Are you ready for some Wednesday night MACtion, y'all? Tonight we have our first weeknight MAC game of the season (not including any Thursday night season one openers), with Kent State taking on Buffalo. No need for any detailed breakdown form us here, just know that if you are not watching at least some of the game tonight, then you probably would not meet the approval of the Crystal Ball Run Advisory Board and may be asked to turn on your fan card.
The general rule of thumb for us is if there is college football on, we will be watching.
Now, let's move on with the regularly scheduled Morning Playbook, shall we?
Yesterday we continued with some early looks at some big games this weekend. Get a quick rundown of Florida State vs. Clemson and Oregon vs. Arizona.
Tulane announced the move of Devon Walker to a rehab center. [AP, via FOX Sports] Walker's parents released a statement expressing their thanks for all the support received. [Saturday Football]
The Pac 12 and DirecTV are still at odds over the Pac 12 Network. [Awful Announcing]
In the Big Ten, Northwestern is earning respect one BCS victory at a time. [Delany's Dozen]
Michigan State may have been humbled by Notre Dame, but the Spartans still have their goals in front of them. [Delany's Dozen]
Meanwhile, Subway Domer gathers final thoughts and reaction from that big win last weekend in podcast form. [Subway Domer]
Speaking of the Fighting Irish, rumor has it they are trying to play a game in Fenway Park against UConn. [AP, via Boston.com]
Notre Dame and Florida State have a chance this weekend to prove they are back. [Stewart Mandel]
Same old Bill Snyder, with Kansas State boring off the field and overachieving on it. [CBS Sports]
Which teams have the best chance to run the table this season? [Bruce Feldman]
The ACC says 50,000 tickets to the ACC Championship Game have already been sold. [ACC]
Some SEC quarterback updates, with South Carolina listing Connor Shaw as their starter this week against Missouri [AP, via SI.com] and Tyler Wilson expects to return this week for Arkansas as the Razorbacks take on Rutgers. [AP, via SI.com]. So SMILE! (More on that in a moment)
So, where have all the passing yards gone in the Big Ten? [AP, via New York Times]
USC loses. Kiffin criticizes Barkley. Barkley agrees. [ESPN.com]
David Shaw says don't call Stanford's win over USC an upset. [Sports Radio Interviews]
Bob Stoops, the master of the bye week. [Blatant Homerism]
The SEC and ESPN are closing in on a deal to make the conference's own network a reality. I know, big shocker, right? [Sports Business Daily]
Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder followed up on his Twitter stance. [Football Scoop]
Did South Carolina's D.J. Swearinger deserve to be suspended? [Leftover Hot Dog]
Nebraska linebacker Zaire Anderson is done for the year. [AP, via FOX Sports]
Check out Virginia's throwbacks for Virginia Tech. [Nike Blog]
Pre-game prayer to be discontinued at Tennessee? [Knoxville News Sentinel]
Branded brats, anyone? [Reddit]
Video of the Day
Today's Video of the Day segment is dedicated to the life of Steve Sabol, who passed away Tuesday a victim of a brain tumor. Sabol was the man behind NFL Films, which changed the way we watch football, and sports in general. He was truly one of our greatest storytellers. [Wide Left]
John L. Smith is trying to get people covering the Arkansas debacle of a start to lighten up a little. You know, because it is the media's job to do nothing but be positive about the program. Before talking about the upcoming match-up with Rutgers this weekend, Smith tried urging reporters to smile in only the way John L. Smith could.
Here is the video, as provided by our friends from ESPNU's UNITE.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m-nQLd6z9OU?feature=player_embedded
