years ago, former USC assistant Todd McNair sued the NCAA for libel, slander, breach of contract and negligence in the Reggie Bush case. The suit also alleged that NCAA officials “arbitrarily and capriciously decided to ruin his career to further their own agenda.”

According to USCFootball.com, two newspapers — the New York Times and Los Angeles Times — at least want to see if McNair was right. The two papers have reportedly filed an application to intervene with the California Court of Appeals asking that the appellate record in the McNair vs. NCAA case be unsealed.

“On June 3, 2013, the NCAA filed an extraordinarily overbroad and improper sealing motion in this Court, which asks to keep secret seven hundred pages [emphasis not added] of the appellate record, as well as to redact key portions of its opening brief to this Court,” the argument states.

Furthermore, “The NCAA’s remarkable bid for secrecy comes in a case of substantial public interest… the NCAA delayed until the last possible day to file its brief on appeal — even to the point that this Court warned that the appeal might be dismissed if the NCAA did not file an Opening Brief by June 5 — meaning that the records relied on by the trial court have been kept under seal for more than six months.”

USCFootball.com also has a link to the application.

Last November, a report from CBSSports.com claimed an NCAA staff member and two non-voting members of the Committee on Infractions attempted to influence voting members of the COI. Emails allegedly showed “ill will or hatred” toward McNair as well. The NCAA, according to the report, desperately tried to keep the files from seeing the light of day.

McNair did not have his contract renewed with the Trojans in 2010 after the NCAA concluded he had knowledge of Bush’s dealings with two would-be agents, who the NCAA found had given the former Trojan RB upwards of $300,000 in illegal benefits. McNair was given a show-cause penalty as part of the fallout.

What would the opening of the records would do now for USC? Tough to tell at the moment, but given the severity of the sanctions handed down in the case, there’s little doubt they should be made public.

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It’s probably somewhere around here that we’ve officially hit the low point of the Johnny Manziel saga(ish).

As John posted over the weekend, Manziel sent out an early morning tweet on Sunday venting over some unknown point of frustration.

“Bull**** like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave college station…whenever it may be,” Manziel wrote before removing the tweet. The Heisman Trophy winner later followed up with  “Don’t ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes.”

Turns out the source of Manziel’s angst was nothing more than a parking ticket. Reportedly. According to Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News:

Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, had been fishing in Port Aransas on Saturday and was still on the coast when he talked over the phone to an officer*, who wrote him a ticket for being parked the wrong way in front of his house and for his windows being tinted too dark (his vehicle was in College Station while he was with friends in Port Aransas), according to the insider. Manziel tweeted out his frustrations in dealing with the matter, quickly removed the post, followed with a tweet that he loved A&M but for people to please walk in a day in his shoes.

(*This has since been modified to say the officer spoke to Manziel’s roommate. The information was then relayed to Manziel.)

Speculation about the source of said “bullspit” was followed later this week by a report from the Dallas Morning News that Johnny Football almost never came to be as A&M initially suspended Manziel for the season following his offseason arrest in 2012. Manziel was reportedly considering a transfer when his appeal of the suspension was approved and the rest is, well, you know.

So now that that whole thing’s been cleared up, how ’bout we go back to Manziel going to basketball games and meeting Megan Fox?

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Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

– The loss of superstars leaves West Virginia’s 2013 offense in open-audition mode.

– The NCAA with a heart and (gasp!) common sense?  From the Tupelo Daily Journal: “Ole Miss was granted a release by the NCAA for quarterback Bo Wallace to pass in front of offensive coordinator and QB coach Dan Werner so a coach can monitor Wallace’s comeback from shoulder surgery.”

– PennLive.com: Penn State pass rusher Deion Barnes looms as Lions’ X-factor this year.

– Speaking of the NCAA, its embattled and beleaguered president, Mark Emmert, has embraced athletic directors as part of future directions and decisions regarding college athletics.

– Ahead of the dog days of summer, Indiana’s quarterback competition is a dead heat.

– Decatur Herald-Review: transfer Wes Lunt gives head coach Tim Beckman an early Illini win.

– Des Moines Register: New NCAA rule already has Iowa State’s Paul Rhoads pondering clock management.

– It’ll be an open competition to figure just who will rise up as Syracuse’s punt-return specialist.

– The breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has been rescheduled for late July, shortly before the start of summer camp.

– Night MACtion: five of Toledo’s six home games will be played under the lights this season.

– If a pair of high school players follow through on their verbal commitments, they would become just the second players ever from the states of Colorado and Minnesota to play for Alabama in that program’s storied history.

– After a “secret” visit to Auburn came to the public light, Clemson verbal quarterback commit DeShaun Watson assures the Tigers faithful there’s nothing to worry about.

Already knowing that three defensive secondary starters would need to be replaced, Wisconsin took a hit a week ago when reports surfaced that projected starter Reggie Mitchell would be leaving the Badgers, likely for Pittsburgh.

Now, that unit has apparently taken yet another hit.

According to a Fresno, Calif., television station, safety Donnell Vercher has been denied admission to UW and will not play for the Badgers this fall.  Instead, CBS 47 Sports reported, the defensive back will play for Fresno State in 2013.  A source told the station that grades are not an issue and Vercher will be eligible to play for the Bulldogs immediately.

No reason for Vercher being denied admission to UW was given.

Vercher had signed with the Badgers earlier this offseason after spending the 2012 season at a Fresno junior college.  Thanks in large part to the attrition in the secondary, Vercher was seen as a potential starter once summer camp opens in early August.

(Photo credit: Fresno City College)

(Tip O’ the Cap: ESPN.com’s Big Ten blog)

The Big Ten’s move to a nine-game conference schedule has officially claimed one of its first victims.

An Ohio State official confirmed Tuesday to the Columbus Dispatch that the school has canceled its scheduled 2016 game against Central Michigan.  A letter was sent by OSU to CMU recently to inform them that they were nixing the game scheduled for Sept. 24 at Ohio Stadium.

2016 will be the first year of the Big Ten’s nine-game schedule.

There’s no word yet on what type of financial assuagement the Chips will receive as a result of the cancellation.

The Buckeyes’ first two games of the 2016 season will remain home contests against Bowling Green (Sept. 3) and Tulsa (Sept. 10), followed by a road trip to Norman to take on Oklahoma Sept. 17.

The reason for keeping BGSU over fellow MAC member CMU, the Dispatch writes, is because the former is an in-state school as well as being the first stop in Urban Meyer‘s collegiate head-coaching career.

Oh, what the hell.  Let’s add another layer to the college football soap opera that is Johnny Manziel a few days after he tweeted “Bull**** like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave college station.”

Most people know that, in his first season as a starter, the quarterback not only led Texas A&M to an unprecedented first season in the SEC, but also became the first freshman — redshirt or otherwise — to take home the storied Heisman Trophy.

What some people tend to forget is that, exiting spring practice last year, Jameill Showers was the favorite to win the Aggies starting job and, a couple of months later, Manziel was arrested and charged with a handful of misdemeanors related to an incident at a College Station drinking establishment.  It was at that point that the fortunes of Aggie football in general and Manziel specifically reportedly reached a crossroads that the public never knew about.

Citing a source with knowledge of the situation, Kate Hairopolous of the Dallas Morning News reports that, in the aftermath of his arrest and subsequent shirtless mugshot, Manziel was suspended for the 2012 season by A&M.  As a result, the source told Hairopolous, Manziel gave serious consideration to transferring from the Aggies pending an appeal.

The appeal was successful, obviously, and the rest is downright college football lore.

In Manziel’s first season as a starter… and in Kevin Sumlin‘s first season as the Aggies’ head coach… and in A&M’s first season in the best football conference in the country, well…

An 11-win season that was the Aggies’ most since 1998.  A 28-point Cotton Bowl beatdown of then-No. 11 Oklahoma.  And, the icing on the cake, handing Alabama its lone loss in a season that ended with the Tide’s second straight BCS title and third in four years.

It was, by all accounts and every tangible measurement, an unmitigated success, with nothing but on-field positives heading into arguably the most anticipated season in the program’s history.  That said…

It’s been widely speculated — and not exactly shot down by the player — that Manziel will bolt A&M following the 2013 season for the NFL as he would be three years removed from high school and thus eligible for the draft.  Based on the Tim Tebow-like crush of attention the I’ll-live-my-life-however-I-damn-well-please-so-FU Manziel receives, that’s quickly evolving into what’s likely the best course of action for all involved.

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Not only is Mark Stoops making eye-opening inroads on the recruiting trail at Kentucky — the Wildcats are No. 2 in Rivals.com‘s 2014 team rankings for football — but he and his staff are also viewed as viable transfer options for talented players at other schools as well.

Demitrious Davis confirmed to the Louisville Courier-Journal‘s Kyle Tucker that he and his twin brother, Chris Davis, have decided to continue their collegiate playing careers at Kentucky.  It was reported last month that both players would be leaving Pittsburgh.

The decision came after the brothers, Ohio natives, visited UK earlier Tuesday, and the connection to their home state appeared to play a role on some level in landing in Lexington.

“The coaching staff they’ve brought in is great,” Demitrious Davis said of Stoops, also an Ohio native, “and after the visit today, it just felt like home. It felt good to be there. We’ve seen all the other Ohio guys that will be there, and we know how good Ohio football is.”

Both of the Davis twins were three-star members of Pitt’s 2012 recruiting class, rated as the No. 32 (Demitrious, who will be a wide receiver/running back at UK) and No. 33 (Chris, cornerback) “athletes” in the nation by Rivals.com.  They were the No. 39 and No. 40 players, respectively, in the state of Ohio.

The brothers will be forced to sit out the 2013 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.

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Earlier this month, Miami football player Dyron Dye filed an incident report with the Coral Gables police department in which it was alleged that an NCAA investigator had “coerced” Dye into making statements that benefited The Association’s case against the Hurricanes.

In the end, Dye’s attempt to hold the NCAA accountable for alleged shady investigative tactics fell short.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, no felony charges will be brought against former NCAA investigator Rich Johanningmeier.  The paper writes that “Coral Gables police referred the case to the Miami-Dade State Attorney office without attaching any felony charges.”

Dye could still pursue misdemeanor charges against Johanningmeier, with the player’s attorney, Darren Heitner, telling the Sun Sentinel that they “will discuss internally and make a calculated decision” on their next legal step.

In the original police report, Dye had alleged that he felt coerced by Johanningmeier “into providing favorable answers for his investigation” into the Nevin Shapiro allegations that landed UM in front of the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions late last week.  A decision on any penalties on the football program in addition to the self-imposed two-year bowl ban is expected no later than eight weeks from last Friday.

Dye was suspended for the first  four games of the 2011 season in connection to his involvement in the Shapiro scandal.  It was shown by the NCAA in August of that year that Dye received from Shapiro and “UM athletics personnel” $738 in impermissible benefits during a recruitment that led to the player signing on as part of the Hurricanes’ 2009 recruiting class.  Those benefits included five nights of impermissible lodging from institutional staff during their unofficial visits — an allegation directly tied to former UM assistant Aubry Hill — transportation, multiple meals and entertainment at a gentleman’s club.

With the suspension served and monetary restitution made, Dye returned to play in six games in what was his redshirt sophomore season after making the switch from the defensive line to tight end.  He then played 12 games at that position in 2012.

Dye moved back to the line following the 2012 season.  He suffered an Achilles injury during the first scrimmage this past spring and is out indefinitely, leaving his status for the 2013 season up in the air even prior to his remaining eligibility allegedly being threatened by a then-member of the NCAA’s investigative arm.

Forget about venues or rotations or anything of that sort.

The single most important decision the new College Football Playoff officials will make is finalizing a selection committee, and how said committee will determine the four teams who will fill the four-team field for the new system that will be implemented following the 2014 regular season.  Unfortunately, a decision on that critically-important facet of the new system is still far off on the horizon.

Following yet another series of meetings, the College Football Playoff released a statement Tuesday evening that shed little new light, save for the revelation that college football fans are still likely “several months” away from learning the composition of the all-important selection committee.

Here’s the text of the release, in its entirety:

“The makeup and operation of the selection committee is one of the most important decisions we have to make,” executive director of the College Football Playoff, Bill Hancock, said. “Our first season is more than a year away so there is no rush to get this done, but we’re pleased with the progress we’re making.  We will continue to proceed in a deliberate, thoughtful, and thorough way.

“Nothing is final until everything is final and we anticipate additional work on this issue for the next several months.”

Hancock did note that more than 100 names were submitted for consideration for inclusion on the committee.  Ultimately, the committee is expected to consist of 12-18 individuals, and is expected to be composed of a mix of former administrators, coaches and, perhaps, media members.

Suffice to say, the names of those being considered have yet to be released.

Cowboys Stadium in Dallas will host the first College Football Playoff championship game, scheduled for Jan. 12, 2015.  The two semifinal games leading up to the championship will be played at the hosts sites of the Sugar and Rose bowls 11 days earlier on New Year’s Day.

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And there you have it.

Shortly after posting on Mike Gundy (eventually) lifting some of the transfer restrictions off Wes Lunt, Illinois announced what had previously been reported, that the quarterback has signed a tender of financial aid and will play football for the Illini.  Again, Lunt will have to sit out the 2013 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules and will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014.

“We’re thrilled that Wes has decided to come back home to the state of Illinois to play for the Fighting Illini,” head coach Tim Beckman said in a statement. “As he showed last season starting as a true-freshman for Oklahoma State, he’s an exceptional talent and an exceptional person. He’ll have a year to work with offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, our coaching staff and his teammates learning the offense before competing for the starting job in 2014.”

Lunt was named Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback after spring practice last year as an early enrollee true freshman and started the first three games of the season before being sidelined with an injury.  He came back to start two more games before another injury sidelined him again.

Following a spring practice this year when he had apparently slipped down the depth chart, Lunt decided to transfer from the Cowboys.

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Quite the public pot was stirred when, shortly after Wes Lunt announced he was transferring from Oklahoma State, word surfaced that head coach Mike Gundy had severe restrictions on where the quarterback could move.

In addition to the Big 12, Lunt was not permitted, without paying his own way the first year, to transfer to a Pac-12 or SEC school (possibility of meeting in a bowl game); Southern Miss (former OSU offensive coordinator Todd Monken is now the head coach there); and Central Michigan (a future opponent in 2015 and 2016).  As it turns out, though, Gundy had a change of heart, albeit a little too little, too late.

Lunt told Channel 1450 in Illinois Monday that Gundy had called his former high school coach to inform him that some of the restrictions — likely not the Big 12, however — had been lifted.  Originally embarking on the search for a new collegiate destination with a list of five preferred schools, Gundy’s restrictions prevented Lunt from pursuing Southern Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, ultimately settling for a final two of Illinois and Louisville.

According to Lunt, by the time Gundy lifted the restrictions “he’d already lost contact with coaches at other schools in his top five.”

Monday, it was reported that Lunt would be transferring to his home-state Illini.  That school has yet to officially announce the player being added to the program.

Despite ending up where he likely would’ve landed sans the restrictions, Lunt still — and justifiably — appears slightly upset over Gundy’s actions in the immediate aftermath of his departure.

“It was difficult. I didn’t understand the process, so when they were blocked, I knew I could appeal but it was going to take awhile,” Lunt said. “It was frustrating. I understand the Big 12 . That’s obvious. The others, it was a little frustrating, but that’s part of it and I understand it. It’s all good.”

After sitting out the 2013 season, Lunt will have three years of eligibility remaining.

(Tip O’ the Cap: ESPN.com’s Big 12 blog)

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Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

– A waterfall (not pictured) is coming to the football locker rooms of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility as part of a $9 million renovation.

– The Anderson Independent Mail writes that Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins is poised for a record-breaking season.

– The Daily Oklahoman takes a look at the players who have benefited from the graduation exception to the NCAA transfer rule.

– The Gainesville Sun lists the five freshman who could emerge for Florida in 2013.

– Rich Rodriguez and his Arizona coaching staff dressed up in Western gear?  Rich Rodriguez and his Arizona coaching staff dressed up in Western gear.

– As is the case with most major college football programs, vacations are over for Colorado State players.

– Michigan’s Allen Grant has been moved from defensive back to strongside linebacker.

– In coaching weight loss news, Texas head coach Mack Brown has lost 20 pounds this offseason.

– The Big Ten Network‘s Tom Dienhart has Ohio Stadium as the best football venue in the conference.

– The installation of a new playing surface at Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium has begun.

– Wisconsin sells out its allotment of student tickets for the 2013 season in less than two hours.