From the moment coach Brady Hoke took over at Michigan, he tried to instill some of the hard work and dedication of the Navy SEALs into the Wolverines.

Last August, Hoke gave each of his players a maize and blue trident that have each player's name and hang in the team meeting room in Schembechler Hall.

This year, Hoke has paired 22 of his team leaders with SEALs for leadership training in California. Michigan football announced the trip on both its Twitter and Facebook page.

Hoke established a relationship with the Navy SEALs while at San Diego State and has consistently tried to bring the same values to his team.

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While speaking to the Polk County Gator Club last week, Muschamp didn't exactly endorse College Station tourism.

"You ever been to College Station?" Muschamp asked. "It'll be the only time you go."

Sumlin in turn told the San Antonio Express-News: "He needs to worry about his own team."

Oooo, burn.

OK, so it's not Steve Spurrier and Dabo Swinney exchanging jabs (or perceived jabs), but Sumlin is new to the conference and just getting his feet wet in terms of trash talk.

And really, Muschamp is already kind of worrying about his team - and its SEC opener in such a terrible place.

Regardless, it's good to see Sumlin sticking up for his town a little bit. Perhaps in five years he'll be telling us the Aggies are bad, but at least they're not Florida.

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The Big 12/SEC decision to create a "Champions Bowl" in an effort to match the Pac-12/Big Ten's Rose Bowl ties might have just backfired.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the "Champions Bowl" was a "game-changer" and that it might have reopened the door for the previously tabled idea of a plus-one game to determine college football's national champion.

"I'd say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn't have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday's a game-changer," Scott told the Wall State Journal. "We're pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it's possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction."

Ugh.

A plus-one model keeps the bowl system and tacks on an extra game to decide the national champion. But deciding which teams should earn a spot in that coveted extra game has always been controversial and will be even more so with the Big 12/SEC partnership in the "Champions Bowl." That game would more than likely pit the two top teams in the country in a makeshift semifinal game. Similarly, the Rose Bowl might do the same thing.

The plus-one model could allow an undefeated Big East or ACC team to sneak into the national title game, but more than likely it will shut out those conferences as well as the nonautomatic qualifying schools because of strength of schedule (if that's added back into the rankings mix).

As Yahoo! Sports colleague Dan Wetzel said on Twitter: "Plus One is less fan friendly, more controversial and less profitable than 4-team playoff. Other than that, it's great."

Of course, this is just Scott's take on the future of college football. The 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame have been diligently working on a four-team playoff that, while not perfect, would be a more fair representation of college football's best teams and give them all a chance to compete for the national title.

While Scott's comments definitely throw a monkey wrench into the discussions regarding changes to the BCS, I doubt it will change the course to a four-team playoff. The plus-one model isn't new and it was already pushed aside. The "Champions Bowl" shouldn't change that and if anything, I think it would provide further proof that the best teams might not end up playing for a national title.

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Burns had blood clots in his brain, which led to the stroke. Doctors opted not to do surgery because of the risks, but Burns' adoptive father, Dan, said the prognosis was good.

"He was doing fantastic [on Wednesday]," Dan Burns told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He was very upbeat. He's still very weak on the right side, but his prognosis is very good. He has massive blood clots in his brain, and they're working to dissolve those."

Unfortunately, the stroke will end Burns' football career as he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. Burns played in one game for the Panthers, but was competing for the starting fullback spot for 2012.

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Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne announced during his Wildcat Wednesday email that the Wildcats were adding a copper helmet to their repertoire.

And I gotta say, it's pretty slick.

The copper is definitely unique. In the email to fans, Byrne said the copper was a tribute to the great mining state of Arizona.

"Copper is not only associated with our great state's mining history, but it has influenced architectural design on campus, including our athletic facilities -- most notably the ring at the top of the McKale Center, and the future North End Zone Football Complex.

"As such we embrace the idea that as the University of Arizona we will incorporate copper into a special helmet design to represent our state and University. Copper will not replace our traditional colors of red and blue, and the copper helmet will be worn on a limited basis."

It will be interesting to see which type of uniform combination the Wildcats decide to use with this helmet. The first thought would be all white, though I think the blue uniforms would really make this helmet stand out.

While teams all over the country are making radical changes to their uniforms, I think this subtle change is going to look good on Arizona. Now if it could only bring back the red helmet from 1980.

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Photo courtesy of Tucson Citizen

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Ohio State announced Wednesday that the school plans to give all student-athletes an iPad as part of an academic support initiative.

The school will initially distribute 500 iPad's as part of the school's Digital First program with hopes to get every student athlete a n iPad within two years. Just a guess, but I bet football players are among the first to receive a coveted iPad.

Ohio State's athletic department will fund the program, but will examine additional funding for the future.

Shockingly, Ohio State isn't the first university to provide its athletes with an iPad. The University of Colorado provides iPads for its football players and several other schools have handed out laptops as part of their academic support programs.

I'm guessing the iPad's will be heavily monitored so that they don't end up being traded in for tattoos.

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It's a mixture of moments that run through the mind of Duke offensive lineman Dave Harding when he reflects on his offensive line's trip to Ethiopia earlier this month.

Harding, a junior for the Blue Devils and son of missionaries, had been visiting and doing charitable work in Ethiopia every summer since he was 12 and had almost become desensitized to the poverty and struggle. It wasn't until he took nine of his offensive line teammates and a strength coach with him that he remembered what a life-changing experience such a trip could be.

"It's easy to become complacent," Harding told Yahoo! Sports. "After going to Ethiopia so many times you come to find that what you see over there is normal. Traveling with all my teammates and it being their first time, it really opened me up and reminded me what things are different and gave me a chance to look at Ethiopia as if it was my first time again."

Members of the Duke offensive line - Harding, Takoby Cofield, Cody Robinson, Conor Irwin, Laken Tomlinson, Brian Moore, Travis Gibson, Joey Finison, Teddy Force and Perry Simmons - spent 10 days (plus two traveling) in Ethiopia building two wells, working with an orphanage and running a sports camp with about 200 kids. Harding had approached the coaching staff with the idea every year he had been on campus, but this past January, things started to fall into place. With the help of a group called Water is Life International, the nine players and strength and conditioning coach Marcus Johnson were able to make the dream a reality.

"It was something that shaped me and made me who I am and I wanted the rest of my teammates to get that experience as well," said Harding, whose father is an agricultural engineer who is also on the Water is Life Board of Directors. "It was a great chance for a lot of guys to learn about one another and to struggle through different situations together, especially without the distractions of home."

The trip was about more than serving the people of Ethiopia, though that was a huge draw, it was also about bringing the offensive line closer together. Cofield said prior to the trip, there were a lot of cliques on the offensive line and cohesion was an issue.

"Our new offensive line coach - coach (John) Latina - came in and told us we needed to bond more and we needed to be more of a unit," Cofield said. "So, from his perspective we definitely needed it and I guess that's why all of us jumped at it and wanted to go and experience it.

"Offensive line is five guys working together all of the time. So being comfortable with each other is something that is pretty essential. It felt like it helped us a lot."

The group did get to learn a lot about each other just from the close quarters they shared, which included bunk beds for the 300-plus-pound linemen and candlelight walks through the African bush to the showers.

"Everyone was a little scared to walk through the African bush at night so we installed the buddy system," Harding said. "It made for even more team bonding there. Nothing like holding on to each other as you walk though the bush. Stuff like that is just like funny memories and good stuff."

There was also a great sense of accomplishment. The group finished one well and began drilling another. The addition of the wells meant villagers wouldn't have to walk more than two miles to get fresh water.

Cofield said the experience would have a profound effect on his life. He recalled a man helping the group build one of the wells and remarked about how hard the man worked and how excited he was about the project. What Cofield didn't learn until later was that the man had a club foot, a birth defect where the afflicted appears to walk on their ankles.

"He was picking up 100-pound bags of concrete and walking across a bridge with them, jumping up and down and just always enthusiastic," Cofield said. "It just kind of shocked me and made me realize that no matter what you think your situation is and if you think your situation is bad someone might have it worse. He showed me the definition of hard work through adversity and I'll never forget that."

Since the group has returned, Harding said he's been inundated with requests about another trip. He said putting this one together was tougher and more time-consuming than he imagined, but that he wouldn't be opposed to doing another trip with as many as 14 players next year.

"You think you've struggled until you see what these people have to do and the lives that they live," Harding said. "They're working to survive on a day-to-day basis. It makes you grateful for what we have."

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According to Chris Level of Rivals' RedRaiderSports.com, Del Conte, who was trying to pump up his new conference, told the group of about 200 that while the Big 12 was once in trouble, it "now has schools like Florida State, Clemson and Miami trying to get in."

Unfortunately, that was supposed to be a secret.

While rumors have been floating around about interest between the Big 12 and those ACC teams, no one had actually confirmed it - until now.

Prior to Del Conte's slip of the tongue, Florida State had done nothing but deny there was any interest in the Seminoles leaving the ACC. Clemson and Miami also had remained mute on the subject.

But there were too many rumors floating around to think that the whole thing might not have some legs.

Del Conte was a little more judicious while appearing on the Double T radio show this morning. While he acknowledged that expansion is on the horizon, he also noted that the Big 12 was in a position of power and could take its time choosing the right candidates.

"From my standpoint of right now, I want to stay let's take our breath. We are in a position of strength. Let's not rush into anything. We know expansion has to happen. It may not be for a while. We are in the catbird seat right now. We don't need to rush it. You are excited all of these teams want into the Big 12 and two years ago it was going to disintegrate."

It's doubtful that Del Conte's words will actually bring about any backlash, but he'll surely know in the future to spin his words more carefully.

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Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze wants to make sure the Rebels get back to winning, but in order to do that, he needs players. So, instead of picking a handful of players to recruit, Freeze and his staff have blanketed the country with offers — 241 offers (and counting) to be exact.

That's right, Ole Miss has 241 verbal offers out to fill 25-30 spots for the 2013 class.

"You have to recruit nationally," Freeze told the Clarion-Ledger. "I think you can do that at Ole Miss, but in order to do that you got to get into the game with them."

Of course, the majority of those offered are some of the elite recruits in the country and many of them have committed to other places, but Ole Miss has no chance of snagging the elite if it doesn't offer. And so far Freeze's blanket approach has paid some dividends. The Rebels have 10 commitments for the 2013 class and three of those players are four-star recruits, according to Rivals.

[Big East finally gets good news: Boise State is on the way]

The majority of the recruits are regional — two from Mississippi, two from Tennessee, two from Louisiana and one from Georgia — but there also are commitments from Indiana, Texas and California.

"I think we're in the top five for 10 or so kids that are national guys," Freeze told the paper. "Now what does top five mean? Probably nothing in of itself, other than we got a shot at getting a trip. If we get a trip, you got a chance. We have to do well here locally, but certainly if you can get a guy that can impact your program you really don't care where he comes from."

While 241 might seem like a high number, Mike Farrell, national recruiting analyst from Rivals.com, said it's not uncommon because verbal offers aren't worth much.

"Of course it looks insane and out of control to have 241 offers (our database count at last check) for a class of between 25 and 30 players, but these offers mean as much as the paper they are printed on (none)," Farrell said in an email. "Coaches can now hand out offers like candy on Halloween with few repercussions if a prospect tries to commit and they turn him down."

Farrell said schools are throwing out more verbal offers these days because of the NCAA's decision to push back the date written offers can be doled out. In the summer of 2010, the NCAA changed the written offer date from Sept. 1 of a recruit's junior season to Aug. 1 of their senior year. This means universities can show a recruit it's interested, but not be locked in to giving a scholarship if something better comes along.

"Until the NCAA corrects the mistake they made by pushing back the written offer date, this will continue to happen," Farrell said. "Schools like Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and others have gone overboard yes, but I think this is less an issue of a certain head coach going off the rails than it is a change in policy by the NCAA that was designed to slow down the recruiting process and has done the exact opposite."

[Also: Joe Paterno's widow receives $13.4 million pension payment]

But Freeze doesn't look at it that way. He said the verbal offers are a way to gauge interest and to figure out which guys are worth pursuing and which ones should be left alone.

Recruiting is a hit-and-miss affair, especially for a program that went 2-10 last season and is in the midst of a 15-game SEC losing streak. Those things alone can subject the Rebels to negative recruiting from other schools, so sending out as many feelers as possible might not be such a bad thing.

"If you're not in the game, you got no chance at hitting a home run," Freeze told the paper. "You have to get up to the plate."

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Related college football news from Yahoo! Sports:

More sports news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute:

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
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We haven't seen a good trick shot video in at least a year, so I want to thank Nick DiChiara for rekindling the fire. DiChiara, who recently graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Boston, will play football at Colgate next year and at the very least the Raiders will know they're getting a player who can snap a ball into a moving trashcan.

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H/T to @SIHolly

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Four months after Joe Paterno died due to complications from lung cancer, his widow, Sue, will start receiving a state pension of $13.4 million for her husband's 61-year coaching career at Penn State.

Paterno was fired from Penn State in early November for his role in the sexual abuse case involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was accused of sexually abusing several boys, including some in the Penn State locker room and showers. Paterno was alerted to this fact, but only told his bosses and did not alert authorities.

Paterno died in January at the age of 85.

Sue Paterno will receive $10.1 million by the end of the month and the rest will be paid out over the next two years. According to Paterno family spokesman Dan McGinn, the family will donate $1.5 million of that sum to various Penn State and State College charities.

The Paternos received a $5.5 million financial package earlier this spring and were given the option to have Joe Paterno's name placed on the stadium, which they rejected.

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More sports news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute:

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
• NFL to mandate additional padding for players
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• Shine: Florida law firm fires 14 people for wearing orange

Andrew Luck's legacy at Stanford will live on forever - in monetary form.

The university announced Tuesday that an anonymous donor endowed a gift to the offensive coordinator position in the name of Luck, this year's No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and the player responsible for putting Stanford football back on the map.

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton will now be known as the Andrew Luck Director of Offense.

"I am very pleased that Andrew Luck's name will be perpetually tied to the Director of Offense position at Stanford," said coach David Shaw, whose position is technically Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. "Because of his great play on the field, his intellect and his great relationships with the coaching staff, Andrew allowed us to do so much on offense the last three years at Stanford. He set the bar high for himself, for every quarterback who comes to Stanford, and for our performance as an offense."

Prior to Luck enrolling at Stanford in 2009, the Cardinal had seven consecutive losing seasons. During Luck's three seasons as starter, he was 31-7, including 8-3 against Top 25 teams.

This is a very cool honor for Luck, who put Stanford in a great position to be one of the powers in the Pac-12 for quite some time.

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It's hard being President.

You have to lead, make unpopular decisions and no one thinks you're doing a good job. So, it was no surprise that while visiting Soldier Field for the NATO summit, President Barack Obama decided to channel his inner Jay Cutler, who feels many of those same feelings on a weekly basis.

During a working dinner, Obama and several other leaders decided to throw the football around to get a bit of a break from the monotony of solving the world's problems.

The White House posted the photo, but Obama also tweeted it while quoting the famous line from the hit TV show Friday Night Lights. I thought that was pretty awesome. I bet the President was a Tim Riggins fan.

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Former West Virginia coach Bill Stewart died of an apparent heart attack Monday, according to a release sent out by the school.

Stewart, 59, was playing in a golf outing sponsored by the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association at Stonewall Jackson resort with former WVU athletic director Ed Pastilong when he collapsed. He was taken to Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston, W.Va., where he was pronounced dead.

"Mountaineer nation is truly saddened today to learn of the untimely passing of Coach Bill Stewart," West Virginia president Jim Clements said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to the Stewart family and Bill's many friends. He was a compassionate, energetic, and kind person. He loved his family dearly and was extremely community-oriented and very giving of his time. He will be greatly missed."

Stewart will probably best be known as the man who both saved and tarnished West Virginia during his three seasons with the Mountaineers.

In 2007, after coach Rich Rodriguez announced he was leaving the program for Michigan, Stewart led the Mountaineers to a 48-28 upset win over No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and became the knee-jerk emotional fulltime replacement for Rodriguez. It wasn't a terrible hire. Stewart won nine games in each of his three seasons, but West Virginia knew the experiment needed to end and brought in former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen as a coach-in-waiting.

This began Stewart's downfall.

Colin Dunlap, who covered the Mountainners for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in December, but had resigned in May, told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Stewart called him on Dec. 18 and asked him to dig up "dirt" on Holgorsen. Athletic director Oliver Luck asked Stewart to resign and his head coaching career with the Mountainners ended as emotionally and abruptly as it began.

Despite the way Stewart's career ended, it's hard to find a student-athlete who didn't enjoy playing for him or a person who met him who didn't genuinely enjoy his company.

"Like all of us in the West Virginia community, I am shocked and saddened by the passing of Coach Stewart," Holgorsen said in a statement. "The State of West Virginia, our University and our football program has lost a true Mountaineer who gave his native state university a decade of coaching service and a lifetime of guidance and inspiration to thousands of young men over a 33-year career. Though Coach Stewart achieved many great milestones on the field, we will most remember his kindness and compassion. Our football family expresses our deepest sympathy to Karen, Blaine and the extended Stewart family."

West Virginia University did not have any further details about services for its former head coach.

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Ten minutes might not be enough to fully appreciate the impact 16 USC players made on the village of Sous Savanne in Haiti last week, but it's a pretty good start.

USC released a short video chronicling its nearly weeklong trip to Haiti to help build houses and work with an orphanage and school.

"The first hour of just us driving in was enough for me just to tell myself that I'm never ever going to complain about anything ever again," defensive lineman Kevin Greene says in the video.

The Doc wrote a story last week examining what such a trip would mean to these players and the university and the emotion and appreciation comes through in the video.

The trip was organized by Les Barkley, father of quarterback Matt Barkley, and backed by a disaster relief organization called Hope Force International.

"I think it sparked something in me that I'm going to continue to do the rest of my life," defensive lineman Devon Kennard says in the video.

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In 2000, Ward became the first woman to do play-by-play for nationally televised college football games and subsequently took more than a decade of guff from a male-dominated viewership.

Recently, Ward spent a lot of time calling games from the nonautomatic qualifying conferences and some of the lesser Big Ten games.

She wasn't the best announcer in college football, but she wasn't nearly the worst. That title perhaps belongs to Craig James, who also won't be back this fall with ESPN because of his campaign to be a U.S. Senator.

That's not to say Ward didn't have her moments. Awfulannouncing.com often chronicled those moments on a weekly basis as well as other awful announcing blunders. The site gave out yearly awards called the "Pammies" named after Ward.

"For a decade, Pam has been a trailblazing voice on college football," ESPN's Mike Humes told SI.com's Richard Deitsch. "She will continue to be a big part of our coverage plans across multiple sports including college basketball, softball, the WNBA and more."

ESPN/ABC will still have at least one female announcer remaining in the rotation in Beth Mowins, who called Saturday afternoon games on ESPN2.

This has truly been a banner offseason for the college football fan. First Craig James, then a college football playoff, and now Ward? College football fans, rejoice at your good fortune.

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Many coaches use Facebook and Twitter as recruiting tools, but if a recruit wants to go to Virginia, he better have his resume and professional profile up to par.

Virginia coach Mike London told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that he uses LinkedIn, which advertises itself as the World's Largest Professional Network, to recruit.

"I'm on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and you name it," London told the paper. "We're Skyping and doing all those things. If it's allowable by the NCAA, then you can use every Social Network means necessary to get your messages across … You will find out more about guys on Facebook and Twitter sometimes than you will having a 10-minute conversation with them because a lot of times they will let their guard down and show a side maybe you haven't thought about before. Social Media networks are now something that are very prevalent in recruiting."

LinkedIn is like Facebook except it's used mostly be professionals seeking employment. Not sure how many recruits are rocking a LinkedIn profile these days. However, many people want to consider college football a fulltime job and pay student-athletes for their time. Perhaps recruiting via LinkedIn is a social networking political statement.

Or maybe London was just naming every social media outlet he could in an effort to cover his bases. You do have to feel for all those guys still stuck on MySpace and Friendster, though. They never get any offers.

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For the past week, we here at the Doc have chronicled the Missouri-Kansas feud that has been brewing over license plates and the drive by the Kansas University Alumni Association to get a Jayhawk-themed license plate in the state of the Missouri.

So far, this is the closest thing to the rekindling of this rivalry.

On Wednesday, Missouri Rep. Stephen Webber, who is based in Columbia, Mo., the home of the University of Missouri, sponsored a house-approved amendment blocking the Jayhawk from appearing on Missouri plates and said he would continue to do so until Kansas agreed to play Missouri in football and basketball.

We applauded Webber's attempt to get this rivalry back on track, but now that the audio of his rant about the license plates to the House of Representatives has been released, we're rethinking that endorsement.

Here is the text of his opposition to the license plates:

"Madam Speaker, I'm of course referring to the effort by some to affix the dreaded, disgusting Jayhawk symbol onto our Missouri license plates. Madam Speaker, in this state we brew the beer that the world drinks; we build the fighter planes that keep the world free; we raise the food that the world eats; and we raise Tiger fans. Madam Speaker, I was raised as one of those Tiger fans. To me there's no sweeter sounds than a good M-I-Z-screw-K-U chant.

Madam Speaker, there not nights that my town is happier than when those folks from the west have come into our community and in the Hearnes Center, Mizzou Arena we sent them whimpering back across the border. Madam Speaker, I would oppose an effort to affix that symbol to our license plates under pretty much any circumstance.

But it is exceptionally insulting this year. Madam Speaker, this year is the year that those folks to the west, after 120 years of competition, have decided that they no longer wish to meet our football team on the field of athletic competition. Now, to be honest, after the beat down that we've given them the last couple of years, I understand their decision. It is also the year that they've decided their basketball team, which they think very highly of, but if the year that they can't find the heart, they can't find the courage to play us, is the year that they want to add something to our license plate? I say, not if this body has anything to do with it.

Madam Speaker, I want to prevent the dreaded Jayhawk, the disgusting Jayhawk form being affixed to our beautifully crafted state license plates. I'm a reasonable person, though, Madam Speaker, and I tell you what: I think we should pass this amendment, and, if in the next 365 days, the Jayhawks find the courage to dig down in themselves and actually play us, then, Madam Speaker, I personally will file legislation to repeal this amendment. But if they're not willing to stand and play us, then, Madam Speaker, I say M-I-Z-no-KU."

This is quite possibly the worst speech ever written and gives me pause about the education one actually needs to be in the Missouri House of Representatives. Is a license plate really worth all of this? For the record, Rep. Webber didn't even go to Missouri. He went to Saint Louis University, so blame that school for his poor prose.

This rant is just ripe for ridicule. Didn't Missouri learn its lesson after its "We Are Mizzou" rap video and the subsequent KU rap video mocking it?

Again, we're all for Missouri and Kansas rekindling its rivalry, but the state of Missouri needs to put someone else in charge of spearheading the movement.

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H/T to Lost Lettermen

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Over the weekend he proved it by posting a picture of himself posing with the dead bear. Animal lovers, look away.

The bear is huge. Leach tweeted that it was 7-foot-4 and the biggest the guide had seen in his 15 years in the woods.

According to Leach, the hunt, which he did with former Cal quarterback and outdoor sports enthusiast Mike Pawlawski on Thursday, will be aired on the Outdoor Channel. Pawlawski hosts a show on the Outdoor Channel called "Familiar Waters."

Unfortunately, Leach didn't know when his hunt will air on the channel, but I know we'll all be tuning in when it does.

Perhaps this is a college coaching series because after spending last week in Canada with Leach, Pawlawski tweeted that he was heading to the Florida Keys to go deep-sea fishing with Urban Meyer and his son Nate.

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Attention Big 12 teams: Dana Holgorsen would like you all to know that West Virginia is going to exclusively run the triple option next year.

"We've got all kinds of triple option stuff," Holgorsen told Yahoo! Sports deadpan. "I'd encourage you to write that."

Of course, Holgorsen was kidding, but as one of the new kids on the Big 12's proverbial block, West Virginia wants to be as much of a surprise to its new league opponents as possible.

"Actually, we could slip some speed option in there," Holgorsen said. "(Quarterback) Geno (Smith) is not quite the athlete Robert Griffin was, but he's a good athlete so we could probably do some speed option."

While the Mountaineers probably won't be running much speed option either, the thing is you never quite know with Holgorsen, who has become quite the offensive innovator in the past few years, especially among Big 12 schools. He was part of the staff that made Texas Tech such an offensive force and is responsible for making Oklahoma State one of the most offensively exciting teams in the country. That's why as Holgorsen and his Mountaineers embark on their first season in the Big 12, they're at both an advantage and a disadvantage.

"There's not a whole lot of stuff that's secret anymore," he said.

But he did manage to raise a few eyebrows during the 70-33 rout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl with a Fly-Sweep play that had Smith in the shotgun seemingly batting a hiked ball to a runner in motion across the pattern. West Virginia scored on the play four times and Holgorsen said it probably could have been more.

While the play appeared to be a new addition for the bowl game, Holgorsen said it's something he started running while he was the offensive coordinator at Houston. He learned the play from Colorado School of Mines coach Bob Stitt during a one-back camp.

Holgorsen decided to try out the play while Stitt was watching a Houston practice and Stitt wasn't impressed. Holgorsen was running it wrong and Stitt stepped in to show quarterback Case Keenum the right way to run it — the way West Virginia executed it to perfection.

Knowing that play was something Holgorsen pulled from his Conference USA days in 2008 has to give defensive coordinators pause. What else did he run back then while no one was paying attention? During Holgorsen's two seasons at Houston, the Cougars ranked No. 2 (2008) and No. 1 (2009) in total offense and Keenum was first in total offense individually. And it's a pretty safe bet not a lot of Big 12 defensive coordinators were scouting Houston in those days.

Even scarier, Stitt already has spent some time in Morgantown, W.Va., this offseason swapping ideas.

Because of Holgorsen, West Virginia is a stellar offensive addition to a league that already has his offensive genius all over it.

"There are definitely some similarities and I think we'll fit in well," Holgorsen said. "I think we'll bring something to the table, too. The style of ball is going to be similar, but what we have to offer here in Morgantown is pretty cool, too, just from a venue standpoint. Football is as important as it is in the other Big 12 schools. From an environment standpoint, it's going to be bigtime football. I'd assume 10 is better than nine when it comes to that. I've been to all those venues and I've been to the venue here as well and we'll fit right in."

Kind of like how Holgorsen has fit right in at West Virginia. After Bill Stewart was fired, there were some questions about whether Holgorsen was ready to lead West Virginia and how the team would respond. And while there were some bumps in the road — notably a loss to Syracuse — the Mountaineers went on to have their first 10-win season since 2007 capped by an Orange Bowl that set multiple offensive records and made West Virginia the talk of college football.

"The thing about a bowl game is, you win and it gives you momentum," Holgorsen said. "But you win like that on that stage and it really gives you momentum. So, it made the academics here better. It made the voluntary workouts here better. It made recruiting better. The season ticket sales are up. The booster club support is up. It made everything better."

Last offseason, Holgorsen spent a lot of time touring the state, shaking hands and doing a lot of West Virginia-type things that he didn't necessarily like to do.

"I hate fishing," said Holgorsen, who went fishing with several boosters and basketball coach Bob Huggins last June. "I like down time at times and peace and quiet and that sort of thing, but fishing is boring."

This offseason, Holgorsen said he's focusing more on coaching, watching film every day and getting his program ready for a move back to his old conference. Because he knows that despite West Virginia's good fortune last year, the expectations will be even higher in the Big 12.

"We won 10 games, we won a championship, a BCS game," he said. "It's always what have you done for me lately, so I assume everyone would be OK with me at this point."

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In official "take that Rose Bowl" fashion, the SEC and Big 12 announced Friday they are forming their own postseason bowl alliance following the 2014 season.

The champions of the two conferences will play in the bowl game — site and date undetermined — unless they are among the four teams chosen for the potential playoff to determine the national champion.

If the conference champions are not available, the next best teams would participate.

"A new January bowl tradition is born," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said in a statement released by the Big 12. "This new game will provide a great matchup between the two most successful conferences in the BCS era and will complement the exciting postseason atmosphere created by the new four-team model. Most importantly, it will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans with an outstanding bowl experience."

[Related: College football may celebrate July 4 with independence from the BCS]

This power move will probably result in a power venue. The first place that comes to mind is Dallas Cowboys Stadium, which has successfully hosted many college football games and has been trying to work its way into the BCS system. However, nothing will be set until the playoff venues are determined. If the commissioners decide to go with neutral sites, then Jerry Jones would certainly want his stadium to be among those considered.

It's almost amazing to think that just two years ago the Big 12 was struggling to stay afloat. Colorado and Nebraska had left for the Pac-12 and Big Ten respectively and almost the entire Big 12 South was entertaining the idea of joining the Pac-12. Now, the Big 12 is striking deals with the best conference in college football and positioning itself as one of the power brokers in the sport.

This is an epic swan song for Chuck Neinas, the interim commissioner, who not only stabilized the Big 12, but helped it prosper by adding West Virginia and TCU and ultimately this deal. This new bowl game is the equivalent to the Big Ten and Pac-12's Rose Bowl deal without the tradition. It also provides those two conferences an opportunity to send their champions to the Rose Bowl under the same provisions as this new bowl deal.

On the flip side, this leaves the Big East and the ACC out in the cold. The Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC have asserted themselves as the major players in college football while the ACC and Big East are busy trying to work through their membership issues. If there were ever a time for certain ACC members to start entertaining overtures from any of these conferences, it would be now.

As the wheels of realignment continue to churn, college football is quickly becoming a sport of four power leagues and everyone else.

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The Alabama fan infamously caught on film sexually assaulting a passed out LSU fan in a Krystal restaurant on Bourbon Street following the BCS National Championship, has been indicted on sexual battery and obscenity charges by a grand jury.

Brian Downing, 32, was one of many Alabama fans taunting the LSU fan, who had had too much to drink and was left incapacitated with his head on a counter at the burger establishment. But once Downing unzipped his pants, exposed himself and began rubbing himself against the LSU fan's neck, that's when the taunting went too far.

Downing turned himself in on Jan. 19 after Heath Taylor, the sheriff of Russell County, Ala., recognized the then-unidentified assailant as his cousin, Downing.

The judge set Downing's bond at $50,000 and an arraignment is set for Monday. The alleged victim also filed suit against Downing. In the suit, the LSU fan said he suffered "mental anguish, humiliation, embarrassment, anxiety and depression… damage to reputation" and lost tuition payments "for having to withdraw from school."

Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro plans to prosecute Downing for what he called an incident far worse than a drunken prank.

"The DA has been consistent that this is a sex crime," said Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for Cannizzaro. "It's a crime of violence, and he takes the prosecution of those crimes very seriously."

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Mike Leach is not only a swashbuckling master of the high seas, apparently he's also quite the marksman in the deep woods of Alberta, Canada.

Leach tweeted he was going bear hunting with former Cal quarterback and outdoor sports enthusiast Mike Pawlawski and on Thursday he reported that he captured a trophy — a 7-foot, 350-pound black bear.

Of course, there are no pictures. Pawlawski posted a shot on his Twitter page from his scope as they were looking for black bears (see above), but no images of the downed bear itself. Perhaps Leach didn't want PETA knocking on his door or perhaps it's a fish (bear) tale.

I think if Mike Leach claims he shot a bear, he probably shot a bear. So to recap, in the past couple weeks, Leach has signed books, hosted a live chat on Reddit, signed more books and shot a bear.

Didn't he get a head coaching job at Washington State?

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As Arkansas tries to move on from former coach Bobby Petrino, it might be doing so with some new threads.

Nikeblog.com released a somewhat grainy photo of potential uniforms. If these are Arkansas new duds, gotta say I like the direction. The Razorbacks keep the traditional Cardinal and white uniforms, but add a black, which could be a great motivational/intimidation uniform during some of those tough SEC home games. And really, who doesn't enjoy a good black uniform? I also like the white helmet, though I have mixed feelings about the white Razorback on the side. I think a better photo might provide better perspective. I like the gradient look to the numbers, which is similar to what Arizona State wears.

If this is indeed Arkansas' new look for the upcoming season,  you have to think the university is trying its best to keep the players happy, focused and excited about what could be a pretty special season for Arkansas football. Let's just hope new photos emerge soon.

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Meyer, who spent nearly 30 minutes speaking to reporters on a variety of subjects, said he wasn't sold on the different playoff scenarios being floated out there and that the two-time national championship-winning coach preferred the current BCS method.

"You play in one of the bowl games and then it's [teams seeded] 4 vs. 1 and 2 vs. 3 and then you go play the championship game," he said. "I can only imagine the workload that's going to be on that coaching staff and those players. I can't even fathom that you're trying to get ready for a national championship in two days -- because that's what you've got because of travel.

"I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but I think the ideal setup is what's happened the last decade of football. I think we've had a true national champion."

Meyer said he did crave a college football playoff after the 2004 season when he was coaching Utah and the Utes finished 12-0 after beating Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl. The Utes became the first team from a non-BCS league to play in a BCS bowl and finished as one of three undefeated teams that year (USC and Auburn). The Utes ended the year ranked No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll, but who knows what might have happened had a playoff system been in place?

"I was [coaching] a Utah team where I was hoping for a playoff at that point because that's the only access we could have," Meyer said. "But I don't know. I can understand why it's happening. But I was not one of the screamers and yellers saying it was broken before."

Meyer also took issue with potential playoff games being played at neutral sites and really his argument was for the benefit of an opponent that might find itself playing in Columbus, Ohio, in late December or January.

"I would rather have neutral sites," Meyer said. "I'm not sure you can, on a crisp December day here in Columbus, have a Southern team come up to play. The Southern teams I coached [at Florida], I know it would be a problem."

Urban Meyer, still looking out for the SEC.

While there are a lot of coaches and athletic directors who share Meyer's sentiments about a playoff — including Michigan AD Dave Brandon, who thinks a true playoff should consist of more than four teams — the playoff train seems to be one that is moving quickly and shows no signs of stopping. Not sure even the great Urban Meyer can sway enough influence to get the college football powers-that-be to reconsider how they choose a national champion.

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Muschamp, who was the defensive coordinator at Texas from 2008-10, knows College Station well. Well enough, that he knows it's not one of his favorite places to visit.

"You ever been to College Station?" Muschamp asked a group at the Polk County Gator Club this week. "It'll be the only time you go."

Com'on Will. There's a Denny's, The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, a Raising Cane's Chicken Finger restaurant, what more do you need?

At least Muschamp was complimentary to the Aggie football atmosphere.

"It will be a very SEC-like atmosphere," Muschamp said. "It's one of the few places in the Big 12 that I would say that about."

And Muschamp and his Gators will get a big taste of that Aggie hospitality. It probably would have happened anyway since it's the Aggies first home game in their new league, but now, with Muschamp's smack talk, the entire 10-mile radius of College Station will be out for blood.

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"I don't deal in hypotheticals, I deal with what's tangible," Swofford told media Wednesday during the ACC spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla. "It's what we're doing as a league with the current 12, soon to be 14 membership league, and we're moving ahead on the basis of that full membership."

Rumors of Florida State's defection to the Big 12 have been rampant for the past week ever since Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com, laid out the reasons why a move would be beneficial for the Seminoles. Since then, everyone from Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher to members of the board of trustees has weighed in on the move.

[Dan Wetzel: FSU trustee may have lit the fuse on a move to the Big 12]

Wednesday, former linebacker Derrick Brooks told the Tim Brando Show that the Big 12 had reached out to Florida State and not the other way around.

"From my understanding, it is the Big 12, you know, wanting to talk to us," Brooks said. "Again that's from my understanding; that appears to be the case."

However, Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds, a member of the Big 12's four-man expansion committee, told the Austin American-Statesman earlier this week "there's no traction" in regards to Florida State joining the Big 12.

"They're a long ways away," Dodds said of Florida State. "There've been no conversations between Florida State and the Big 12."

New Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who officially takes over on June 15, told USA Today he thought conference expansion would be on the agenda of future conference meetings, but declined to specifically talk Florida State.

"Conference realignment will continue to be an issue and one we all have to be vigilant about," Bowlsby told USA Today. "I think the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward. But it's on every other conference's agenda going forward, too."

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When Matt Barkley decided to come back for his senior season at USC, he wanted a last hurrah with his close friends and to leave a legacy for younger players to carry on.

And neither goal had anything to do with the football field.

Earlier this year, Barkley, punter Kyle Negrete and center Khaled Holmes started planning a trip to Haiti to help build homes for the victims of the 2010 earthquake. But once word got out, more people wanted to join and soon, 16 USC football players were headed on a trip that could potentially change their outlook heading into one of the most anticipated USC football seasons in almost a decade.

[USCFootball.com: Trojans coach Lane Kiffin coming of age]

"This is an opportunity to serve as well for our teammates to kind of grow and gain perspective and try to do one last thing before my life gets crazy, before all of our lives kind of separate after USC and this is like the perfect opportunity," Barkley told Yahoo! Sports.

"It's going to be a neat opportunity for these guys to have their eyes opened to true poverty and true struggle that's going on in the world rather than the so-called struggles that we have here in Southern California. I think seeing the young guys hop on board and guys you wouldn't expect go on a mission trip like this and want to go full force, it's encouraging to know that you might be having an impact on them."

The group left the night of graduation on May 12 and is working in a village called Sous Savanne. The trip was spearheaded by Barkley's father, Les, and backed by a group called Hope Force International, which helped raise the money for the trip.

"We found a place for everybody to stay," Les Barkley told Yahoo! Sports. "It's got a roof, it's got electricity and it's fine. It's a walled compound, armed guards and that's where everyone will be staying altogether. And they'll get up in the morning, they'll go up into the hills and build homes.

[More USC: Go to USCFootball.com]

"Most of the schools were completely destroyed, so these kids, most of them, have these schools in little tents. It's kind of indescribable. So, the boys are going to go in there, do building, bring the orphans some food to eat and play with them and just engage with them and hopefully bring a little bit of joy to them. This SC team, and obviously I'm biased, but it's just comprised of so many great young men who are kinda other-centered anyway, so I know they're going to be a real blessing to all the people down in Haiti who they come into contact with and of course they're going to receive a great blessing in return."

USC players will build four homes for four families, begin construction on an orphanage and teach and spend time with people of Haiti. The trip is six days — many had to be back for the start of summer school — but will be an experience the players think will change their outlook on life and football.

"Everyone here is blessed and we're not exposed to some of the things that are really out there and once we're exposed to that and being able to help, it's a life-changing experience that would make anybody humble," safety T.J. McDonald said. "I think that seeing that stuff and to come back and talk to our teammates will give us a new look as far as adversity, as far as things that we're worried about regarding football."

For the Barkley family, trips like these are old hat. Barkley said his first mission trip was building homes in Mexico when he was in junior high school. He and his family went to South Africa over Christmas in 2008 and Nigeria during Christmas 2010. That year, punter Kyle Negrete joined him and when the two returned, pictures of their trip got other guys asking about how they could join on the next trip. Because the Trojans had little time off this year, Les Barkley thought a trip to Haiti might be the best destination, though he wasn't ready for the number of guys who wanted to go. They had to cut off the group at 16, but many more players would have joined if there had been room.

[Mike Huguenin: Ten assistants who will be head coaches soon]

"I think what's so unique is the amount of the guys going and just the size of the group," Negrete said. "Obviously there's a bunch of great stories about people doing great work around the world. But you don't ever see 16 blue chip recruits when they came out of high school — the best players in the country — and guys who were involved in the gang life and to think that now they have an opportunity to now go to Haiti and serve people. I think that is what's so unique about this."

For some, the trip couldn't have come at a better time. For the first time for several of these players, USC will be eligible for a bowl game and the hype surrounding this year's team will be at an all-time high. So taking a trip like this, where all of the team's leaders and influential players are exposed to the poverty of a third-world country, will allow them to appreciate what they have and keep the rest of the team grounded as the season treks on.

"I'm not saying we're going to come back and it's going to completely change our mentality about everything," McDonald said. "But it can definitely put things in perspective and we can definitely share that knowledge with other guys and what we took from it and be able to show them if we do face adversity and if we do face something that may not go our way, we're still blessed. We're still here doing what we love to do."

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Missouri democratic representative Stephen Webber is determined to block Kansas-themed license plates from appearing in Missouri unless the Tigers and Jayhawks agree to a football or basketball game next year.

When Missouri announced it was leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, Kansas said it had no desire to keep playing the Tigers in any sports, which has been disheartening to both fan bases.

For more than a year, the Kansas University Alumni Association has been trying to persuade the Missouri Joint Committee on Transportation to allow Kansas-themed license plates in the state of Missouri, however, Webber sponsored a House-approved amendment to a higher education bill that would only allow Missouri schools to be featured on Missouri license plates. The only way this changes is if the Missouri Legislature gives its approval.

So far the Missouri Legislature has approved a themed plate for Pittsburgh State University in Kansas.

Webber, who was born in Morgantown, W.Va., and went to school at St. Louis University, does live in Columbia, Mo., where the University of Missouri is located.

Who knows if leveraging a specialty license plate will get this rivalry back on track, but it's worth a try.

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University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman acknowledged Friday that hiring Rich Rodriguez was a mistake.

Coleman, who was speaking to the Rotary Club of Flint, Mich., said the university was trying to get away from Lloyd Carr's outdated offensive style and that the spread seemed like the cutting edge way to go.

"We thought, OK, well let's go hire the guy who invented the spread offense," Coleman told the crowd. "[Rodriguez] was a hot, young coach with a different approach."

Unfortunately, that approach didn't work as well at Michigan as it did in West Virginia and Rodriguez stumbled to a 15-22 record and was cited for NCAA violations in his three years in Ann Arbor.

However, Coleman said she has no ill feelings toward Rodriguez and was happy he found a new position in Arizona. But she stressed the hiring of current coach Brady Hoke was more in line with the direction Michigan should have gone in the first place.

"[Hoke] has more of the kind of Midwestern ethos," Coleman said.

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The ACC spring meetings begin today and of course all eyes will be on Florida State.

The Seminoles have been the subject of possible expansion to the Big 12 because of money, television and geographic placement. But those wishing for this move — especially those in Florida State's camp — should probably pump the brakes a little bit, look past the dollar signs and look at the level of competition.

Florida State is not ready for the Big 12.

[Dan Wetzel: FSU trustee may have lit fuse on move to Big 12]

Yes, the Seminoles have a $2-plus million budget deficit and Big 12 money would erase that problem quickly. And yes, Florida State is in a desirable location, has a great fan base and could probably parlay a move to the Big 12 into its own television network.

But in terms of competition, Florida State is not ready to leave the comfy confines of the ACC where it is regularly favored to win the ACC Atlantic Division — though it hasn't won an ACC title since 2005 — for a high-octane, cash-laden conference like the Big 12.

The current Florida State program is far removed from the 1990s version that consistently posted double-digit winning seasons, had an NCAA record streak of 14 Top 5 finishes in the AP poll and were the among the consummate badasses of college football.

But things have changed since the Seminoles lost to Oklahoma in the 2000 BCS National Championship.

From 1990-2000, Florida State posted an amazing 120-15 record. Since 2000, the Seminoles are 93-50. Between 2001-04, they lost as many games as they did the entire 1990s. Yes, Florida State has won three ACC titles since 2000 — in 2002, 2003 and 2005 — but during those years the Seminoles lost five games, three games and five games respectively. In those same years, Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12 Conference winners, combined to lose five games — total.

[Warchant.com: It's all about the money]

Recently, Florida State has enjoyed more success and seems to be trending upward. The Seminoles won 10 games in 2010 and nine in 2011, but they failed to win the conference despite being the overwhelming preseason favorite to win their division (also in 2009) and the favorite to win the conference last year.

And now the Seminoles want to take those disappointments to a conference that is just a step below the SEC? That's not to say Florida State couldn't get better. A change in conference might spark a change in the types of recruits the Seminoles are able to lure to Tallahassee. The excess money could be used to make improvements to facilities, which also would attract better players. And, of course, the television exposure would create a recruiting gold mine.

And Florida State would need that cash to keep up with the cash cow that is Texas and several other Big 12 programs that are currently making multimillion dollar additions to their facilities or waiting for big-time boosters to tell them what to build next.

That's not to say Florida State couldn't adapt to its new competition, but it wouldn't happen overnight, which would mean many more years of failing to live up to the precedent coach Bobby Bowden once set two decades ago.

Both coach Jimbo Fisher and the FSU Board of Trustees want to explore the option of joining the Big 12 and said as much in comments this weekend.

"There have been no official talks, but I think you always have to look out there to see what's best for Florida State," Fisher told the Orlando Sentinel. "If that [jumping to the Big 12] is what's best for Florida State, then that's what we need to do."

And Andy Haggart, chairman of Florida State's board of trustees, told Rivals site Warchant.com:

"On behalf of the board of trustees, I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest."

[Warchant.com: FSU president's memo lists negatives on Big 12 move]

But is Florida State ready to take a step back while all of the major programs around it seem to be getting exponentially better every year? Or would it be better off staying in a conference where they know what they can do and what to expect every year at least until the Seminoles begin to establish some consistency?

Expansion isn't ending any time soon, so Florida State has time to really think about the move. But while it's seeing the dollar signs solving a lot of problems, it also has to think about the cost.

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South Carolina and Missouri haven't even played as SEC rivals yet, but coach Steve Spurrier is already getting into the rivalry spirit.

During a speaking engagement in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last week, Spurrier said the two schools need to embrace the rivalry, name it and play for a trophy.

The name?

"Since Missouri is also in Columbia, we're going to have the Battle of the Columbias with a big trophy. It should be fun," Spurrier told Rivals site GamecockCentral.com.

South Carolina already plays Clemson annually in the state championship and the winner receives the Hardee's Trophy. The name or the appearance of a potential trophy between Missouri and the Gamecocks has yet to be determined.

Missouri will make its first visit to Brice-Williams Stadium on Sept. 22, marking its second SEC game — the Tigers open with Georgia on Sept. 8.

South Carolina and Missouri have met twice — both in bowl games — and Missouri has won both occasions. The Tigers defeated the Gamecocks 24-14 in the All-American Bowl in 1979 and 38-31 in the Independence Bowl in 2005. In that Independence Bowl win, Missouri was down 21-0 after the first quarter, but rallied behind quarterback Brad Smith, who rushed for the game-winning touchdown with 2:13 remaining. That game is considered one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in school history.

While that game probably stirs emotions for both fan bases, it's going to take some time for this rivalry to flourish, especially with Missouri fans still aching for the Kansas series to be resuscitated. However, Spurrier's enthusiasm for the potential rivalry should help spark interest.

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The rivalry between Missouri and Kansas might be over in athletics, but it could find a new home on the highways of Middle America.

The Kansas University Alumni Association is trying to persuade the Joint Committee on Transportation to offer Kansas-themed license plates in the state of Missouri. Missouri recently started offering Pittsburg State (located in Kansas) license plate themes and the alumni association thinks the more than 30,000 Kansas fans living in their rival state should be able to show their fan allegiance proudly on the back of their cars.

"Anytime you can get the Jayhawk out there, it's just a bonus," Danny Lewis, director of alumni programs for the association, told KUSports.com. "As you can imagine, you don't have too many Missouri representatives too willing to sign a University of Kansas license plate application."

Missouri Rep. Charlie Denison, a Republican in Springfield, who went to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, is actually pushing for the plates to be made and said he's sponsored the making of several license plate themes that don't have anything to do with the University of Missouri.

If the Joint Committee on Transportation approves the plates during the 2013 legislative session, they could hit the roads by June 2013. Hopefully highway patrol will ready for the increase in road rage along I-70 from Kansas City to St. Louis.

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Jim Delany isn't making a whole lot of friends in the SEC.

Earlier this month Delany proposed that the potential college football playoff include the top four conference champions as long as they're ranked in the top six of the national rankings.

Of course, this plan has been about as popular as the movie "John Carter" (even with Tim Riggins starring in it). But Delany hasn't stopped his pursuit of having his plan heard and told the Associated Press that he wants to reward conference champions because he doesn't have a lot of regard for teams that don't win their conference. More specifically, Delany doesn't have a lot of regard for national champion Alabama, which not only didn't win its conference, it also didn't win its division.

[Related: Alabama-Arkansas tops list of best September games]

"I don't have a lot of regard for that team," Delany told The Associated Press. "I certainly wouldn't have as much regard for that team as I would for someone who played nine conference games in a tough conference and played a couple out-of-conference games on the road against really good opponents. If a poll doesn't honor those teams and they're conference champions, I do.

"Some people think it should just be the top four teams; some people think it should just be the four highest-rated champions. I was just floating some ideas of how you might have a hybrid where champions were respected and there was still room for at-large."

Of course, had Delany's plan been in place this past season, Alabama still would have made the four-team playoff because there were not enough conference champions ranked in the top six.

Delany said he doesn't like just picking the top four schools in the polls because the polls can be so subjective. He insists winning your conference and being ranked in the top six nationally — presumably after at least one or two decent nonconference wins — would allow the cream to rise to the top.

[Dan Wetzel: FSU trustee may have lit fuse on move to Big 12]

"The polls don't always measure strength of schedule," Delany said. "Some conferences are playing nine games, some are playing eight. The Pac-12 is playing nine and then to go out and play a round-robin game against us, that's 10 and some of them are going to play Notre Dame - that's 11 difficult games. If they're ranked fifth in the country and they won a conference championship, I think that's quite an accomplishment. Some teams don't even win their own division. They started off highly in the rankings, lose early, don't play a championship game and they might end up at four."

Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows my beef with the polls and knows that I think all of the polls should begin in mid-October. Preseason polls reward last year's work and a pretty depth chart, but not actual current results.

While I don't necessarily agree with Delany's playoff plan, I do agree that its unfair that some teams earn an unfair advantage because of where they start the season. I think Oklahoma State fans might claim the same thing.

However, if Oklahoma State doesn't lose to Iowa State and subsequently lose its spot in the national championship, perhaps the BCS doesn't start to reexamine how it determines its national champion.

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Idaho wide receiver Ken McRoyal was shot and killed in Los Angeles early Sunday morning after attending a song release party for the rapper Ray-J in Hollywood, CBS Los Angeles reported.

McRoyal and a friend had gone to another party at the Brewery Lofts near Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and that's where the gunshots broke out. A witness who found McRoyal and called 911 said he was still alive when the ambulance came. McRoyal died at the hospital. A second unidentified man was wounded and taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center where his condition was not known.

[Also: Big Ten commish Jim Delany doesn't think much of Alabama]

The University of Idaho athletic department confirmed McRoyal died, but did not elaborate on the cause. However, coach Robb Akey did release a statement:

"It's a devastating loss," coach Robb Akey said. "We've lost a brother, a teammate, a family member. But, more importantly, a momma lost her son today.

"All of our prayers go to the family — that they can be strong in their healing from this tragedy."

McRoyal was originally from New Orleans but moved to Los Angeles with his family after Hurricane Katrina. He transferred from El Camino Junior College prior to last season and caught six passes for 35 yards in eight games for the Vandals in 2011.

McRoyal was in Los Angeles visiting his girlfriend with whom he has a 1-year-old daughter.

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Pittsburgh is going to court in an effort to get its football team out of the Big East as fast as possible.

The university filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pa., on Friday, asking that the school be allowed to move to the ACC after competing in all sports following the upcoming academic year. Pittsburgh, along with Syracuse, gave notice to the Big East last September that it would be leaving the beleaguered conference for the greener pastures of the ACC. The move was supposed to happen after the 2013-14 season, but the Big East had hinted that it was willing to work with both schools on an exit strategy.

[Dan Wetzel: Florida State trustee may have lit fuse on move to Big 12]

Pittsburgh said in a statement that it had recently been working with former Big East commissioner John Marinatto to leave the conference "after this upcoming academic year."

Following the addition of Temple on March 7, Marinatto spoke like someone willing to let the two defecting programs leave a year early.

"Our membership, given the speed and success of our expansion initiatives, I think it's open to having the discussions with both Pittsburgh and Syracuse about them having an early departure," Marinatto said.

"So we haven't actually had those conversations yet, but our membership is certainly willing to do that at this point given where we've landed."

Marinatto, who was working on behalf of the conference and the university presidents to expedite Pittsburgh out of the conference following this season, stepped down as Big East commissioner last Monday.

[Pat Forde: John Marinatto latest commissioner who didn't do enough]

Recent overtures by the university to continue talks with the Big East about the school being allowed to leave after this season went unanswered, leading to a potential day in court.

"Attempts to contact the Big East in the following weeks to move the process forward have been unsuccessful, leading us to conclude that negotiations would not occur," the statement said.

Pittsburgh also alluded to West Virginia leaving the conference early to join the Big 12 this season in addition to the recent round of expansion as reason for wanting to leave after the next academic year. The new schools coming into the conference mean that "the Big East will actually have four more football playing schools and more schools overall than when we gave notice that we were moving to a different conference."

When contacted by Yahoo! Sports, Pittsburgh declined further comment on the timing of the suit.

The shakeups might not be over for the Big East as Louisville appears to be positioning itself for a possible move to the ACC or to perhaps follow West Virginia to the Big 12. The potential loss of the Cardinals would leave the conference at 12 programs.

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During the past week or so, expansion has seemingly centered on the nonautomatic qualifying conferences, which are trying to remain competitive after several defections to the "Big Six" conferences (if you can even include the Big East in that category anymore).

However, on Thursday, Orangebloods.com columnist Chip Brown threw out another scenario that could get the major wheels of expansion turning once again.

Brown, who was at the forefront of Big 12 and Pac 12 expansion two years ago, writes Florida State should consider moving to the Big 12 for the money.

[Dan Wetzel: Florida State trustee may have lit fuse on move to Big 12]

On Wednesday, the ACC announced its new media rights package with ESPN, which would net each ACC team about $17 million, which is up from the $13 million deal the conference previously had. But Brown asserts the Seminoles could be in for quite the windfall if it were to switch conferences and form its own network similar to the University of Texas.

The Seminoles are in one of the few states - with a population of 19 million - in which a university could turn its third-tier rights into the school's own television network the way Texas has done in the Lone Star State (population 25.6 million).

TOO GOOD TO PASS UP?: One industry source said if Texas can command $300 million over 20 years - $15 million per year in additional TV revenue - for its own network, Florida State should be able to command at least a third that much ($5 million), if not more, in a state with so many television sets and a passion for FSU sports.

So before everyone dismisses Florida State ever taking a serious look at jumping from the ACC into the Big 12, consider that.

This isn't the first time Florida State has been mentioned as a potential expansion candidate for the Big 12. Clemson, Notre Dame and Louisville also has been thrown in there as potential candidates to help the Big 12 get back to 12 teams following the departures of Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M in the past few years. The Big 12 will add TCU and West Virginia for the 2012 season.

Although Florida State has maintained its ACC allegiance because of academics, its financial shortcomings could make it change its tune. Warchant.com reported on May 4 that the Florida State athletic department could have a deficit of $2.4 million for the 2012-13 academic year. To combat that shortfall, Florida State athletic director Randy Spetman told Warchant.com the plan was to "cut back our budget next year pretty dramatically." The website reported as much as a $500,000 cut.

Brown lays out a lot of different factors which make Florida State and the Big 12 a nice fit. And while there's nothing definitive in the works, new commissioner Bob Bowlsby didn't rule out expansion.

"I'm not going to presume a direction that we will go," Bowlsby said. "I think if you're going to consider expansion, it has to be expansion that has, at its roots, the enhancement of the league. There's nothing magic about 11, 12 or 10. To the extent that we can do things that can advance our agenda, we ought to at least consider that."

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There's a reason why coaches hate the offseason — too much time to get into trouble.

And that's exactly what's happened at West Virginia after two defensive backs found themselves on the wrong side of the law Tuesday.

Darwin Cook and Terence Garvin were arrested and charged with shoplifting after being accused of stealing Gatorade and snacks from a local Sheetz. The incident occurred on April 12, but the two were arrested Tuesday after being identified on surveillance video.

Police say surveillance footage shows Garvin take a plastic Sheetz bag from behind the counter then Cook allegedly took three bottles of Gatorade and two bags of Doritos. Garvin can be seen swiping a couple of bags of pretzels. The two placed the items in the bag and left the store without paying.

According to the criminal complaint the incident happened on April 12th and arrest warrants for Garvin and Cook were obtained on April 25th.

Shoplifting merchandise worth less than $500 carries a maximum $250

Coach Dana Holgorsen told The Dominion Post that he was aware of the incident and that he was still gathering facts. He would take the appropriate action once all the facts were known.

You might remember Cook from the Orange Bowl. He's the player who ran back a fumble for a touchdown and then tackled Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot. He finished second on the team with 85 tackles. Garvin, who also made the highlight reel during the Orange Bowl, finished fourth on the team with 72 tackles.

The crazy and sad thing about this shoplifting incident is that both players get all the sports drink they want for free. The training staff makes it by the gallons. So why steal it?

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On Monday, Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald did his annual duty of throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field prior to the game between the Cubs and the Atlanta Braves.

Fitzgerald also led the crowd in an off-key version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." It must not have been too bad though because the Cube won 5-1.

There was no word on whether the Cubs allowed Fitzgerald to bring his team onto the field to practice for next year's dizzy bat race.

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It's creeping up on the one-year anniversary of Jim Tressel resigning from Ohio State and exposé of the circumstances that led to the forced resignation started unraveling.

Players were selling their memorabilia for money and tattoos and at the heart of these NCAA violations quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who left Ohio State on June 7 and entered the NFL's supplementary draft. But his escape to the NFL didn't save him from punishment. NFL commissioner Roger Goddell suspended Pryor for the first five games of the season, which put him at a major disadvantage in competing for playing time with the Oakland Raiders, who drafted him in the third round.

Pryor had spoken out some about his misdeeds at Ohio State, but mostly to apologize. However, in a SI.com article Wednesday, Pryor gave more insight into the reasons why he was selling his Ohio State apparel and were the money went.

"The reason why I did it was to pay my mother's gas bill and some of her rent," Pryor told SI.com. "She was four months behind in rent, and the [landlord] was so nice because he was an Ohio State fan. He gave her the benefit of the doubt and she said, 'My son will pay you back sometime if you just let me pay you back during my work sessions.' She ended up losing her job, and she and my sister lived there. Let me remind you it was freezing cold in November, December, and she's using the oven as heat. That's what I did as a kid. I was telling the NCAA, 'Please, anything that you can do. I gave my mother this so my sister wouldn't be cold, so my mother wouldn't be cold.' They didn't have any sympathy for me. It's not like I went there and bought new Jordans. It's documented. Whenever I write my book the proof will be in there, the receipt that the money I gave my mother was to pay the electric and heat bill."

Pryor said he plans to write a book about his ordeal at Ohio State and when he does the "the truth is going to come out." Pryor said selling his pants for $3,000 when he was a freshman labeled him "the worst person in the world" and that he didn't understand why people were coming down on him so hard.

"My face popped up on the screen, and it seemed like I was the only one who did anything," Pryor told SI.com. "I was the only one who was getting attacked. At that point last year, I'm 21 and it just felt like everything was against me, like I can't do anything right. I did something to help somebody else out, and I end up getting into trouble. I understand. I shouldn't have sold the stuff and taken $3,000. But I was kind of in a place where I didn't understand why this is happening to me -- especially for the reason that I did it."

Well, it would be one thing if Pryor had only been accused of selling one pair of pants as a freshman, but that wasn't the case. A former friend said Pryor made up to $40,000 for autographing various items for Dennis Talbot, a freelance photographer. The NCAA found Pryor had taken cash and tattoos from local tattoo-parlor owner Edward Rife, which got the quarterback suspended the first five games of the 2011 season. The NCAA also was investigating Pryor's use of various used cars.

The actions of Pryor, other Ohio State football players and Tressel earned Ohio State a one-year bowl ban for 2012 and a loss of nine scholarships over the next three years.

So, it's difficult to feel bad for Pryor because of the way he was treated at Ohio State. It seems from the reports, allegations and NCAA investigations, that Pryor brought a lot more than $3,000 worth of shame on his name as a Buckeye. But Pryor tells SI.com, he was victim in all of this.

"I felt like I was doing God's work in a way, and I was getting driven into the ground," he said.

Can't wait to read that book.

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The motorcycle that ultimately cost coach Bobby Petrino his job at Arkansas is now for sale.

Petrino's 2007 Harley Davidson Road King is currently listed on the auction site copart.com and currently has a bid of $2,550. The list price of the motorcycle is $16,000; however, the repair costs are estimated at more than $18,000.

The bike was damaged when Petrino said sun and wind got in his eyes and forced him off the road and into a ditch. Petrino suffered facial, neck and rib injuries while his passenger, Jessica Dorrell, was unharmed.

The front of the bike is dented and the windscreen is missing.

The side of the bike says "Hawg Wild" with a picture of a rabid razorback.

The website said the bike is being sold as-is and did not indicate whether the bike still runs. Still, this is a great collectors item for any motorcycle, Arkansas or even Petrino enthusiast.

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The "writ of summons" issued Tuesday in court on behalf of the former wide receivers coach is the first step towards McQueary counterattacking his damaged reputation for his involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

McQueary's reporting of Sandusky, the program's former defensive coordinator, and the alleged molestation of a 10-year old boy on the Penn State campus during the winter of 2001 was the crux of McQueary's testimony. McQueary, who saw the act and reported it to then head coach Joe Paterno and later to university officials, was placed on administrative leave this past November when the incident came to light.

As of now, Penn State is unable to comment on the filing.

"The University has not yet received the complaint and so cannot comment on it at this time," Lisa Powers, the university's Director of the Department of Public Information told Yahoo! Sports.

Requests by Yahoo! Sports to McQueary's lawyer Elliott Strokoff for comment went unanswered.

Even though he has yet to be fired, McQueary is entitled as a state employee under Pennsylvania law to find protection under the codified "Whistleblower Act." The motion is based on the law prohibiting retaliation for an employee reporting an illegal activity:

"No employer may discharge, threaten or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against an employee regarding the employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location or privileges of employment because the employee or a person acting on behalf of the employee makes a good faith report or is about to report, verbally or in writing, to the employer or appropriate authority an instance of wrongdoing or waste."

The question of course is if McQueary did enough in his initial report to Paterno and university officials as he did not notify law enforcement officials of what he claims to have seen taking place.

Tuesday's action falls just within the 180 day window for filing suit provided under the 13-year old law.

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Your Take is a chance to start to thoughtful, spirited, intelligent and nice conversation about some of the hotter topics in college football. It allows the reader to have a voice as the best comments will be compiled into a later post (if there are enough good comments). Join in the conversation and have your thoughts heard.

LSU coach Les Miles wants the SEC to examine how it chooses its division champions.

Miles, who was speaking in Birmingham at a luncheon for the Changed Lives Christian Center, said he was in favor of counting just games within the division toward the division title.

"I want the schedule to be fair and I want it to give everybody the same opportunity," Miles told the Birmingham News. "I'm for the Western Division deciding the Western Division champion and the Eastern Division deciding the Eastern Division champion."

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier suggested the same idea, but SEC commissioner Mike Slive said he didn't think it would be fair to make some games more important than others. However, the intense rivalry games between teams from the East and West Divisions have often made the road to the division title difficult. LSU currently plays Florida every year in its cross-divisional rivalry game while Alabama plays Tennessee. In the past, Florida has been a much tougher opponent than the Vols.

Currently, those cross-divisional rivalries don't appear to be going anywhere. With the addition of Texas A&M and Missouri this season, the league is scheduled to play six division games, one cross-divisional rivalry game and one rotating game against a team from the opposite division.

"Eventually they will realize it doesn't benefit either team," Miles told the paper. "If you would go back and look at the number of wins historically since 2000, I think you'll find LSU, Georgia, Florida and Alabama would be right in that mix. I think you should seed those people away from each other if you want an opportunity for the best teams to be the best teams without eliminating each other's opportunity of winning."

What do you think about the Miles-Spurrier plan? Should the SEC pick its division champs based on division games? Or should the teams with the best overall records — regardless of whom they play — continue to represent in Atlanta?

This isn't a novel concept. Most sports and others college football conferences base their division champs on division wins and use the overall conference wins as a tiebreaker. It seems like the fairest way to pick division champions.

What's your take?

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If Appalachian State is headed for the Sun Belt Conference, athletic director Charlie Cobb doesn't know about it.

Cobb sent out a message to fans via Appalachian State's athletic website saying the Mountaineers, who are currently in the FCS, are in talks with Conference USA and have been for the past year.

That dispels the rumor that the Sun Belt Conference was considering adding Appalachian State and New Mexico State. Well, the Sun Belt could be considering Appalachian State, but its clear from the not the Mountaineers aren't considering the conference back.

That leaves the Sun Belt with two potential holes to fill for football-playing schools if it wants to play in divisions and have a championship game. Of course, New Mexico State and Idaho, the two remaining football-playing teams in the WAC, are hoping to be those two teams, though Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson told the Las Cruces Sun on Monday evening that the addition of New Mexico State "has not even been discussed" and that expansion west of Texas was still up in the air. Benson said more expansion probably wouldn't be discussed until the league meetings on May 22.

If — and it's a big if — New Mexico State and Idaho end up in the Sun Belt, it might be as football-only participants. That would actually might allow the WAC to remain together as an Olympic sport conference.

As for Appalachian State, Cobb said the school has a lot working in its favor right now, including the fact that their attendance last year would have ranked second in the Sun Belt and fifth in Conference USA, but the fact that it's not near a major city - it's in Boone, N.C. - hurts its expansion hopes.

"Conference realignment is not a sprint and remains very fluid," Cobb wrote. "Additional realignment is inevitable and I can assure you that as the carousel continues to spin, we will continue our efforts to explore and pursue options. It is our hope that with this wave of expansion and the reality of actual competition still several years away, conferences will start to look at the core value of geographic rivalries (specifically competitive success, the accessibility and affordability for teams and fans to travel, ticket sales, actual television and internet viewers, regional marketing partnerships and other fan-based revenue streams) as an important component to complete their membership."

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On Monday, Leach put that infamous personality on display via Reddit and took all questions and answered them in the only way Leach knows how — honestly and with a dry sense of humor.

Here's a little taste of Leach's Q&A:

How much do you hate Craig James, I mean seriously?
I think my opinion is consistent with most of the rest of America's. This is illustrated by a poll done in the Dallas Morning News where people were asked who they would vote for senator: Mike Leach or Craig James. I got 96.5 percent of the vote.

Which Big 12 team was your favorite to play? Least favorite? On a possibly related note, is Bill Snyder really a sorcerer?
"I liked playing all of them. Really enjoyed going to Kyle Field to play Texas A&M, really enjoyed playing Nebraska. Playing someone difficult is tough and can be discouraging, but if you beat them the payoff is huge!

I suspect Bill Snyder may be a sorcerer…he's one of the coaches that I admire most!"

Who is your favorite historical pirate? If you were to hoist the Jolly Roger and take to the seas, what would be the name of your ship?
"The most exciting is Black Beard. Perhaps my favorite with regards to efficiency and execution would be Barthlomew Roberts. Don't forget about Sir Francis Drake though. Henry Morgan is interesting but he betrayed his men.

I am open for suggestions in naming my ship!"

---

It's a long transcript — and a little difficult to follow because it's basically a series of comments under an initial post — but a fun read if you have a few minutes.

Leach talks about taking two years off from coaching and "the dubious actions of others early on had a chilling effect on my ability to get a job." He gives marriage advice, talks about being a lawyer, and describes his decision to start using the spread offense.

Overall, the back and forth between Leach and fans really epitomizes who Leach is as a person and as a coach. He's easily the most personable and accessible coach in the country. How many other coaches would spend a Monday answering uncensored questions on Reddit?

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Waugh, 31, of Ashland, Ky., met recruit Alex Anzalone and several other recruits following the Ohio State spring game on April 21. Waugh took several pictures with the recruits and posted them on his Twitter page. The page has since been taken down.

Anzalone had no knowledge of Waugh's background when that photo was taken; however, after learning Waugh was a registered sex offender, who had pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of underage sexual content in 2008, Anzalone pulled his commitment to the Buckeyes.

"You don't want your son to go to a place where there's a potential issue [like this]," Anzalone's father, Sal told the Reading (Pa.) Eagle last Friday. "You expect the [football] staff to have some sort of control on how things are handled with recruits when they visit. This is ridiculous."

Waugh, who also sent several messages to current players and recruits via social media, was in violation of Kentucky Revised Statute 17.546, which states sex offenders will not knowingly or intentionally use social networking websites to interact with a person who is under the age of 18.

The Kentucky State Police issued a statement Monday detailing Waugh's violation, including using the alias @Bdubstriviaguru on Twitter, and that the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed.

"Waugh allegedly failed to disclose to Probation and Parole the Internet communication name identities he was utilizing," the statement said. "The investigation revealed Waugh had Twitter, Facebook and email accounts under an alias name."

Upon learning of Waugh's interaction with student-athletes and recruits, Ohio State sent out an email to student-athletes warning them about Waugh and released a statement stating Waugh had no affiliation with the university and was not a booster.

Sal Anzalone, who originally appeared to condemn Ohio State on Friday for allowing Waugh to get close to his son, backed off those comments to the Reading (Pa.) Eagle on Sunday.

"I want people to understand, I have no beef with Ohio State, at all," Sal Anzalone said. "My issue is not with Ohio State: It's a great institution, they have a phenomenal president, Urban Meyer is nothing but a class act to me.

"There's nothing wrong with Ohio State; it's a great institution. When I said there was something wrong with Ohio State, I was talking about the visit - there was something wrong with the visit, not with Ohio State."

Sal Anzalone said that Meyer called Friday evening, but did not wish to provide any details about that conversation.

"We can't implicate Ohio State for what happened (during that visit)," Sal Anzalone said. "That's wrong. That had nothing to do with the university itself. I don't hold them accountable; they're not responsible for what fans do; it's not their fault."

Sal Anzalone said while is son is still decommitted from Ohio State, the Buckeyes are not totally off the board. Anzalone, who is one of the top linebacking recruits in the country, will reassess his recruiting options and speak to other schools before making a final decision.

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So, the Ducks were given some blingy Rose Bowl rings to commemorate the occasion.

According to Oregon, the rings are made from yellow or white semi-precious metal depending on the player's preference and contain 60 individual hand cut cubic zirconia stones across the top of the ring. The green stone is custom cut into an "O" shape and the Rose Bowl logo in red and green enamel.

[Related: Fast, fearless Oregon Ducks shine in Rose Bowl]

The left side of the ring, which is not pictured, has the player's last name with the chrome duck-winged helmets and the player's jersey number. The right side says "2012 Champs" with the scripted Rose Bowl logo. The score is also on the right side as is the stadium façade with the Oregon motto, "Win the Day" on it.

While these might look a bit large, they seem to be par for the course when it comes to bowl rings. TCU's 2011 Rose Bowl rings were equally as large.

[Related: USC among the teams facing key questions following spring football's end]

These are nice collectors pieces for each player to remember the history they made. And perhaps someday they'll be able to pass the ring down to a grandchild and tell them all about the time the Ducks broke a near-century long Rose Bowl curse.

- - -
H/T to Lost Lettermenfor the find and Oregon Athletics for the specifics

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San Jose State coach Mike MacIntyre knows the next time he's in a recruit's home, he won't be bombarded with questions about the Spartans' future.

For the past couple years — since Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii announced their intention to leave the WAC for the Mountain West — MacIntyre has been asking recruits to have faith in San Jose State football and trust that when the dust of expansion settles, San Jose State would be in a stable place.

On Friday, that stability came in the form of the Mountain West, which added the Spartans and Utah State to compensate for the loss of Boise State and San Diego State to the Big East.

"We got those questions all the time," MacIntyre told Yahoo! Sports. "We actually had some kids that decided not to come here because they weren't sure about the conference alignment at the time because it was just always on the Internet, it was always out there and other schools were always bringing it up, that kind of thing.

"So we told recruits don't pick the school on the conference at that time, pick it on the school. And now that we're in a stable conference and a stable area playing geographical football - I think it's great that we're not having to fly all over the country and play all over the place - I think that makes it even better for us."

The move also signified impending doom for the WAC as a football conference. Only New Mexico State and Idaho remain as football-playing schools after Texas State and Texas-San Antonio also left the league.

MacIntyre admitted that joining the Mountain West was a sigh of relief, but he was always confident San Jose State's geography would be enough to keep them in major college football.

"I felt like because of our location, the population, the television market, the Silicone Valley deal, one of the wealthiest areas in the world — you've got Apple, you've got IBM, you've got Netflix, you've got Facebook starting — so there's so much here that I knew that a conference would say, 'Hey wait a minute, there's so many options there to tap into that that would be a place that we'd definitely want to have a team.' MacIntyre said. "To me, our history as a university, our location, and just the overall television market were key factors that I thought someone would have to be able to take into consideration."

The addition of San Jose State gives the Mountain West a piece of the Northern California television market. According to Nielsen, the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose television market ranks sixth nationally. Of course, the Mountain West has to share that market with the Pac-12, but it's still a bargaining chip as the conference moves forward with it television deals.

Now, San Jose has to prove it belongs on the football field as well. The Spartans have not had a winning season since 2006 and have had just two winning seasons since 1992. In MacIntyre's first season, the Spartans suffered major injuries across its depth chart and limped to a 1-12 campaign. But last year, they were 5-7 and three of those losses were by seven total points. The Spartans also beat Fresno State for the first time since 2006 and Hawaii for the first time since 2008.

There was marked improvement.

MacIntyre said there's a drive to win the WAC this year because the conference probably in its final year of existence, but he expects the entire season to be bittersweet as such a storied conference comes to an end.

"I think it's sad that the WAC has broken up," MacIntyre said. "I remember in 1996, I was coaching at Tennessee-Martin in West Tennessee and I remember picking up the USA Today paper and reading about the megaconference WAC, 16 teams. And to see now that there's only two left, I think it is a sad day as far as that goes. And then on the other side of it, I look at it as a happy day for us in the future. So I kind of have mixed emotions on both sides."

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Notre Dame will open the 2012 season against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, and it'll do it in style.

Ryan Grooms of the Notre Dame equipment staff tweeted out a photo Monday of Notre Dame's new adidas cleats, which are designed to look like the flag of Ireland.

[Pat Forde: John Marinatto latest commish gone for not doing enough]

Honestly, the cleat has a very soccer feel to it, but it's still very cool.

No word on whether there will be any other Irish adornments to Notre Dame's uniforms, but this is a nice start.

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After the WAC officially fell apart last week with Texas State, Utah State, San Jose State and Texas-San Antonio all finding new leagues, Idaho and New Mexico State were left as the only two football schools in the WAC.

The options for both schools are limited, but especially so for Idaho.

So, Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton, who has been courting the Vandals for the past year, extended a lifeline to keep Idaho's athletic department afloat albeit in the FCS.

"Playing at the top of the FCS is a better situation than playing at the bottom of the FBS," Fullerton told the Idaho Statesman on Monday. "The success and fan base and excitement you can do (by) staying regional is what college athletics are supposed to be about, unless you can play at the national level."

Fullerton told the paper he's been in communication with Idaho athletic director Rob Spear and will talk again this week.

The move makes sense for Idaho on so many levels. The WAC is gone and there are no regional suitors knocking on the Vandals' door. The school doesn't have the budget, facilities or fan support to warrant a move to a bigger conference.

From the Statesman:

He (Fullerton) said athletic departments that raise money from their fan base, booster support, fans at the game and media rights are doing it in a healthy way. Departments that rely on student fees and game guarantees are not stable.

Idaho is playing a number football road games with big paydays in future seasons, including games at Florida, Auburn and LSU.

He said Idaho could shave $3 million to $5 million from its athletic budget by moving to the Big Sky, lessening the need to play those types of payday games. Those savings would come from fewer scholarships in football and women's sports and from lower coaching salaries. Idaho, he said, could then reinvest that money into other programs.

Bottom line is Idaho is running out of options. The post on Idaho president Duane Nellis' Facebook page told the story:

"It is clear from my many conversations with presidents and conference commissioners from across the country including many representing conferences in the west—the key variable for adding new teams is immediate media market. The fact that we are currently atop the WAC Commissioners Cup, have great success in student athlete graduation, are a top quality academic institution, and have invested and continue to invest in athletic facilities at our university seems to mean nothing.

"As you well know TV networks like ESPN are now running major college athletic affiliations not the NCAA."

Yes, going back to the FCS can be seen as a demoralizing step for a program that worked hard to get to the FBS, but Idaho is going to have to swallow its pride and do what's right for the preservation of its athletics.

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Big East commissioner John Marinatto didn't exactly pick the best time to resign especially with the college football landscape still changing and some of the league's new additions still being courted by their former conferences.

But Marinatto wasn't exactly given a choice. Marinatto resigned at the behest of the Big East's presidents and thus joined former Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe as a scapegoat for a league that is trying to survive expansion.

The overthrow worked well in the Big 12. Interim commissioner Chuck Neinas stabilized the league and brought in West Virginia and TCU, and now with Bob Bowlsby in charge, the conference has its eye on more expansion candidates to get its membership back to 12.

Marinatto's steady decline began when TCU backed out of its agreement to join the league and Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced their defection to the ACC. That forced the Big East to change its entire footprint just to stay a viable conference. So it reached all the way to the other side of the country to add Boise State and San Diego State. It also grabbed Central Florida, Houston, SMU, Navy, Memphis and Temple.

This isn't the first time the Big East has had to reach into the nonautomatic qualifying conferences to help fill gaps. After losing Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami to the ACC in 2003, the Big East promoted Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Marquette and DePaul. And the results have been mixed.

While the current changes in the Big East provided stability in terms of plugging holes, the additions didn't make the league better, especially in basketball.

Central Florida, SMU, Houston and Memphis were the only schools to join the conference as full members, but the basketball powers-that-be were never really consulted with regards to expansion. The new additions water down what used to be the nation's best basketball conference and for what? To help the conference build a floundering football brand? That was a mistake.

The Big East has always been a basketball conference that's been OK in football. In the past four years, the conference has been under scrutiny because the nonautomatic qualifying conferences, especially the Mountain West and WAC, were playing better football. However, the Big East continued to be rewarded with an automatic BCS bid while the non-AQ leagues were forced to go undefeated to climb into the Top 12 of the BCS standings.

But you can't blame the Big East's decline solely on Marinatto. When the Big East started to fall apart, the league presidents looked to him to do something with regards to preserving football, so he did the best he could. No one could have done better. The Big East was not an attractive football destination. If it were TCU would not have bailed before even playing a game in the conference and West Virginia would not have paid $20 million for its release.

Several of the league's athletic directors weren't necessarily on board with Marinatto's resignation. Connecticut athletic director Warde Manuel said he was shocked to learn of the resignation and Louisville vice president and director of athletics Tom Jurich had nothing but good things to say about Martinatto and they way he handled the Big East's expansion predicament.

"John is a tireless worker and for so many years, his time and energy have been consumed by working to make our league better for all of its membership, Jurich said in a statement. "We at the University of Louisville are indebted to John for his efforts in navigating our university's move to the Big East Conference. He is a true gentleman in every sense of the word and has terrific character and integrity. John is a good friend, we have appreciated our association with him and we wish him the very best."

But now that Marinatto's gone, the Big East isn't necessarily better off. It's still hodgepodge of teams all across the country that has absolutely no geographic identity. Consequently, the Big East, which once had a seat at the big kids table with the other power conferences, will probably be on the outside looking in when the BCS changes in 2014.

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NASCAR driver Clint Boyer is showing his appreciation for the 2012 national championship by going with an Alabama theme for Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Boyer, who drives the No. 15 car and currently sits in 12^th in the series points standings, will be wearing an Alabama-adorned fire suit and will top it off with a helmet with the likeness of legendary coach Bear Bryant painted on the back. His car also has Alabama decals and lists all of the Crimson Tide's national championship.

During Thursday's qualifying run, members of his pit crew were wearing houndstooth hats ala Bryant.

"Yeah, it was actually my idea about the (Paul Bryant) helmet," Bowyer said in a statement. "I always have icons on the back of my helmets. I've had them on my helmet all year long. Trying to think of something to do with Alabama, it was only fitting to have Bear Bryant on the back of it. So it's a pretty cool helmet that Nick Pastura painted for me. I just want to get down there and hopefully have the same success we've had over the past couple of years. Talladega is good to me, had a lot of fun there, and I can't think of anything bigger than to win in Talladega, Ala., with the Alabama car."

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Ohio State made news earlier this year after snagging some of the nation's best recruits for its February signing class. Coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes were off to a similarly strong recruiting start this year, but one recruit's encounter with a fan caused him to pull his commitment.

Alex Anzalone, one of the nation's top linebacking recruits, committed to Ohio State last month, but decommitted Friday after learning he and several other recruits had unknowingly met a convicted sex offender.

During Anzalone's visit to Columbus, Ohio on April 21, he and two other recruits posed for a picture with Charles Eric Waugh of Ashland, Ky., and the photo made its way to Twitter. Only later did Anzalone learn Waugh, 31, had pleaded guilty to five counts of possession of underage sexual content in 2008. Waugh has had several interactions with players and recruits both in person and through social media.

Anzalone called assistant coach Luke Fickell on Friday to let him know that because of that interaction, he would not be attending Ohio State.

"There's a disconnect between what Alex thought was there (at Ohio State) and what is actually there," said Anzalone's father, Dr. Sal Anzalone, told the Reading (Pa.) Eagle on Friday.

"Something's just not right at Ohio State. It's not for him."

Sal Anzalone doesn't believe Meyer or his staff knew about Waugh or his past, but the fact that a convicted sex offender could get so close to student-athletes and recruits caused Sal Anzalone to fear for his son's safety.

The university issued a statement Friday evening saying it alerted Ohio State's student-athletes about Waugh's past and claimed the university had no official dealing with him.

''The issue surrounding the individual from Kentucky is being treated by the Department of Athletics as a student-athlete welfare issue. When the University became aware that this individual had been seen in pictures - taken in public places - with student-athletes, proactive precautions were taken and the Department of Athletics alerted more than 1,000 Ohio State student-athletes about this person,'' the statement said.

''The email message also reminded them of the negative implications that can be realized through simple associations on social networking sites. This individual is not associated with Ohio State. He is not a booster. He has not engaged in any activities on behalf of the University. The Department of Athletics will continue to monitor this issue and it will remain proactive in its efforts with regard to precautions for its student-athletes.''

Can't blame Anzalone for his reaction especially since he hails from the state where former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is embroiled in one of the biggest sex scandals to ever affect the NCAA. Anzalone also told the Reading (Pa.) Eagle there was a personal reason behind his decision, but declined to get into specifics.

"I had to make a decision that's best for me, and for my family," Anzalone said. "There's a reason behind it. I don't want to get into it; I don't want to hurt anyone.

"We've been talking about it for a week or so with my family. I need to re-evaluate things right now, slow everything down."

Sal Anzalone said his family had been discussing his son's commitment to Ohio State in light of the revelation about Waugh for several days. Sal Anzalone said the photo of Waugh and his son showed his son had been at risk during his recruiting visit and that was unacceptable.

Anzalone, who was being recruited by more than 20 schools, said all of those suitors are back in play. He had previously said Florida and Stanford were among his favorites as well as Southern Cal, Penn State and Notre Dame.

"You don't want your son to go to a place where there's a potential issue (like this)," Sal Anzalone said. "You expect the (football) staff to have some sort of control on how things are handled with recruits when they visit. This is ridiculous.

"I was concerned with what recruits do and with them being allowed to visit these kind of places where it puts kids at risk. That's the issue. You entrust people (at the school) to do the right thing."

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News story from 9News in Colorado taken after the incident.

The three Colorado State players involved in the vicious beating of four freshman after a party in early April have been expelled.

Junior defensive end Nordly Capi, junior linebacker Mike Orakpo and junior defensive end Colton Paulhus had been indefinitely suspended from the football team and Friday evening Colorado State athletic director Jack Graham sent out an email to Colorado State students, faculty and staff confirming the three had been dismissed from school.

"As AD, I want to make it absolutely clear that we have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior by our student athletes. Our football coaches led by Coach McElwain cooperated fully with the police investigation and we acted immediately to suspend the players from the team indefinitely—a suspension that is now permanent," Graham wrote.

"The Department of Athletics is fully supportive of the University's processes for addressing this type of incident, and while the results of such processes are typically not public, there is an exception when the allegations concern violence, including assault offenses. For that reason, I am able to report now that players Mike Orakpo, Nordly Capi, and Colton Paulhus have been expelled from Colorado State, effective Monday May 7."

Graham notes there is an appeals process, but the three former football players have not been allowed back on campus.

On April 6, the four freshmen were walking home from a party when an SUV with Capi, Orakpo and Paulhus pulled up. Someone yelled homophobic slurs from the car, which prompted victim, 20-year-old Donny Gocha, to yell a similar insult back. The SUV came to a screeching halt and all three players jumped out and proceeded to beat on Gocha. Gocha's three friends came to his aid and suffered injuries, but Gocha had two swollen eyes, chipped teeth, cuts, bruises and a boot print tattooed on his back.

"You could just tell they were looking for a fight," Another victim, John "JD" Haley told the Fort Collins Coloradoan. "They just started beating the back of Donny's head in.

"I covered Donny's head with my body. We were all scared for his life. It froze me. You can't really put into words how disturbing it was. My only thought was to protect his head."

The three players were charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, but when police searched their homes, they found marijuana and steroids and syringes in two of the residences. However, none of the players were charged with possession.

Capi led the Mountain West in sacks last season and Orakpo, younger brother of former Texas star Brian Orakpo, was the Rams' third-leading tackler in 2011. Paulus transferred to Colorado State from American River College in Sacramento, Calif., last winter and played all 12 games on special teams.

"Virtually every student-athlete and coach is horrified, angry and embarrassed by the actions of these few," Graham wrote. "With me, our student-athletes and coaches have accepted responsibility for these actions and for doing all we can to root out this behavior to the extent it may still exist.

"You have my word our athletes will continue to be held accountable to represent our University in ways that always make us proud that we are Colorado State University Rams."

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Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray loves his Twitter.

He uses it to post pictures of himself wearing a satchel (like Indiana Jones) and children's pajamas and Thursday he used it to punk the entire Georgia football fan base.

Murray tweeted out a photo of a pink Georgia helmet claiming it was what the Bulldogs were going to wear for the "Pink-Out" game next year for breast cancer awareness.

Even equipment manager Kevin Purvis got in on the joke by tweeting the team was "Waiting for @usnikefootball to send the jerseys and cleats."

Of course, the Georgia fan base freaked out. Murray's photo was retweeted, it hit message boards and sparked quite the debate. While Murray probably wanted to create this type of chaos, he probably didn't expect it to get so crazy. So he sent out another tweet exposing the hoax.

"The pink helmet is not real for all those panicking and calling in about it," Murray tweeted.

I don't know, with all the crazy uniform combinations these days, would it have been that big of a shock to see a team wear pink helmets?

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By the end of the day, another round of expansion will be complete and college football will look almost nothing like it did prior to the 2010 season.

Since that year, 31 teams — a little more than 25 percent of the FBS membership — will have switched conferences and all for various reasons. Some will have switched for more notoriety, some for more money, some for an opportunity for better competition and some for stability.

On Friday, Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana Tech, Charlotte, North Texas, and Florida International will move from the WAC, Atlantic-10 and Sun Belt respectively to Conference USA. San Jose State and Utah State will leave the WAC for the Mountain West.

Earlier this week, the Sun Belt announced it was adding Texas State. Georgia State also will join the conference.

All of these teams with the exception of Charlotte, which doesn't currently have a football team and will be an independent in 2013 and 14, will join their new conferences for the 2013 seasons.

OK. Take a breath. Did you write all that down?

When the dust settles today, one conference might be on it way toward ceasing to exist. The WAC, which lost Boise State last year, Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada this coming year and is losing five teams in the current expansion (including UTSA and Texas State, which have never played a WAC game) will be left with Idaho and New Mexico State as its only football-playing members.

The Sun Belt, led by former WAC commissioner Karl Benson, might throw New Mexico State a lifeline with an invitation, but Idaho might be out of options and could be forced to drop down to the FCS for self-preservation. Last summer, Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said he was courting Idaho, but at the time the Vandals were resisting advances from the FCS league. However, things have turned dire for Idaho.

University President Duane Nellis posted the following statement on his Facebook page.

"I appreciate all the comments and concerns about Vandal athletics and the complicated situation we are currently facing with regards to the Western Athletic Conference. I want you all to know that we are in conversations daily about the state of the WAC and the future of athletics.

"Despite what you may believe or be feeling at this time, I am fighting hard for the University of Idaho. I am working with athletic director Rob Spear and we are looking for a positive outcome.

"It is clear from my many conversations with presidents and conference commissioners from across the country including many representing conferences in the west—the key variable for adding new teams is immediate media market. The fact that we are currently atop the WAC Commissioners Cup, have great success in student athlete graduation, are a top quality academic institution, and have invested and continue to invest in athletic facilities at our university seems to mean nothing.

"As you well know TV networks like ESPN are now running major college athletic affiliations not the NCAA. Please stand by us as we work to make this frustrating situation a positive one for the University of Idaho, its vandal alumni, family and friends."

The statement doesn't exactly read like a silver lining for the Vandals. Nellis states what we all knew: this is a business. Student-athlete graduation, the WAC Commissioners Cup, all that stuff doesn't bring in millions of dollars and that's what it takes to be an attractive expansion prospect. Utah State's trip to the Idaho Potato Bowl last year was the program's first bowl berth since 1993, but it has part of the Salt Lake City television market that the Mountain West lost when Utah went to the Pac-12. San Jose State has had two winning seasons since 2000, but has an attractive Northern California television market.

Idaho has had little success on the field and has a mediocre television market that is dominated by Boise State. It's in a losing situation at the FBS level. However, the Vandals could do a lot worse than the Big Sky if the offer is still on the table. The Big Sky arguably has the best collection of FCS teams and the Vandals could always move up to the FBS again later.

While this is a big day for a lot of schools, expansion is far from over. If the Sun Belt adds New Mexico State, it will probably add another team to give it 12 football members and the opportunity to create divisions and ultimately a conference championship. Many believe that final team will be UT-Arlington, which doesn't have a football program, but has the means to put one together. Or, Benson could save the remaining team from his old conference. Benson was the WAC commissioner from 1994-2012 and there were rumblings of his ouster once the conference lost Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada to the Mountain West. So Benson probably doesn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings toward a lot of the WAC — or former WAC — membership.

College football is a living thing. It's constantly changing and adapting while teams try to positions themselves for more money and more notoriety. As we'll see Friday, there are winners and losers in this game, but it's definitely not over.

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Since today is going to be all about expansion, I thought I'd start the day off with something a little fun — like the Oregon golf team.

The Oregon golf team put out a 15-minute promotional video Thursday and while I'm not going to bore my college football audience with the entirety of the video — though it's pretty funny if you want to kill 15 minutes — I did cut out a couple football cameos from coach Chip Kelly and Kenjon Barner.

In the video, Kelly laments about not having golfers in the 38-35 loss to USC and claims they would have made the difference against the Trojans' speedy receivers.

Kenjon Barner does his best Tiger Woods impression. Spoiler alert: Barner's shorts.

There are a couple other cameos in here, but these were my favorite. I know it's not really football, but I enjoyed it. And it's a good way to start a Friday.

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From the beginning, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has supported a playoff, but he's also been in favor of doing things his way.

Remember, Delany is the same guy who supported the ill-conceived Rose Bowl plan, which preserved the Pac-12-Big Ten Rose Bowl tradition, but forced other teams to actually have to fight their way into a playoff. Shockingly, no one else supported that idea.

It's a given that college football is going to a four-team playoff system, but how those four teams are chosen is still up for debate. Well, Delany has an answer. According to what is being called the "Delany Plan," the top four conference champions should go, but only if they're ranked in the top six of the national rankings.

On the surface it seems simple enough: If four conference champions are ranked in the top six you take the top four conference champions. When fewer than four conference champions are ranked in the top six the next highest ranked team would get into the playoff.

Done and done.

However, sometimes the conference champion isn't always the better team. In 2011, the playoff would have been (according to the BCS standings) No. 1 LSU vs. No. 5 Oregon and No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State. Looks great unless you're No. 4 Stanford, which didn't win its conference, but was the higher ranked team.

In 2010, No. 4 Stanford would have been aced out again because Oregon won the league and Big Ten champion No. 5 Wisconsin was within Delany's six-spot window. In that year, the playoff would have been No. 1 Auburn vs. Wisconsin and No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 TCU.

I know, I know, if Stanford would just win its conference it wouldn't have this problem. Fair enough, but in 2008, Texas beat Oklahoma head-to-head, but because of the Big 12's outdated tiebreaker, Oklahoma went on to play for the conference title. The playoff would have been No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Utah and No. 2 Florida vs. No. 5 USC. No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama would have been left out.

In 2005 and 2006, Big Ten schools Ohio State and Michigan would have been shut out respectively in favor of Louisville and Oregon.

The problem with this plan is that it doesn't always reward the best teams. What if four conference champions had been in the top six this year and Alabama had been aced out? The national champion never would have gotten a chance to be a national champion despite clearly being (prior to the game) the second-best team in the country.

Since 2008, the SEC would have knocked one of its own teams out three of the four years. Since 2008, four teams from the non-BCS conferences have been ranked in the top six and just one team from either the Big East or ACC has met that top six threshold.

In most years, the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 are going to have at least one team within the top six making this a pretty sweet idea for those conferences and a lousy idea for everyone else.

Again, play better football and this won't be a concern though some would argue TCU, Boise State and Utah didn't play as tough of schedules as other teams ranked in the top six, but were rewarded nonetheless.

While the "Delany Plan" isn't the worst way to choose a playoff, it does need to do one thing — drop the preseason rankings. If all of the rankings started in mid-October, teams would not be rewarded because of their rosters or what they did a year go. Teams should have to earn that top spot early in the season. That gives every team, regardless of conference, an opportunity to get into one of those top six slots. Because if a team is preseason top 3, as long as it plays a moderately decent schedule, it's hard to justify moving that team down if it keeps winning. Consequently, it prohibits another team with a better schedule from moving up.

If the rankings started later, then teams could actually work their way into those spots. It also would aid teams from the ACC, Big East and some of the smaller conferences. If those teams played tough nonconference schedules and beat key opponents, they would deserve to be in the "Delany Plan" conversation. Of course, conference play would probably limit those teams a little bit, but at least they would have a chance and not be eliminated simply because of pedigree.

While Delany is catching a little grief over this idea, at least its a viable option. As college football searches for the perfect way to choose its conference champion, it's going to take some time to find the best way to execute a playoff..

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Being a football player means you're usually competitive in everything, including eating.

So when two unsuspecting young men decided to take on Bowling Green junior defensive tackle Ted Ouellet and senior right tackle Jordon Roussos in a Qudoba burrito eating contest, well, they should have known better.

Spoiler alert: This — especially Roussos portion of this contest — is a sight to behold.

By watching the video, the rules are as follows: One person (in this case Ouellet) must finish the entire Qudoba burrito, including all the beans and mess left on the foil, before the next person (Roussos) can begin. Once the second person finishes their burrito and nothing is left in their mouth, they are done.

Ouellet and Roussos appeared to finish this feat in less than 2 minutes.

The two poor guys trying to match Ouellet and Roussos eventually give up. At one point, the guy sitting next to Roussos, who is in the blue shirt with clouds, just looks at him shoveling the burrito into his pie hole and starts laughing.

Not sure what these guy won for this competition — it was judged by a Qudoba employee who had a clipboard (so it must be official) — but at the very least they earned the adoration of their friends and, of course, Dr. Saturday.

Heck, this is the most excited anyone has been about Bowling Green football in a long time. #FalconPride

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H/T to Hustle Belt

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*UPDATED* Rees was charged with four misdemeanors and was released from jail Thursday on a $250 bond. Rees was fortunate he was not charged with the felony battery, which originally led to his arrest. If Rees had been charged with a felony, Notre Dame could have reserved "the right to take summary action and temporarily dismiss the student," according to the school's disciplinary code.

Per the Chicago Tribune:

According to prosecutors, Rees refused to stop running as officers pursued him. A passing cabdriver pulled over in a position to block Rees, prosecutors said, and Rees lifted his right knee into the lower chest area of an approaching officer, "knocking the wind out of him."

The cabdriver grabbed Rees "in order to keep him from running away," prosecutors said, and Rees was pepper-sprayed when he continued to struggle against police and the cabdriver on the pavement. That resulted in the misdemeanor battery charge for what prosecutors deemed "rude, angry or insolent" contact.

Kelly said in a statement Thursday he was still gathering information about the incident and that he would withhold disciplinary action until he spoke with Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese.

***

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees is currently sitting in jail after being arrested on a preliminary felony charge following a confrontation with police during a house party early Thursday morning.

Rees, 19, was arrested for resisting police, felony battery to law enforcement, minor consumption and public intoxication. Rees remains in jail while he awaits charges to be filed against him. According to the Chicago Tribune, Rees could be arraigned this afternoon or might have to spend another night in custody. The police have 48 hours to charge Rees.

South Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent told the paper Rees lifted a knee to an officer during the arrest and had to be pepper sprayed while on the ground.

"It wasn't terribly violent, but it was enough to be considered resisting," Trent said.

One officer suffered a minor scrape and "had the wind knocked out of him," Trent told the paper.

Notre Dame reserve linebacker Carlo Calabrese, 21, who also was at the party, tried to intervene on Rees' behalf, was told to step away and shouted to police, "My people will get you." He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and was released on a $150 bond.

Rees' blood alcohol level was .11 and Calabrese's was .12.

Rees started 12 of 13 games last year and was part of a four-player race to earn the starting nod this season. Coach Brian Kelly is in town and the university has been alerted to the situation.

"The university is aware of this incident and is confident that it will be handled in a prompt and professional manner through the criminal justice system," Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said in a statement. "Internal discipline is handled privately, in accord with our own policies and federal law."

This isn't the first time Kelly has had to deal with an incident relating to alcohol. Former receiver Michael Floyd had three alcohol-related arrests while at Notre Dame, including a DUI arrest last March. Kelly "suspended" Floyd for four and a half months, which essentially kept him out of spring workouts, but he was allowed to participate in voluntary workouts and didn't miss a game. Kelly took some heat for his treatment of the situation, but Kelly maintained he would have kept Floyd out the entire season if he felt he hadn't learned his lesson.

However, the difference here is that Floyd was the star receiver and Rees is replaceable.

Now before a campaign is mounted to get Rees out of Notre Dame, charges have to be filed. The severity of those charges will determine Rees' fate. It's possible charges could be dropped and Rees could walk away. In any case, it's at Notre Dame's discretion to dish out its own punishment.

Kelly could make an example of Rees, especially, and I'm pointing out the obvious here, with three talented quarterbacks waiting in the wings. With Floyd, Kelly maintained that suspending him one or two games would not have been an adequate punishment. He said Floyd would miss all of the season or none of the season. I wonder if the same edict will apply here? Does Rees serve a summer suspension where he reaffirms his commitment to the team and all is right come the fall? Or is Rees going to be held to a different standard?

Notre Dame will definitely be under the microscope during this ordeal. There have been multiple incidents — Floyd's arrest, an unknown football player accused of sexual assault, and the untimely death of student assistant Declan Sullivan because of Notre Dame's negligence — that have resulted in little or no punishment and have caused public outcry. How Kelly handles this situation will no doubt create a national debate.

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