Week One open thread

[il Padrino Ute]

UNC will keep it close if they don't lose all of their starters to suspension.

Sources: NCAA investigating North Carolina Tar Heels' football program - ESPN

North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour said Thursday the NCAA is investigating a sports program at the school regarding possible rules violations.

A source at North Carolina told ESPN.com's Joe Schad on Thursday that UNC football players were interviewed by the NCAA this week and asked questions about agents and whether anyone had received gifts or extra benefits.


Defensive tackle Marvin Austin, one of several Tar Heels who passed on the NFL draft this spring, was among the players interviewed, according to the source.


The source said the NCAA's questions to players were intended to "make sure no Reggie Bush stuff is going on."


Baddour declined to tell The Associated Press which sport was being probed.

Hmmm.... anyone have any idea? I sure don't.

[dut99002]

Anyone checked out Oregon St's OOC schedule this year?

Louisville - meh
TCU - thrashing
Boise State - thrashing

I knew they played TCU, but had no idea they had BSU as well until a Beaver-fan co-worker of mine brought it up yesterday.

[Uncle Ted]

Anyone checked out Oregon St's OOC schedule this year?

Louisville - meh
TCU - thrashing
Boise State - thrashing

I knew they played TCU, but had no idea they had BSU as well until a Beaver-fan co-worker of mine brought it up yesterday.

The TCU trashing might be worth a trip to Cowboys Stadium to see the carnage in person.

[Top Ute]

The TCU trashing might be worth a trip to Cowboys Stadium to see the carnage in person.

Let's see ... OSU has defeated a No. 1 USC twice in the last six years, took an undefeated Utah to the brink of defeat in 2008 and has been in the driver's seat for a Rose Bowl bid two years running before losing to Oregon. I think it's folly to look at ANY game OSU plays and count on a defeat, much less a blowout.

[BoylenOver]

Let's see ... OSU has defeated a No. 1 USC twice in the last six years, took an undefeated Utah to the brink of defeat in 2008 and has been in the driver's seat for a Rose Bowl bid two years running before losing to Oregon. I think it's folly to look at ANY game OSU plays and count on a defeat, much less a blowout.

To be fair, they have a tendency to start slow. They're 10-11 before October 1st in the last five years. And even worse, their only regular-season OOC win away from Corvallis under Mike Riley occurred last year against UNLV.

I agree with you that Oregon St is perennially undervalued, but there's plenty of reason to think TCU has a decided advantage.

[dut99002]

I have a lot of respect for OSU, but TCU and Boise are going to be very, very solid this season.

Hence the use of 'thrashing'.

[Uncle Ted]

To be fair, they have a tendency to start slow. They're 10-11 before October 1st in the last five years. And even worse, their only regular-season OOC win away from Corvallis under Mike Riley occurred last year against UNLV.

I agree with you that Oregon St is perennially undervalued, but there's plenty of reason to think TCU has a decided advantage.

Like TCU has something like 20 of their starters returning. Of course, I think Ore St will do better than BYU against the frogs.

[Top Ute]

I agree with you that Oregon St is perennially undervalued, but there's plenty of reason to think TCU has a decided advantage.

Oh, I think TCU wins, and TCU blowing out OSU is far more likely than the other way around. But I think we were saying likewise about TCU before it played BSU, and we all know how that played out. TCU is still the class of the MWC, but that Fiesta Bowl effort took some of the shine off that apple.

[Hot Lunch]

Pitt D End suspended. Pitt has two really really good D Ends. Shread is not their best D end but he is really good and is a returning starter who had 5 sacks last year. I wonder if this will cause him to miss the Utah game?

[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5392095"]Jabaal Sheard of Pittsburgh Panthers charged with assault, suspended - ESPN[/ame]

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh defensive end Jabaal Sheard has been suspended indefinitely after being accused of throwing another man through the glass door of an art gallery.

Big East blog
ESPN.com's Brian Bennett writes about all things Big East in his conference blog.

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College Football Nation

Police say Sheard was in a fight early Sunday and had to be pepper sprayed after he threw the man through the door of La Fond Galleries.

Pitt spokesman E.J. Borghetti says Sheard has been suspended from team activities while the athletic department investigates.

Sheard was arraigned Sunday on charges including aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Police say charges are possible against the other man. Borghetti declined to comment on Sheard's behalf.

The 21-year-old Sheard is from Hollywood Hills, Fla. He tallied five sacks while starting all 13 games for the Panthers last season.

[Hot Lunch]

Is it just me or does it seem like this particular off season, college football has had a lot of arrests and players getting in trouble with the law?

[Solon]

Is it just me or does it seem like this particular off season, college football has had a lot of arrests and players getting in trouble with the law?

Seems like it.

At least the kid from Pitt was at an art gallery. Pittsburgh is a highly cultured city.

[il Padrino Ute]

Is it just me or does it seem like this particular off season, college football has had a lot of arrests and players getting in trouble with the law?

I don't know if more players are getting in trouble than usually happens but the internet has allowed for any regular Joe to report on what's going on. Stories that, in the past, may have not been picked up via the wire are now getting disseminated by bloggers everywhere, so papers are pretty much forced to report it all, which they should in the first place.

[Hot Lunch]

I love this site during college football season. It is all about Vegas and the numbers. I thought this article was appropriate for this thread since it is titles "Week 1 Numbers". I will also cut and paste some highlights.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-.../story/1026192

Even at RFK Boise St. is opening up as a favorite as of right now.

Boise St. is either a two or 2 ½-point favorite for its trip to the Eastern time zone to face Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Washington D.C. The Broncos, who are coming off a 14-0 season and return every key player with the exception of All-American cornerback Kyle Wilson, haven’t lost a regular-season game since Colt Brennan led Hawaii past BSU in the 2007 regular-season finale.

Right now Utah is opening as a favorite.

Also on Thursday, Utah will host Pitt as a three-point home favorite on Versus. The total is 50. This is a rematch of the 2004 Fiesta Bowl when the Utes thumped the Panthers 35-7 to complete their perfect season.

TCU is a big favorite

Competing for an audience with UNC-LSU, TCU and Oregon St. will collide at Cowboys Stadium for a 7:45 p.m. Eastern start on ESPN. The Horned Frogs are 13-point favorites at most spots

They briefly mentioned BYU

Best game I didn’t mention: Washington at BYU. The Cougars are three-point home favorites.

[LA Ute]

Pre-Snap Read: An interesting web site

This seems like a well-written college football site. Today's post happens to be about Utah (the writer's #17) but he is working his way down through his top 120 teams. Paul Meyerberg is his name and he seems to have done his homework. He has BYU at #36 but the link doesn't take you to a write-up.

They don’t call it the Holy War for nothing. An alleged incident between an ill-behaved (I’m being kind) B.Y.U. student and Whittingham’s wife following the game only adds fuel to the fieriest rivalry in the country.

"The fieriest rivalry in the country." Gotta love that.

[LA Ute]

Here's Pre-Snap Read on BYU

The guys seems to do his homework and I think his complimentary comments about BYU are accurate. (But I don't have to like that.)

http://www.presnapread.com/no-36-b-y-u/