BELLEFONTE, Pa. – During a recess on the fifth day of his June trial on 48 counts of sexual molestation, Jerry Sandusky stood in front of a defense table, leafing through a file on a now 18-year-old called Victim No. 9.

Days later, Sandusky was found guilty of 45 counts. Tuesday he'll return to the second-floor courtroom to hear Judge John Cleland sentence him. He faces a maximum of 442 years. The 68-year-old former Penn State defensive coordinator has been in solitary confinement in the Centre County Correctional Facility since the verdict. Now he'll head to a full-on prison, almost certainly within Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday, he'll have the opportunity to speak in open court after not taking the stand in June. His attorney, Joe Amendola reaffirmed Monday that Sandsuky plans on reading from a prepared statement and a hint of the mindset that will dictate those anticipated words was available at that defense table on June 18.

The day's testimony was particularly harsh, even

Read More »from Jerry Sandusky plans to speak at sentencing hearing

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The vaunted, unbeaten Georgia offense showed up here Saturday averaging 536 yards and 48.2 points a contest, another video game offense in a sport awash with them.

Then South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney spent the night leaping Georgia offensive lineman, leaping Georgia running backs, doing everything except leaping what passes for tall buildings around here.

Jadeveon Clowney sacks Georgia's Aaron Murray on Saturday. (AP)

The Gamecocks won 35-7. Clowney finished with four solo tackles, two for a loss and one sack, which doesn’t come close to describing his impact as the leader of South Carolina's fierce front four against the fifth-ranked Bulldogs.

Georgia managed just 224 total yards, 75 of them on their final, game-out-of-reach drive that ended a 58-minute shutout. Quarterback Aaron Murray, who ranked third in passing nationally coming into the game, was 11-for-31 for just 109 yards. Highly-touted freshmen running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who averaged a combined 192.8 yards a game, finished

Read More »from In the year of offense, why can't a juggernaut on 'D' like Jadeveon Clowney win the Heisman?

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Steve Spurrier was jogging off the Williams-Brice Stadium field, 67 years old now but still with a bit of the spring of a once-Heisman winner.

This was, arguably, the greatest night in South Carolina football history, the sixth-ranked Gamecocks leaving No. 5 Georgia beaten and bloodied, 35-7. Beaten and bloodied so much in fact, the place was half empty at the end, tens of thousands off to celebrate their great fortune early.

Steve Spurrier gestures to an official during the first quarter of South Carolina's win on Saturday. (AP)

This here was a shocker, even for the diehard Gamecock fans. Not that they won, although the list of great victories is painfully short here. No, it was how they won, a total 60-minute woodshed beating like Spurrier used to hand out back at Florida.

So the fans were screaming for their coach, screaming for their savior. All of his football life in the south, as a player and coach, he looked around here at the huge sell-out crowds even when the team was lousy, looked at all the talent in the area who seemed to wind up somewhere else,

Read More »from Steve Spurrier has Gamecocks realizing potential after resounding romp over Georgia

Even as news broke Tuesday of Ohio State locking in a couple of intriguing future games – a home-and-home deal with TCU starting in 2018 – Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith was looking for more.

Expect Ohio State to take on more highly regard non-conference competition, such as Cal from the Pac 12. (AP)Fans, thrilled at the prospect of a new quality opponent and a chance for Urban Meyer to reach into Texas recruiting grounds, were buzzing. Ohio State already had Cincinnati of the Big East locked in for 2018. Now here was a Big 12 team, too. In the past, Ohio State may have added two local Mid-American Conference schools and called it a day.

Not anymore.

"We will play two more BCS games that year," Smith told Yahoo! Sports via email Wednesday, using the parlance for a quality top six-conference opponent.

So a non-conference schedule with no MAC schools, no Sun Belt teams, no games against teams from the old I-AA ranks – all of which are often dull mismatches? In the past few years, major powers have played three and even four of them per season.

[More:

Read More »from Major college football powers returning to bold scheduling of exciting non-conference games

So now here comes Mike McQueary, the State College kid, Penn State quarterback, one-time Joe Paterno grad assistant who climbed the ranks until he was the Nittany Lions recruiting coordinator, yet today sits unemployed and perhaps unemployable in college football.

Now here comes McQueary, filing a $4 million whistleblower lawsuit in Centre County court Tuesday against the school he loved so much that he and his wife bought a house in 2011 just steps from campus, just blocks from Paterno's, just an easy jog down Park Avenue. to Beaver Stadium. It was an investment in the dream of never leaving.

Mike McQueary is shown attending Joe Paterno's funeral. (AP)

Now here comes the guy who’s been questioned, vilified, dismissed and demeaned, all stemming from the evening of Feb. 9, 2001 when he watched the movie “Rudy,” got inspired to go back to work and watch recruiting tape and instead stumbled upon Jerry Sandusky and a boy, later known as Victim No. 2, in an otherwise empty Penn State coaches shower.

“Frankly,” McQueary said from the

Read More »from Mike McQueary, broken down and estranged, files $4 million whistleblower lawsuit

Miami was dusted by Kansas State this season, 52-13, so no one is suggesting Al Golden is the nation’s coach of the year thus far when he lost convincingly to the nation’s coach of the year thus far, K-State’s Bill Snyder.

And no, Boston College, Bethune-Cookman, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State aren’t exactly a murderer’s row of defeated opponents.

Al Golden argues with an official during a game against Georgia Tech. (AP)

That said, Miami is 4-1 and sits atop the ACC’s Coastal Division at 3-0 as the Canes head to Chicago this week to face No. 9 Notre Dame in an absolutely huge showcase game for the resilient ballclub.

You better believe Al Golden deserves credit for that.

Miami was picked to finish fifth out of six in the Coastal, which shouldn’t be confused with a strong division of a strong conference. There were, and are, glaring holes in the roster. There are nine first time starters on offense alone.

The program is under the cloud of an NCAA investigation and a self-imposed postseason ban last year. Just about every

Read More »from Al Golden, Miami Hurricanes continue to persevere in the face of looming NCAA sanctions

When Urban Meyer was the head coach at Florida, he created a one-day recruiting event called "Friday Night Lights," where the nation's best and brightest were invited to Gainesville for a festive few hours of drills and skill sessions. Sort of a mini-NFL scouting combine.

Cam Newton reacts after losing a fumble late vs. the Falcons. (AP)One year, a rising junior out of Atlanta showed up. "He was not a highly-recruited guy at the time," Meyer recalled, but clearly an elite athlete. His name was Cam Newton. He proceeded to impress, not simply with his ability to win this shuttle run or that passing competition.

But what floored the Gators coach was when things weren't going smoothly and Newton's reaction to it.

"His competitive nature superseded anyone who was at that camp," Meyer said. "He would not lose an event. Any mistake he made, it ate him up. You could see, clearly, that he wanted to win and he didn't handle losing well. At all. He just wanted back out there so he could win.

"I loved it, of course."

Not

Read More »from Panthers QB Cam Newton getting no benefit of the doubt when it comes to 'losing' demeanor

Lance Easley is best known as replacement ref No. 26, and days after making one of the most infamous calls in NFL history – one that was so controversial it led to the end of a lockout that, in turn, ended his Walter Mitty run of calling pro games – he isn't backing down.

"It was the correct call," Easley told TMZ.

Yes, TMZ. Who else? That's how big Easley's decision was to declare a contested Hail Mary a touchdown for Seattle rather than an interception for Green Bay – which is how virtually everyone else, but not the NFL itself, saw it. Even TMZ is chasing down replacement refs.

Easley's call will forever be etched in history thanks to a photo of him signaling TD while another ref waved for the stop of the clock [even though the game was over]. It gave Seattle the win and sparked such outrage the NFL caved within 48 hours to the NFL Referees Association and ended the lockout.

[Related: NFL gives into public pressure, brings back refs]

Regular refs will be on

Read More »from Replacement ref defends the controversial call that turned the NFL upside down