Posts from the Ncaafootball Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Among the greatest travesties of this past season has been the rambutan-like Donna Shalala abandoning the Orange Bowl and moving the Miami Hurricanes to Dolphins Stadium. Sure, the Orange Bowl was an old, creaking facility that hadn't actually hosted the "Orange Bowl" since 1999, and not regularly since 1995. Yes, the control room once caught fire. It was still the OB, the lovable old deathtrap of college football. And they served beer.

Recognizing the need for significant accommodations, Dolphins Stadium announced their plan for Hurricanes games to the Miami-Herald. The laundry list is far too long to share here, but rest assured it's as expansive as Canes fans could have hoped for in light of seeing their venerable stadium cast aside and demolished.

Chief among the updates are concealing the Dolphins' Ring of Fame with a removable wrap that celebrates the storied history of the U, and a continuation of the OB's alcohol policy, where fans may buy beer until the end of halftime.

Wise move, committee members. While it's neat that you're offering "more formalized player autographs than we've ever done" or whatever, you're welcoming fans who spent decades in a stadium made of concrete, Elmer's glue, exposed nails, and fear. Give them a sanitized stadium 14 miles from campus and take away their booze, and rest assured, they will not come.

It wasn't too long ago that I was opining that Louisville might not be in as bad a shape as everyone thought. I take it back, they're screwed. Before this week, Louisville had lost 21 underclassmen since the beginning of 2007. And this past week has been a lot of the same.

With Trent Guy being shot outside a night club, and JuJuan Spillman being arrested (again) for dui/marijuana possession/concealed weapon, it's time to call in the professionals. And I'm not talking about counselors and security chiefs. We've gone well past all conventional approaches. What this team needs is a complete karma makeover.

Steve Kragthorpe's phone rings....

Hello...

DUDE!!! IT'S TY PENNINGTON!!

Who?...

TY PENNINGTON FROM EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER! WHAT'S UP BRAAAAH?

Scary news from Louisville, as junior receiver Trent Guy (pictured, right) was shot in the back as he left a nightclub early Saturday morning. He was hospitalized (obviously), but doctors expect him to make a full recovery. Police have made no arrests in the case, which makes no sense until you remember the victim is black.

The story is a familiar one, as you might imagine when you hear "nightclub," "early Saturday morning," and "shot." Nothing remarkable shows up in the details: stranger gropes woman, fiancé (in this case, Trent) gets upset, angry words get exchanged, everybody gets kicked out, pop go the shots.

As Guy's fiancée's friend Christopher 2X (uh...?) put it, "[h]e's a very fortunate and lucky young man to be alive." Technically, he's lucky in that his gunshot wound isn't threatening his life, but you know who was luckier than Guy that night? The other 99.9% of people at the club who weren't shot at all.

Grousing aside, it may be time for Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe to consider revising team rules on presence at bars. We're not advocating a "stay away forever there be dragons" approach; after all, part of the maturation process is to learn the difference between good and bad decisions, not to be protected from danger at all times.

Still, as Trent Guy and the team just learned, all it takes is one armed idiot to turn a good night out into a tragedy.

(Terrorist fist jab: The Wiz)

Have you found yourself in central Alabama, wanting to celebrate the rich tradition of the entire SEC, even the really lousy teams that nobody really likes, and unable to find an appropriate venue to do so? Sure, we all have. But fret not, because better days rapidly approach:

The Memphis real estate company creating Birmingham's entertainment district wants to build a tourist attraction devoted to the Southeastern Conference. The venue would include a merchandise store, restaurant and catering services and an interactive history of the SEC.

An "interactive history?" Think of the possibilities!

• Darren McFadden's car
• An exhibit where you, too, can block Greg Gantt's punts
• The actual hobnailed boot used to break Tennessee's nose and crush their face
• Plaster casts of The Orgeron's footprints, replete with claws
• A copy of the petition filed by Kentucky in 1982 seeking all of Bear Bryant's Alabama titles to be retroactively awarded to Kentucky, on account of "we had him first." The measure failed 10-2, Auburn being the only school to join the Wildcats in voting "yea"
• Tee Martin in an electrified cage

The article also mentions that the center would include "a restaurant and catering facility with Southern food," and we'll just go ahead and assume that the waitresses all run a sub-4.5. After all, what's the point of getting a pitcher of sweet tea if it isn't delivered with ESS EEE CEE SPEEEEEED?

Oh, and we'll be absolutely stunned if this place doesn't engender dozens of fistfights on a daily basis.

3 ... 2... 1 ... Splat, in a straw cowboy hat. Not sure whether this was a puke-and-rally scene or if Ohio State's star cornerback (formerly pictured at right -- we're working to add the picture again) executed the El Foldo maneuver and called it a night.

Background: Playboy invites players named on its preseason college football All American team to hang out, bond, and, well, party together before the season.

They take group pictures for the magazine, but otherwise have a lot of free time on their hands. Sometimes that free time is spent wearing silly straw cowboy hats. Sometimes it's spent with women you won't be taking home to mother.

... And sometimes its spent refunding your lunch and all the good stuff that had you so cheerful earlier in the evening. Dagnabbit (sorry, straw hat talking there).

More documented fun at the link. Hint: USC's linebackers dwarf James Laurinaitis.

Update: Looks like the thread was pulled with all the images from the event. Hmm. Most of the pictures in the now-escaped thread showed several Ohio State and USC players hanging out together, partying, with women, etc. Standard stuff. And of course the former picture of Jenkins above losing his lunch. You'll have to take our word for it. It was funny. Bent over puke on the sidwalk funny. Darn lawyers.

Surprise! Fresh off the hot seat, Phil Fulmer joins the Big Boy SEC Coaches Club thanks to a one million dollar raise. Fulmer's new contract is worth an average of nearly 3 million dollars per year through 2014 thanks to yearly -- and automatic -- $150k bumps. Fulmer will also get a chance to win additional bonuses for winning an SEC championship ($350,000) or a national title ($850,000). Fulmer's new salary puts him in league with contemporaries such as Les Miles, Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, all of whom own one national title in the aughts of the new millenium.

What other conference rewards one of its middling coaches with a million dollar pay raise?

Oh, sure... stop squawking. I know: Fulmer won his division in 2007, and he managed to get the Vols to the double-digit win category (10, to be precise) to boot. He has a national title on his resume. And he has a great overall record: as a head coach he's won 147 games, losing only 45. And he's a sterling 87-27 in the hypercompetitive SEC.

One of the most entertaining things about football is the sheer rarity of meteorological postponements; it usually takes a hurricane to move or reschedule a contest. In fact, some of the best games have been played in winter conditions that would derail any other sporting event. Especially golf.

During the home stretch of their sixth championship season, the Oklahoma Sooners had such a contest against their in-state whipping boys "rivals" Oklahoma State, who were #17 in the nation at the time. The 1985 game was the first in the "Bedlam" series to be played at night, which is probably a decision both schools deeply regretted at the time. The wind chill was near 0 at kickoff, and conditions steadily deteriorated throughout the game. Or in other words, this. was. awesome.

Oklahoma would win the game 13-0, then go on to capture the MNC with a 25-10 win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, would do nothing of consequence for the millionth year in a row, a streak that survives to this day.

Pop quiz, hot shots. The phrase "half past dead" refers to which of the following:

A) A lyric in The Band's classic song, "The Weight;"

B) Steven Seagal's timeless cinematic treasure "Half Past Dead," co-starring noted thespian Ja Rule;

C) Kevin Grady's state of being early Wednesday morning.

If you guessed A, you're over 40 years old. If you guessed B, you are a fine connoisseur of cinema. For everybody else, yes, C is the right answer. The Michigan tailback, one of several looking to take over the departed Mike Hart's carries, was arrested on "suspicion" of DUI. We say "suspicion" because Grady blew a .281, which is more than three and a half times higher than the legal limit in Michigan and most other states.

Just for the sake of further context, .080 is legally drunk. .200 will absolutely ruin your weekend. .400 is enough to kill people.

So, if anything, Grady is lucky in that he didn't kill anybody--or himself. Again, he blew a .281. He does, however, find himself in the unfortunate position of being incoming head coach Rich Rodriguez's first serious disciplinary case, which makes it unlikely that he'll escape with anything less than serious punishment. As first offenses go, OWIs almost never result in dismissals, but the mind-blowing particulars probably mean Grady's not seeing the field in any meaningful action until at least October.

First it was Al Afalava, the hard-hitting senior safety who ran afoul of the law. Afalava was involved in a weird story a few months ago, where he was charged with a DUI, criminal mischief and hit-and-run charges for destroying a city bus shelter with his car and then fleeing the scene on foot. Afalava is also the guy Washington fans officially hate after his helmet-to-helmet hit on QB Jake Locker last year that could have been a disaster. Afalava's punishment for his off-the-field incident is that he will miss the upcoming season opener vs. Stanford.

But now in an unusual story, senior safety Bryan Payton has suddenly left the Beaver football program. Payton was set to be the starting free safety next to Afalava this season, listed as a co-starter with senior Greg Laybourn.

The details are still hazy as to why Payton left. The Oregonian reports that he wasn't exactly kicked off the team, and that it wasn't a football issue. The speculation appears to be a mutual parting of the ways, with a few comments insinuating that Payton was a bit of a headache to the coaching staff. He had some past issues, including being sent home from the 2004 Insight.com bowl and reportedly had some academic problems over his career.

Losing Afalava as a starter is bad enough for a defense that is only projected to return three total starters from last year. But at least Afalava's loss is only for one game. Payton was one of the few members of the defense who has actually started a game in the past, but it will certainly be Laybourn's job now.

The SEC has long been known as a place where defense rules in college football. Maybe some of that had to do with the league's generally minimal focus on offense for so many years, but we can debate that in another entry. Regardless, its defensive credibility is rock solid.

But in recent years, a steady influx of offensive changes from coaches to schemes has balanced the league and made it all the more dangerous.

But, as noted at the Daily Texan, there's also been a barely noticed flow of defensive coaching talent away from the SEC. Former Auburn star defensive coordinators Gene Chizik and Will Muschamp have made their way to the Big 12. Chizik was Texas' defensive coordinator before being hired as the head coach at Iowa State. Muschamp, meanwhile, is Texas' new D.C.

Elsewhere, former Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines is now the D.C. at Texas A&M. Chances are, those three have been adequately replaced, but their departure and the SEC's changing offensive makeup seems to indicate a change from the All D, No O days of SEC past. I doubt wide open offensive football with not much defense like on display in the WAC ever finds a home in the SEC. OK, severely doubt it. But it is interesting to note a modest departure of defensive coaching talent as a steady wave of offensive coaching talent moves in.

Related: I wonder if this perks up the state of defense in the suddenly wide-open, quarterback loaded Big 12?

(Via: Football Rumor Mill)