The Wiz of Odds

Missouri

Unfortunately for the Tigers, one of the featured players on their poster schedule is running back Derrick Washington, left, who was suspended indefinitely last week while under investigation for sexual assault. The early schedule contains peashooters McNeese State, San Diego State and Miami (Ohio), and one can easily make the case for Missouri to be 5-0 entering the Oct. 16 game at Texas A&M. A win in College Station would set a showdown against Oklahoma in Columbia, followed by a road game at Nebraska. Who knows? A break here or there and the Tigers could be on their way to a special season.

As a run-up to the start of the season, the Wiz will display one poster each day until our supply is exhausted.

Then we turn it over to readers, who will vote on the poster of the year. In the meantime, send your team's poster schedule to jayzuma (at) gmail.com.

Last year, the site displayed 69 posters. This is poster No. 60 for 2010. Thanks to Markeish and David!

The Clap Sequence to the Song, 'I'm a Jayhawk'

Here's a handy tutorial to perfect your technique to Kansas' tricky fight song clap. Everybody clap along! Thanks to The Big Lead.

Reporters Notebooks

Sports By Brooks: ESPN is the focus of a barrage of complaints for its Friday telecast of the prep game between Northern California teams Folsom and Grant. The network pulled players out of class to do interviews and tried to restrict local media coverage of the game. The network delivered boxes of sports-branded bottles and jugs with the explicit order to display them on the sideline. Grant coach Mike Alberghini said the money ESPN paid for carrying the game was "piddly." Folsom officials said they had to wrestle for their $2,000 check, and they argued for Grant to get something, too. The Pacers received $1,000.

Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: Former Iowa coach Hayden Fry will be the conductor as Hawkeye fans attempt to set a new Guinness world record Friday for the largest organized Hokey Pokey Dance. The current world record was set in 2003 in Toronto with 4,431 participants.

Steve Wieberg, USA Today: Will the North ever be able to rise again in college football?

Caulton Tudor, Raleigh News & Observer: For anyone to deny that North Carolina's football culture is either out of control or close to that point is to turn a sterile nose to the rancid odor that has permeated Kenan Stadium throughout the summer. That's especially the case with coach Butch Davis, who is being paid $2 million annually to win games and operate a clean, respectable program.

Chris Murray, Reno Gazette-Journal: Nevada's $21.4 million athletic budget ranks fourth in the Western Athletic Conference, but the Wolf Pack will be about $11 million below the Mountain West average went they become a member of that league.

George Schroeder, Eugene Register-Guard: The former president of the Football Writers Association of America defends the group's decision to strip USC of the 2004 Grantland Rice Trophy and leave the title vacant.

Melissa B. Taboada, Austin American-Statesman: Texas has started to sell water packaged in a bottle that is a scale-model replica of the iconic Texas Tower. About 40% of proceeds from H2Orange will go to scholarships, fellowships and internships for Longhorn students. Not everybody is pleased with the venture. Protestors say the bottles hurt the city's "zero waste" goals.

Chris Dufrense, Los Angeles Times: Predictions for the season. UCLA will finish closer to 4-8 than 8-4. Boise State or Texas Christian will play in the Rose Bowl. No more naked Oregon State players will be arrested until after signing day next February.

Central Florida

It has been and up and down six seasons for George O'Leary at Central Florida. His first Knights team in 2004 was perfect — 0-11. Central Florida rebounded to go 8-5 in '05, the biggest turnaround in Division I-A that season. Then came a 4-8 record in '06, followed by 10-4 in '07, 4-8 in '08 and 8-5 in '09. Spot the pattern? The Knights are 8-27 in even-numbered years under O'Leary and 26-14 in odd-numbered years. It's 2010, so what does that tell you?

As a run-up to the start of the season, the Wiz will display one poster each day until our supply is exhausted.

Then we turn it over to readers, who will vote on the poster of the year. In the meantime, send your team's poster schedule to jayzuma (at) gmail.com.

Last year, the site displayed 69 posters. This is poster No. 59 for 2010. Thanks to RaeLynn!

A Ride to the Top of Penn State's Beaver Stadium

It's a long and winding journey to the top of the 107,282-seat facility. This gets you there in a couple of minutes. Thanks to Penn State Clips.

Brigham Young and the WAC: How It Nearly Came to Be

Brigham Young had plenty of co-conspirators in its planned move out of the Mountain West Conference. Utah State for one. ESPN for another.

Yes, that's right. The four-letter network was involved from the beginning.

Documents and email correspondence obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune through an open records request detailed how the Cougars planned to declare their independence in football and join the Western Athletic Conference in all other sports.

Utah State president Stan Albrecht, who has been criticized for not accepting an offer to move the Aggies from the WAC to the Mountain West after news of BYU's planned move began to trickle out, had incentive to stay the course. He had masterminded with WAC commissioner Karl Benson, BYU president Cecil Samuelson, Fresno State president John Welty, Nevada president Milt Glick and ESPN to spring the Cougars.