The Wiz of Odds

Middle Tennessee State

Take a close look at Middle Tennessee State's poster. The first person to find the hidden phrase will be invited to guest host a segment of coach Rick Stockstill's radio show this fall. The school also sent out a series of tweets teasing last week's release of the poster. You can view the tweets here, here and here. Last but not least, there is a YouTube video after the jump of the poster photo shoot.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Bradley.

Montana

It has been a messy offseason for Division I-AA Montana. Robin Pflugrad, who was 18-7 in two seasons as coach, and athletic director Jim O'Day were fired in March by university president Royce Engstrom amid sexual assault allegations, including gang rapes, involving football players. In April, a Federal Department of Education harassment complaint was filed against the university and members of the team. If this wasn't ugly enough, the NCAA notified the school that it was investigating the program. Former assistant Mick Delaney, 69, had retired in February, but he was asked to come back and take the head coaching job on an interim basis.

Click the image to enlarge. Poster designed by Old Hat Creative.

Navy

There are road games and then there are road games. Consider the mission Navy undertakes in the opener, traveling to Dublin, Ireland to play Notre Dame, a team that defeated the Midshipmen, 56-14, in 2011. The Middies' second game is a trip to Penn State, then the team settles in for two home games before the Oct. 6 matchup at Air Force. But don't forget the biggest game of them all, the regular-season finale against Army at Philadelphia. By season's end, Navy will be one of college football's most-traveled teams.

Navy has an active YouTube channel. After the jump are two trailers released by the team, plus a video titled "The Journey," which offers an inside look at what it's like to be part of the program.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Mark.

Toledo

Matt Campbell takes over as Toledo coach, replacing Tim Beckman, who left for Illinois. Campbell is only 32, making him the youngest head coach in Division I-A. He actually has one game under his belt. He led the Rockets to victory over Air Force in the Military Bowl. Beckman presided over the offense last season, and it was the most prolific in team history, averaging 42.2 points a game. All of this has already made Campbell a big man around town. Check out the video of him pitching Better Buildings of Northwest Ohio after the jump. And we've included one other video of Toledo students, who seem to have a lot of time on their hands.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Paul.

Western Michigan

Scoring wasn't a problem for Western Michigan in 2011. The Broncos put up a hefty 35.3 points a game. It was the defense, which gave up 28.6 a contest, that prevented the team from bigger and better things. Rich Nagy takes over as defensive coordinator in an attempt to shake things up. Quarterback Alex Carder is back for his senior season, and a writer who covered the Broncos last year said Carder was the best quarterback in the state of Michigan. Move over Denard Robinson.

Click the image to enlarge. Thanks to Elaine.

Guardian Cap Aims to Cut Down on Concussions

A company based in Georgia has come up with a protective device that could dramatically reduce the number of concussions suffered by players.

The Guardian Cap fits over a player's helmet and although it looks a bit unusual, it weighs only a third of a pound. It doesn't absorb water and is aerodynamic.

A recent report by CNN's Sanjay Gupta stated that high school players take, on average, 650 blows to the head every season. Most of those hits come in practice and teams are looking for added protection for players.