Oregon State using spring as springboard

By Olin Buchanan
March 28, 2010


Corvallis, OR — All the problems going on about 30 miles down Interstate 5 from Corvallis, Ore., appear to have set up a wide-open Pac-10 race this fall.

Oregon was a strong favorite to successfully defend its conference title before a rash of off-field issues led to suspensions of several players, including QB Jeremiah Masoli.

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TCU looks to make run at another BCS bid

By Tom Dienhart
March 23, 2010


TCU is coming off a breakthrough season that saw the Horned Frogs reach a BCS bowl for the first time. Expect more of the same in 2010 as TCU continues to stamp itself as one of the nation's top programs.

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Seantrel Henderson is officially a Trojan. (Well, almost ...)

By Matt Hinton
March 15, 2010


Good news for USC, part one: Hotly sought recruit Seantrel Henderson, the top-ranked Minnesota behemoth who seemed to be wavering on his verbal commitment to the Trojans since withholding his signature on signing day, was academically cleared last week and plans to sign a letter of intent to SC in the next few days:

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Video shows Leach berating Texas Tech players

By Chip Brown
March 11, 2010


Videos of former Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach from the 2009 season show the coach directing players who are part of the "God squad" how to pray and also threatening the "living situation" of some players because, "Last time I checked, we' re paying the [expletive] bills around here."

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'Pack should get boost from Irving's return

By Steve Megargee
March 9, 2010


N.C. State will open spring practice without its most recognizable face on offense. The return of a familiar face on defense should make up for it.

After sitting out the 2008 season while recovering from a horrific car wreck that nearly took his life, linebacker Nate Irving is ready to take the field again.

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Defense, QBs on Georgia's mind this spring

By Mike Huguenin
March 5, 2010


Georgia is coming off an eight-victory season, which was a disappointing effort for a program that thought it could win 10 games.

The defense again had problems slowing down good offenses, so coach Mark Richt fired three of his four defensive assistants and brought in Dallas Cowboys assistant Todd Grantham to overhaul that unit.

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Mack Brown and Texas would add far more value to the Pac-10 than contenders like Utah and BYU.

Associated Press
February 25, 2010


Let's dispense with the coolest, craziest notion right away: Boise State isn't joining the Pac-10. As great of an up-by-the-bootstraps story as it would be, the blue turf isn't going to host Pac-10 opponents on a regular basis. It's not going to happen.

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Combine Watch List: Quarterbacks

By Doug Farrar
February 15, 2010


With the 2010 Scouting Combine coming up next week, it's time to take a look at the potential stars at every position in this year's draft class. Yours truly will be in Indianapolis to cover the event (it will be my fourth), and we'll start with the five quarterbacks who will be on most minds.

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Roundtable: Who surprised on Signing Day?

Februay 6, 2010


At the College Football Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the college football coverage staff for their opinion about a topic in the sport. Here is this week's question:

Olin Buchanan's answer:

California's 11th-place finish in the rankings is a big surprise considering the Bears' lackluster success in recent recruiting classes.

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Right place, right time?

By Mike Huguenin
January 18, 2010


Derek Dooley's hiring at Tennessee was surprising, to say the least. He has a nice coaching pedigree - his dad won a national title at Georgia and Derek worked for Nick Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins - but his time at Louisiana Tech was a mixed bag.

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Alabama, SEC beast, roars to fourth straight title

By Jeff Passan
January 9, 2010


PASADENA, CA – The Grand Slam was imminent when the chant started. No matter which Southeastern Conference team wins the BCS national championship, the fan base always pays homage.

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Clay rushes for 121 yards, two TDs in Champs Sports Bowl win
 
CBSSports.com wire reports
December. 29, 2009


ORLANDO, Fla — All that Miami speed was no match for the big, bad Badgers.
John Clay had 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns, powering No. 24 Wisconsin past 14th-ranked Miami 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Tuesday night.

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Now what for Notre Dame?

By Dan Wetzel
November 30, 2009


Notre Dame has tapped Charlie Weis’ forehead with the hammer and as we wait for the white smoke to emerge from South Bend, signaling the hire of a new head coach, two comments keep resurfacing.

1. Notre Dame isn’t an elite football coaching job anymore.

2. Notre Dame should join a conference.

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An all-SEC BCS title game?

By Tom Dienhart
November 12, 2009


Many already are asking the question: What are the chances of Alabama and Florida playing for the national championship?

According to Jerry Palm of CollegeBCS.com, a lot would need to happen. At minimum, in order to get a rematch of the SEC title game, Texas would have to lose on Dec. 5 in the Big 12 championship game. Given the relative weakness of the Big 12 North, that is unlikely.

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BCS: Texas new No. 2, Cincinnati cracks top five

By Mike Huguenin
November 1, 2009


Texas used its big victory at Oklahoma State to move up one spot, to second, in this week's BCS standings.

Florida still is No. 1, and idle Alabama switched places with the Longhorns.

The Gators and Crimson Tide remain on a collision course to play in the SEC championship game, with a spot in the BCS title game to the winner.

Iowa remained fourth but did lose ground in the computers. The Hawkeyes' average computer ranking was No. 1 last week, but it's No. 2 this week -- behind Florida.

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Notre Dame's aim: Win USC game to regain name

By Dennis Dodd
October 15, 2009


SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Part of it is our fault for not asking more direct questions. We tap danced around the subject this week at Notre Dame's media day, but, really, what else can you say? Everybody knows it. It is as nagging as smoker's cough in Charlie Weis' fifth year at the nation's most famous program.

His best "win" is a loss.

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Helmet-to-helmet hits draw closer NCAA scrutiny

By Kelly Whiteside
September 29, 2009


College football officials are cracking down on flagrant fouls, particularly helmet-to-helmet contact, as a result of a new NCAA rule which mandates a post-game video review by conference officials after a dangerous foul is committed.

"The message is clear that we don't want these vicious hits to the head that can lead to serious injury," said Dave Parry, the national coordinator of officials. "And kids who dip their head and go in like a spear can be injured just as badly (as the player who gets hit)."

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Longhorn greats considered for All-Decade team

By Dan Hurwitz
September 10, 2009


The past 10 years of Texas football have been unlike any in history.

Mack Brown has lifted the program back to its elite status and by the looks of it, the Longhorns will remain among the best for a long time.
 

Defensive Backs:

Dozens of defensive backs have come and gone through Austin during the past ten years. Some have won Thorpe awards, national championships and even Super Bowls.

Here are the nominees for the best Longhorn defensive back since the new millennium.

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NCAA Football: Pac-10 lacking talented teams, Trojans on top — Pacific coast squads consistently overrated by fans, local media

By Chris Tavarez
July 28, 2009


The Trojans have long been the class of the Pac-10, winning two straight national championships before falling to Texas in 2006.

Ah, do you smell that? It’s the smell of freshly cut (or installed) grass, a freshly painted field, a stadium finishing up renovations.

Yes, it’s the smell of college football. If you want further proof just tune in to your local news station — SEC media days were last week (in case you somehow managed to miss them), and the Big 12, ACC and Big 10 all started theirs Monday.

So with the new football season quickly approaching, it’s time we take a look at the big six BCS conferences, starting with the Pac-10.

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NCAA might finally show its teeth with USC's case

By Dave Curtis
July 2, 2009


Could NCAA sancutions knock Pete Carroll's Trojans out of college football's elite? Watch out, USC. Some influential folks in the NCAA are yearning to hammer a school that has strayed from its rules on recruiting and/or academics. So if what's published about Reggie Bush turns out to be the truth, the Trojans will be the first major football program in at least five years to face serious sanctions.
 
History would say otherwise. Recent examples, especially the Florida State academic fraud and the Alabama textbook cases, show the NCAA has spared the rod on its top programs. Probation and vacation of victories have replaced significant scholarship losses and postseason or television bans as popular punishment.

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Whispers: Post-spring Pac-10 questions

Tom Dienhart
June 9, 2009


Spring practice is finished across the nation, but not every question was answered. Every school has one big, vexing query that hangs over its program.

This is part five of a series examining the biggest question each "Big Six" squad faces.

This week, we look at the Pac-10.

Arizona: Will the new quarterback produce? Sophomores Matt Scott and Nick Foles, who began his career at Michigan State, are the candidates to replace Willie Tuitama. Both are capable of running the offense and both are more mobile than Tuitama. Don't be shocked if offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes cooks up some schemes that get each on the field for an attack that was 60 percent pass, 40 percent run last season, yet still produced a 1,000-yard rusher in Nicolas Grigsby.

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Now Calling Pitches, Not Signals

By RAY GLIER
March 4, 2009


TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As a promising high school catcher, Chris Smelley once hoped to play in the majors, but football — the giant of the South — grabbed him and would not let go.

The blasts of noise inside the colossal stadiums of the Southeastern Conference were exhilarating, the players were heroes and the teamwork necessary to win in a caldron of 80,000 fans sharpened skills. It all seemed so irresistible to Smelley, who happened to be a promising quarterback, too.

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Bill proposed to create NCAA playoff system

By Blake Hamilton
January 29, 2009


Measures are being taken on Capitol Hill that could put an end to college football’s Bowl Championship Series forever.

Congressman Gary Miller (R-CA) introduced H.R. 599, a bill that would deny federal funds to any Football Bowl Subdivision school not adopting a playoff system, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives Jan. 16.

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USF Bulls football team fires offensive coordinator Greg Gregory

By Greg Auman
January 18, 2009


TAMPA — USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory, whose struggling offense factored heavily in USF going 2-5 in the Big East, has been "released from his duties" by coach Jim Leavitt, the school announced late Saturday.

"Greg is an outstanding coach, and I appreciate everything he has done for us. It is time for our program to move in another direction," Leavitt said in a statement.

Leavitt and Gregory, 51, did not return calls seeking comment Saturday night.

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Pontiac Announces Finalists For 2008 NCAA Football Game Changing Performance Of The Year

December 5, 2008


DETROIT – Pontiac and the NCAA® are challenging college football fans to determine the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year”—the first and only fan-voted scholarship award in the history of the NCAA.

Now, fourteen weeks of NCAA football have led us to fourteen plays vying for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year and a $100,000 general scholarship contribution from Pontiac.

This year’s finalists are:

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Mitch's Week 11 College Football Picks Part Two

By miamimitchdotcom
November 04, 2008


We have Wednesday night college football that has meaning this week.

Now, a lot of these weekday games seem to be just tests to see how addicted are we to the game we love, college football, but Wednesday's games look like someone actually cares...

We have Wednesday night college football that has meaning this week.
Now, a lot of these weekday games seem to be just tests to see how addicted are we to the game we love, college football, but Wednesday's games look like someone actually cares. It's like they put these games on Wednesday so we all get a chance to see them.

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Quarterback Club to establish academic endowment for football program

Wednesday, May 28, 2008


University Park, Pa. — The State College Quarterback Club is donating $50,000 to Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics to establish an endowment to assist the academic pursuits of members of the Nittany Lion Football team.

The fund will be called The State College Quarterback Club Academic Enhancement Fund for Football. The annual income this endowment produces, in perpetuity, will be used to enhance the academic performance of Penn State football student-athletes. The fund could be utilized for such things as computers, additional tutors and academic support staffing and academic counselors, as well as any other priority needs that are identified.

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'MNF' reduces roles for field reporters Kolber, Tafoya

By Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY


The latest tweak in ESPN's Monday Night Football will try addition by subtraction: Reporters Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya, although they'll be at games, will be largely shelved.

MNF needs to rein in the chat. It had Kolber and Tafoya getting about as much air time as any sideline reporters in TV sports, as well as an outgoing three-man booth —Tony Kornheiser, Ron Jaworski and Mike Tirico — plus celebs dropping by to add to the chorus.

Although their roles will be greatly reduced, Kolber and Tafoya could pop up on ESPN and espn.com pregame and postgame shows — or even on TV during games if there is news to report. Said ESPN's Mike Soltys Sunday: "Their precise roles are currently being determined."

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Will Dolphins take Ryan No. 1?

January 18, 2008
Frank Coyle of draftinsiders.com
Special to Rivals.com College Football


The Miami Dolphins theoretically are on the clock for the 2008 NFL Draft, and don't be surprised if they select Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan with the top overall choice.

Ryan was the nation's most improved player this season, and his performance moved him up draft boards. He ranks among the top three prospects in this class, and he is a player the Dolphins have begun exploring strongly.

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Long-Time HU Football Coach Joe Taylor to Leave Pirates

Jerrry Holmes Takes over Hampton Football Program

Long-time Hampton University head football coach Joseph Taylor has announced his intentions to leave the University and to accept an offer to coach at another university, according Lonza Hardy Jr., Hampton University's Director of Athletics.

Hardy said Taylor indicated to him late last week that he had another offer on the table and that he had decided to accept that offer.  It is expected that the coach will make an official announcement of his new position on Monday.

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Sobering thoughts

By Terry Bowden, Yahoo! Sports
November 30, 2007

Even though Sean Taylor had been with the Washington Redskins for almost four years, most of us remember him at "The U," delivering some of the hardest hits you've ever seen. At only 24, Taylor was shot and killed in his Miami home earlier this week, the tragedy having so many veins. He leaves behind a family, including an 18-month-old daughter, friends, teammates and coaches who will be forever changed by his passing.

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