Man in the Hat media

The Big 12 is back at the center of college football news.  Before I move on, :cough: sorry, choked on a feather there from my heaping helping of crow when I wrote that Texas and Oklahoma weren't going to the SEC, and were just using it as a business ploy to gain more influence. If you want a laugh, read this frosty cold take from yours truly. LINK: Boy was I wrong about Texas, Oklahoma and the SEC But dreams of the Big 12 going the way of the dodo were over exaggerated.  In a release this morning (September 10) the league extended invitations to Brigham Young, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston. The four schools submitted applications roughly a week ago. Assuming no other schools leave, this gets the league back to its namesake of 12 teams after sitting at an annoying 10 teams the past few years. Now if we can just get the Big 10 to rename itself the Big 14 all will be right with the world. But I digress. College athletics transactional, so who are the winners and loser...

  The Southeastern Conference is set to become the first super conference in the NCAA, if a recent report from the Houston Chronicle   is to be believed. Brent Zwernaman   penned the exclusive report about the potential move of Big 12 heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. As expected with such reporting,  Oklahoma, Texas and the SEC peddled the usual public relations, political "we can neither confirm nor deny your report" line. Reports claim both schools are set to inform the Big 12 of intent to leave. This move would be a landmark move in NCAA football, but it leaves a multitude of questions. From a brand standpoint, it gives the SEC two more historical blue bloods, further expands the TV market into Texas and Oklahoma and adds two of the more profitable properties.  For the two schools, it is a smart business move for them to get in on the SEC profit sharing.  For the purists, this also reignites the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivarly.  But,...

Jordan Burch signed with South Carolina, after an extended hysteria caused by the media. Photo Courtesy Rivals.com National Signing Day has come and gone. One of the biggest media-made events saw the usual major prospect signings, prospects switching at the last minute and the usual "class rankings" to decide who won and lost signing day. I can't hold my nose too high to it. During my time as a high school beat reporter I covered a slew of signing events, where athletes signed to places such as Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Wake Forest to little known Divison II programs. It was and remains a huge coverage day on the local level. On the national level, it has helped fuel the creation of the recruiting industry, for better or worse. For South Carolina, the focus fell quickly to Jordan Burch, a national-level recruit out of Hammond, a private, independent school in Columbia who signed with the Gamecocks on February 6. But the story behind that signing too...

The Southeastern Conference is seeing a major upgrade in coaching this offseason, specifically in the Western division. On January 9 it was reported Mike Leach was leaving Washington State for Mississippi State, ending an eight-year run in Pullman with a 55-47 record. Factor in his work at Texas Tech and making that program relevant from 2000-2009, and leadership in Starkville made a great hire. Leach highlights a bevy of coaching moves, joining new Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (another good hire) and Arkansas' Sam Pittman (a questionable hire). Pittman's hire does look a little better with the addition of Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator, and Auburn adding Chad Morris as its offensive coordinator. On paper the SEC West looks loaded with some strong offensive minds joining the two powerhouses of Alabama and LSU. It also came out that Washington State may not be looking too long, and rumors are Central Michigan head coach Jim McElwain is the favorite there. Mc...

Now that the ACC and SEC have been predicted, we move on to an overview of the rest of the NCAA Division I-A (FBS). Big East It will again be an interesting year in the Big East (and could be one of the last years for the Big East barring expansion). Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida are bringing in new coaches while West Virginia and Pittsburgh will be lead by stellar runningbacks. Really, the only team that doesn't look as if it will be the least bit competitive is Syracuse (wait for basketball season Orangemen). I still have a lot of questions for Louisville, UConn, Cincy, South Florida and West Virginia. Rutgers will be an interesting team to watch with QB Tom Savage and WR Mohammed Sanu. They will be a tough D, but I'm not sure if they have the best D in the Big East. The top team in my opinion, is Pittsburgh. They have an All-American caliber RB in Dion Lewis, a decent passing game, and a hard-nosed defense. Questions are at QB, but Lewis can compensate for that. P...

Last time we focused on the ACC, picking how the season might play out, as well as All Conference first and second team. Today, we shift our focus to the SEC. West Will start off with the easy division to pick. No surprise, I'm going with Alabama. The Crimson Tide look to have a dominant offense headed by a huge, athletic offensive line and a 1-2 punch at runningback with Heisman winner Mark Ingram and sophomore Trent Richardson. They also have Julio Jones at receiver, just in case you were wondering if they had any other weapons, along with consistent play from their tightends. The only question for Alabama is defense, were they lost a few key guys, such as Terrance Cody, Javier Arenas, and Rolando McClain, but they do get LB Dont'a Hightower back. Everyone else will be playing for second, and I think that honor goes to either Auburn or Arkansas. I would throw LSU in the mix, but their QB situation and questions on defense are too big for me to overlook. Ole Miss lost almost e...

With Phil Steele's pre-season All Conference selections coming out, we here at the Report believe it is time we unveiled our pre-season teams, as well as how we think the league will pan out. Today, the ACC is on display. First, look at the divisional races. Atlantic Looking at the Atlantic division that saw Clemson win its first divisional title, and make its first appearance in the title game, the Tigers are hoping for a repeat. Much of that hinges on the return of QB Kyle Parker, who will have to decide between the baseball or football depending on where he is selected in the MLB draft. If Parker comes back, Clemson will have a good shot, if he doesn't, it could be a rougher year. Personally, I think Parker is like a baseball after being struck by an aluminum bat...gone. QB Tajh Boyd is more talented, but Clemson will be a year away from returning to the ACC title game, but they will finish no lower than third this year. Personally, I think Florida State will win the divisio...

As promised, here is the ACC predictions, as well as the Big South Prediction. Atlantic Coast Conference Boston College The Eagles are back; back at looking to who will play QB. Chris Crane has graduated, and Sophomore Dominick Davis looked inconsistent last season. The running game Josh Haden, and expect to see Jeff Smith as well. But the Eagles may be hurting most in trying to replace TE Ryan Purvis. Lars Anderson will get the first shot. WR Justin Jarvis returns, giving the Eagles a possession threat, standing at 6'5. Other than that, the corps has questions. One guy to watch is junior Ifeanyl Momah, who is a giant at 6'6, as well as the diminutive speedster Ryan Lindsey (5'8). The defense returns both ends, but will be replacing their entire interior, including B.J. Raji (1st Round Draft pick of Green Bay Packers). The Eagles also lose LB/H-B Brian Toal, but do keep Mark Herzlich. Will Thompson will get the first shot to replace Toal. The backfield only loses safety Pau...

You feel it? It is that time again. Spring is gone, and summer is in its peak, and that means one thing, college football is near. Now, the South's king will return, and it will be better than ever. This year, will be a year of expansion for the Report. This year, substance will be put above style, hence the simpler redesign. This year, I'll be expanding coverage to not just the SEC and ACC. This year, Big South and the Southern Conference. To make the transition easier, a larger conference will be coupled with a D1-AA conference. We'll be looking at the ACC and the Big South in the next piece, but this piece will focus on the SEC and SoCon. First, the SEC. We'll take a quick overview of each team, to give you, the reader, a more in-depth look at the teams in the conference. Alabama The Crimson Tide lose John Parker Wilson at QB, and this will hurt more than Tide fans think. Greg McElroy is the incumbent, but I expect Redshirt Freshman Star Jackson to be the guy by seas...

How bout those Longhorns knocking off Oklahoma? How bout Miss. State coming up and biting the Vanderbilt Commodores in the butts? How bout the Tarheels taking down the Fighting Irish? And did I mention the firings of Auburn coordinator Tony Franklin, and Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden? And they ask why college football is so addictive. Upsets occur every week, and this coming week will probably do the same. Headliners this week are South Carolina vs LSU in the SEC, and Virginia Tech vs Boston College in the ACC. It is Tigers for Cocks, and a rematch of the ACC Title game last season. As TO says, "Get your popcorn ready." VS Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2) South Carolina is coming off a 24-17 come from behind win over the Kentucky Wildcats. A drive that was led by freshman QB Stephen Garcia (23-for-35, 300 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who gets his first career start this week (much to the chagrin of the Carolina faithful). Garcia will lead an offense that is still finding itself with Kenny Mc...

It is week 3 in college football. Last week USC laid an egg against Vanderbilt by not converting opportunities into points. Georgia Tech smashmouthed their way to a conference victory over Boston College, and putting me at 1-1 in big games. After the dust cleared, I had gone 14-3, bringing my season total to 29-8. How will I fare this week? (By the way, this week I will showcase 3, count em, THREE, headline games. One from the ACC and SEC, and a special game) #2 Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0) Georgia is coming off back-to-back blowouts over Georgia Southern and Central Michigan--which explains why the offense is putting up 50 points per game. The Dawgs are led by pre-season Heisman hopefull, quarterback Matthew Stafford (31-for-49, 488 yards, 4 TDs), and sensational runningback Knowshon Moreno (26 carries-227 yards, 6 TDs). Stafford's main target so far has been junior Mohamed Massaquoi (8 catches, 134 yards 2 TDs). The defense--that is giving up 19 ppg--is led by linebackers Rennie Curran (1...