Ohio State Cleared To Play Ball

According to Yahoo Sports Columnist Dan Wetzel the Ohio State meeting with the NCAA is over and the Buckeyes program has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Wow.

The Buckeyes put the sole blame on departed head coach Jim Tressel. They said everything was his fault and the reason why the program was committing so many infractions was based on Tressel. It wasn't the players. It wasn't the other coaches. It wasn't the boosters. It wasn't Brutus. Just Jim Tressel.

And it worked. They let go of Tressel and with it all the sanctions that could have been forced upon the program including scholarship reductions and bowl bans are nonexistent.

If you are a USC fan you should be royally pissed off right now because you got fucked by the NCAA. Ohio State got off with a slap to the wrist despite rampant player infractions. USC lost scholarships and bowl appearances because of one player: Reggie Bush. I guess Ohio State had better lawyers than USC. Because I don't understand the logic of punishing USC so severely if you aren't going to do the same thing with Ohio State.

The Buckeyes will now resume their dominance over the Big Ten. Nothing to see here.

Texas A&M And FSU To The SEC?

I honestly didn't even want to blog about the rumors of Texas A&M leaving the Big 12 and going to the SEC because I thought they were full of shit. Now I think it's a foregone conclusion.

The Aggies are a top 10 preseason football team for the first time in over a decade. They have also been the red headed stepchild of the Texas Longhorns for too long. And apparently the new Longhorn Network in which Texas will get preferential treatment to recruits and exposure was just too much for the Aggies to handle especially when they are the top 10 team and not the Longhorns. So they are going to jump ship to the SEC Conference who is looking to expand it's TV market while also gaining two schools.

Personally I think the Aggies joining the SEC is both a major coup and a major mistake for the football program. The SEC Conference is the best in football. No questions asked. The Aggies have been a middle of the road Big 12 team for the last decade. Now when they join the SEC in 2012 or 2013 they will be facing even tougher competition. While it's true the SEC has teams like Vandy who will more than likely always be a doormat in the conference they also have middle of the road teams in Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia, Ole Miss, etc. who would dominant the Big 12 Conference. But then again the perks of being the only Texas school in the SEC could be tremendous for recruiting the state of Texas and stealing some recruits from Texas and Oklahoma.

It's a double edged sword for the Aggies. Life won't be easier in the SEC. Sure it will be more lucrative for money. For now. But every school in a major BCS conference is getting paid a tremendous amount of money because of the football programs. If I was in charge of the Aggies I would just use the SEC Conference as a bargaining chip with the Big 12 conference. But all indications are the Aggies will be in the SEC within the next two years. Good luck with that.

The other rumor running rampant is FSU going to the SEC. FSU is tremendous in several sports but what kind of region or market are they going to bring to the SEC that the Florida Gators don't already own? For the SEC it would make more sense to get a team like Virginia, Virginia Tech or Maryland because then you are expanding into the coveted Washington D.C market. The Seminoles can't even win the downtrodden ACC right now and while they appear to be on the upswing with Jimbo Fisher at the helm there is no reason to leave the ACC right now other than money. FSU already recruits elite players nationwide. Joining the SEC won't make it any better.

All of these rumors whether true or false will eventually lead to super conferences. It's going to happen. The PAC-10 now 12 expanded this year with two new teams in Colorado and Utah. It's not out of the question to see them add 4 more teams especially if the Big 12 folds if they lose another member in Texas A&M. There will be bidding wars for schools like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri to join the SEC, PAC-12 or Big Ten. The ACC could fold or eventually join forces with the Big East and make another super conference. There needs to be 4 super conferences that consist of 16 teams each. All must have championship games at the end of the regular season.

And then we will eventually have a playoff. How about that rumor?

Friday Funbags

Arkansas RB Knile Davis Out For The Season With Left Ankle Injury

So much for Arkansas making a run for the SEC West Title. Standout tailback Knile Davis (1322 yards rushing and 14 TDs) has been lost for the entire season with a left ankle injury confirmed by the University this morning.

And there goes Arkansas' chances of unseating Alabama or LSU with one severe pop of the ankle. Losing Davis for the season is terrifying for the Razorbacks despite returning multiple starters on both sides of the ball. Davis was suppose to be the star. The darkhorse Heisman contender who led the SEC in rushing last season. This season many considered him up there with Alabama's Trent Richardson and South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore as the league's best. I actually saw scenarios where Arkansas rode Davis' broad shoulders all the way to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Arkansas will now look to regroup despite losing QB Ryan Mallett to the NFL (the Patriots got a steal in the 3rd round) and Davis to injury. Remember the Razorbacks also lost RB Broderick Green (expected to be Davis' backup) for the season due to a torn ACL during the offseason.

Now Arkansas will rely on juniors Dennis Johnson (explosive but coming off an injury depleted 2010 season) and Ronnie Wingo Jr. (5 starts last season and finished with 253 yards rushing) to pick up the slack left by Knile's injury. Head coach Bobby Petrino has gone through this before at Louisville when he lost Michael Bush for the season. It should be pointed out that Louisville still won the Big East and went to a BCS Game. But this isn't the Big East and the SEC is a meat grinder.

Arkansas will start off 3-0 with wins over Missouri State, New Mexico, and Troy but the Sept. 24th trip to Tuscaloosa followed by home games versus Texas A&M and Auburn could be deadly for the Razorbacks season. I see an 8-4 team now with Davis gone and a trip to Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.