NCAA Football Blog Headlines

The 2008 Backyard Brawl is closing in, and No. 25 Pitt continued practice on Wednesday. Before practice started, head coach Dave Wannstedt talked about Pat White, WVU, and more, and PantherLair.com has exclusive video

It was a tough night inside the RAC as Rutgers dropped its second straight game with a forgettable loss against Lehigh by a score of 76-71. The Scarlet Knights seem to come out a little flat and stayed that way for most of the night. Here’s a broader view of Rutgers’ latest loss

Junior college offensive line prospect James Carpenter is but one prospect expected to be at the Egg Bowl on Friday. He could be joined by another four-star prospect, Roy Watts, who is a former teammate of Jevan Snead at Texas. Alabama recently offered Carpenter and the Rebels have a battle on their hands. This is just the beginning of recruiting news reported this week. Go inside for a full recap

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

After an “upset Saturday” that failed to produce significant upsets, the BCS picture is becoming more clear in advance of the week 9 BCS football polls.

Texas and Alabama – the nation’s top two undefeated teams – have a clear road to the BCS National Championship game. In the words of legendary Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer – just win, baby. If the Horns and Tide win out (including their respective conference championship games), then the two will meet in the National Championship game. Period. End of story.

Undefeated Penn State will need help to reach the BCS National Championship game. For PSU, either Texas or Alabama must lose while the Nittany Lions must continue to win out. A UT or UA loss puts Coach Paterno and company in Miami, provided they remain undefeated. If Penn State loses – regardless of what happens above them – then PSU will likely get jumped by another one-loss team.

The prospects for the one-loss teams near the top of the polls became bleaker this weekend. The top three teams – by virtue of their sizable leads in the coming BCS poll – will not get jumped if they win out. OU, USC, UGA, and Florida are playing out the rest of the season just for a BCS game berth. They cannot reach the BCS National Championship game without losses from at least two of the three top undefeated teams.

This week’s BCS poll results will be very telling for the down-but-(how are they never?)-not-out Ohio State Buckeyes. Despite the loss to Penn State, the Bucks still have the inside track on a Rose Bowl bid if PSU makes it to the championship game. How’s that? Well, OSU is likely to be ranked in the top 14 of the final BCS standings. If Penn State doesn’t play in the Rose Bowl, then Ohio State will.

And – despite the rising number of non-BCS teams trying to wear Cinderella’s slipper – all of these developments do not bode well for the Utahs, Boise States, and Tulsas of the world. Quite the contrary, actually. After you take your automatic qualifiers and the the strong second teams from the BCS conferences, there may be just one BCS bowl game slot remaining. So – despite the number of non-BCS teams that could stake a claim – it now appears that only one will get to play in a BCS bowl game.

Here are my (totally worthless) BCS projections:

BCS CG: Texas vs Penn State
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs USC
Orange Bowl: FSU vs Georgia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs West Virginia
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs Boise State

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on What does the BCS picture look like now?…

The latest installment of theNCAA’s Graduation Success Rate reports have been released for 2008.

The Graduation Success Rate measures how many players earned a four-year degree within a six-year window, accounting for both transfers into the footabll program as well as transfers out of the football program.

So how do the BCS schools stack up against one another? I’m glad you asked.

2008 NCAA Graduation Success Rate for BCS Football Programs

1. Notre Dame 94%
2. Stanford 93
T3. BC 92
T3. Duke 92
T3. Northwestern 92
6. Vanderbilt 91
7. Wake Forest 83
8. Texas Tech 79
T9. Baylor 78
T9. Nebraska 78
T9. UNC 78
T9. Penn State 78
T13. UConn 77
T13. Indiana 77
T15. Colorado 75
T15. Iowa 75
T15. Syracuse 75
T15. Virginia Tech 75
19. Cincinnati 73
T20. Illinois 70
T20. Michigan 70
T20. Miami 70
T20. Rutgers 70
24. Florida State 69
T25. Clemson 68
T25. Florida 68
T25. Maryland 68
T25. Wash State 68
…………………………………..
T29. Kansas State 67
T29. Pitt 67
31. Virginia 66
T32. South Carolina 65
T32. Washington 65
T34. Oregon State 64
T34. Ole Miss 63
T34. Miss State 63
T34. Purdue 63
T34. West Virginia 63
T34. Wisconsin 63
T40. Okla State 62
T40. UCLA 62
42. Arizona State 60
T43. N.C. State 59
T43. Missouri 59
45. Louisville 58
46. Auburn 57
T47. Kentucky 56
T47. Texas A&M 56
T47. South Florida 56
T50. Alabama 55
T50. Iowa State 55
T52. LSU 54
T52. Tennessee 54
T52. USC 54
T55. Cal 53
T55. Oregon 53
T55. Kansas 53
58. Ohio State 52
T58. Arkansas 52
T60. Minnesota 51
T60. Michigan State 51
62. Texas 50
T63. Georgia 48
T63. Georgia Tech 48
65. Oklahoma 46
66. Arizona 41

I wasn’t surprised to see some of the finest academic institutions grabbing the top spots, but I was SHOCKED to see Texas Tech at #8. Kudos to the Red Raiders!

The average GSR scores of the six BCS conferences:

1. ACC……..72.3
2. Big East…67.4
3. Big Ten….66
4. Big 12…..63.2
5. Pac-10…..61.3
6. SEC………60.5

For all the blustering about the Pac10′s high academic standards, I would have expected one of those standards to be…. graduation.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on What are the college football graduation rates?…

Chris Singletary scored a career-high 23 points and matched a career-best with six assists to lead Kent State to a 83-64 victory over UNC-Wilmington. The win was the Golden Flashes’ 18th straight at the MAC Cente

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

After an “upset Saturday” that failed to produce significant upsets, the BCS picture is becoming more clear in advance of the week 9 BCS football polls.

Texas and Alabama – the nation’s top two undefeated teams – have a clear road to the BCS National Championship game. In the words of legendary Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer – just win, baby. If the Horns and Tide win out (including their respective conference championship games), then the two will meet in the National Championship game. Period. End of story.

Undefeated Penn State will need help to reach the BCS National Championship game. For PSU, either Texas or Alabama must lose while the Nittany Lions must continue to win out. A UT or UA loss puts Coach Paterno and company in Miami, provided they remain undefeated. If Penn State loses – regardless of what happens above them – then PSU will likely get jumped by another one-loss team.

The prospects for the one-loss teams near the top of the polls became bleaker this weekend. The top three teams – by virtue of their sizable leads in the coming BCS poll – will not get jumped if they win out. OU, USC, UGA, and Florida are playing out the rest of the season just for a BCS game berth. They cannot reach the BCS National Championship game without losses from at least two of the three top undefeated teams.

This week’s BCS poll results will be very telling for the down-but-(how are they never?)-not-out Ohio State Buckeyes. Despite the loss to Penn State, the Bucks still have the inside track on a Rose Bowl bid if PSU makes it to the championship game. How’s that? Well, OSU is likely to be ranked in the top 14 of the final BCS standings. If Penn State doesn’t play in the Rose Bowl, then Ohio State will.

And – despite the rising number of non-BCS teams trying to wear Cinderella’s slipper – all of these developments do not bode well for the Utahs, Boise States, and Tulsas of the world. Quite the contrary, actually. After you take your automatic qualifiers and the the strong second teams from the BCS conferences, there may be just one BCS bowl game slot remaining. So – despite the number of non-BCS teams that could stake a claim – it now appears that only one will get to play in a BCS bowl game.

Here are my (totally worthless) BCS projections:

BCS CG: Texas vs Penn State
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs USC
Orange Bowl: FSU vs Georgia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs West Virginia
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs Boise State

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on What does the BCS picture look like now?…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

After an “upset Saturday” that failed to produce significant upsets, the BCS picture is becoming more clear in advance of the week 9 BCS football polls.

Texas and Alabama – the nation’s top two undefeated teams – have a clear road to the BCS National Championship game. In the words of legendary Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer – just win, baby. If the Horns and Tide win out (including their respective conference championship games), then the two will meet in the National Championship game. Period. End of story.

Undefeated Penn State will need help to reach the BCS National Championship game. For PSU, either Texas or Alabama must lose while the Nittany Lions must continue to win out. A UT or UA loss puts Coach Paterno and company in Miami, provided they remain undefeated. If Penn State loses – regardless of what happens above them – then PSU will likely get jumped by another one-loss team.

The prospects for the one-loss teams near the top of the polls became bleaker this weekend. The top three teams – by virtue of their sizable leads in the coming BCS poll – will not get jumped if they win out. OU, USC, UGA, and Florida are playing out the rest of the season just for a BCS game berth. They cannot reach the BCS National Championship game without losses from at least two of the three top undefeated teams.

This week’s BCS poll results will be very telling for the down-but-(how are they never?)-not-out Ohio State Buckeyes. Despite the loss to Penn State, the Bucks still have the inside track on a Rose Bowl bid if PSU makes it to the championship game. How’s that? Well, OSU is likely to be ranked in the top 14 of the final BCS standings. If Penn State doesn’t play in the Rose Bowl, then Ohio State will.

And – despite the rising number of non-BCS teams trying to wear Cinderella’s slipper – all of these developments do not bode well for the Utahs, Boise States, and Tulsas of the world. Quite the contrary, actually. After you take your automatic qualifiers and the the strong second teams from the BCS conferences, there may be just one BCS bowl game slot remaining. So – despite the number of non-BCS teams that could stake a claim – it now appears that only one will get to play in a BCS bowl game.

Here are my (totally worthless) BCS projections:

BCS CG: Texas vs Penn State
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs USC
Orange Bowl: FSU vs Georgia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs West Virginia
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs Boise State

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on What does the BCS picture look like now?…

One of the fastest rising prospects on the west coast is cornerback Lazarri Middleton (6-1, 190, 4.48) from Long Beach (Calif.) Poly. He has been one of the defensive catalysts for an undefeated Poly team and he played a key role in Poly’s first round victory over a very tough La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat team

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Tim Tebow will get a chance to repeat as winner of the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s top player

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel agreed to a new contract Monday, two weeks before his 12th-ranked Tigers were set to play in their second straight Big 12 title game.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno had successful hip replacement surgery Sunday, a day after the Nittany Lions clinched the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Richmond (Va.) Meadowbrook offensive tackle Morgan Moses is not only the top player in Virginia in the 2009 class, he’s among the best in the nation at any position. Now that his senior season has ended with a 17-14 loss to Varina in the playoffs, the 6-foot-7, 347-pounder is ready to start focusing on the recruiting process. What schools will get a look and who might be in line potentially for an official visi

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Standout junior safety Marvin Robinson of Eagle Lake (Fla.) Lake Region was one of several prominent visitors to North Carolina this past weekend. What did Robinson have to say about the trip and UNC in genera

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Now that we are mid-way through November’s college football games, here’s a look at which teams have enough wins to be eligible to play in a bowl game this season.

Bowl Eligible Teams through 11-8-2008

ACC – 8 teams eligible
FSU, Wake Forest, Maryland, Boston College, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami, Georgia Tech

Big 12 – 7 teams eligible
Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big East – 5 teams eligible
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, West Virginia, South Florida

Big 10 -6 teams eligible
Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Iowa

Conference USA – 3 teams eligible
East Carolina, Tulsa, Rice

Independents – 1 team eligible
Navy

MAC – 3 teams eligible
Ball State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan

MWC – 4 teams eligible
BYU, Utah, TCU, Air Force

Pac10 – 5 teams eligible
USC, Arizona, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State

SEC – 6 teams eligible
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, LSU

Sun Belt – 1 team eligible
Troy

WAC – 2 teams eligible
Boise State, San Jose State

For a complete list ofbowl game matchups by conference, dates, times, and television coverage , check our2008 bowl game schedule .

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on Which teams are bowl eligible?…

Jay has a prettying interesting piece onthe current state of affairs at Penn State .

Penn State is about to embark on the most crucial part of its season, but much of the focus this week has centered on Joe Paterno’s deteriorating physical condition. Paterno has coached at least part of the last three games from the press box and from all indications he will be back upstairs for Saturday’s game at Wisconsin.

Paterno, 81, is said to be slowed by an injury to his right knee. He has been hobbling badly this week and was forced to coach from a golf cart, an indication he is not getting better.

After Saturday’s game at Purdue, Paterno wore unmatched shoes and used a lectern for support during his postgame news conference. He was helped to a waiting van afterward and whisked to the airport, where he boarded the university’s private plane and was back in State College before his team left West Lafayette.

Paterno also left ahead of the team after the Sept. 13 game at Syracuse and has been doing his weekly radio show from home.

“Paterno’s physical health has declined to the point where it could cause him to do something no one expected: retire of his own accord,” writes Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

I must admit that I am deeply saddened to watch age get the better of JoPa. The vigor and pep that has defined Coach Paterno for decades – present just a few months ago – is absent from the 81-year-old coach. The decline in his health has been notably rapid over the last two months.

Paterno is determined to coach the remainder of the season, be it from a golf cart or the sky box, but it is become more and more apparent that the all-time winningest coach is nearing the end of his long and distinguished run.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on What’s the status of Joe Paterno?…

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Class of 2010 Gainesville (Ga.) High stars Blake Sims and Tai-ler Jones put on a show against Rivals250 athlete Donavan Tate and Cartersville (Ga.) High in a 42-28 victory last week. Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barry Every breaks down some of the Division I-A talent from the gam

One of the most exciting players who has committed to UCLA is wide receiver Ricky Marvray (5-11, 185, 4.5) from Corona (Calif.) Centennial. He has been a play waiting to happen his senior season. One look at the following video will give you an indication of Marvray’s playmaking ability. Enjo

NCAA Football Blog Headlines

Get ready, Virginia fans: That mighty BCS contender from Texas iscoming to Scott Field in 2009 .

TCU had been on my mind after learning earlier in the day that the Horned Frogs will be coming to Virginia in 2009.

The contracts will be signed shortly, but agreement has been reached.

I’m not sure about the origin of the TCU-UVa talks, but the Cavaliers would not visit TCU, located in Fort Worth, until 2011 at the earliest and probably not till 2012. The Cavaliers already have lengthy trip planned to Southern California for 2010.

TCU and Virginia last hooked up in the 1994 Independence Bowl – a 20-10 win for the Cavs.

© www.fanblogs.com

Comment on TCU – UVa agree to home-and-home…