NCAA Football 2012 Season Catch-All

Fedaykin98 wrote:

The NCAA has rejected Oregon's version of the Willie Lyles story as well as their suggested sanctions; they will now have a formal hearing.

Rumor is that Chip Kelly will flee to the NFL.

I think this is partly why Darron Thomas left last year even though he wasn't NFL ready. He's in the CFL on a practice squad currently so there was no reason to forgo his senior year unless there was a train coming down the tracks and he wanted to dodge it.

Oregon flipped one of our 2012 commits at the last minute (possibly on signing day, even), so I'm not exactly broken hearted. I want them out of Texas.

Kansas may have had a really disappointing year, but still improved along the way. Most importantly, Weiss is still recruiting.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/20...

Combs, the top-rated junior college recruit according to ESPN’s scouting service, highlights a junior college haul that could be among the deepest in the country. When all the paperwork had been sent in on Wednesday, KU and coach Charlie Weis had landed 10 junior college players.

The Jayhawks have 14 more verbal commitments, including seven juco players, that are expected to sign in the spring. According to Rivals.com, Kansas’ 2013 class now ranks fifth in the Big 12 and 32nd nationally. And the bulk of that rating comes from Weis’ ability to lure juco talents like Combs to Lawrence.

Not bad for a 1-11 team. I should also note that Kansas lost to eleven teams that are playing in bowl games this year.

Jayhawker wrote:

Not bad for a 1-11 team. I should also note that Kansas lost to eleven teams that are playing in bowl games this year.

Damn. Tough schedule indeed.

I hope Charlie has learned how to deal with player development better than when he was at ND. He was a bit hamstrung here by various policies, but it'd be nice to see Kansas competing again. I worry a bit about the limited contribution JUCO transfers can have over the long haul, but it also seems like he is going to need awhile to build up depth in the program. So, JUCOs can probably help over the short term until that (hopefully) succeeds.

Kansas State has the JUCO thing down to a science, and they were the #1 team in the country for a while this year. Bill Snyder is considered to be the guru on JUCO recruiting.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Kansas State has the JUCO thing down to a science, and they were the #1 team in the country for a while this year. Bill Snyder is considered to be the guru on JUCO recruiting.

I haven't followed them much, and I'm not saying you can't win with JUCO talent. I'm sincerely interested in how the dynamics play out as you try to build a winning team with depth (something Charlie had problems with at ND).

What fraction of the KSU team came in from a JUCO? According to the quote above, Kansas may be looking at 17/31 players in their class being JUCO players. Does KSU have many classes where the JUCOs outnumber the graduating high schoolers?

They may very well...I just don't know!

I'll just leave this here: More than crystal footballs for SEC

And because someone will be sure to highlight it, I'll save them the trouble:

When it comes to the SEC's rise to the top, a lot has been made about the out-of-conference cupcakes that have littered teams' schedules.

SEC haters do have a legitimate gripe when it comes to the SEC's nonconference slates, but when SEC teams show up for bowl games, they generally walk away with a win in hand against much more talented opponents.

And also...

Looking to the past, you can see that the SEC is stronger now than it was in the early 2000s. During the six years leading up to the SEC's epic championship run, the league went just 23-20 in postseason play and endured two years (2000 and 2002) with losing records during bowl season.

And yes, it's written by an "SEC Blogger." Here's some Big 12 counterpoint.

firesloth wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Kansas State has the JUCO thing down to a science, and they were the #1 team in the country for a while this year. Bill Snyder is considered to be the guru on JUCO recruiting.

I haven't followed them much, and I'm not saying you can't win with JUCO talent. I'm sincerely interested in how the dynamics play out as you try to build a winning team with depth (something Charlie had problems with at ND).

What fraction of the KSU team came in from a JUCO? According to the quote above, Kansas may be looking at 17/31 players in their class being JUCO players. Does KSU have many classes where the JUCOs outnumber the graduating high schoolers?

They may very well...I just don't know!

Well, Kansas is a completely different challenge than Notre Dame. But Weis feels like he has a grasp on what he did wrong at ND and has tried to improve on at Kansas. Nothing he has done has translated to wins, but Turner Gill finished off what Lew Perkins started in the destruction of what Mangino built at Kansas.

So now Weis needs mature bodies.

Like Fed said, K-State has been eating up JUCO's for years now.

Kansas State Football: Why Aren't More Teams Copying Bill Snyder's JUCO Plan?

Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder relies on JUCOs every year. Of the 123 players listed on the Wildcats roster, 31 are JUCOs. That's roughly 25 percent of the entire roster being filled by junior college transfers.

To put that into perspective, those 31 JUCOs represent the exact same number as all of 2011's combined JUCOS in the 22-top ranked recruiting classes.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Kansas State has the JUCO thing down to a science, and they were the #1 team in the country for a while this year. Bill Snyder is considered to be the guru on JUCO recruiting.

Those scientists in Manhattan had one flip to the Hogs on Wednesday. A guy who will fill an immediate need at OLB. JUCO players seem to be a little hit and miss, but it's hard to fill a void with True Freshmen.

I'm really excited watching Bielema put his staff together. Great developers, great x's and o's guys and some excellent recruiters. Bielema's recruiting rankings at Wisconsin weren't anything to brag about, but the teams seemed to get it done on the field. I'd like to see the Hogs crack Top 25 in recruiting this year, and 2014's class is shaping up to be fantastic.

Yeah, the nice thing about JUCOs is that they are ready to step in and contribute immediately, in general.

I've said before that I'm a fan of the bowl system, for the players, and here's a great example today: Western Kentucky is playing in its first bowl ever today. Good luck to them!

Yeah, it has to be so rewarding to be a 4-4 Sun Belt team taking on a 4-4 MAC team in a bowl named after cheap ass pizza.

Better than being a 1-11 team, amiright?

Yes, if Kansas was playing in a bowl game, it would not be another great thing about the bowl system. Was that the point you were trying to make?

Pizza pizza!

Maybe Fedaykin is cheering for Sun Belt teams to win their bowl games since the SEC plays so many Sun Belt teams, it will help their SoS/RPI rankings and stuff.

With 6 teams in the top 10 (a record for any conference in the BCS era), the SEC is indeed desperate for ways to prop itself up.

Ok, which one of you guys is a tight end for the Golden Gophers?

Grumpicus wrote:

Ok, which one of you guys is a tight end for the Golden Gophers? ;)

When I looked at his profile, it turns out he's from my high school. How weird is that?

Drew Goodger

Good games tonight. OT with Rutg-VT and a last second FG in that Minn-TT game that just ended.

Congrats to Texas Tech. I have a few friends who went there, and our OC is their new head coach now.

GO BEAVERS!!!!!! Kill, maim, destroy!!!!!

Fedaykin98 wrote:

GO BEAVERS!!!!!! Kill, maim, destroy!!!!!

Awesome highlight of the game thus far: http://gif.mocksession.com/wp-conten...

Man Syracuse pounded West Virginia today.

Apparently a pre-game brawl/trash talk session happened, and another one was brewing at halftime, which I did see. Old rivalries die hard I guess.

God-awful clock management by the Beavers prevented a FG try before halftime.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

God-awful clock management by the Beavers prevented a FG try before halftime.

Yeah. That made absolutely no sense.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

GO BEAVERS!!!!!! Kill, maim, destroy!!!!!

DSG, I'm sorry. I didn't watch the second half, choosing to play Demon's Souls instead. I obviously jinxed it.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

DSG, I'm sorry. I didn't watch the second half, choosing to play Demon's Souls instead. I obviously jinxed it. :(

Our offensive line jinxed it. Mike Riley's dogged refusal to open up the offense beyond a standard pro set is annoying. His dogged refusal to do this when the personnel up front can't block for the QB is really frustrating. Poor Cody Vaz.