| This man has ideas people. |
SEC media days wrapped up in Hoover, Alabama just in time for everybody to flock to their local movie theaters for the midnight release of the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. Alabama’s Nick Saban has already risen to become the coaching icon the college football world needs at this time, according to Dennis Dodd from CBSSports.com
Saban also chimed in on how Penn State should handle their football situation this season. Saban suggested Penn State tax their tickets this season and donate the money raised to child abuse charities. He backed off of that idea slightly when he took the podium, but Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated believes Penn State should listen to the advice of Saban. This idea was also shared by Ray Ratto of CSNBayArea.com last week and has been floated around by some in the Penn State community for months.
Our Big 12 Preview Week coverage continued Thursday by asking if Texas can actually win the conference in 2012 and a closer look at TCU and West Virginia. The Big 12 released their media preseason poll, which predicts the Oklahoma Sooners to be the team to beat.
More links after the jump…
More from SEC Media Day: NCAA legislation limiting how many strength and conditioning coaches a school may have will affect a number of SEC schools (New York Times)… Champions Bowl bidding will begin next week (CBSSports.com)… A Missouri state lawmaker criticized Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel for his defense of Joe Paterno (AP via SI.com)… Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze made his SEC debut and says his team will “compete like crazy.” (FOX Sports South)… Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray will lead a scary Vols aerial attack in 2012 (FOX Sports Tennessee)… Georgia feels pretty good about filling the void left by running back Isaih Crowell (FOX Sports South)… SEC Coaches Preseason All-SEC Teams headlined by Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore and Arkansas running back Knile Davis on offense and South Carolina defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney, Alabama linebackers C.J. Mosley and Nico Johnso and LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu on defense.
Meanwhile, in the Big Ten, Jim Delany could be on the receiving end of more power which would actually allow him to weigh in on how to handle individual coaches that paint a negative light on the entire conference. The Big Ten members are reviewing a proposal to allow the commissioner to wield that kind of power, although that remains a bit of a long shot. Perhaps even more of a long shot is the idea that the Big Ten could vote Penn State out of the conference.
The Big 12 released their preseason media poll, and the media likes Oklahoma with 32 first-place votes. West Virginia (7), Kansas State (1) and TCU (1) were the only other first place vote receivers.
This could be a topic for the upcoming ACC Football Kickoff. Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher has banned his players from using Twitter.
We continue to forecast what will happen this season by looking in to our own crystal ball for week seven.
North Carolina linebacker Darius Lipford re-injured his left ACL during a rehab session on Thursday. The reaggravated injury will force him to miss the 2012 season, according to Inside Carolina. He has a red-shirt year to use, so he will not lose any eligibility as a result.
Schedule notes: Ole Miss and Clemson agreed to cancel a home-and-home series in 2015-2016, but the Rebels have filled some scheduling holes. Ole Miss and Memphis will start a four-game series in 2014. Clemson also cancelled a home-and-home agreement with Oklahoma State for 2019-2020. Finally, it has been rumored for some time, BYU and Wisconsin have come to terms on a home-and-home series starting in Madison in 2013, with a return date to be determined (perhaps after the Big Ten settles on an eight or nine game conference schedule).
Appalachian State showed off their new Nike Pro Combat uniforms, which have a retro feel to them.
Nobody has been happy with the Penn State Board of Trustees, and many have called for resignations of the older members of the board. Steve Garban became the first to formally resign from his position on Thursday.
Meanwhile the drama surrounding the Joe Paterno statue continues. Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com joins the mysterious banner plane in calling for the turnover of the statue. The sculptor of the statue is still rather conflicted, and would like to wait six months or a year to decide what to do. As if that were not enough, the city of Grambling is requesting the NCAA vacate some of Paterno’s 409 career wins, thus handing the division one wins record to Grambling’s Eddie Robinson.
Is Arkansas State transfer Michael Dyer already on the move again? After being ruled ineligible for the 2012 season by the NCAA, forcing him to sit out a season after transferring from Auburn, Dyer could be heading to the FBS ranks this fall to play immediately. Arkansas State sent out a media alert last night for a scheduled 1 p.m. press conference with head coach Gus Malzahn and Dyer.
Sporting News ranked the top ten college recruiting coordinators. Not surprisingly, Alabama, USC and Texas are among the leaders.
