And now for something unexpected

I give Larry Scott plenty of crap when he deserves it, so it’s only fair to dish out some praise when he turns up on the side of the angels.

The Pac-12 will shorten halftime and reduce the number of commercial breaks during its non-conference schedule this season as part of a trial program to reduce the length of its football games.

Halftime will be 15 minutes long, cut down from the usual 20-minute break. The number of commercial breaks will be reduced and they will be shorter in length, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said Wednesday.

Scott announced the initiative as the Pac-12 kicked off its media days in Hollywood. The experiment is intended to shorten ballooning game times in an era of up-tempo offenses running more plays and the increased scoring that comes with it.

Let us hope this experiment succeeds beyond our wildest dreams.  Attaboy, Larry.

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My favorite year

Without a doubt, in my lifetime as a college football fan (as opposed to a Georgia football fan), there’s no season I have enjoyed more than the 2007 one.  It was absolutely and unpredictably nuts from start to finish, with plenty of stops along the way.

So, it is with great pleasure that I share with you SBNation’s tribute to that season.  Check out the following pieces in particular:

• Bill Connelly, on CFB’s 11 wildest seasons (2007 being #1)
• ULM 21, Alabama 14
• Les Miles, ladies and gentlemen
• How would a four-team college playoff have looked?
• The Celebration, and Corch’s “stunning pettiness“
• Steve Spurrier reminisces about 16-12, and Georgia in general

The end result:  the only national champion to lose two regular season games in multiple overtimes.

Crazy as hell.  But great.  I doubt we’ll see another season like it again.

You realize this means war.

Sure, why not.

Attorneys representing Ole Miss and its former coaches and administrators who have been accused of violating NCAA rules have asked that two Mississippi State football players be required to attend the Rebels’ infractions hearing later this summer, multiple sources familiar with the case told ESPN.

NCAA officials have told lawyers representing Ole Miss that Bulldogs players Leo Lewis and Kobe Jones might be asked to appear at the infractions hearing to answer questions from committee members. It’s unclear whether the players have received a notice to appear at the hearing, which will probably take place sometime in late August or early September.

The NCAA previously denied Ole Miss lawyers’ requests to interview Jones and Lewis about allegations they made during the NCAA’s investigation of the Rebels. In fact, Lewis’ attorneys stopped the second of three interviews with NCAA investigators after Ole Miss’ lawyers attempted to cross-examine him. Ole Miss wasn’t allowed to have an attorney at his third interview.

Jones and Lewis were provided partial immunity by NCAA investigators before they were interviewed.

The details of what are involved with the NCAA’s partial immunity are murky, so it’s unclear what questions Lewis and Jones would be allowed to answer.  Even trickier is how those answers might affect the Rebel Rags suit against them.

I’m beginning to think that when this is all said and done, you’d be crazy to allow yourself to be recruited by both Ole Miss and Mississippi State.  Unless it was purely for entertainment value, that is.

In case you thought it was over…

… not even close.

Latest from Nutt atty Thomas Mars, god of legal war: He wants OM AD Ross Bjork's phone records. Monday story on Mars https://t.co/XQhr2lQd9Z

— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) July 25, 2017

What a week it's been already. ESPN, SI, Yahoo and it looks like the FBI is next.

— Steve Robertson (@ScoutSteveR) July 25, 2017

And all it would have taken to avoid the shitstorm was an apology.

Meanwhile, somewhere an NCAA investigator is sitting back, kicking off his shoes, pouring a cold one and waiting.

*************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Moar.

NEWS: Tom Mars now pursuing records related to a burner phone in Yuma, AZ that appears multiple times in Hugh Freeze's records, he tells me

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 26, 2017

“It’s always going to be a league of the quarterback.”

After last year, I want some of whatever Bert was smoking when he said that.

The SEC has long produced some great quarterbacks.

During the past decade, Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow (Florida), Cam Newton (Auburn) and Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) have come through the conference.

Throw in recent standouts such as Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Alabama’s A.J. McCarron, and you’re talking about a great group of quarterbacks this league has produced. That doesn’t even begin to delve into the rich history of quarterback play in the SEC, considering Archie Manning and his two sons — Peyton and Eli — all became household names as SEC stars.

The SEC looks to be gearing up for another run of exceptional quarterback play with the 2017 season soon to be underway.

Do I think conference quarterback play will be better in 2017 than it was in 2016?  Well, yeah.  Since it doesn’t appear that any program will go into the season expecting to start a true freshman quarterback, it could hardly be worse.  Do I see a bunch of SEC quarterbacks on the verge of having a season that would put them in the ranks of those mentioned in the above quote?

Um… quit hogging that shit, Bert, and pass it over here.

“There ain’t no ‘Junction Boys’ anymore…”

The NCAA, you may have heard, has ended the long-standing practice of two-a-days.  There’s evidently some pretty good data behind the decision.

According to the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute, 58 percent of the football practice concussions that occur over the course of a year happen during the preseason. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, says August also is a peak month for catastrophic injuries resulting from conditioning rather than contact, such as heatstroke and cardiac arrest.

“There was just something about that month really stood out,” Hainline said. “We couldn’t say with statistical certainty if this was because of the two-a-days, but there was enough consensus in the room and enough preliminary data that it looked like it was because of the two-a-days.”

It was a fairly easy call, as well, because of the current realities of college football.

Coaches say that because players are on campus working out all year, there’s no need to work them quite as hard once preseason practices begin.

“Back in the day, we used two-a-days to get in shape,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. “You weren’t there all summer. You didn’t come until the second half. They didn’t train from January until June like they do now.”

Jimbo really did a “back in the day” there?  That’s real grizzled, man.

Anyway, we finally got a positive from amateurism.  Not having a life is good for your health, kids!

We’re getting closer.

While we’re on the subject of broadcasting, here’s the television schedule for the SEC’s first three weeks of action.  (Times listed there are Central, since it’s Al.com.)  A few random thoughts:

• Sure would be nice to have an elaborate tailgate set up on Sept. 2, that’s for sure.
• A game on every day of Labor Day weekend?  Thank you, college football — even for meteor games.  (I’m looking at you, 9/4.)
• TAMU is playing Nicholls.  I have a feeling it won’t be a pretty comparison for Georgia fans.
• And Mike Bobo travels to Tuscaloosa.  I’d wish him luck, but I doubt luck’s gonna have much to do with the outcome.

Aaron Murray’s new gig

Who knows?  Maybe he’ll succeed Danielson one day.