There have been NCAA sanctions and investigations, conference realignments, players suspended and denied waivers, plus a school going independent–and veiled threats of more to follow.
This all leads me to believe that the power structures currently governing college football–the conferences and the NCAA–are living on borrowed time.
BYU is now independent. Â Conferences are being shook loose from their moorings, with the Big 12 getting scavenged, the WAC and MWC decimated and the Big Ten splitting traditional rivals Ohio State and Michigan into opposing divisions.
It seems everyone wants a TV network and/or a conference championship game at the end of the season. Â Network coverage of college football looks to be on its last legs. Â The slide toward a de facto playoff appears inevitable.
Meanwhile, the NCAA’s corrupt and cynical nature is being exposed on a daily basis. Â Its ticket scandals, conflicts of interest and blatant disregard for its own rules and bylaws has opened the eyes of many a fan, coach and university president.
What’s bound to happen is that, one day, the major schools currently making most of the money–I’m talking Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, Florida, Alabama, etc.–are going to band together and decide that they don’t need the NCAA, or the conferences. Â They’ll go independent and form their own coalition, with their own rules. Â And what can the NCAA do about that? Â Nothing.
I think that however it all shakes down–and it will take some time–we’ll look back on the summer of 2010 as the year the cracks in the NCAA edifice started to show. Â It’s no coincidence, by the way, that this all happened concurrently with the Great Recession (Depression?), with financial pressures and worry over future revenue governing these very sudden moves.
This may be one of the last college football seasons to still hearken back to the old traditions. Â Enjoy it while you can.
As per tradition, I will pick a select set of games in which I see a possible play against the line. Odds courtesy of Docsports.com.
Utah (-3) vs. Pitt–I think the Utes will be clicking from the get-go on offense while Pitt will be getting used to life without Bill Stull. Solid win for Utah.
Utah 28, Pitt 17
USC (-21) at Hawaii–USC is just too talented for Hawaii and Lane Kiffin will use the opportunity to run up the score as much as possible.
USC 62, Hawaii 24
Connecticut (+3) at Michigan–Not convinced Michigan’s defense is ready for the Huskies. The Wolverines have a new quarterback, but I think this is a tough open for him.
Connecticut 24, Michigan 20
Kansas State (-1.5) vs. UCLA–This should be a plodding defensive and special teams struggle. In the end, I think the running of Daniel Thomas will wear down the Bruins.
KSU 21, UCLA 10
Washington (+2) at BYU–Steve Sarkisian should have no problem preparing his charges for the Provo setting. The Huskies behind Jake Locker get revenge for the loss a couple years ago.
Washington 31, BYU 21
Oregon State (+13.5) at TCU–The Beavers struggle a bit as Ryan Katz starts slow. He warms up in the second half and makes this one respectable.
TCU 34, Oregon State 24
LSU (-5) vs. North Carolina–The Tar Heels are crippled by suspension and not even Les Miles is dumb enough to mess this up.
LSU 19, North Carolina 10
Cincinnati (+2.5) at Fresno State–The Bearcats pick up right where they left off last year and roll over the Bulldogs.
Cincinnati 42, Fresno State 21
Navy (-6) vs. Maryland–The Middies roll up over 400 yards rushing and win this one going away.
Navy 27, Maryland 10
Virginia Tech (+2) vs. Boise State–The game everyone is wondering about. Can Boise finally beat one of the big boys? Not quite yet. Hokies eke it out in a classic.
For all you HP Fantasy players, just a heads up: The official game site is about to undergo a transformation. As the sign up period comes to an end in the next week, much of the site’s current look will fade away and turn into a resource that will help you organize and manage your team, show leaderboards, as well as give playing tips. So don’t forget to start getting your weekly picks in for this week and to check out that page.
And for those of you who haven’t joined yet, there is still time (deadline — September 8th) to sign up to have a chance to win 2 tickets to the BCS title game.Â
Helpful info: There are just 67 people signed up for this game. I run a boutique, mom ‘n pop blog, not a media conglomerate, so unlike the games at ESPN, CBSSportsline and elsewhere, you actually have a pretty good chance to win this if you know your college football. Futhermore, even if you don’t win, your entry fee goes to helping to keep this blog going. We all want that, don’t we?
And if you have any questions or problems with signing up (a few people have experienced technical problems), by all means shoot me an email at heismanpundit@gmail.com.
SBG Global is your online sportsbook for betting on college football and updated BCS odds! SBG Global offers college football betting, quarters and halftime odds, unique online betting options like BCS odds to win and numerous sports betting prop wagers like betting on the Heisman!
"Heisman Pundit knows what he's talking about ...
which is more than I can say of some pundits."--SI's Stewart Mandel
"Heisman Pundit isn't just the authoritative site for all things Heisman...it's also an engaging, highly-opinionated place for college football discourse."--ESPN's Bruce Feldman
"Heisman Pundit is the quintessential source for analysis of the greatest individual trophy in the sporting world."--Rivals.com's Tom Dienhart