Our First Behind-The-Back Catch Of The Year

((HT: SnappyTV/BTN))

Bo Pelini protested appropriately as Jordan Westerkamp added another ridiculous catch to his demo reel today against FAU

It's not the first silly catch he has made, but this was the last one we all gawked at...

Last year against Northwestern, he did this...

Okay, Carl... You Haven't Resigned, You're Fired...

Florida Atlantic withdrew Carl Pelini's resignation as football coach and has now fired him with cause saying he failed to report misconduct by members of his staff...

Assumedly this has to do with the former DC, Pete Rekstis, and his admission he used illegal drugs...

The letter doesn't mention any of Pelini's drug use...

Pelini resigned October 30. But Pelini denied the illegal drug use claim made by FAU AD Patrick Chun- even as another member of the FAU staff admitted seeing him use marijuana and cocaine.
((HT: FAUOwlTV))


The semantics of Pelini now having/needing to repay $500,000 are now moot... which means that lump sum is, probably, now his settlement.

FAU is 3-0 since Pelini was replaced by interim coach Brian Wright, and could become bowl-eligible with a win in the regular-season finale against FIU... which looks promising...

Tom Fornelli discusses the resignation/firing at the time it went down with Tim Brando...
((HT: CBS Sports Network))

Pelini Wants His Job Back, Says He Was Forced To Resign

((HT: ESPN/McMurphy))

Well, this just got weirder...

Current former FAU head coach Carl Pelini now wants his old job back and says that he was forced to resign by the university. He denies any of the drug use that was brought up by AD Patrick Chun in the dismissal press conference he gave last week.

Pelini says he now told Chun that he didn't use any drugs, and was more than willing to take a drug test...

Remember this...???
((HT: WPBF-TV))


Which led to analysis by Tom Fornelli and Tim Brando
((HT: CBS Sports Network))


Chun still stands by the evidence he has in house- including texts- and Pelini is now changing his story...

From McMurphy:

Chun also reiterated that Pelini "voluntarily resigned" and "refused to cooperate in the investigation." When asked about Pelini being reinstated as coach, Chun said "he resigned. I accepted his resignation."

Pelini also said his "forced resignation" occurred after Chun and a university police officer took Pelini's phone and denied his requests to contact legal counsel. Chun said he could not comment about that specific allegation.

Pelini also claimed he was not provided written notice and a 30-day investigation period, as required by his contract. Chun said there were certain matters he could not comment on because the issue was still being reviewed by FAU's human resources department.

The HQ's thought on this is simple: Pelini wants to get paid...

This has lawyer footprints all over it...

"You did not hit that car and cause the accident. It was stuff that was said in the heat of the moment at the scene..."

And this will go the way of a filing for some kind of wrongful termination- and a settlement will follow- unless, of course, FAU really wants to go to the mat on this one and prove a contractual point.

This is about to get a whole lot uglier before it gets settled...

Deadspin has a copy of the letter Pelini has filed with FAU:

Carl Pelini statement

So, It Wasn't Just Pot With Pelini...???

((HT: Sun Sentinel/Kurtenbach))

Dieter Kurtenbach has been on top of the Florida Atlantic saga involving former head coach Carl Pelini and former DC Pete Rekstis- and their admitted to drug use... and he wishes that he could say more in his printed word, but lawyers have themselvs caught up in it at present...

And if you read his Twitter feed, you can see it...

But it appears that the drug use may have gone past just marijuana- the Sun Sentinel newspaper obtained two affidavits from DL coach Matt Edwards and a woman named Allison Stewart. They admitted Pelini use drugs- and Edwards also admitted that he witnessed Pelini and Rekstis using cocaine. Stewart has a text message, apparently, where Pelini admitted drug use.

AD Pat Chun said at his press conference where it was announced that Pelini and Rekstis resigned that Pelini admitted past drug use to him before his dismissal...

Here's some of the press conference...
((HT: FAUOwlTV))


And here's local news coverage...
((HT: WPBF-TV))

Developing: Carl Pelini Resigns at Florida Atlantic--UPDATE

((ht: thebiglead.com))

Okay, the question to the non-hardcore sports fan is "Who is Carl Pelini?" and why would anyone care that he resigned from Florida Atlantic University...?

Here's your answer. Pelini, coach of the 2-6 Owls along with his Defensive Coordinator Pete Rekstis were forced to step down because, according to ESPN.com reporter Brett McMurphy, the two attended a social event where pot was used and agreed to resign.

Source told @ESPN Carl Pelini & DC Pete Rekstis resign at FAU. They attended recent social event where pot was used & agreed to resign
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) October 30, 2013

The school is in the process of holding a press conference as we write this to make the announcement. We will update this as the day progresses

--Update: The school officially has announced the resignations stating that offensive coordinator Brian Wright will finish the season as the coach.

--Update: Per: Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reporter Dieter Kurtenbach, Pelini released a statement saying "I apologize for exercising poor judgement".

--Update (4:20pm) Per Kurtenbach:

Pelini and Rekstis were taken away from the FAU football offices by police. No arrests were made.
— Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) October 30, 2013

Also---Both men (Pelini and Rekstis) appear to have admitted to their boss, FAU AD Pat Chun, they participated in "Illegal Drug Use".

Oh boy, this is getting worse by the Tweet....



Here's coverage from our friends at WSVN-TV
WSVN-TV - 7NEWS Miam Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Deco

And here's AD Pat Chun from the afternoon presser...
((HT: NBCMiami))

A Bowl Game in the Bahamas?

((espn.com))

Huh?

Last year there weren't enough 6-6 college football teams to play in the over-abudance of post-season exhibitions--uh, we mean bowl games, so they allowed a few 5-7 and 6-7 teams.

But yet today, the NCAA allowed more bowl games.

ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy reports that beginning next season, there will be bowl games in Boca Raton, Florida and Nassau, Bahamas.

Yes, the Bahamas.

The games will have ties to Conference USA and bring the bowl game total to 38.

Why?

We don't really know. We assume there is a call for such a thing. The Boca game will be played at Florida Atlantic's new facility, the Bahamas game, uh...15,000 seat Thomas Robertson stadium. Which, is interesting.

We've been to Nassau twice on scuba diving trips and had nary the idea such a stadium existed.

Yet it apparently does.

We also don't understand exactly how these games will be filled. Though our guess is that it will be from the mildly successful teams in C-USA and say, the Sun Belt.

Because in College Football, though a 7-5 record with no conference title will get you a pretty decent bowl game, in the smaller D-1 leagues, it might not.

So...since there apparently is a large enough segment of the population who is completely lacking in having any life and will watch anything that has the word "Football" attached on T.V, our friends at the 4-letter helped these two games be born.

Good luck.

And if you are playing in the Bahamas bowl, we hope you enjoy conch and bring your scuba gear.

Some pre-travel planning advice from your friends at OSG Sports:

College Football: Sun Belt Coaches Poll

Here's how the 10 head coaches of the Sun Belt Conference predict as the outcome of the season:

1. FIU - 92 (5)
2. Arkansas State - 85 (2)
3. Louisiana-Lafayette - 81 (2)
4. WKU - 70 (1)
5. Troy - 60
6. Louisiana-Monroe - 47
7. Middle Tennessee - 42
8. North Texas - 36
9. Florida Atlantic - 23
10. South Alabama - 14

No surprises, FIU and Arkansas State will battle it out for the SBC title.  Louisiana - Lafayette is getting respect as is Western Kentucky. 

Those of us at the OSG HQ are feverishly working on our College Football Previews.  Those will come out soon.

The Dirty Dozen and Bottom of the Barrel: Free Falling

Well, as always, the field for this years BCS Championship has quickly narrowed. Going into last week, we still had 4 undefeated teams (5-counting Houston), now we only have 2 (3-counting Houston).

Things are quickly heading towards a shorter number of contenders, though if they lose, yeah, as always it will get really confusing.

Among the highlight's of today's clip, the guys tie someone to a tree. Only the Tree wasn't fast enough to keep up...(Oh...a Stanford joke!)



Last Week wasn't so special for us: 12-2, but it continued our successful run. Overall: 110-20. Damn I'm good.

Count us down Casey:



The Dirty Dozen:


1) LSU 10-0. Taking care of business. That's all they need to do at this point. Nothing crazy, just win and you are in. The Arkansas game should be fun to watch. This Week: at Ole Miss. Our Pick: LSU 31, Ole Miss 3.

2) Oklahoma State 10-0. Yes, they are on a roll. No, they won't beat LSU should they play. The offense is something else. Brandon Weeden should be on everyone's Heisman list. This Week: at Iowa St. Our Pick: Okie St. 45, Iowa St. 23.

3) Alabama 9-1. We still don't think they should be eligible for an LSU rematch. But we suspect we are in the minority here. Hopefully the matchup with my alma mater, Georgia Southern will count against them. This Week: vs. Georgia Southern. Our Pick: Alabama 43, Ga.Southern 14. ((**Note**--We know it is against the rules to pick against alma mater, but really....))

4) Oregon 9-1. Ok. We didn't see that coming. Realistically, we thought they had a shot vs. Stanford, but didn't think it would be a blow out. But they did. They've gotten healthy and they are still really, really fast. This Week: vs. USC. Our Pick: Oregon 41, USC 38. 

5) Oklahoma 8-1. If only they didn't lose vs. Texas Tech. And if they weren't so beat up. They are good enough to beat most, but can they end the season by beating Okie State? This Week: at Baylor. Our Pick: Baylor 37, Oklahoma 35 (UPSET)


6) Clemson 9-1. They haven't been as dominant the past couple weeks and barely squeaked by a tough Wake Forest team. And yes, Sammy Watkins is dinged up and Tajh Boyd hasn't been as strong the past couple of weeks either. This Week: at NC State. Our Pick: Clemson 37, NC State 23.


7) Arkanas 9-1. Another very good team who may have a say in the BCS Championship. They aren't dominant, but they are capable of beating LSU if they are on. Tyler Wilson is a really, really good QB and that is often enough to win in the SEC. This Week: vs. Mississippi State. Our Pick: Arkansas 38, Miss St. 10.

8) Houston 10-0. Unfortunately, they aren't allowed to be at the big boy table come January, but you can make an argument they should be there. Case Keenum and his Cougars can score with anyone. The only issue is could they stop a major conference offense. Arguably a copy of 2007's Hawaii team. This Week: vs. SMU. Our Pick: Houston 51, SMU 31.


9) Boise St. 9-1. We so want them to be legit. They always look like they should be...and then something stupid happens. This time...again...a missed field goal. Come on man! This Week: at San Diego St. Our Pick: Boise St. 35, SDSU 27.


10) Stanford 9-1. Proof that talent can't always beat speed. Or if that talent doesn't have speed, then you may lose. And yes, we know they are pretty beaten up too. But they wouldn't have beaten Oregon even if they were healthy. This Week: vs. California. Our Pick: Stanford 31, Cal 21. 


11) Kansas St. 8-2. They definitely play some fun games. And they are pretty tough, or at least resilient. Colin Klein is a pretty good QB, though he struggles a bit throwing the ball. Props to Bill Snyder for getting the most out of his team. This Week: at Texas. Our Pick: Texas 27, K-State 25.


12) Va. Tech 8-2. Logan Thomas is really big. And becoming a pretty good QB. We still aren't sure how good this team is yet, though winning at Ga.Tech last week is a good accomplishment. This Week: vs. North Carolina. Our Pick: Va. Tech 31, N.Carolina 17.

The Bottom of the Barrel:

Wow! New Mexico actually won a game. That's amazing! They don't get a pass off this list though.


5) New Mexico 1-9. The only possible explanation here is that UNLV must be horrible. We'd argue their coach should be fired for this. But hey, D.R Holbrook threw for 274 yards and a TD. Good for the Lobos. This Week: at Wyoming. Our Pick: Wyoming 34, New Mexico 14.

4) UNLV 2-7. You are here by virtue of losing to New Mexico. And no, there is NO excuse. 61 total passing yards? Really? Come on man! This Week: at Air Force. Our Pick: Air Force 31, UNLV 14.

3) Indiana 1-9. You are really giving the Big 10 a bad name. You gave up 34 points to a horrible offense in Ohio State. You really, really need to be better than this, we just don't think you are capable of it. This Week: at Michigan St. Our Pick: Michigan St. 43, Indiana 0.


2) Memphis 2-8. Yes, we know, you beat Tulane. But you are still a horrible football program. And helloooo...you want to go to a BCS conference, then you need to field a BCS level team, not a Sun-Belt level one. This Week: vs. Marshall. Our Pick: Marshall 28, Memphis 12.

1) Florida Atlantic 0-9. Congratulations. You are the new worst team in College Football. And it doesn't appear to be close. If only the BCS would hand out a "Toilet Bowl" award...it would be immediately Fed-Ex'd to Boca Raton. This Week: at Troy. Our Pick: Troy 38, FAU 13.

And that is that. Enjoy your accompaniment.