Posted by John Taylor on November 7, 2009 8:51 AM ET
A bum toe will leave Southern Cal without the services of defensive end
Everson Griffen against Arizona State, the
Los Angeles Times is reporting.
Griffin injured the toe in the loss to Oregon, and did not practice at all this week. Head coach Pete Carroll said while he didn't expect Griffen to be 100 percent, he was hopeful that working with trainers on the side would improve the toe enough to allow the lineman to suit up.
"He woke up . . . a little bit worse maybe from the work they did [Thursday] so we just figured it would be best to treat him for three straight days," Carroll said. "We never thought he was going to make it to full speed, but he was trying."
Griffen, who leads the Pac-10 with eight sacks, will be replaced in the starting lineup by Malik Jackson.
Posted by John Taylor on November 7, 2009 7:49 AM ET
Should Notre Dame sweep their final four games and finish at 10-2, there's a chance -- albeit a very slim one (hopefully) -- that the Irish could find themselves in possession of a BcS bid.
Should they get shut out of the system, though, they won't be lacking suitors. And one suitor in particular is positively giddy over the possibility that they could land the Irish.
The Gator Bowl.
Speaking to the South Bend Tribune, bowl president Rick Catlett said the bowl would be all over the Irish if they happen to fall outside the BcS slotting system.
"Obviously, we'd be very excited about an opportunity to host the Irish in any year. But in this particular year, with the exciting brand of football they're playing, with the emergence of Jimmy Clausen and wide receivers playing at a high level, who wouldn't love them?
"To us, Notre Dame still has the mystique of being the one program in America you could either love them or hate them - there's no middle ground. That causes great excitement for fans watching on television and fans here in Jacksonville (Fla.)."
Catlett even has an opponent in mind for the Irish -- Miami of Florida.
As Catlett noted, though, "there's still a lot of football to be played" and things can change. Especially when you consider the fact that Charlie Weis' teams are just 10-7 in the month of November.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 10:17 PM ET
Orange County Register: "Forget the coaching showdown,
the Huskies and Bruins desperately need a victory."
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 9:28 PM ET
No. 7 Boise State continues their quest tonight to be a BcS buster with a match-up with Louisiana Tech, and, actually, it's not much of a match-up at all. As expected.
At halftime, the Broncos have taken the Bulldogs to their own home shed in a 27-7 game at halftime.
BSU has rolled up 218 yards of total offense to La. Tech's 64.
Quarterback Kellen Moore is his lethally efficient self, completing 17-of-23 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
If the Broncos "hold off" the Bulldogs in the second half, they will extend their record to a perfect 9-0. And carve out a three-hour chunk of their day Saturday rooting for No. 6 TCU to tumble from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 8:19 PM ET
According to the Associated Press, two or more buses carrying members of the Grambling State band were involved in a traffic accident today.
And, yes, this post was made just so I could play a clip from one of the band's outstanding halftime performances:
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 7:44 PM ET
At long last, additional details have begun to emerge about
Dez Bryant's suspension for the rest of the 2009 season.
At first blush, it seemed as if the soon-to-officially-be former Oklahoma State wide receiver was suspended for simply lying to NCAA investigators about a meeting with Deion Sanders. Now comes word that a secondary violation was committed during the course of Bryant's relationship with Sanders, which could've played a part in such a harsh punishment for the receiver.
According to the
Daily Oklahoman, Bryant
violated NCAA bylaws by jogging with Sanders at a workout facility and not paying what typical members of the public would pay for the same usage.
According to documents obtained by The Oklahoman through an open records request, the NCAA found that Bryant violated bylaws for preferential treatment because of his visit to Fieldhouse USA in Frisco, Texas, without paying for his time at the facility.
The NCAA found that Bryant violated bylaw 12.1.2.1.6, which deals with preferential treatment, benefits or services. Athletes who violate that bylaw are required to repay the value of the benefit to a charity of their choice.
In a rules "interpretation request" sent by OSU to the NCAA, the school said use of the indoor turf by any member of the public would cost $140 per hour. The school also said Sanders and Bryant said they "jogged around" on the turf during their one-hour visit to the facility, that there was no football equipment used and that they were the only ones on the turf during that time.
The NCAA ultimately accepted OSU's argument that Bryant was only responsible for paying half of the $140. It's unclear, the paper reports, whether Bryant has paid the $70 to a charity.
Of course, the fact Bryant has already decided to make himself available for the 2010 NFL draft -- and the group cost him the final nine games of his final collegiate season -- makes it seem highly unlikely that the receiver would give a flip about making good on NCAA-mandated restitution.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 7:29 PM ET
Linebacker
Clinton Snyder leads Stanford with 61 tackles in 2009. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, that number will remain the same for the remainder of the year.
Snyder, who has started 42 of 44 games at Stanford, suffered a torn ligament in his left knee after landing awkwardly Tuesday. He also hyperextended the knee on the same play.
Starting fullback Owen Marecic will take over for Snyder at middle linebacker. Marecic will remain the starter at FB, meaning he will go both ways against Oregon.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 6:31 PM ET
Nebraska quarterback
Cody Green gets some advice from his high school coaches following the first start of his career.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 5:41 PM ET
Texas could be without starting cornerback
Aaron Williams for Saturday's game with Central Florida, the
Austin American-Statesman is reporting.
If Williams can't go, safety Earl Thomas could replace him in the lineup. After Williams was injured this past Saturday, Thomas slid over to corner to replace the sophomore.
The good news, though, is that Williams is the only real bad news on the injury front; the corner is the only player from the two-deep depth chart listed on the injury report.
Posted by John Taylor on November 6, 2009 4:39 PM ET
After getting his first collegiate start last week,
Will Stein will
make it two weeks in a row under center for Louisville against West Virginia, the
Louisville Courier-Journal is reporting.
As noted by the paper, the redshirt freshman made his debut last week in place of injured starter Adam Froman and backup Justin Burke.
The walk-on was respectable in the start, throwing for 232 yards in the win over Arkansas State.