(Courtesy of Michigan football's Facebook page)

From the moment coach Brady Hoke took over at Michigan, he tried to instill some of the hard work and dedication of the Navy SEALs into the Wolverines.

Last August, Hoke gave each of his players a maize and blue trident that have each player's name and hang in the team meeting room in Schembechler Hall.

This year, Hoke has paired 22 of his team leaders with SEALs for leadership training in California. Michigan football announced the trip on both its Twitter and Facebook page.

Hoke established a relationship with the Navy SEALs while at San Diego State and has consistently tried to bring the same values to his team.

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(Brett Davis/US Presswire)Florida and Texas A&M aren't exactly rivals, but after Gators' coach Will Muschamp took a mild shot at the lovely town of College Station, Texas, Aggies' coach Kevin Sumlin was a little miffed.

While speaking to the Polk County Gator Club last week, Muschamp didn't exactly endorse College Station tourism.

"You ever been to College Station?" Muschamp asked. "It'll be the only time you go."

Sumlin in turn told the San Antonio Express-News: "He needs to worry about his own team."

Oooo, burn.

OK, so it's not Steve Spurrier and Dabo Swinney exchanging jabs (or perceived jabs), but Sumlin is new to the conference and just getting his feet wet in terms of trash talk.

(Jim Urquhart/AP)

The Big 12/SEC decision to create a "Champions Bowl" in an effort to match the Pac-12/Big Ten's Rose Bowl ties might have just backfired.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the "Champions Bowl" was a "game-changer" and that it might have reopened the door for the previously tabled idea of a plus-one game to determine college football's national champion.

"I'd say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn't have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday's a game-changer," Scott told the Wall State Journal. "We're pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it's possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction."

Ugh.

Pittsburgh redshirt freshman fullback Derrick Burns remains in the hospital while recovering from a stroke he suffered on Tuesday.

Burns had blood clots in his brain, which led to the stroke. Doctors opted not to do surgery because of the risks, but Burns' adoptive father, Dan, said the prognosis was good.

"He was doing fantastic [on Wednesday]," Dan Burns told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He was very upbeat. He's still very weak on the right side, but his prognosis is very good. He has massive blood clots in his brain, and they're working to dissolve those."

Unfortunately, the stroke will end Burns' football career as he will be on blood thinners for the rest of his life. Burns played in one game for the Panthers, but was competing for the starting fullback spot for 2012.

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Arizona got a new coach for 2012 and now it's getting a new look.

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne announced during his Wildcat Wednesday email that the Wildcats were adding a copper helmet to their repertoire.

And I gotta say, it's pretty slick.

The copper is definitely unique. In the email to fans, Byrne said the copper was a tribute to the great mining state of Arizona.

(Greg Bartram/US Presswire)

Ohio State announced Wednesday that the school plans to give all student-athletes an iPad as part of an academic support initiative.

The school will initially distribute 500 iPad's as part of the school's Digital First program with hopes to get every student athlete a n iPad within two years. Just a guess, but I bet football players are among the first to receive a coveted iPad.

(Courtesy of Dave Harding)

It's a mixture of moments that run through the mind of Duke offensive lineman Dave Harding when he reflects on his offensive line's trip to Ethiopia earlier this month.

Harding, a junior for the Blue Devils and son of missionaries, had been visiting and doing charitable work in Ethiopia every summer since he was 12 and had almost become desensitized to the poverty and struggle. It wasn't until he took nine of his offensive line teammates and a strength coach with him that he remembered what a life-changing experience such a trip could be.

(Matthew Emmons/US Presswire)TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte is new to the Big 12, so perhaps he can use that as an excuse when DeLoss Dodds and the rest of the Big 12 athletic directing contingent blow up his phone Wednesday after remarks he made at a Committee for Champions breakfast on the Texas Tech campus.

According to Chris Level of Rivals' RedRaiderSports.com, Del Conte, who was trying to pump up his new conference, told the group of about 200 that while the Big 12 was once in trouble, it "now has schools like Florida State, Clemson and Miami trying to get in."

Unfortunately, that was supposed to be a secret.

While rumors have been floating around about interest between the Big 12 and those ACC teams, no one had actually confirmed it - until now.