(Jay LaPrete/AP)There's almost always something on the line during a spring game. A steak dinner versus porridge or watching the loser perform and embarrassing act. Or, in the case of Ohio State, the loser of Saturday's spring game will be sentenced to community service in the fall.

Meyer said the losing side would embark on a fall community service project, perhaps cleaning up Buckeye Grove, a hallowed spot on campus where trees are planted to recognize OSU All-Americans.

Most college football players, Ohio State players included, do community service in their free time anyway, but I'm sure picking up litter isn't anyone's idea of a good time. But Buckeye Grove should have a special place in the heart of every Ohio State player, so maybe when it's all said and done the winners will join the losers in cleaning up the area together.

Then again, maybe not.

- - -
"Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog. And follow Dr. Saturday at its new home on

(Jason O. Watson/US Presswire)

Jon Embree didn't think his first season as Colorado's coach would be as challenging as it was. He knew the program was at a low and winning games hadn't come easy, but what he didn't anticipate was how the decline would affect him emotionally.

Embree had spent 15 years in the Colorado program as a player and a coach. He was a tight end when the Buffs went 1-10 in 1984, the worst season in Colorado football history. But he was also on the team when it rebounded and made bowl games and 10-win seasons a regular occurrence. So taking over a Colorado team that had been so low for so long stirred a frustration in him for which he wasn't prepared.

"There was some just anger and whatever about, how did we get here? How did this happen?" Embree told Yahoo! Sports. "As a player or coach, there's only three years, four years out of 15 at Colorado that I didn't go to a bowl game. I was part of winning 10 games or more four different times at this program and now all of a sudden we can't win on the road. That's the alum, that's the former player, that's the guy that was here when program was arguably at its lowest point in the history of Colorado football. And you come in here staring at something that's similar to that.

"Last year, it was a hard year for me just going through those things just knowing the history that I have with this program and just knowing where we were and where we had been. You never thought you would be back almost to where you were as a player."

(Courtesy of @darrenrovell)

Arkansas hasn't had a whole lot of positive attention in the past couple weeks, but the Razorbacks are hoping that changes this weekend with the team's spring game. To increase attention on the event, the university added the hashtag (we love hashtags) #GOHOGS to the field to get the game trending on Twitter and put the Arkansas program back in a positive light.

Athletic director Jeff Long, who has been on an emotional rollercoaster from firing head coach Bobby Petrino to receiving million-dollar donations for having the courage to do so, has been using his Twitter account to drum up support for the Hogs and encourage people to support the team this weekend.

Long even reached out to former quarterback Ryan Mallett, who told the athletic director on Twitter that he'd be on the first plane to Fayetteville if the athletic director needed him.

There were a lot of things wrong with last year's 2-10 Kansas team. It was worst in the nation in total defense, scoring defense and among the worst in passing offense and total offense.

And on Thursday, new head coach Charlie Weis also informed his team that it's pretty terrible at celebrating as well.

During the final 10 minutes of practice, Weis sent kicker Ron Doherty to make a "game-winning" field goal. The kick was up and the Kansas players came streaming in from the sidelines. Unfortunately, the kick missed. The team had to go back to the sideline and Doherty tried again. This time, he made the kick and the team came streaming onto the field to congratulate him.

And that's where Weis lost it.

(US Presswire)

It took four days, but the identity of the man who broke Alabama's national championship trophy has finally been revealed.

Carleton Tinker, father of Alabama long snapper Carson Tinker, told Ivan Maisel after admiring the trophy during A-Day last weekend, as several parents and fans had done before him and were hoping to do after him, when he turned away from the trophy and felt something was amiss.

"In my mind, it was slow motion," Tinker said, "as it rolled off the top of the trophy case onto the table onto the floor. I'm not sure if I bumped the table when I turned around, or if my foot caught on the large tablecloth they had draped and puddled on the floor. That's exactly what happened."

Tinker can say that because he has seen it happen over and over again.

"At night, as I went to sleep, every time I closed my eyes," Tinker said. "I kept seeing it roll off and hit the floor. That marble floor in the trophy room - it wasn't going to be a soft landing. It shattered. It spread out all over the place."

It was definitely one of those Steve Urkel, "Did I do that?" moments as Tinker watched everyone back away as the ball hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

Hosting a team from Alabama at the nation's capital is starting to become a tradition.

Thursday, the University of Alabama football team was welcomed to Washington, D.C., and honored by President Barack Obama for their BCS national championship.

Somewhere, Les Miles is rolling his eyes.

This marked the second trip in three years for the Crimson Tide. Last year, Auburn made the trip.

"I told Coach he's making this a habit," President Obama said in his opening remarks.

(Kim Klement/US Presswire)Michigan would like to officially thank Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio for raising the bar on a Michigan-Michigan State rivalry that has been one-sided for far too long.

During an interview with Brian Bennett, Dantonio took a little shot at his in-state, in-conference competition.

"We're laying in the weeds," Dantonio said. "We've beat Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"

Dantonio is right. The Spartans have owned the Wolverines the past four seasons and with the exception of the overtime game in 2009, the final scores haven't been close — MSU has won by an average of 15 points.

Of course, Michigan won the six games prior to that, but it's clear there's been a changing of the guard.

(US Presswire)The support for firing Bobby Petrino continues to roll in and now it's taken monetary form.

On Wednesday, the Donald W. Reynolds foundation announced it was donating $1 million to help the school build its Student-Athlete Success Center. The gift was made in reaction to athletic director Jeff Long's decision to fire Petrino after he failed to disclose an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate employee whom he hired.

The foundation's chairman, Fred W. Smith, made a personal donation of $250,000 to the center and wanted to name the student-athlete development program the Jeff Long Student-Athlete Development Program.

Long was lauded for his handling of the Petrino situation and the leadership he demonstrated during last week's emotional press conference. Many believed Long's decision would not be popular, but Long has actually received a lot of support and this donation is just further proof of that.

[Photos: Former Arkansas caoch Bobby Petrino, female friend]