The Rest of College Football

[madootra]

LOL

[entropy]

Alabama really, really wants four-star recruit Alvin Kamara to be its next running back.

Alvin Kamara showing off his Alabama letter (but check out his shorts)So much so that the Tide sent Kamara, a junior for Norcross, Ga., 105 letters — in one day.



"Yea it was 1 days worth of mail!" Kamara said via Twitter. "I was shocked!! I didn't even know they could do that."

There were so many letters that they were overflowing out of the mailbox and onto the ground. Kamara scooped up all the mail, spread it on the table, took a couple pictures with it and then saved the lot in a shoebox.

It wasn't the first time Alabama had spammed Kamara. He recalled a time when he received "six or seven" letters from the Tide at one time. Georgia Tech had sent him a similar amount.

"When I saw that 105 from Bama I didn't know what to do," Kamara said.

Kamara rushed for more than 1,500 yards in 2011 and increased his stock during the Rising Seniors Georgia Junior Bowl in December.

In addition to an offer from Alabama, Kamara said he also has offers from Auburn, Clemson, Maryland, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Tennessee and Mississippi State. Kamara said he's going to Florida this weekend and hopes to pick up another offer.

But Kamara said no one is recruiting him as hard as Alabama.

"I went there [for junior day] and it went well," Kamara told Rivals.com. "I liked the atmosphere. It's SEC football. It's big-time football. You can feel it when you go up there."

[whodean]

Saban gets his targets

[lineygoblue]

... by hook or by crook

[WM Wolverine]

Pretty impressive they can outbid Auburn.

[lineygoblue]

Yes it is, considering Cam Newton is gone ...

[SeanB]

They forgot to mention that each of those letters had a crisp Benjamin in it.

[*JD*]

Saban's a damn stalker. He sent a kid 105 letters.....IN A DAY.

[entropy]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/02/21/maryland-edsall-obrien-transfer/index.html#ixzz1n3cgON32

One of the problems with CF

[entropy]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/17339967/edsalls-hypocrisy-showing-through-in-obrien-transfer-case

Edsall seems like a classy guy

[lineygoblue]

That one is a easy fix for the NCAA. They can make a rule that allows players who have graduated and have a year of eligibility remaining, to transfer freely, without permission of their current school. Non-athlete students go to different schools for graduate studies all the time. Athletes who have graduated and have remaining eligibility should be able to do so as well, without the permission of the school who issued their 4-year degree.

[UMStan White]

Posted by Chip Patterson

Former Maryland quarterback Danny O'Brien will no longer be restricted from transferring to Vanderbilt, the school announced on Wednesday.

The Baltimore Sun first reported Wednesday that Danny O'Brien, offensive lineman Max Garcia, and linebacker Mario Rowson are all no longer restricted from accepting aid from Vanderbilt to play football. When the trio was released from their scholarship, they were reportedly restricted from transferring to any future ACC opponents, West Virginia, Temple, and Vanderbilt.

[entropy]

**************

By Teddy Greenstein, Tribune reporter

2:53 p.m. CST, February 21, 2012

College football heavyweights are meeting in Dallas today to discuss the future of the BCS.

If the talks go well, the 50-60 playoff models proposed last month in New Orleans could be whittled down to a dozen.

“I’m sure we’ll look and discard things,” acting Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas told the Dallas Morning News.

One industry source predicted the 11 BCS conference commissioners plus Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, would, to use a figure skating analogy, eliminate the highs and lows.

The low would be to do nothing and the high would call for an 8-team playoff that many feel would harm the value of the regular season and force student-athletes to play too many games.

So that leaves a four-team playoff, also known as a Plus-One.

Sources told the Chicago Tribune three weeks ago that a plan favored by some Big Ten decision-makers would remove the top four teams from the bowl pool and have the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds host semifinal games.

Three benefits: An end to the sham of “neutral site” games in places such as New Orleans and Miami; both fan bases would not have to travel for consecutive games; and regular-season games would add meaning.

But sources are skeptical that leagues such as the Southeastern Conference would OK the potential for prime-time December games in places such as Columbus, Ann Arbor or Madison, Wis.

Don’t forget: Under the current format, SEC teams have won six consecutive national titles.

College football’s TV partners also appear to favor having bowls host the semifinal games. If the top four teams are removed from the bowl pool, it would break with tradition and devalue the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange.

As for the championship game, that could be bid out to one of the bowls or a city, as the Super Bowl does it. It’s easy to picture Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys Stadium) and officials in Indianapolis (Lucas Oil) getting involved.

So here’s a key question: If the other commissioners reject the Big Ten’s “home game” model, would commissioner Jim Delany and Big Ten presidents still greenlight a playoff?

Some believe the answer is yes – as long as the Rose Bowl gets a “preferred position” in the new format.

“Jim is very smart and understands which way the wind is blowing,” one source said. “This could be the legacy for a lot of these guys, creating the new BCS.”

Delany, who could not be reached for comment, likely would insist on a deal of 10-20 years to insure that college football won’t try to implement an 8-team playoff after fans of the fifth- and sixth-rated teams invariably complain about how the top 4 get selected. That contract length is not expected to be an impediment.

But several dicey issues remain, in addition to the enormous question of where the semifinal games would be played:

* How would the new revenue be shared? The addition of two semifinal games could boost the annual value to $500 million per season, according to CBSSports.com, nearly triple the current BCS rate.

* How would the teams be selected? Is the current BCS methodology OK, despite the flawed coaches poll, or would a selection committee need to be created?

* The calendar. Some favor playing the semifinal games one week after the conference championship games. Would university presidents, mindful of final exams, go for that?

Another idea: Restore New Year’s Day as college football nirvana. Bracket the semifinal games around the Rose Bowl. Unless, of course, the Rose Bowl is hosting one of them.

The commissioners hope to emerge from their BCS spring meetings (April 25-26) with an agreement. More likely is that negotiations will last into the summer.

[SeanB]

I hate that Swarbrick has a seat at that table. It just annoys me.

He represents only the interests of his one school but gets a vote like any other commissioner?!

[entropy]

One line about the SEC not wanting to go north. Really? You think they don't understand the advantage they have in Bowl games?