David Jones, Florida Today: CBS analyst Gary Danielson, who stopped
voting for the Heisman after Charles Woodson beat Peyton Manning
for the honor, called last year's voting an embarrassment. "Tim Tebow
— as the returning Heisman Trophy winner — and out of 904 votes, 154
didn't have him as first, second or third," Danielson said of a group
of voters mostly from the Southwest that included Big 12 media (which
includes Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas' Colt McCoy). "Clearly
people were trying to make their vote count twice by not voting for him
and he lost by 151 votes. It's ridiculous." Thanks to Ben Maller.
Brent Schrotenboer, San Diego Union-Tribune: The rise of Division I-A teams scheduling games against Division I-AA opponents is nothing short of dramatic. In 2004, there were only 48 such games. Last season there were 87. The increase was sparked by an NCAA rule change in 2005, allowing all such games to count toward bowl eligibility. Before that, only one victory against a I-AA opponent every four years could be applied toward bowl eligibility. Plus, San Diego State's athletic department rang up a $2 million deficit in its last fiscal year.
Edward Aschoff, Gainesville Sun: Florida is paying little or nothing for its automatic victories against creampuff opponents. Charleston Southern got $450,000 for getting whacked last Saturday, and Troy is getting $500,000 this Saturday. By comparison, Arkansas is shelling out $800,000 for an automatic victory against Troy in November.
Steve Yanda, Washington Post: Maryland will host its first game in Byrd Stadium since the completion of a $50.8 million expansion project that created 64 luxury suites and 440 mezzanine seats on Tyser Tower, on the stadium's south rim. But only two-thirds of the premium seating options have been sold.
Chris Korman, Hoosier Scoop: Curious as to why Big Ten games are not being carried on the new XM/Sirius? Apparently, XM/Sirius were unable to come to an agreement with the Big Ten to broadcast all of the games. So it is now negotiating with individual teams.
TMZ: Former Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Weiland suffered an injury to his face during a tailgating incident last Saturday at Notre Dame.
Dan Rozek, Chicago Sun-Times: Former Michigan State defensive end Hubert Thompson, who was charged with murder for throwing a neighbor from a third-floor apartment balcony, has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Thompson told police he threw James Malone off the balcony without warning because he believed his neighbor had been secretly poisoning his food and his marijuana.
ACC Now: Starting North Carolina fullback Bobby Rome and defensive tackle Jordan Nix have tested positive for probable H1N1 virus and will not travel with the team for Saturday's game at Connecticut.
Jeremy Fowler, Orlando Sentinel: Florida's Urban Meyer says the Gators have "locked our doors" to trading secrets with other teams.
Bud Withers, Seattle Times: In the last 20 years, 21 freshmen have started six or more games for Pacific 10 Conference teams. Eight of the 21 have had winning seasons.
Scott Wolf, Los Angeles Daily News: There's a lot of pessimism in Columbus as the hometown Buckeyes prepare to play USC. "More pessimism than I've been around before," former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman said. "Some people say maybe [Ohio State] can keep it close. I've never heard that here."
David Wharton, Los Angeles Times: USC's Pete Carroll says his staff monitors what players write on their eye black. "Hi, Mom" is acceptable. So is "I love coach Carroll," but "I'm still waiting for that one to show up. It's on the suggested list," Carroll said.
Steven M. Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star: Will playing Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State have Nebraska prepared for next week's game at Virginia Tech?
Ron Morris, Columbia State: Clemson showed considerable heart in battling back from a 24-point deficit Thursday night at Georgia Tech.
Jon Solomon, Birmingham News: Birmingham had the highest rating for the Miami-Florida State game on Monday night among metered markets, with an 18.0.
Jerry Ratcliffe, Charlottesville Daily Progress: Viriginia could be targeting Richmond's Mike London should it choose to fire Al Groh.
Joshua Kinder, Manhattan Mercury: Is Kansas State headed for trouble in Ragin' Cajun country?
Koe Goe, Oregonian: The two-minute drill: An irreverent look at the week in Pac-10 football.
Keith Sargeant, Scarlet Scuttlebutt: Rutgers tailback/slotback Mason Robinson is out for the season after suffering a knee injury against Cincinnati.
Marc Morehouse, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, an all-Big Ten pick last season, will miss Saturday’s game against Iowa State because of an undisclosed illness.
John Hunt, Oregonian: Oregon safety T.J. Ward, who has been on crutches most of the week after suffering a high ankle sprain in the opener, will not play Saturday against Purdue. Redshirt freshman John Boyett will start in his place.
Associated Press: Southern Mississippi receiver DeAndre Brown will play Saturday against Central Florida. It will be his first game action since a gruesome fracture of his lower left left (graphic video) in last year's New Orleans Bowl.
Baltimore Sun: Are there too many bowl games? Navy has already accepted a bid to the 2012 Emerald Bowl.
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