Baylor QB Seth Russell to undergo season-ending surgery

By Kevin McGuireOct 26, 2015, 3:12 PM EDT

After getting banged up in Baylor’s latest victory en route to a possible Big 12 championship run, starting quarterback Seth Russell will see his season come to a premature end. Baylor announced this afternoon Russell will undergo season-ending surgery on his neck. The decision to move forward with the surgery was made after meeting with a specialist, leaving with the recommendation of going through with surgery for a more secure long-term future. According to a release from Baylor, the recovery period for the surgery typically takes about six months, meaning Russell will be out for the remainder of Baylor’s 2015 season and possibly at least some of the spring football practices.

“Seth exemplifies the spirit and will of our football team,” Baylor head coach Art Briles said, “and through this our team will keep that spirit alive and well for him.”

Russell injured his cervical vertebra during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Iowa State. His season will end having thrown 2,104 yards and 29 touchdowns as well as 402 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. With Russell now on the shelf for the remainder of Baylor’s promising 2015 season, the fate of the Bears now falls in the hands of freshman Jarrett Stidham. Stidham, a four-star recruit in Baylor’s Class of 2015 and a former commit to Texas Tech, has appeared in all seven games in relief of Russell this season. In his relatively limited action, Stidham has thrown for 331 yards and six touchdowns without an interception, while completing 24 of 28 pass attempts.

Baylor made some roster adjustments in the offseason to help make room for Stidham as a possible starter this season by moving Chris Johnson to wide receiver. That allowed Baylor to bump Stidham to No. 2 ion the depth chart. Johnson will slide back to the quarterback position as the new backup behind Stidham, according to a Baylor statement.

Baylor is off this week. The Bears return to action on Thursday, November 5 at Kansas State. The Wildcats have struggled this season but will also be coming off a bye week to prepare for the game. There are not too many environments that could be more difficult of a setting to make a debut as a starting quarterback than Kansas State will be for Stidham, but Briles should feel confident in having enough pieces around his quarterback to help make for a moderately painless transition as Baylor looks to keep their Big 12 and College Football Playoff hopes alive.

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Central Michigan loses one of its highest-rated 2018 signees to the transfer portal

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By John TaylorJul 9, 2020, 10:50 PM EDT

Now, for what’s seemingly becoming a daily disclaimer when it comes to transfers.

As we’ve stated myriad times in the past, a player can remove his name from the portal and remain at the same school. At this point, though, other programs are permitted to contact a player without receiving permission from his current football program.

NCAA bylaws also permit schools to pull a portal entrant’s scholarship at the end of the semester in which he entered it.

Pearson was a three-star member of the Central Michigan football Class of 2018. Only one offensive signee in that cycle for CMU, wide receiver Keonta Nixon, was rated higher than the New Jersey product. As a true freshman, Pearson completed 12 of his 24 passes for 94 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Pearson didn’t play a down for the Chips in 2019.

In 2018, Central Michigan lost a school-record 11 games. In Jim McElwain‘s first season in 2019, CMU won went 8-6. Included in the losses was a New Mexico Bowl beatdown at the hands of San Diego State.

Ole Miss pulls in second transfer from a university in Canada

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By John TaylorJul 9, 2020, 8:24 PM EDT

SEC commish issues statement in wake of Big Ten’s seismic announcement

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By John TaylorJul 9, 2020, 7:11 PM EDT

Big Ten commish, Ohio State AD decidedly pessimistic on B1G having a 2020 college football season

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By John TaylorJul 9, 2020, 6:09 PM EDT

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The Big Ten toppled the first significant domino earlier in the day. Now, two of the most powerful men in the conference are expounding on the development. And, if you’re a fan of the sport, you might want to close your eyes when reading the next few paragraphs. Or take several shots of an adult beverage before proceeding.

Thursday afternoon, the Big Ten confirmed reports that it will be going with a conference-only football schedule for the 2020 season. All other fall sports are impacted in the same way.

In television appearances following the announcement, the B1G’s commissioner didn’t put a positive spin on football’s immediate future.

“One thing we have to realize is that this is not a fait accompli that we’re going to have sports in the fall,” Kevin Warren flatly stated. “We may not have sports in the fall, we may not have a college football season in the Big Ten. …

“We made a vow early on that, first and foremost, we would put the health, the safety and the wellness of our student-athletes at the center of all of our decisions.

Gene Smith was equally pessimistic.

“I can’t reiterate enough the fact that we might not play,” the Ohio State athletic director said in discussing football in 2020. “We just might not, and I think people need to understand that.”

It’s expected that other Power Five conferences will follow the lead of the Big Ten. In the coming days, both the ACC and Pac-12 will most likely announce a conference-only football schedule. The lone exception will be the ACC including Notre Dame, which already has six games against the conference on its 2020 slate, in any revamped schedule.

The Big 12 and SEC are widely expected to kick the scheduling can down the road a bit longer, perhaps as late as the end of July. In the end, however, both of those Power Fives are likely to come to the same scheduling conclusion.