For all those wondering whether there could be a rematch between LSU and Alabama in the national championship game, the newest BCS standings have spoken. The answer: Yes, with a few pieces falling the right way. But for this week, LSU and Oklahoma State are on a collision course to play for the BCS national championship game. The Tigers remained No. 1 after its 9-6 overtime win over the Crimson Tide on Saturday night, while the Cowboys moved up to No. 2 after its shootout win over Kansas State. Oklahoma State also has some tough games remaining, including this weekend against Texas Tech. The Cowboys also finish against No. 6 Oklahoma
Continue reading here:
LSU leads BCS standings, Tide falls to No. 3
Filed under Football, News by on Nov 7th, 2011. Comment. 
1. Missouri coach Frank Haith liked what he saw after three days of practice minus big man Laurence Bowers , who is out for the season with a knee injury. Haith said he could see Steve Moore or Kadeem Green filling Bowers’ spot, but he’s not opposed to going with four guards. He has options with Kim English , Marcus Denmon , Phil Pressey, Matt Pressey and Michael Dixon Jr. The one lock inside is Ricardo Ratliffe . “We can be good, but we can’t lose anybody [else],’’ Haith said Sunday. “We have to really block out to limit people to one shot, but I think we can be a chore to guard.” 2. Texas A&M spokesperson Matt Simon confirmed Sunday night that new head coach Billy Kennedy will not attend Big 12 media day Thursday in Kansas City. Simon said associate head coach Glynn Cyprien will attend the function in place of Kennedy, who is out with an undisclosed medical condition that multiple sources told ESPN.com is stress-related. Kennedy didn’t attend Friday night’s Maroon Madness and wasn’t at practice over the weekend. But his wife Mary was at a team dinner Sunday night and was present at a team function Friday afternoon to show support from the Kennedy family. 3. If Boise State and the Big East end up reaching a football-only agreement, it’ll leave the men’s basketball program in a precarious spot. Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said on a conference call Friday that BSU can’t be in the MWC without football. Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson said Sunday he hasn’t talked to Boise about its other sports programs, but the options are limited. The West Coast Conference doesn’t want state schools and the Big Sky or Big West would be a perceived step down. Coach Leon Rice came to Boise thinking the MWC was the future home, playing programs like UNLV, San Diego State and New Mexico. That might last all of one season.
Go here to see the original:
3-point shot: Catching up with Frank Haith
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Oct 17th, 2011. Comment.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Boise State talked conference this week. Yup, Mountain West Conference. Sure, national headlines may have linked the Broncos to a new home in the Big East. Those were promptly ignored. What was emphasized? Making a statement in their first Mountain West game against Colorado State on Saturday. You could say No. 5 Boise State made a statement. Or you could say Boise State just kept on rolling and did not really have to say much of anything. The Broncos absolutely controlled the Rams from the start of the game, racking up a school-record 742 yards of offense, and getting career days from running back Doug Martin , receiver Tyler Shoemaker and another eye-popping performance from Kellen Moore in a 63-13 win . That marks back-to-back games in which the Broncos executed to near perfection, something that perhaps we have become spoiled watching with Moore in charge. Moore, ever understated, simply said, “Just felt like we were executing like the way it goes in practice. Hopefully that’s the type of stuff we have. If we execute the way we should, those things should be happening.” Moore started the game with 18 straight completions and finished 26-of-30 for 338 yards and four touchdown passes. His .867 completion percentage was the fourth-highest total in school history. But it gets better than that. It was the second time this season he completed more than 80 percent of his passes. He did it in the opener against Georgia, too. If anybody turns their nose at his numbers because of the subpar competition, they simply have not watched Moore play. Coach Chris Petersen said Moore is seeing things well right now, and that might be yet another understatement. When somebody has the experience Moore has, on top of the smarts Moore has, they are bound to succeed. But Moore takes that to another level with the ease in which he directs the offense. Four of his completions went for over 25 yards. His two touchdown passes to Shoemaker covered 52 yards and 62 yards, helping Shoemaker set his career mark with 180 total yards. Moore now has 120 career touchdowns, one away from tying BYU quarterback Ty Detmer for No. 4 on the NCAA list. He also needs one more win to tie the career wins record of 45, set by Colt McCoy at Texas from 2006-09. “I knew the whole week going in, the quarterback’s a good player,” Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild said. “He started out, what did he hit 18 in a row? When I played, I couldn’t have done that on air.” Meanwhile, the run game worked better than it has all season, as Martin got to 200 yards, the first time a Boise State player hit that mark since Ian Johnson had 205 against Nevada in 2007.
Read the original post:
Boise makes statement in first MWC game
Filed under Football by on Oct 16th, 2011. Comment.
TCU appears on the verge of ending its Big East affiliation before it began and going to the Big 12 instead , and it’s safe to say its struggling basketball program wasn’t much of a factor in that decision-making process. But while the news has Louisville’s Rick Pitino disappointed and Kansas State’s Frank Martin loving it , perhaps TCU should be reminded that realignment decisions have real consequences for its basketball players, too. Consider that it was only April when the school announced the signing of Ryan Rhoomes, a 6-foot-9 forward from Middleton, N.Y., who made his decision to come to TCU in part because the school was joining the Big East. “Since he is from New York, our move to the Big East Conference really helped to create an attractive opportunity for Ryan,” coach Jim Christian said then in a statement. Said Rhoomes: “I picked TCU because I saw an opportunity to come in, play early and help the program. I also wanted to play in the Big East, and I thought it would be good to play in the Mountain West for one season as a freshman, get with the program and go from there.” Rhoomes is currently dealing with eligibility issues and not listed on the team’s roster, but it should be noted that only six months after signing up to play for what he believed to be a future Big East School, TCU might soon be breaking that promise. Of course, Christian is not the one at fault here. He doesn’t control realignment scenarios no more than even a more powerful name like Pitino does. But now Christian will have to explain to recruits a new direction for the school and what it means for them. If TCU chose to go to the Big 12, it would be a decision made with the best interest of it’s Rose Bowl-winning football program in mind. And even though basketball isn’t at the forefront of those discussions, administrators should know that a potential change of heart also changes things for recruits and players who might have signed up for something different.
Read more from the original source:
Another side to TCU’s potential Big 12 move
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Oct 6th, 2011. Comment.
Texas holds the team lead and is the only squad under par with a 36-hole total of 11-under 549. The Longhorns shot rounds of 9-under 271 and 2-under 278. Clemson is second at 4-over 564, host Alabama is in third at 5-over, UAB is 15-over… Source: Mountain West Conference Official Athletic Site
Read the original here:
M. Golf. Rebels Fifth In Alabama After Day One
Filed under News by on Oct 3rd, 2011. Comment.
Earlier this month, when Big 12 athletic directors were pursuing a possible 10th member to replace Texas A&M, they reached out to Brigham Young University. But will the Cougars listen again if the phone rings? Would they dismiss being an independent in football and eradicate their West Coast Conference affiliation before spending a full year in the league? BYU isn’t saying boo publicly, only issuing this general statement: “There is much speculation right now regarding conference affiliation that seems to change by the hour,’’ associate athletic director Duff Tittle said. “Commenting on such conjecture is not productive and creates a distraction for our program. As we enter the 2011-12 athletic season, BYU is focused on the opportunities ahead. We are excited about our relationship with ESPN as a football independent and our affiliation with the West Coast Conference.’’ The university would not comment further and athletic director Tom Holmoe isn’t making any public comments either. That’s fine. It’s not his decision. Any move by BYU will be made by the school president in conjunction with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The university is adamant that it wants its own network to be successful on a national and global stage. BYUtv has an agreement with the WCC and ESPN that works to its advantage by getting games on television that weren’t available under the previous contract with the Mountain West and Comcast. Not having to share those rights on BYUtv, which is not a tier 1 or tier 2 issue, may sound familiar to Big 12 schools after squawking over the Longhorn Network, a joint venture between Texas and ESPN. BYUtv probably wouldn’t be an issue for Big 12 membership, but the question is do both parties want each other? That’s still undetermined. The Cougars may want to sit and wait to see if the Big 12 really does stick together for the foreseeable future. The conflicting reports out of Oklahoma and Missouri on Thursday night make it seem as if there are two differing opinions about the unity of the conference. Oklahoma made it seem as if there was an agreement in place for the schools over the next six years, while Missouri’s news conference indicated there were talks but that nothing was set in stone. In fact, MU’s chancellor did not rule out his school moving to another league. BYU’s hierarchy does like being with like-minded, faith-based universities in the WCC that can understand its mission. The Cougars do seek stability and their new conference does offer it up. But if the Cougars did want to leave, they wouldn’t get held up by the WCC. The league fully understands that BYU may want to join a major football conference, but the WCC isn’t fretting an imminent departure. The conference is pumping up BYU’s admission with higher-profile members Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s and moved its tournament semifinals away from Sunday for the Cougars. Bottom line: BYU will take its time surveying the scene. Could the Cougars leave independence and the WCC? Of course. But, as you can see from the interview with commissioner Jamie Zaninovich at the top of this post, no one seems to be overly worried in the WCC offices in San Bruno, Calif.
Read more:
WCC keeps fingers crossed with BYU
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Sep 23rd, 2011. Comment.
The Pac-12 blog is worried about Utah. Now that Utah is in the Pac-12, a member of the privileged class, is it going to forget how to properly dislike BYU? Is it going to eyeball the Cougars on Saturday and think, “You know, blue really brings out their eyes!” This thought vexes the Pac-12 blog, which feeds on the often irrational passion of college football. So, Utah, we’ve brought back a friend to remind you how you should feel about BYU because this is how BYU feels about you. “I don’t like Utah,” former BYU quarterback Max Hall said after the Cougars beat the Utes in 2009. “In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything … I think the whole university, their fans and their organization, is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year, and they did a whole bunch of nasty things, and I don’t respect them, and they deserve to lose.” Utes, the Cougars are going to be gunning for you hard Saturday. There’s the natural state rivalry, sure, but there’s a third, highly-motivating color involved other than red and blue: green. Green as in the money Utah is soon going to be making in the Pac-12. And green as in the green-eyed monster of jealousy: BYU isn’t happy the Utes jumped to the Pac-12 and it wasn’t invited. And, by the way, BYU is pretty darn good, having won at Ole Miss and falling just short at Texas. Ten starters are back on offense, including quarterback Jake Heaps , from a team that went 7-6 in 2010. Further, this game has been highly competitive in recent years. Five of the past six have been decided by a touchdown or less. Two of those went into overtime. Last year, Utah rallied from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 17-16. The game was decided when the Utes blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt as time expired. Utes linebacker Chaz Walker didn’t seem too concerned that BYU and Utah fans and players will start palling around. When asked if the so-called “Holy War” was a bitter or friendly rivalry, he spoke carefully but without much ambiguity. “Probably a little bit on the dislike side,” he said. “There’s not many BYU players you see hanging out with Utah players.” The feel of the game will be different, though. For one, it no longer counts in the conference standings. In previous seasons, the matchup often had significant Mountain West Conference ramifications. Further, instead of the chill of a season-finale in late November, this one will feature the pleasant weather of mid-September. For Utah, it also brings the grind of the new Pac-12 schedule front-and-center. The Utes must regroup and refocus after a tough, physical loss at USC. It’s likely the bye week that follows will feel pretty good. Perhaps the Pac-12 blog shouldn’t worry. After talking to a few folks on the Utah end of things, it seems clear BYU has the Utes’ attention. And always will when they go nose-to-nose. Said coach Kyle Whittingham, “It’s the biggest single sporting event in the course of a year. It’s the biggest thing that happens in this state.”
The rest is here:
‘Holy War’ is going to feel different
Filed under Football by on Sep 14th, 2011. Comment.
1. Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin didn’t need to wrap himself in the American flag Wednesday. “We’re being told that, ‘You must stay here against your will,’” Loftin said, “and we think that really flies in the face of what makes us Americans…and makes us free people.” Loftin might think twice about extolling patriotic attributes when A&M is turning its back on a league it pledged to support a year ago. You want to leave? Fine. But Americans like people who stand by their friends through thick and thin, too. 2. Everyone assumes that 16-team leagues are inevitable. There has been little discussion of the logistical nightmares hidden within. Schedules don’t balance. Teams could go seven seasons without playing each other. That’s a conference? “They aren’t conferences. They are consortiums,” Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson told me. His league was created in 1999 when eight members seceded after playing three years in the 16-team WAC. Super conferences may bring riches. But they’ll bring problems, too. 3. The late Ron Schipper began as Central (Iowa) College head coach in 1961. He retired in 1996 with 287 wins and the 1974 Division III national title. Schipper served as president of the American Football Coaches Association and on the NCAA Football Rules Committee. He has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Central will celebrate the golden anniversary of Schipper’s tenure Saturday with a reunion of his first team and a display of memorabilia from his storied career. It’s a fitting tribute to one of the game’s little-known stalwarts.
Read more from the original source:
3-point stance: An un-American sentiment
Filed under Football by on Sep 8th, 2011. Comment.
Today is non-AQ preview day on ESPN.com. Hopefully you saw the stories I wrote on Boise State , Case Keenum, potential future BCS busters and predictions for the Mountain West . There is plenty more from ESPNDallas.com as well. Jeff Caplan catches up with new TCU quarterback Casey Pachall, who has the tough task of replacing Andy Dalton. “I can’t worry about filling his shoes. That’s not what I’m concerned about,” Pachall said. “I’m going to do what I have to do to help this team. I’m ready for it.” Caplan also profiles suddenly resurgent SMU and its place in the college football landscape , with talk of realignment and superconferences remaining a hot topic
Go here to read the rest:
TCU, SMU previews, plus BCS busters
Filed under Football by on Aug 24th, 2011. Comment.
They lost their young offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin to the Texas Longhorns in the offseason, as Mack Brown recognized the wunderkind talent that helped the Broncos rise to national prominence…. Source: NationalFootballAuthority.com
See the rest here:
Boise State Broncos 2011 Preview: Kellen Moore and Company Don’t Need the Blue Unis to Dominate the Mountain West
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 2nd, 2011. Comment.
