Early CFB Returns: TCU Survives, Muschamp May As Well...

((HT: ESPN/CBS))

It took a lot of patience by Gary Patterson and TCU to win in a hostile environment- one of the most hostile environments around in Morgantown.

But, if you hang around long enough, what TCU (in their very stylish whites) was able to pull off in a 31-30 win to stay at least #10.

Down 9 points in the fourth, the last-second field goal preserved the win.


The larger story came out of the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville where Florida head coach Will Muschamp may have, in fact, saved his job.

Georgia Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Pruitt fell on the sword postgame as his team gave up over 400 yards rushing on, almost, 60 carries.

The HQ has known Mark Richt to be one of the nicer guys around. He is officially nice enough to have a Georgia alum keep his job.
Here's how Georgia didn't show up for their rivalry game.


The last three games on the Gators schedule are fairly winnable for Muschamp so he and AD Jeremy Foley can, in fact, hang around...

Iowa State AD Fined For Postgame Rant On Officials

((HT: CyclonesTV))

Iowa State was hanging with Oklahoma State for a while at T.Boone Pickens Stadium over the weekend, but in the second half it was all Cowboys in the win, 37-20.

One play in particular drew the ire of AD Jamie Pollard at the end of the first half...
(Which you can see in the highlights below)


After the game Pollard let the assembled media know about it after the fact- and he thinks his Cyclones get screwed all the time


As a result of his rant, Pollard got fined $25,000 by the conference and they were less than pleased:

“Mr. Pollard’s public statements called into question the integrity and competence of game officials and the Conference’s officiating program,” stated Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “To insinuate that games are called unfairly to negatively impact a program is irresponsible and completely baseless. Accordingly, the seriousness of this violation warrants a public reprimand and a financial penalty. We take pride in our officiating programs and will continue to strive for the highest possible standards and the fairest competition.”

So there...

Big XII Commish Thinks Enforcement System Is Broken

((HT: Big XII Conference/dpost.com))

And the HQ is inclined to agree with him...

Across the board, Big 12 Commish Bob Bowlsby thinks schools aren't being penalized in a timely fashion and the enforcement system that the NCAA is using is "broken."

Cheating pays, Bowlsby says, and he would even be amenable to private investigators looking at enforcing the rules and laws of the NCAA. Bowlsby also admits that not all schools cheat, but those who do can get away with it fairly easily.

Here's his pipebomb in its entirety this morning

Since When Is Eating Pasta An NCAA Violation

[HT: newsok.com]

Tuesday the University of Oklahoma released a list of NCAA secondary violations from 2013 the program self reported.  Most of this involves text messages, impermissible calls, etc.

This secondary violation caught the eye of us in the OSG HQ:

May 10, 2013

Violation: Three current student-athletes received food in excess of NCAA regulation at a graduation banquet. The three had graduated from the school but returned for an additional season of competition. The players were provided pasta in excess of the permissible amount allowed. Resolution: The three were required to donate $3.83 each (the cost of the pasta serving) to a charity of their choice in order to be reinstated. The department provided rules education to applicable athletics department staff members.

That's right, an excess in pasta in an NCAA secondary violation.

Let that be a lesson for you student athletes if your attending a dinner of some kind, that second helping of spaghetti might cost you and force you school to be slapped on the wrist.

All for just under four dollars.

The pasta had no comment.

BUZZER BEATER: Jonathan Holmes Steps Up For Longhorns

Texas needed a big shot to overcome 22nd ranked Kansas State and Jonathan Holmes manned up and placed the dagger in the Wildcats.

Thanks ESPN

"I knew since they were worried about Javan (Felix), my man was going to go with him, so I just slipped to the ball and I was open and made the shot." Holmes said.

Holmes would have eight points and 10 rebounds against K-State.

"When John hit the shot I was happy, first because we won the game, and obviously because I missed those two free throws. But, it is good we can get out with the win." Texas guard Javan Felix said.

Felix led the 'Horns with 23 points 

With the win Texas is now 4-2 in the Big 12 Conference, 15-4 overall.

Texas Tech QB Davis Webb Enjoyed His Holiday With 4 Touchdown Passes. Texas Tech Defeats Arizona State 37-23

Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb must have been tired of the losing.

The Red Raiders had lost five in a row heading into their Holiday Bowl match-up with Arizona State.

Everybody was not high on us on in the beginning of the year, we won 7 games, everybody was on our shoulders and we lose five in a row and everybody disappeared." Webb said.

Texas Tech showed up Monday night in San Diego and Webb had a huge game as the Red Raiders defeated Arizona State 37-23.

Thanks AJ Media


The final numbers for Davis Webb, he completed 28 of 41 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns which ties the Holiday Bowl record.

Thanks ESPN


"When Coach told me I was going to start, there was nothing but joy," Webb said. "I told myself that I was going to make sure that I was going to send the seniors out right. We came prepared. We leaned on each other and we showed that today."

"Everybody in that locker room believed that we could beat Arizona State and we did that." Webb added.

Webb left San Diego with the Holiday Bowl offensive MVP award.

"It's always great to end on a win especially in a big-time bowl game like this, the Holiday Bowl, so it will definitely help our cause." Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

Paul Rhoads Is Pissed. Goes Off On Big 12 Officials

[HT: cyclones.com]

Paul Rhodes might be sending a check to the Big 12 Conference offices.

Last night Rhodes Iowa State Cyclones lost a heart breaker at home to Texas 31-30.

Texas quarterback Case McCoy lead the Longhorns on a 75 yard game winning drive with under three minutes but it wasn't without controversy.

Two pass interference penalties and two near fumbles on that drive doomed the Cyclones and led to this tirade by the Iowa State head coach.

Frogs Are "Raided" in Lubbock, Texas Tech Upsets #24 TCU 20-10

The Kliff Kingsbury era at Texas Tech is off to a great start.

The Red Raiders are off to a 3-0 start after defeating #24 TCU in Lubbock, Texas Thursday night 20-10.




It was an ugly game on the West Texas plains with the Horned Frogs and Red Raiders committing five turnovers combined.

Texas Tech freshman quarterback Baker Mayfield threw three interceptions and had to leave the game in the fourth quarter injured.

Another freshman quarterback Davis Webb entered and went 3/4 passing and put Texas Tech up for good on a fourth quarter 19 yard touchdown pass to Bradley Marquez.

"Just had a go called, and was able to get a beat on them and keep them on my back shoulder." Marquez said. " Just a beautiful ball by Davis Webb, and those kind of balls you don't drop. So I just had to make a play when it came my way."

It's safe to say TCU head coach Gary Patterson was not a fan of the officiating crew assigned to the game by the Big 12 Conference.

"I can't talk about the officiating, but I will watch it." Patterson said.  "I'm not happy."

Patterson witnessed 13 penalties called costing the Frogs 115 yards.

"You can't have as many penalties as we had."  Patterson said.  "If you're going to do that -- that's why I'm late getting here, because I'm not very happy at all."

TCU drops to 1-2 on the season.

Texas Had No Clue How To Stop Taysom Hill, BYU Stuns Horns (UPDATED: Saban To Austin Talk Starts Anew...Diaz Reassigned)

Pardon Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz if he has nightmares of Taysom Hill.  Diaz's Longhorn defense had no clue how to stop the BYU quarterback.


On 17 carries Hill rushed for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns as BYU stunned the Texas 41-21. 

 “We expected to run on them, we didn't expect to break the school record." Hill said.

BYU's 550 yards rushing total broke the school record however, a Texas defense has never given up that many rushing yards ever.

“I’m disappointed in them, disappointed us." Texas head coach Mack Brown said.  "We didn’t stop the run, couldn’t make third and fourth and short, and that’s the story of the game."

With such a pitiful defensive performance by the Texas defense their seems to be real doubt about the future of Diaz.

When asked after the game if Diaz is the right person to lead the Longhorn defense Mack Brown responded,  “I didn’t think our coaches or our players lived up to what we needed to do tonight to win … including me.”

When Diaz was asked the same question he said, "That’s not even a topic to talk about.”

It just might be very soon.




And, now the larger question is one the HQ has brought up before:

"Does Texas back up the truck to bring Nick Saban in?"- especially if he wins another national title in Tuscaloosa...

The HQ has heard all the talk about Miss Terri not liking living in Alabama any more... and, usually, what the Boss says goes...

What...??? $10-million a year...???

The buyout money for Mack Brown could be brought in at the beginning of business Monday without anything more than a snap of the fingers... and since Mack makes $5-million, Saban could be turning his crimson in for burnt orange...

Quickly...

But Manny Diaz gets fired first...

1800 UPDATE: He did... or was reassigned, depending on your point-of-view...

Greg Robinson was given the battlefield promotion from his quality control position

"Our performance on defense last night was unacceptable, and we need to change that," Mack Brown said in a written statement. "Greg will be here tonight and get with the staff and players to start preparing for Ole Miss. He will be running our defense immediately. We're very fortunate that Greg has been around, watched all of our practice video and has a good scouting report moving forward. His familiarity with the staff and players should make for a smooth transition. He knows this place, did a terrific job in leading our defense before, and I'm excited to have him back on the field. We're back at it and working hard to beat Ole Miss this weekend."

CFB Shocker: North Dakota State Upsets Kansas State On An 80 Yard Drive

I wonder if Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder will play a game on Friday night again.

It was a big night on the K-State campus.  It was the Wildcats season opener and newly renovated Bill Snyder Family Stadium was unveiled.

However North Dakota State didn't stick to script.

Bison quarterback Brock Jensen led North Dakota State on a game defining 80 yard drive capped off by his one yard touchdown run.




That sealed a stunning 24-21 win for North Dakota State over Kansas State ruining a big night in Manhattan, Kansas.

“We had to score a touchdown." Jensen said. "It was a scenario that we have practiced frequently - every week in practice. It was just one of those moments where we just had to gut it out. It was not easy by any stretch - we were tired and they were tired - but we found a way to just gut it out. That was the guttiest performance that I have seen in my entire life on any level. I am so proud of my team and I just thank God for letting me be a part of this.”

“I would like to congratulate all of our players."  North Dakota head coach Craig Bohl said. "It was a great effort on their part showing determination and resolve when we were down. Many, many teams have come in and Kansas State has jumped up and those teams have folded; our guys did not do that. I thought our assistant coaches made some really excellent adjustments there when we needed to - certainly the fourth down play was huge in the game for us to get that and it was a great win for our program."




Friday nights loss to North Dakota State was the first time a Bill Snyder coached team had lost a season
opener since 1989.

"They are an extremely fine football team." Snyder said.  "They play very hard, and they are a tough football team. They played harder than we did. They were tougher than we were. They were better coached than we were."

Something tells me practice won't be fun for K-State next week.  Louisiana-Lafayette comes to the Little Apple next Saturday.

Big XII Commish Explodes All Over NCAA

It's Big 12/10 Media Day today and before Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy poo-poohed the idea that the hurry-up offense was bad for college football, league commissioner Bob Bowlsby put a flamethrower to everything associated with the NCAA offices in Indianapolis...

Dennis Dodd and Mark Schlabach are in attendance and didn't even get their second tour of the breakfast buffet before Bowlsby blew everyone to pieces...

Some samples...

From Dodd:

Bowlsby told media in his state of union address that it is virtually impossible to pass meaningful legislation and hinted a separate division – a so-called Division 4 – is possible for the top football-playing schools. He added there is “unanimity” among his fellow FBS commissioners, saying leaving the NCAA and setting up a new organization is not likely “except as a last resort.”

“I think we all have a sense that transformative change has to happen,” Bowlsby said.

Dodd also says that Bowlsby isn't a fan of the current enforcement landscape:

"I don’t know that meaningful enforcement can take place with the leadership that we have."

Bowlsby is intimating that we could have an FCA situation all over again where the most influential are playing each other and everyone else is, well, everyone else and on their own...

Like the I-AA schism when that happened as well... but Bowlsby is also saying that some kind of secession is a last resort.

CBS Sports Jeremy Fowler caught up with another big-conference commish, the ACC's John Swofford, about the Bowlsby thoughts:

"I think that's a possibility that we'll have to see play out,” Swofford said. “I don't know of anybody who's out there right now beating the drum to walk away from the NCAA. I think the desire is to find solutions within the framework of the existing organization if at all possible.”

BUZZER BEATER: Texas Tech Ends West Virginia's Season

Texas Tech has had a dreadful season on the hardwood.  Heading into their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal game against West Virginia (The Mountaineers were not that good either.) the Red Raiders were 11-18.

Dejan Kravic brought a bright spot to Texas Tech's season with a buzzer beating tip in to defeat West Virginia 71-69 and extend the season for the Red Raiders.



"It's a 40-minute game, so play for the last second,"  Kravic said. "I saw the ball come toward me. I thought the clock expired, so I just put it up."

"I would rather be lucky than good," Texas Tech interim head coach Chris Walker said. "We end up being the beneficiary of a put-back, which is great, which is rare for us, which is really good."

“We didn’t block out, which I guess sometimes happens in situations like that,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said. “They got a very fortunate bounce – it bounced right back to him.”

During the regular season West Virginia defeated Texas Tech twice, 77-61 on January 2nd in Lubbock and 66-64 on Feburary 16th in Morgantown, WV.

West Virginia's inability to get to the ball ulitimately did the Mountaineers in. 

“Our credo for as long as I’ve coached is get to the ball. It’s hard to win when you can’t get to the ball,” Huggins said. “For whatever reason, this group is the worst we’ve ever had at getting to the ball.”

BUZZER BEATER: What A Finish In Stillwater, OK. Oklahoma State Barely Defeats Baylor On Last Second Lay Up

Maybe the best finish so far of this college basketball season took place at Gallagher Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Michael Cobbins blocked a Baylor game winning attempt and then Markel Brown to the take in his hands and barely beat the clock.

Told you it was a great finish.

"I figured we had come too far to just give up a layup right there at the end," Cobbins said. "I just went up and tried to get it and thank God I got it."

"I was just trying to beat the clock, as fast as I can," Brown said.

Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford loved how Markel Brown just took it to the cup.

"I was hoping he would get to the rim, because so many players pull up," Ford said. "So many players don't think they have enough time. But you've got more time than you think you do."

"I think everybody saw a great game for TV," Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. "You'll sleep better tonight than I will,"

That’s because Baylor lost it’s third straight game.  OSU won it’s fourth straight game.

Oklahoma State won in spite of a terrible shooting night.  The Cowboys were 26 of 72 from the field shooting 36 percent and only making 3 of 21three point attempts.

That kind of night will drive head coaches bonkers and Travis Ford is no exception.

"It was just a very gutsy performance by our guys," Ford said. "I thought they hung in there. We've figured out some crazy ways to win games lately."

Tommy Tuberville slaps Grad Assistant

Oh boy. This isn't going to end good.

Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville is in deep doo-doo tonight after he was caught on video during the Tech/Kansas game, slapping the headphones off of a Graduate Assistant.

You'll see it about 45 seconds or so into this video. Tuberville appears angry after he was forced to call a time out when his team couldn't get set on a 4th and 1 play.

Tuberville, for his part, said in his post game presser claims he was trying to "Yank" grad assistant Kevin Oliver off the field.

But look again at the video. It sure doesn't look (a) like Oliver is on the field or (b) that it was "Incidental".

Judge for yourself, but if we were the betting types, we'd bet that Tuberville is going to be in a load of trouble. At the very least he owes Oliver an apology, but really, he's going to owe a lot more than that.

And he should.

Your video:

The Champions Bowl is now The Sugar Bowl

Confused by the title?

You probably should be, though the SEC, The Big 12/10 and the Sugar Bowl say this is and was part of the plan all along.

The so-called "Champions Bowl" a game agreed upon by the SEC and Big 12/10 to showcase the respective league champs will be played in New Orleans at the Sugar Bowl.

No, the Sugar Bowl is not going away, in fact, really nothing much changes other than the opponent for the SEC team. In fact, the game only will feature the SEC or Big 12/10 champ if that team is NOT in the soon-to-come college football playoff.

Trust us, this will all become clear in 2014 when the BCS goes away....

Right?

Yeah, surprisingly, this story was broken by ESPN, who by the way will pay the bowl $80 million a year to televise the game.

Read the ESPN.com story from Brett McMurphy RIGHT HERE

McMurphy also mentioned the other College Football semi-final game sites look to be the Fiesta, the Chick Fil-A and the Cotton.

Should make some interesting changes to viewing habits....

Collin Klein Heisman Front Runner? Geno Smith's Stock Going Down. K-State Crushes WVU 55-14

Geno Smith’s Heisman Trophy stock is dropping.  Collin Klein’s stock is soaring to front runner status for the stiff-arm pose.

Klein and his Kansas State Wildcats dominated West Virginia at Morgantown 55-14 and the game didn’t seem that close.

Klein was damn near perfect, 19-21 passing for a career high 323 yards, ran for four touchdowns and threw for 3 touchdowns.

The K-State quarterback clearly won the head to head battle with former Heisman front runner Geno Smith who threw for 143 yards and one touchdown however tossed his first two interceptions of the season.

"He doesn’t do anything wrong.” West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said. He is the same guy we saw on film. He is exactly the same guy we thought he would be.” 

Which is a damn good football player and Kansas State is exactly who WVU thought they were, a BCS Championship Game contender.

Here’s the highlights from a stunned Morgantown, WV (Thanks Fox Sports)

 

K-State has put themselves in the conversation with Alabama and Oregon as the top three contenders for the BCS National Championship Game.

The Wildcats own three Big 12 Conference wins on the road, at Oklahoma, at Iowa State (and the Cyclones aren’t bad either.) and now a domination of West Virginia. 

The Wildcats final five games are first a pair of home games vs Texas Tech and Oklahoma State then road trips to TCU and then to Waco, Texas to play the Baylor Bears before finishing the season hosting Texas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.  It’s just seems very odd for K-State and Texas to finish the season (ramifications of realignment.)

I’m just wondering how many are now jumping on the K-State bandwagon.  I’m there now.

Geno Smith Finds Out Texas Tech's Defense Is For Real. Tubs Gets Red Raiders Fired Up With Locker Speech

The fact that Texas Tech had one of the best defenses in the country was a bit unbelievable but Saturday the Red Raiders shutdown one of the most potent offenses in the country plus the Heisman Trophy front runner.  We believe now, it’s proven.

The Red Raider defense frustrated West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith who finished 29 of 55 passing for 275 yards and one touchdown.  Far below the numbers Smith has been putting up this season.

West Virginia’s offense did put up 406 yards of total offense but no WVU running back had 100 yards and the Mountaineer receivers were held to double digits in yards. 

Not to mention a WVU offense used to scoring at will only totaled 14 points Saturday afternoon in Lubbock.

Texas Tech safety D.J. Johnson, who had six tackles against West Virginia, explains the Red Raider game plan against the Mountaineers. (Thanks techathletics)

 

“We just didn't execute offensively.” West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We didn't finish blocks in the run game. We didn't throw and catch like we normally throw and catch. We obviously didn't finish drives very well. So it was a poor performance offensively.”

Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege looked more like the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.  Doege was 32 of 42 passing for a career high 499 yards and tied a career high with six touchdowns. 

“The success that he [Doege] had today, I think a lot of people across the country saw it because everybody matches quarterback when's you watch them on television, and they've [West Virginia, Geno Smith] got a great quarterback.” Texas Tech head coach Tom Tuberville said. “That kid is a player. I thought Seth obviously did a heck of a job in just running our offense. Running the ball, taking the screens when they gave it to him, throwing the ball deep and making big plays.”

Here’s the highlights including Tubs in the locker room pre and post game. (Thanks techathletics)

Cyclones End Nations Longest Winning Streak, Own State Of Texas Too.

The Iowa State Cyclones do not dread going to Texas, they love it.  Success is guaranteed the last three years.

In 2010 the Cyclones defeated the 22nf ranked Texas 28-21 and last season Iowa State beat down  then #19 Texas Tech in Lubbock 41-7.

The Cyclone magic in the Lone Star State remained as Iowa State went to Ft. Worth and ended TCU’s nations best 12 game winning streak with a 37-23.

Here’s the highlights. (Thanks CyclonesTV)

Iowa State is now 4-1 for the first time in 10 years.

Here’s head coach Paul Rhodes after the game.

Geno Smith Pads Heisman Stats Against Texas, Mountaineers Defeat 'Horns 48-45

Hello Big 12, West Virginia has arrived.

When you beat Texas in Austin and you draw a Darryl K. Royal/Texas Memorial Stadium record of 101,851fans you are the toast of the 12.

"I want to congratulate West Virginia, they've got a very fine football team," Texas head coach Mack Brown said.

Yes coach Brown WVU is.

Geno Smith was his usual self, damn good.  Smith 25 of 35 passing for 268 yards and three touchdowns. 

“You look at what he did, there weren’t a lot of times where we weren’t draped all over the guy that he was trying to throw the football to.” Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “When the play was there to be made, they made it. And obviously, the crucial situations we talked about were going to be the difference in the game. That’s when they want the ball in his hands. And he was an immense challenge for us to play against.”

Here’s WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen’s comments. (Thanks MountaineerTV)

 

Andrew Buie had a career day against the ‘Horns.  Buie ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns including the 5 yard touchdown run with 1:18 left to put the dagger in the heart of the Longhorns.

Here’s a game report from Austin, TX (Thanks WDTV)

 

Did The Big 12 Apologize To Mike Gundy Or Not...???

((HT: Newsok.com))

According to Gina Mizell, the Big 12 Conference has apologized to Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy over the botched call at the end of the 41-36 loss to Texas Saturday.

But the 12/10 is saying that they have done no such thing...

The head of the 12/10's officials, Walt Anderson, “apologized profusely” and admitted to Gundy that Joe Bergeron fumbled before crossing the goal line and the game-winning touchdown should not have counted.

From Mizell:

The source said Anderson told Gundy the call was botched by head linesman Brad Edwards, who signaled touchdown too soon without proper view of the ball, which was fumbled before it broke the plane of the end zone. Edwards was originally positioned on the goal line on the UT sideline, then sprinted toward the pile and put his arms in the air. A second source added umpire Scott Teifer, who was watching the play from the end zone, also did not communicate properly with Edwards by telling him the ball was on the ground before it crossed the goal line.

But... and this is a big "but..."

The conference said, on its official Twitter feed, that no such apology has happened...

Here's the play in question:
((HT: CFB on FOX))


And here's the response from the 12/10:

Reports that the Big 12 acknowledged a blown call and issued an apology to Oklahoma State are inaccurate

Here's Mike Sherman leading a fancy-looking google chat looking thing...