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    Frank Schwab

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    Frank Schwab writes about college football and offers unsolicited opinions on pretty much everything else too.

    • A Barry Sanders high school highlight video? Yes, please

      We're not really sure why a two-year-old highlight reel of 1988 Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders has started to go viral this week, but we're not complaining.

      The blog BarkingCarnival.com posted the video, and it took off from there. It has been since posted again by many other blogs, and as of Friday morning had climbed to more than 48,000 views. The video is, as you would imagine, tremendous.

      Sanders is one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time. He produced what is quite possibly the greatest single season in college football history, as he rushed for 2,850 yards and had 44 total touchdowns for Oklahoma State. And from the looks of the video, he was just as unstoppable at Wichita North High School.

      So take

      Read More »from A Barry Sanders high school highlight video? Yes, please
    • Notre Dame looking into possibly adding to its iconic stadium

      (ND.edu)

      Institutions that are entrusted with some of the oldest and most famous venues in sports face a problem.

      When stadiums like Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Lambeau Field were built, luxury suites and corporate areas weren't a consideration. So teams wrestle with the problem of renovating to add revenue generators like luxury suites without losing the history or charm of the stadium. The Packers did fairly well with the Lambeau Field expansion over the years, as did the Red Sox with Fenway. The Cubs seem intent on screwing up modernizing Wrigley Field, which makes sense since it's the Cubs.

      Notre Dame is exploring ideas to add to its famous stadium, and in the announcement of the plans its easy to see some of the conflicts the school is wrestling with.

      Notre Dame's plan, which is still very preliminary, seems to be centered around building around the stadium rather than change the inside of the stadium. The Associated Press story said the first step is to explore the possibility of adding "more than 3,000 seats in new buildings that would rise up over the sides of the stadium." This will have to be done in a way that doesn't cheapen Notre Dame Stadium, built in 1930, mind you.

      In the conceptual sketch there are

      Read More »from Notre Dame looking into possibly adding to its iconic stadium
    • (@UT_MackBrown)In retrospect, at least North Carolina, Ohio State and Georgia gave out rings for winning half a conference championship.

      At the time, we had no idea Mack Brown was planning to give out rings to Texas players for winning a forgettable Dec. 29 bowl and creating "momentum" for the 2013 season. Yeah, seriously.

      At this point we'll throw our hands up in the air. If Texas – one of the storied programs in sports, which has a national title in the last 10 years and won at least 10 games every season from 2001-2009 – is giving out rings for an Alamo Bowl win, we give up.

      Texas was 9-4 last year and finished tied for third in the Big 12 with a 5-4 record. The Longhorns lost to West Virginia and TCU at home. It was dominated by Oklahoma and Kansas State. The Alamo Bowl win against Oregon State was very nice, and Brown is correct that it created some momentum for the program into the offseason. But it was more of a consolation win, not a ring-worthy win.

      This should be above Texas, right? They are the University of Texas Longhorns. In terms of revenue, facilities, tradition and in-state talent, it's arguable nobody has an easier time recruiting than Texas. With all of the advantages Texas has, a four-loss season is pretty much a failure, not a reason to pass out huge

      Read More »from Mack Brown hands out rings to his players for winning Alamo Bowl, and ‘momentum’
    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.

      PLAYERS WITH THE MOST TO LOSE OR GAIN BEFORE 2014 DRAFT

      NO. 2 AUSTIN SEFERIAN-JENKINS

      Washington's Austin Seferian-Jenkins was set to be one of the first tight ends taken in the 2014 NFL draft, if he wanted to go pro a year early. There was a good chance he'd be the first tight off the board with another good season.

      He's physically imposing at 6-6, 266 pounds, and has already set many of Washington's career and single-season records for a tight end after just two seasons. As a freshman and a sophomore, Seferian-Jenkins had 110 catches, 1,388 yards and 13 touchdowns. Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, who is listed at 6-6 and 251 pounds, had 117 catches, 1,488 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior and senior. Eifert was the only tight end taken in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft.

      Of course, now there's something else for NFL teams to consider that has nothing to do with Seferian-Jenkins' ability to block or catch, and has left him suspended from Washington for the time being.

      Read More »from Doc Five: Players with the most to lose or gain before 2014 draft – No. 2, Austin Seferian-Jenkins
    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      Like Big League Stew mentioned before, the news of the death of Chris Kelly from the 1990s rap group Kris Kross was tough to hear.

      "Warm It Up," "I Missed the Bus," "I'm Real," we fondly remember all of those songs from back in the day. It was stunning and sad to hear Kelly had passed away at such a young age.

      Since BLS dealt with Kris Kross' impact in the sports apparel field, we felt the best way to honor Kelly is to apply their biggest hit, "Jump," to the college football world.

      Here are some of our favorite "jumps" from college football in recent memory, because Ortege Jenkins'll make ya ...

      Read More »from Our favorite college football “jumps,” to honor late Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly
    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      The SEC had a press conference to officially announce that its new network will start in August of 2014.

      And while there were other questions during the press conference – no, SEC commissioner Mike Slive will not discuss how the ownership of the network will be structured between the league and ESPN, no matter how many times you ask – the biggest issue is distribution.

      Just like it was for the NFL Network. And Pac-12 Network. And Big Ten Network. And The Mtn., the Mountain West's network.

      Get ready, because we could be in for another annoying battle. The press conference hadn't even ended by the time Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart was already sounding the alarms.

      Read More »from SEC Network to launch in August 2014, and already the distribution questions have started
    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      The start of the much anticipated SEC Network will be officially announced Thursday, and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier seems to be the voice of reason as the conference and ESPN prepares to pat itself on the back.

      The SEC Network is going to be a gold mine for the schools. The Big Ten Network has generated reported $7.9 million and $7.2 million payouts for each of its schools in 2011 and 2012, and there's not much reason to believe the ESPN-fueled SEC venture will generate less revenue. There's a good chance the payouts will be much higher for the SEC schools.

      And without the players, the conference networks would have no programming and wouldn't be dragging in nine figures of revenue, and therefore lies a pretty obvious problem.

      At least Spurrier can see it and has the courage to say something about it.

      Read More »from Steve Spurrier on SEC Network money: ‘When are we going to start giving a little bit of it to the performers?’
    • Tennessee video coordinator Joe Harrington, who has been working with Volunteers for more than two decades, got a call in early December while he was out to lunch.

      He recognized old Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning's voice, but the Denver Broncos star offered no greeting, just a request to cut up a play from 16 years earlier and send him the video.

      And there wouldn't be much challenge for Harrington in finding it, because Manning told him every detail of that play from the 1996 season.

      The following story, told by Harrington as he introduced Manning at a coaching clinic in April (and posted in a YouTube video by Tennessee and brought to our attention by CoachingSearch.com), is a great example why Manning might be the best ever.

      Read More »from Peyton Manning recalls every detail of play at Tennessee in 1996, and it is simply amazing
    • NCAA bans the use of hashtags on the field #boo #nofunpolice

      The NCAA shut down the idea of using Twitter hashtags on the field before it ever really got going.

      Mississippi State has used a hashtag in the end zone for games (see above) and it had popped up on fields at spring games here and there. While it seems a little gaudy, it's not the worst idea. Although, the first time a company decided to get in on the action and we saw #McDonaldsBigMacSale in an end zone, it wouldn't seem so great. But the idea of using hashtags on the field seemed like something that was going to start spreading.

      No matter, the NCAA has stepped in and stopped it, outlawing hashtags on the field.

      Other rules were added. Numerals on jerseys must have a distinct color from the jersey itself. Towels must be solid white and measure between 4x12 inches and 6x12 inches. All eye shields including glasses and goggles must be clear and not tinted. Pretty mundane stuff.

      The hashtag rule is the most interesting one. The rule also outlaws website URLs on the field. The move seems pretty unnecessary and just

      Read More »from NCAA bans the use of hashtags on the field #boo #nofunpolice
    • (USA Today Sports Images)

      This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.

      PLAYERS WITH THE MOST TO LOSE OR GAIN BEFORE 2014 DRAFT

      NO. 3, AJ MCCARRON

      Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron is a hard player to project for the next level.

      He's not a huge physical presence with a cannon for an arm. He's also not an exceptional athlete. But he is wildly productive, which one would assume should matter to NFL teams.

      Last year McCarron had 30 touchdowns and three interceptions. He had just 2,933 yards, but that's misleading. Alabama is a run-first offense. His 9.3 yards per attempt tied for second best in FBS. And he has been the quarterback of two straight BCS championship teams.

      [Also: Pre-draft actions shed light on why Geno Smith may have dropped]

      Say that he's in a good situation, but make sure to include that Alabama doesn't

      Read More »from Doc Five: Players with the most to lose or gain before 2014 draft – No. 3, AJ McCarron

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