A very special lady sprung on me some tickets to the Kansas State and Nebraska game going on tomorrow. So we’ll do some Stadiumspotting there as well get you stoked for this week of football. First thing is first, though. This week’s Crib Sheet goes over some of the hottest news items of the last week. We have some spicy giblets ready to feed ya and then we’re gonna get the car ready for the impromptu road trip. On to the sheet:
Okay so this will be a lil weird. Barspotting found me outside of Kansas City again Saturday for the second week in a row. This time, I was in Minnesota. Minneapolis to be exact. So prior obligations held me up north and by some crazy chance I was able to stumble into a sports bar up there to catch at least one football game. Among the lessons learned on this trip was that regional football coverage can sometimes cramp your football watching style. Well that and onion rings alone can be pretty tasty.
So I thought last week was chilly. Yeah it’s even colder up closer to the Great White North. Or what I like to call the Not Quite Great White North. I’m up here for other obligations and I’m excited not only for that but for being able to see what Big 10 country is like. Now, a couple of weeks ago we were up in Des Moines, but that was on the edge. I’m in Minnesota. I’m in the heart of Big 10 country. I’ve heard of and talked smack on the aura of the Big 10 and now it’s time I see what it’s like.
Irish eyes will be smiling when Notre Dame will play Navy in Ireland 2012. We’re not sure where they will play but more than likely there’s a good chance they’ll all go out together after the game and get drunk.
Communication issues have tormented Turner Gill and the Kansas Jayhawks. His solution? Yanking cell phones from players the day before the game and then giving it back in the locker room after the game. How will the players wake up in the morning or talk to their mothers? I guess that’s what computers are for. We wonder how many more losses it will take for Gill to yank computer privileges too.
The NCAA leaped to action regarding the issue of sports agents and collegiate players by writing a letter. A letter. They asked for cooperation. Nothing else. Just another reason the NCAA needs to upgrayedd or just disband. These guys are getting real irrelevant.
The Playoff PAC, the special interest group formed to blow away the BCS and instill a college football playoff, will file a complaint with the IRS regarding the tax status of the Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowl. They used a load of lawyers and one accountant to pick apart the tax returns and public documents of the BCS bowls and found that some loans and director salaries were just too much. Whether the IRS will remove the tax status, we won’t know. But we do know that the Playoff PAC is digging into every crook and cranny to blow away the BCS.
It seems Landry Jones of Oklahoma will have a higher calling after he is done calling plays. Jones says he’s 98% sure that he wants to become a pastor after football. Just goes to show you all walks of life come to play football. We wonder how many Hail Marys he’s tossed compared how many he’s recited.
He’s just hanging with Tim Brewster. He’s not going for the head coaching job. That’s what Minnesota is saying after Mark Mangino was spotted on the sidelines of a game, supporting his buddy. Minnesota should’ve gotten right out in front of this. There is no way no one would not recognize Mark Mangino hanging out on the sidelines. The nose bleeder seats would’ve been able to see him.
Apparently along with the no cell phone rule for players, Turner Gill’s Kansas Jayhawks can’t be with the ladies after 10 pm. That’s a harsh rule. It’s on any night. Do mothers count? Like as in visit and talk to. Keep your mind out of the gutters, people.
Strange things are afoot for Missouri. First off, cornerback Munir Prince left the team due to the transient quadriplegia he suffered in the preseason. If he plays anymore it could get permanent. Next up, senior safety Jasper Simmons has been suspended indefinitely from the team. He had knee surgery after the Illinois game. Are they just trying to drop a scholarship or something? At any rate, some very unusual things are going down in Columbia.
The only other thing this week’s Crib Sheet needs is bacon. Grab some and check it out:
Notre Dame’s Dayne Crist played the rest of the first drive of the game against Michigan with blurred vision out of his right eye. It was just enough blurry vision to keep him out of the rest of the first half. It was a great game and we wonder what the score would be like if he was healthy for the whole game.
Much like Wrigley Field of baseball, the Big House will get permanent lights for night games. Will we ever see the docket of Big 10 games go well into the night? Since the Big 10 Network is around you can bet on the conference trying to expand all of its games throughout the day and weekends.
Speaking of stadiums, the Richmond Spiders will actually get to play a home game in their own stadium for the first time in 82 years. It seems the city owned the place they were playing at and it wasn’t even on campus. This should help Richmod realize its full potential and become a powerhouse in football for years to come.
We see some players go from college football to major league baseball but it’s rare when the other way happens. Welp it happened with Nick Doscher. He’s playing at quarterback for Wagner College after a stint as catcher in the farm system for the Kansas City Royals. This guy must be able to manage the game because of his catcher status. If he was a pitcher we would guess he would throw all over the place in a passing attack.
Phil Fulmer put the full frontal audible attack on Lane Kiffin last week. He used to be Tennessee head coach before Kiffin came on. He’s wondering how Kiffin uses his mojo to get the cush coaching jobs. It’s a good thing he used his smack talk on his now current CBS analyst gig. Let the media war begin.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff will now have two games starting in 2012. We already knew that Tennessee will take on N.C. State but now Auburn will take on Clemson, too. All this does is make me more hungry for Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
Here’s a lesson: When you talk with an ESPN reporter, more than likely you will be on record. Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian learned the hard way when he talked about Reggie Bush and not apologizing for the Heisman/eligibility problem. Serves Sarkisian right. He was an offensive coordinator during this debacle and he should get some negative rub it too.
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio was so thrilled about his overtime fake field goal for the win against Notre Dame last week that he had a heart attack. He’s okay, but we think he needs to lay off the coffee a bit. Notre Dame’s not looking to good this year anyway.
Houston, we have a problem. (I’ve been waiting so long to say that!) The Cougars quarterback Case Keenum and his backup Cotton Turner are out with season ending injuries. Keenum has a bum knee and Turner has a broken collarbone. Houston lost to UCLA in a blow out and they probably won’t recover from these damages.
Missouri defensive end Aldon Smith is out two weeks with a broken leg. A broken leg? That sounds like more than a two week thing. Is this guy some kind of cyborg or something?
Colorado head coach Dan Hawkins was so pumped about the Buffaloes games against Hawaii that he head butted a player and cut himself. They needed that emotion to come from behind and win but we’re not sure if it will save the Hawk’s Big 12 campaign.
The olny Ohio player to show some emotion and gusto against Ohio State was the mascot. He jumped Brutus Buckeye and now he’s banned from being a mascot again. It also turns out that he planned to do it all along. Now that’s some mascot grudge.
Here we go rolling into another week of Pick It and Stick It. The games are fresh this week and we are stoked about the upcoming Farmageddon happening right in Kansas City’s backyard. Kansas State is a 3.5 point favorite over Iowa State and we can imagine that Daniel Thomas is the reason for the line. Will we see the same outcome as last year? Hopefully it will be just as exciting. So far, Farmageddon delivers on quality. Here are the picks:
It’s amazing to think how long we have been doing this blog. Three years. That’s dedication, homes. One of the very first places we barspotted was The Other Place. It was a great time and now it’s time again to head back over there. What better place to watch Farmageddon other than Arrowhead than deep into one of the few Iowa/Iowa State bars in the area. Yeah, we could go to Kite’s or Lucky Brewgrille for the Kansas State side of things but The Other Place is so much better and it’s been a long time since we’ve been there. So let’s re-live some good times and meet us out there Saturday to watch Farmegeddon blow us away.
There’s just so much to chew on from the first week of college football, we’ll just make the intro real quick. On to the Crib Sheet:
Freshly on its own, BYU signed a deal with ESPN and Notre Dame to be shown exclusively and play, respectively. They are stepping out fresh in their independence but we don’t think they’ll get as strong as their Irish counterparts.
The Big 10 now has divisions, so we’ll see how balanced they are in the next couple of years. The big news is breaking up Michigan and Ohio State. Since they will be the ‘yearly rival’, there’s a big chance that they could play each other again in the Big 10 Championship Game.
The face behind the mask of the mascot for Penn State, notched an MIP for underage drinking. Clint Gyory got busted and now he’s suspended from his mascot duties. It just goes to show that football players aren’t the other ones who have to watch what they do in their free time.
In what’s become the major theme to begin the season, another player will miss games for accepting sports agent gifts. This time it’s Alabama’s Marcell Dareus. They should suspend him for key games. Doing this at the beginning of the year means they miss the cakewalk part of the schedule.
North Carolina was one play away from possibly winning the game against LSU last Saturday. What’s more than amazing is that they did it with a ton of suspended players. About half of the starters didn’t play due to NCAA investigations. We’re not sure if it shows how tough the Tar Heels could be or how weak LSU looks.
TCU coach Gary Patterson gave credit to ESPN’s Lee Corso for inspiring the Horned Frogs to a come from behind win against Oregon State last Saturday. Patterson used the right amount of moto-mojo to get his team over the tough Beavers.
After the embarrassing loss to North Dakota State, Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins retired Tuesday. He was going to retire next year, but the school (and the boosters) decided to cough up the money to get him out of there sooner. We don’t know who the replacement AD, not interim, will be and now we don’t know who the starting quarterback will be. Man basketball season can’t come any faster for the Jayhawks.
Apparently Reggie Bush may be stripped of his Heisman. I guess that’s what happens when it’s discovered that you might have been ineligible during your run in college. He would be the first. How many other Heisman winners may have been ineligible? Should we investigate everyone and find out?
ESPN kicked off ESPN3D last year during the BCS Championship Game and now they have an updated schedule that started with the Boise State and Virginia Tech game. So far so good, according to the review. We’re anxious to get our eyes on it when it becomes mainstream about 20 years from now.
Speaking of the Broncos, they jumped to #3 in both polls. Looks like if they can keep up the blowouts, they will be a contender. Meanwhile, David Ubben runs down the votes for the Big 12 teams. It’s pretty much the big 3 in the top 25 (Texas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) then about 5 teams about a stone’s throw from the 25 threshold. If they can keep it up, we may see more Big 12 teams up there.
Alrighty, welcome to the first standings update for the Pick It and Stick It of 2010. We’re going to switch things up a bit this year. Last year, we broke the design of the site and our fingers trying to just map out what happened each week and who did what. In the end, we realized that most people just cared who was winning and didn’t care about anything else. So we’re blowing away the Weekly Picks and just reporting the standings. If you want to check out the full stats, click on the ‘Standings’ link and it will take you to our group. If you want to see more, please sing up and play along too. No worries though as we’ll still touch on the highlights of the weekend’s picks and events. So here’s the Standings:
It’s been almost a year since we’ve been to Johnny’s Tavern and it took the rest of the season for us to decide that it was the best Barspot for last year. So, as tradition calls, we found ourselves back at Johnny’s Tavern at the Power & Light District to enjoy the first full Saturday of college football. The bar hasn’t changed much but just enough for us to take notice. The food specials knocked us out but the games were kind of so so. Read on as we go over Johnny’s Tavern and recount the action on the field.
We are back again going out to the best of what Kansas City sports bars has to offer in terms of college football. Like the storied tradition of college football, we have a tradition of going back to the best bar of last year to start out this season for KC College Gameday. We had no way of knowing back at the beginning of last September that Johnny’s in the Power & Light would be the best but here we are planning the first Barspot of the year down there. With every television fit into every nook and cranny as well as the crazy touch table poker game, Johnny’s hit the spot on all things needed for a great sport viewing experience. So come back out with us Saturday as we head back out there to enjoy Johnny’s and scoff at that ridiculous KC College Live thingy going on in the outdoor area.
Alrighty, I’m about halfway through my scotch and water, I blasted out another Crib Sheet, and I’m jacked up for some football tomorrow night. It’s prediction time! The offseason sucked. Period. Being in Big 12 land was not easy on this college football lovin’ Yeti and especially not easy on Kansas City. We weathered the storm and now we are here ready for some pigskin play. What will we see in this year’s volume of football? Let’s take a look in our crystal ball shaped glass full of scotch and water.
Mike Leach will lose his CBS announcing job for making Gus Johnson stand in the bathroom with no light.
Mark Ingram will not be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, thanks to the fresh knee injury.
The Oregon Ducks will win the Pac 10, both for best dressed and actual gold.
Colorado loses a bunch of games and Dan Hawkins stays on because the school is too broke to fire him out of his contract.
Caoch Brian Kelly will talk NBC into going into commerical breaks for opposing teams’ offensive drives only. Oh and the Fighting Irish will make a bowl.
Missouri will win the North, only because Nebraska’s ego and farewell tour will fall flat.
Daniel Thomas will be a Heisman finalist, thanks to a solid offensive line and the fact that he will get his yards with the whole defense keying on him. Thanks, Carson Coffman.
Boise State will go undefeated and not make the dance. People are saying its the weak schedule, but it will be because of an undefeated team in the Big 10 and one other conference. Look for Orrin Hatch to have an aneurism over this one.
This will be Lee Corso’s last season for ESPN College GameDay. It’s been a hell of a ride, Lee, just please don’t put on the Grim Reaper’s head when it’s your time to go.
This will be the fastest season ever for the Kansas Jayhawks. By fast, we mean the fans will be ready for basketball season about 2 games in. Turner Gill’s rebuilding starts this year, he’s got at least 3 before some magic happens.
Iowa State will be in the bottom of the league again, but they will get an upset some big team because of a massive rain storm. Hey their practice field flooded over the summer, they should be ready.
Texas just missed the mark in the Big 12 South. Not because of the competition, but for the cliffhanger they want to leave for next season’s Longhorns Network debut. Stay Tuned! Same horn time! Same horn channel!
Big Game Bob goes to a BCS game but will not be game as the Sooners bob and weave from some other big team beaming game time bashings. Probably against Virginia Tech and Frank BEAMER.
The Big East has a seasson. No one really cares.
RichRod makes a valiant effort and gets the Wolverines into a bowl game. It will be the weakest one from the Big 10 and it will be enough to get him fired. He will then go on and make real estate deals with everyone in the Ann Arbor region.
USC doesn’t get close to a Pac 10 championship and Lane Kiffin leaves after just one season. The Kiffin world tour moves on!
Florida misses Tim Tebow and will miss being in the running for the SEC. Urban Meyer gets sick and dies from the piss poor play on the field.
Kansas City sports bars will stay the same this year. No one will get 3D TVs because the mixture of 3D and beer will make everyone puke. Some new bars will crop up and the KCCGD crew will eventually puke in those anyway.
We’re going back to our 2008 prediction about Joe Paterno dieing on the field. Now that Bobby Bowden is out, this one should get much easier. Or will he be in the booth this year?
Okay, we called the BCS National Championship game two years ago with Florida and Oklahoma, we were halfway right with Texas last year in the big game. What will happen this year? Well, the trend says we will get it all wrong so there’s nothing to lose. I’m thinking the offseason hype for the Big 10 will lead a team to a title contention. Since the only team that’s worth a damn up there is Ohio State, then that’s our pick. Chances are the SEC will be mega tough again this year and barring any late push by an Oregon or a Big 12 team, we are going the easy route and picking SEC. Whose turn is it? Let’s go LSU. Why not. Can you say 2007 rematch?
Finally the wait is over. Tomorrow night we kick off another great year of college football! It’s been what seems likes ages since the end of last season and now we have another year of the most pristine competition we’ll ever see on the field. Sure the offseason provided plenty of drama, with coaching changes and conference expansion, but we’re done with the talking and we’re ready to strap it on. The helmet that is. So here’s the last Crib Sheet before the new season:
UCLA’s Jeff Baca is too dumb to play football this year. He was the left guard for the Bruins and this will most certainly affect the start of the season, when they face the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.
Rumors had BYU staying in the Mountain West after all. Check and mate for the speculation hounds. They are actually going to the West Coast Conference for everything except football, where they will be independent. We’re not sure they hype is big enough for another religious school but hey would could be wrong.
We love Twitter, like we always say, and ESPN Big 12 blogger David Ubben loves them too. Check out his list of must follows for this upcoming season of Big 12 football.
Texas is still ramping up the huge home and homes. This time it’s USC and they will play each other in 2017 and 2018. They are lining themselves up greatly for a marquee Longhorns Network owned football game.
Beau Brinkley, Missouri’s long snapper, was snapped up last week for a DWI. This marks yet another drunk issue for the Tigers, on top of Derrick Washington’s heavy touch. Gary Pinkel came out and said he was truly embarrassed about the ordeal. Maybe because it was too close to the start of the season?
David Ubben pointed us to this fascinating story of how the Nebraska to Big 10 shakedown took place. Things were going a mile a minute when it was happening and this recounting of the events points out just how much we don’t know what’s going on in the background.
Man what a crazy roller coaster of an offseason for the Big 12. Who would’ve thought a year ago that the Big 12 would be rocked to its very knees and survive probably one of most weirdest advances in college football history. It was like a whacked out game of Axis & Allies. Welp Germany didn’t win and neither did the Big 10. So here we are going into what is the last season we will ever see for this 12 conference league. Who will come out on top? Roll dice to find out (er read below).
The Kansas State Wildcats enjoyed somewhat of resurgence last year. They even almost went to the Big 12 Championship Game. Yet, they failed to make a bowl. The offseason was the most quiet I’ve ever heard and now we find ourselves looking straight down the barrel of a new football season. The weirdness of last year’s season should continue for this year. It’s all good for Bill Snyder 2.0, as they will be getting better. Day by day. Little by little.
