2011NCAA Football Thread

[rams80]

It's official. Russell Wilson to Wisconsin. They just became B1G favorites in my mind.

So they're ging to have Russell Wilson at QB, Montee Ball and James White at RB, NIck Toon at WR, and a great OL and Defense. i think Wisconsin might be the best team in the nation if R.W doesn't have to sit out a year.

You forget the whole "Bret Bielma is a crappily uncreative coach" thing. Wisky will the bed at least once next season despite their talent advantages and that will be all she wrote.

Since when have they been this talented? He has a 49-16 record at Wisconsin, including three double digit win seasons. The only year in which they weren't successful is when they went 7-6 in 2008. To compare, Barry Alvarez had 4 10 season's, and only one where he went over (in 1998, where he went 11-1 and won the rose bowl). Bielma already has two. Don't get me wrong, Barry took this program to new heights, but from a strictly success based analysis, Bret Bielma has actually been a more successful coach than Barry Alvarez was. I have no idea where the crappy uncreative mark comes from. When you have three running backs that combine for over 3000 yards in one season, I would do the same thing.

It comes from actually seeing the Badgers play in person YO! (and having the mental scars to prove it) I would describe the Badgers' (unbalanced) offense as the "Sledgehammer Option" wherein the sledgehammer refers to pounding the ball up the middle until your opponent's will just breaks and the option is used because it's trendy to use the word "option" to describe run-based attacks.

Remember-Barry Alvarez turned Wisconsin into a Nebraska clone, complete with similar uniforms and Tiger II tanks masquerading as offensive linemen. And in doing so he took Wisconsin from playing standings footsie with Indiana, Northwestern, and Minnesota-so he had a long way to go, compared to the smoothly humming meatgrinder Bielema inherited. As for wins and losses, the slightly more relevant record is Bielema's comparatively paltry 27-13 record in Conference...and even more paltry 10-10 record away from Camp Randall stadium in Conference play. When the schedule gets tougher, Wisconsin starts losing.

Which is exactly why that is the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years. The previous 5 years (under Alvarez): 20-20.

No, they have the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years because Michigan cratered, Ron Zook squanders talent in ways that Norv Turner could only dream of, Joe Paterno eats the brains of half his starters every 3 years in September, and Iowa will randomly self destruct any 2 out of 5 given years.

[roxfan00]

Madison - Time will tell if Russell Wilson fills the quarterback void for Wisconsin, but the Badgers' latest recruit talks a good game.

In a conference call Monday, the former North Carolina State signal caller came across as mature and levelheaded while displaying a balance of confidence and humility that should serve him well as he navigates a new locker room and pursues the starting job at the team's highest-profile position.

Wilson committed to the Badgers on Monday morning after weighing a chance to play at defending national champion Auburn or continue his professional baseball career. A fourth-round choice in the 2010 baseball draft, Wilson spent this summer playing second base for the Class A Asheville (N.C.) Tourists in the Colorado Rockies organization.

Here is a taste of what the man of the hour had to say:

"Both great schools, both great programs," he said of UW and Auburn. "I would have been in a great situation either way. I would have been blessed either way.

"I think with Wisconsin, though, I really think that is going to be a great situation for me and the rest of the guys on the team."

Wilson spent the past three seasons playing football at North Carolina State, where he was a three-time all-conference pick, earning first-team recognition as a freshman, second-team honors as a sophomore and fourth-team distinction last season.

"This is an unusual situation, especially for a program that prides itself on developing players throughout their careers, as we do here at Wisconsin," UW coach Bret Bielema said in a statement released by the school. "However, this is a special situation and Russell is the type of player and person that fits very well with our team."

Despite Wilson's experience, N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien reportedly released Wilson from his scholarship because Wilson wouldn't commit to football exclusively. Since Wilson graduated in four years, NCAA rules permit him to play immediately at another school during his final year of eligibility.

At Wisconsin, Wilson will attend graduate school and said he will pursue a business-related degree.

"When I first got to Wisconsin, I could tell the atmosphere was absolutely in love with Wisconsin football," he said. "That's something that's important to me, because I'm in love with football. I'm in love with that Saturday night game or that Thursday night game. That's really important to me."

Wilson, 5 foot 11 and 190 pounds, completed 682 of 1,180 passes (57.8%) at N.C. State and passed for 8,545 yards, 76 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,089 yards and 17 touchdowns in 362 carries.

He immediately provides experience for UW in the wake of the loss of two-year starter Scott Tolzien, who completed his eligibility.

Coming out of spring camp, there were only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, neither of whom had started a college game. Redshirt sophomore Jon Budmayr closed the spring as the No. 1 quarterback followed by redshirt freshman Joe Brennan and freshman Joel Stave.

With Wilson in the fold, Wisconsin's chances in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten next season are further bolstered. The Badgers already were considered contenders for the division title.

"I think I'm relentless more than anything, if you put it in one word," Wilson said. "I always want to score more touchdowns and I want to do the right thing at the right time and I never waver on that, whether it's in practice or in the game.

"And in terms of my throwing ability, I believe I can make all the throws on the field."

Wilson met with UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst during his campus visit earlier this month and after getting a close look at the Badgers' offense, saw similarities between it and the one he ran at N.C. State.

Wilson hopes to be in Madison by the weekend and will immediately begin studying the offense.

"I'm a quick learner, so I'll learn it pretty quickly," he said. "I'll be spending a lot of my time in the film room and on the practice facility throwing the football. In terms of starting, I'll compete every single day like I did as N.C. State."

Wilson, who hit .228 with three home runs and 15 RBI in 61 games at Asheville, apparently gave up a lot to return to football. He reportedly will have to return some of his $250,000 signing bonus.

He wouldn't say much about how he parted ways with the Rockies but had nothing but positive things to say about the organization.

As for N.C. State, Wilson said he holds no hard feelings. He wished them well and looked to the future.

The Badgers open camp Aug. 4. Their season opener is Sept. 1 against visiting Nevada-Las Vegas.

"I made this decision and I'm at peace about it," Wilson said. "I think it's the right decision for me. I prayed about it. The Lord doesn't bring any fear in my heart. I think that's important. The Lord has been there for me since Day 1. There are no fears. There are no concerns. I'm excited about it."

[thespleenenator]

It's official. Russell Wilson to Wisconsin. They just became B1G favorites in my mind.

So they're ging to have Russell Wilson at QB, Montee Ball and James White at RB, NIck Toon at WR, and a great OL and Defense. i think Wisconsin might be the best team in the nation if R.W doesn't have to sit out a year.

You forget the whole "Bret Bielma is a crappily uncreative coach" thing. Wisky will the bed at least once next season despite their talent advantages and that will be all she wrote.

Since when have they been this talented? He has a 49-16 record at Wisconsin, including three double digit win seasons. The only year in which they weren't successful is when they went 7-6 in 2008. To compare, Barry Alvarez had 4 10 season's, and only one where he went over (in 1998, where he went 11-1 and won the rose bowl). Bielma already has two. Don't get me wrong, Barry took this program to new heights, but from a strictly success based analysis, Bret Bielma has actually been a more successful coach than Barry Alvarez was. I have no idea where the crappy uncreative mark comes from. When you have three running backs that combine for over 3000 yards in one season, I would do the same thing.

It comes from actually seeing the Badgers play in person YO! (and having the mental scars to prove it) I would describe the Badgers' (unbalanced) offense as the "Sledgehammer Option" wherein the sledgehammer refers to pounding the ball up the middle until your opponent's will just breaks and the option is used because it's trendy to use the word "option" to describe run-based attacks.

Remember-Barry Alvarez turned Wisconsin into a Nebraska clone, complete with similar uniforms and Tiger II tanks masquerading as offensive linemen. And in doing so he took Wisconsin from playing standings footsie with Indiana, Northwestern, and Minnesota-so he had a long way to go, compared to the smoothly humming meatgrinder Bielema inherited. As for wins and losses, the slightly more relevant record is Bielema's comparatively paltry 27-13 record in Conference...and even more paltry 10-10 record away from Camp Randall stadium in Conference play. When the schedule gets tougher, Wisconsin starts losing.

Which is exactly why that is the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years. The previous 5 years (under Alvarez): 20-20.

No, they have the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years because Michigan cratered, Ron Zook squanders talent in ways that Norv Turner could only dream of, Joe Paterno eats the brains of half his starters every 3 years in September, and Iowa will randomly self destruct any 2 out of 5 given years.

Or maybe he's a good coach? That's a lot of excuses and assertions that you can't really prove (besides the Michigan thing, I'll give you that one). Look, i get the fact Barry Alvarez is a legend and Bielema is the new guy. But statistically, he has had comparatively more success than Barry Alvarez did. I'm not saying that he's necessarily a better coach, but he has been (save the 2008 season) a successful one.

[rams80]

It's official. Russell Wilson to Wisconsin. They just became B1G favorites in my mind.

So they're ging to have Russell Wilson at QB, Montee Ball and James White at RB, NIck Toon at WR, and a great OL and Defense. i think Wisconsin might be the best team in the nation if R.W doesn't have to sit out a year.

You forget the whole "Bret Bielma is a crappily uncreative coach" thing. Wisky will the bed at least once next season despite their talent advantages and that will be all she wrote.

Since when have they been this talented? He has a 49-16 record at Wisconsin, including three double digit win seasons. The only year in which they weren't successful is when they went 7-6 in 2008. To compare, Barry Alvarez had 4 10 season's, and only one where he went over (in 1998, where he went 11-1 and won the rose bowl). Bielma already has two. Don't get me wrong, Barry took this program to new heights, but from a strictly success based analysis, Bret Bielma has actually been a more successful coach than Barry Alvarez was. I have no idea where the crappy uncreative mark comes from. When you have three running backs that combine for over 3000 yards in one season, I would do the same thing.

It comes from actually seeing the Badgers play in person YO! (and having the mental scars to prove it) I would describe the Badgers' (unbalanced) offense as the "Sledgehammer Option" wherein the sledgehammer refers to pounding the ball up the middle until your opponent's will just breaks and the option is used because it's trendy to use the word "option" to describe run-based attacks.

Remember-Barry Alvarez turned Wisconsin into a Nebraska clone, complete with similar uniforms and Tiger II tanks masquerading as offensive linemen. And in doing so he took Wisconsin from playing standings footsie with Indiana, Northwestern, and Minnesota-so he had a long way to go, compared to the smoothly humming meatgrinder Bielema inherited. As for wins and losses, the slightly more relevant record is Bielema's comparatively paltry 27-13 record in Conference...and even more paltry 10-10 record away from Camp Randall stadium in Conference play. When the schedule gets tougher, Wisconsin starts losing.

Which is exactly why that is the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years. The previous 5 years (under Alvarez): 20-20.

No, they have the second highest Big Ten winning percentage in the last 5 years because Michigan cratered, Ron Zook squanders talent in ways that Norv Turner could only dream of, Joe Paterno eats the brains of half his starters every 3 years in September, and Iowa will randomly self destruct any 2 out of 5 given years.

Or maybe he's a good coach? That's a lot of excuses and assertions that you can't really prove (besides the Michigan thing, I'll give you that one). Look, i get the fact Barry Alvarez is a legend and Bielema is the new guy. But statistically, he has had comparatively more success than Barry Alvarez did. I'm not saying that he's necessarily a better coach, but he has been (save the 2008 season) a successful one.

Bielema was almost fired after said '08 season. And if you look at who they beat vs who they didn't beat (or almost lost to) '09 really wasn't much to write home about either. Again, Wisconsin's strength training program has finally hit the stage of them being able to show up and beat any less-talented team into submission through running up the middle or around the ends if they are feeling terribly frisky (usually). It's when they run into teams of equal or greater talent, or those who can make a goddamn will save against being hit in the head by a sledgehammer, that his teams are ed. A competent coach might realize this problem and make adjustments. We're still waiting on that from him. Yes they are going to win the Big Ten South division this season, but that is by default as much as by anything else.

[thespleenenator]

It's true that he is only 6-10 vs the top 25, but he's never had a QB like Wilson before. We'll see what he can do with him.

[rams80]

It's true that he is only 6-10 vs the top 25, but he's never had a QB like Wilson before. We'll see what he can do with him.

Find new and ever creative ways to hand the ball off to his pack of trained elephants.

[rams80]

So this came out today.

The following are the only (public anyway) FBS schools which did not receive university subsidies or student activity fee money in 2010: LSU, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Texas, and Texas A&M.

[dfwabel]

So this came out today.

The following are the only (public anyway) FBS schools which did not receive university subsidies or student activity fee money in 2010: LSU, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Texas, and Texas A&M.

Two things with this report:

1- TAMU Athletics received a $16M line of credit from the university in 2005 to cover an annual deficit of $4M/year until 2010. They had four years to access the money and ten years to pay it back, interest free.

2- ESPN has a more detailed spreadsheet on the last fiscal year which includes donations and royalties.

EDIT: Look at this for the ESPN part of expenses,

[rams80]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

[thespleenenator]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

Well, since you asked nicely: the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

[Kevin W.]

Oy gevalt. Here we go.

[dfwabel]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

Well, since you asked nicely: the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

When will you get those numbers? 2015?

[thespleenenator]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

Well, since you asked nicely: the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

When will you get those numbers? 2015?

'sigh' I was making a joke. rams said "I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise" so i decided to be a smart ass and say exactly that. That's all I was doing. I have actually never heard and Oregon fan say that before. Then again, i don't much about the financial aspect of college football.

[dfwabel]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

Well, since you asked nicely: the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

When will you get those numbers? 2015?

'sigh' I was making a joke. rams said "I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise" so i decided to be a smart ass and say exactly that. That's all I was doing. I have actually never heard and Oregon fan say that before. Then again, i don't much about the financial aspect of college football.

Well you don't know much about the on-field aspect of NCAA football since you tried to start a thread from retyping the annual books.

How is that going?

[thespleenenator]

I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. I guess they can't yet solely suck from Phil Knight's teat and therefore have to use the school's color palate.

Well, since you asked nicely: the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise. There, I said it. Are you happy now?

When will you get those numbers? 2015?

'sigh' I was making a joke. rams said "I would like to hear our Oregon cheerleaders come around again and say the department is self supporting when I have numbers that demonstrate otherwise" so i decided to be a smart ass and say exactly that. That's all I was doing. I have actually never heard and Oregon fan say that before. Then again, i don't much about the financial aspect of college football.

Well you don't know much about the on-field aspect of NCAA football since you tried to start a thread from retyping the annual books.

How is that going?

Do you really want me to finish that?

[rams80]

Tradition doesn't get its coach fired for covering up a mere $25,000 bribe.

Seriously. Chip Kelly is going to be fired for this, and its mainly because he tried to orchestrate a half-assed coverup at the last minute.

[mania]

Somehow, it gets worse for Kelly.

[Gary]

Somehow, it gets worse for Kelly.

Lets see how Spleenator defends Kelly for this.

[IceCap]

[tBBP]

...And the lot of Oregon nation collectively said: