Dan Wetzel's College Football Podcast: Jameis Winston turning Notre Dame into the good guys
There's really only one truly big game this weekend: No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Florida State. Whomever wins clears the biggest hurdle – on paper at least – toward getting to the playoffs. The loser, particularly Notre Dame, still has work to do but wouldn't be automatically eliminated. Should be pretty wild.
As always when it comes to FSU, however, much of the focus is on Jameis Winston. He's facing a school disciplinary hearing concerning the allegation of sexual assault that took place in December of 2012. He is under compliance department investigation for any links to the same autograph authenticator that caused Georgia's Todd Gurley to be suspended.
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It's a circus. Always. So much so that a couple of sports books have taken the game off the board because no one knows if he'll make it to kickoff without being suspended for the autograph deal.
The latest deal with the signings, which ESPN reports include more than 900 authenticated signatures, suggest the same unaware behavior from Winston. On the list of Winston transgressions, signing memorabilia, even if he was paid to do it, isn't much of an outrage.
Let's say Winston wasn't even paid and this is all fine. Still, when you've been through this much heat and are in this much of a spotlight, who in their right mind gets involved in such an easy to avoid snarl?
With that we bring Gregg Doyel to the College Football Podcast. Doyel is wrapping up a run as national columnist at CBSSports.com and headed to become the lead columnist at the IndyStar.com.
The discussion attempts to focus on how these controversies play out among the media, intense fan bases and the public at large. Why do opinions get so entrenched? Why is there so little common ground? And in the case of Winston, how the entire thing has become, in the words of the local state's attorney, a "cluster."
We even wonder if Jameis and FSU have managed the impossible and made Notre Dame the loveable team this weekend that everyone will be rooting for.
It's a serious topic and a good discussion [we delve deep], so check it out here or on iTunes. As always, it's free.
