Happy New Year *** College Football Season Begins w/many with something to prove

On the eve of opening day shoes continue to drop and rest assure there are plenty more to come before this season is over although nothing may ever make as many waves as the what will be known as the beginning of the end for the small conference. The moves made by schools like Colorado and Nebraska have changed the landscape as we know it and will be the first of many. Now the move by BYU to independence, is by no means a systemic shock but rather a harbinger of things to come, and for all that they are not, what one can say about Bingham Young University is they are wise and they probably saw the writing on the wall that it would be better to go it alone than go down with the ship. So everyone left in the sinking Mountain West Conference will be out to get the Cougars as they will be blamed for being the first splinter that springs the leak, much like Texas will have a target the size of their state for years to come by both Pac-10(12) schools and Big-12(8) schools alike not so much for their 11th hour renege and back room deals but for the snooty comments made afterwards. Both of these schools will have added pressure and all eyes will be on them every week of the season in 2010. Other schools that had better be ready to bring it each and every Sunday include USC, Boise, and Bama. The Trojans who have been the staple of consistency in the Pac-1 over the past decade will have to play under a cloud of sanctions and whispers not to mention the need to perform so well that the BCS ask the question, “would this be our national championship if SC was eligible”? oh yea, and for good measure throw in a coach that left an SEC school at the altar to come and coach on the hated west coast, and a cross-town rival that is chompin’ at the bit to get your ‘hand me down’ recruits, and it adds a little spice to what could be a banal week in, week out, schedule for a team with no chance of playing past December. Unfortunately, you can only be a rising star for so long and then you have to rise. This is the year where Boise’s underdog, Cinderella, guy in the PG move, charm has worn off. Starting the season at #3 means they’re not small time anymore, now they’re public property, and with that comes responsibility of not just winning but winning convincingly. A weak schedule does them no favors as they are already getting criticized by members of the SEC for just that, a cupcake schedule where if they can pull off a road win in week one, it only gets easier after that. Sadly for the Smurfs this stigma will be there all year and can only be silenced with a win the National Championship Game. Lastly, we have our defending national champions that have returned to glory after a substantial hiatus. Although they are stacked, and his replacement is considered 1a, but you just don’t replace a running back like Ingram without some drop off but few will have much room in their bleeding hearts if Bama were to drop one of the early games without him and unlike the afore mentioned Broncos, there are no weeks off in the SEC. Which of the ‘show me’ schools will have the best season? Let us know here and in any of the quick links, and don't forget live chat with fans from both teams as we have an in-game chat room for every game on the NCAA schedule on the main site.
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“Summer Cleaning” ahead of the college football season

The NCAA officially claimed open season and the schools are cleared to practice and of course hold the annual inner-squad scrimmage. Both Bama’ and Auburn had their first last week to large crowds, a harbinger of what they expect from the upcoming season. What isn’t expected this time of year is the major house cleaning and investigations that are taking place prior to the first kickoff. Starting out West on the campus of USC, where they have lost more Heisman trophies in the last week than most schools have accumulated in their history, just named Pat Hayden new athletic director after relieving Mike Garrett of his duties in the midst of the worst scandal in recent history (OJ had officially graduated). Just when that had begun to smolder, there’s another spark that could become quite a blaze as a party at Club Liv in the Fontainebleau hotel toward the end of May has been the subject of investigations by the NCAA and several schools, including defending national champion Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. So things could be heating up in the Southern part of the country as well. Lastly, in the ACC, North Carolina, not really known as a football power, is on the hot seat as NCAA is looking into whether two seniors received improper benefits from agents. Defensive tackle Marvin Austin and receiver Greg Little are the focus of the probe which could end getting them both suspended for the season. The probe has also prompted the North Carolina Secretary of State's office to begin its own investigation about potential misconduct involving agents. The state requires sports agents to register in North Carolina and prohibits them from offering gifts before a contract is signed. The “Head Ball Coach” put on his Jessie Jackson hat and publicly denounced the presence of agents and condemned what they’re doing to college athletics, as if he had never seen a ‘kickback’ in his life. Ya know, the warm weather is one thing but now it really feels like football season. How much damage will the ongoing probes have on the schools? Is there another USC shoe waiting to drop? Let us know here and in any of the quick links:

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