Saturday morning buffet

There’s always something to nosh on.

• Roy Kramer proposes a plus-one format that’s built to last:  “Using Kramer’s model in a 2011 plus-one, No. 1 LSU would have played No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 2 Oklahoma State would have faced No. 3 Oregon in the semifinals. No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Boise State, No. 8 Kansas State and No. 9 South Carolina all failed to win their conference. “  I didn’t say it would last long.
• The Texas Supreme Court shoots down Mike Leach’s appeal of his suit against Texas Tech on grounds of sovereign immunity.  Remind me again why a head coach would want to sign a contract with a state school that evidently isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
• The NCAA narrowly – and I mean narrowly – avoids having its new rule on multi-year scholarships overturned by its membership.  There’s a fault line opening up here worth keeping an eye on.  (And note the comment about the Department of Justice.)
• Mark Richt admits he’s checked out at least one football website.
• Kevin Sumlin kept one eye on the new SEC oversigning rule as he put together his first recruiting class at Texas A&M.
• Tennessee gets short shrift at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.  Not that the Vols haven’t necessarily earned it:  “The schools gave up home games in the hopes of getting primetime, big boy coverage on a major network.  Instead, the Vols and Wolfpack will serve as the hors d’oeuvre to the Tigers versus Tigers main course the following day.  It makes sense for the Chick-fil-A group and for the networks, but it’s a kick in the teeth for UT…”
• This seems a little over the top, Nick.

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Thursday morning buffet

Fill up as we approach national signing day.

• “It is just the state of Georgia.”
• More hope for Auburn:  “While college coaches have struggled transitioning to the N.F.L. — take note, Chip Kelly — N.F.L. defensive coordinators have largely experienced a smooth transition to the college game.”
• Awesome piece by Chris Brown on the long-term impact of the 2000 meeting between Northwestern and Michigan.  It’s another illustration of why college ball is so much more fun to follow than the NFL.
• Speaking of which, Brophy’s righteous rant shouldn’t be missed.
• “Bleacher Report, the home of thousands of amateur sports bloggers, is getting more professional.”  I’ll leave the punchline to you.
• Georgia is back on the Fulmer Cup leader board.
• Maybe I’m missing something, but isn’t this kid about to run afoul of the Johnson Doctrine?
• The latest Harris Poll shows college football’s popularity remains constant, tied for second with professional baseball among Americans.

It has come to my attention…

An Ohio State fan has sent an e-mail to Mark Emmert with a link to my post yesterday about Justin Taylor.  I expect to hear the thwop-thwop-thwop of black helicopters outside my window any time now.

… so it must be true.

My friends, even Craig James is not immune from the awesome power of the Intertubes (h/t MaconDawg):

Anyway. James has taken to the Twitter and Facebook to more or less address the fact he in no way killed five hookers while he was at SMU. Well, he sort of touches on it, actually, linking to this piece posted yesterday about how James is the victim of a “Google Bomb.” Tweets James, or whoever it is he pays to do his tweeting: “They’re a headache, but they won’t slow down this campaign.”

The next time somebody tells you that what appears in a message thread can’t affect recruiting, just nod, smile knowingly and say “that’s what Craig James thought, too.”

Friday morning buffet

Just a few random nibbles to whet your appetite:

• In case you’ve wondered what Rogers Redding has been up to, the NCAA turns its attention to players’ helmets popping off during play.
• More shit Nick Saban didn’t have time for.
• The Ted Roof to UCF move is already paying dividends on the recruiting trail.
• The New York Times cites UCLA blog for its pressure on the AD about the search for a new football head coach.  Well done, fellas.
• Ivan Maisel on Kansas’ hire of Charlie Weis:  “It’s as if a kosher restaurant in New York hired the winner of the annual Lawrence Sertoma 48 BBQ Contest.”
• Who here won’t laugh his or her ass off if Dave Wommack turns out to be a better defensive coordinator at Ole Miss than he was at Georgia Tech?
• Matt Hinton refines his D-1 football playoff proposal.
• And Pre-Snap Read gives you a look at this year’s bowl games under 1997 rules.
• LSU wins the conference and places the most players on the SEC’s All-Freshman team.  That’s a good formula for avoiding a drop off.

Best “stone, meet glass house” blog post ever

You gotta love Auburn fans.  The complete lack of self-awareness here is almost admirable.

Tuesday morning buffet

Trying to keep the tidbits warmer than the seats…

• Richard Samuel, Tripp’n.
• Just when I think Gregg Doyel can’t get any more wretched, he hits me with this piece of dreck.
• This seems a mite optimistic.
• The NCAA has accused South Carolina athletes of receiving $55,000 worth of impermissible benefits.  I have no doubt I’ll find the penalty imposed completely fair and consistent with you-know-what.
• Worried that Georgia’s defense has only racked up one sack in its first three games?  You’ll be surprised by who says that’s not that big a deal.
• Obligatory hot seat story here.  It won’t be the last.
• A blogosphere fight… over Clemson?  It hardly seems worth it, fellas.
• I don’t get this – Oklahoma doesn’t trust Texas enough to hold the Big 12 together, but is willing to jump to the Pac-12 with them?

Sometimes they make it so easy.

I’ve been waiting for Elkon to fire a certain shot in Heisman Pundit’s direction after I heard the results from the LSU-Oregon game.

Bang.

So let me get this straight.  The fourth-best coach in college football took his team to a quasi-neutral site to play the worst coach in college football.  The worst coach, a guy who delegates a lot to his coordinators, came into the game with his offensive coordinator just having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.  His starting quarterback was suspended for his active participation in a bar fight.  So what happens?  LSU 40 Oregon 27.  It’s just amazing that LSU keeps winning games against quality opponents despite the fact that they have a coach who is worse than Ron Zook, worse than the Queen of England, and worse than Mike Locksley.

Tuesday morning buffet

September 1st is just around the corner, so dig in.

• The peculiar case of Bacarri Rambo just gets curiouser and curiouser.
• Michael Elkon explores the impact of Steve Spurrier on SEC football.
• Here’s a list of the top 25 running backs in SEC history.  There’s a noticeable drop off after the first four, if you ask me.
• Paul Johnson thinks there ought to be a law that punishes college athletes for taking improper benefits, even after they’ve left college.  (In related news, Paul Johnson is an asshat.)
• A Mountain West blogger who’s never watched Georgia play (“From what I’ve read, Glenn and Jones are supposed to be pretty impressive and will anchor Georgia’s O-line.”) previews the Boise State matchup and – surprise! – picks the Broncos to win.  You gotta love the Intertubes.
• Georgia Tech was willing to move the Georgia game to this season’s opener at the Dome – if the Dawgs were willing to play at Tech in 2012.
• This will come as a complete shock to you:  “A team’s preseason ranking has a modest but statistically significant effect on its B.C.S. ranking at the end of the season, even after controlling for its quality of play as determined by computer systems. “
• Nick Saban didn’t have time for that shit with Will Muschamp’s momma.

Friday morning buffet

The season’s only a couple of weeks away.  You need to keep up your strength, so fill up.

• I’m not sure if this means there’s one less embarrassing question for Clay Travis to ask at a presser, or one more.
• Vegas Insider is bullish on Georgia.
• Bill Connelly is one dedicated college football blogger.  (Let’s see how that holds up after his first kid is born.)
• Playoff PAC to Bill Hancock:  it’s nothing personal, dude.
• Mike Leach asks Randy Edsall about unleashing Gary Crowton and how AARP cards can make your butt sore.
• Non-football, but interesting:  Beer and Democracy.  (And check this chart out!)
• The lawyers told Mark Emmert ixnay on the ealignmentray eetingmay.
• And you wonder why I push the Mumme Poll (h/t EDSBS).