Haven't seen anything in Chicago media about this, so thought I'd share these with you. This year's rule changes in college football:

1.No more Darth Vader tinted eye shields in college football. This was standard equipment for a few QBs around the country. The main reason for the rule change is that a QB wearing an eyeshield is at an advantage because the linebackers and DB's aren't able to read his eyes. Clear eye shields will be permitted. So QBs will have to beware of those tells.

2. The game clock will start when the foot touches the ball on a kickoff, not when it is first touched by a return player. It's another attempt to shorten games. However, it could be significant in kickoffs at the end of halves or games. Instead of a team getting maybe one or two plays off after a kickoff, they may not get any.

3. If a team wants a play reviewed, a coach must first call a timeout. If the play is reviewed and overturned the timeout will be given back to the team. But they lose their timeout if it's not overturned. However, what makes this a muddy rule is determining which plays are considered reviewable and which plays aren't? If a coach calls a timeout and the ref considers the play unreviewable, the play is not reviewed and the team is still charged a timeout. The question with all of this is will a referee be able to communicate to a coach which plays are reviewable fast enough before they call a timeout or before the other team runs a play? The other thing is that coaches will want to save timeouts. No timeout available, no review possible.

4.Kickers must use a one inch tee, instead of a two inch tee, for all kicks. The rationale here is an attempt to lessen the number of touchbacks and add more excitement to the game. It also helps prepare kickers for the NFL, which uses the one-inch tee. Look for shorter kickoffs and longer runbacks.

Things are stirring in the smallest little village on the Plains. Seems a bunch of Auburn football players took one-on-one sociology courses from the same professor who apparently gave them good grades for doing not much at all. And as a result, Auburn is getting a higher rating than Vanderbilt for grade point averages of football teams. That more than a little pissed off the Chancellor of Vandy. Auburn is generally regarded as the weakest academic school and also has the longest history of cheating in the SEC. So when this kind of stuff happens, few are surprised. You can imagine the story or read it in the New York Times. But you might enjoy this typical take from a Southern newspaper...

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Auburn football is in the news after making the front page of The New York Times sports section for the blatantly obvious fact that several of its football players.... wait for it.... actually took an easy class that allowed them to make a good grade without having to show up.

Wow. What a complete shock. Seems like those Yankees aren't really sure what southern football is all about.

Down here in the South, we worship football as a religion. So what if 18 Auburn players have only completed 98 total hours of college? (that's combined by the way) They went undefeated in 2004; did you expect them to accomplish this while going to class?

While the sad reality of college athletics may surprise some people, it doesn't surprise me.

These student athletes are going to college for one purpose, to make an NFL roster while experiencing a small taste of the party atmosphere that surrounds most schools. Sure there are some athletes, mainly in other sports besides football and basketball, who are actually in school to learn, but that's just because they aren't good enough to play professionally. Right?

Well that's what we're programmed to believe.

The only team in the SEC that actually puts an emphasis on academics is Vanderbilt, and boy were they surprised to find themselves listed below Auburn in a recent academic evaluation. But that's why Vanderbilt is a perennial cellar-dweller.

You can't get by on your athletic ability there, you have to open schoolbooks and write down notes and stuff.

While this has all come down on Auburn, much to the delight of Alabama fans, other schools should watch out.

There isn't one other school with a competitive football program that doesn't give its players an easier road than everyone else. Most even give their entire student body an easier chance to succeed as evidenced by the non-football players, totaling 94 percent, who also took these easy classes at Auburn.

And while some, Alabama fans again, are hoping Auburn will get some kind of penalty, it's not going to happen.

The NCAA doesn't care too much about academics, because if it had to actually police players' grades, they would have to increase the size of their staff ten fold. They would find so many schools with problems that we might actually see a national championship between Duke and Vanderbilt.

I personally think the smart school would win that one.

While this would easily clean up the BCS mess that has caused so much controversy in recent years, it sure wouldn't give fans an entertaining match up. Most of the school's fans probably wouldn't even show up because they would be studying for a test that was weeks away.

So while students from these so called "academic" universities may well end up being our boss or owning the company we work for, at least we can still root on our team on Saturdays, assuming they let us off.

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There's no time like the present for some old Auburn jokes. I recall Spurrier lamenting that a fire once burned a bunch of books in the Auburn library. Spurrier said that "the real tragedy is that a lot of them hadn't been colored in yet."

Now a true story. I had a guy from Auburn send me a resume once. He was supposedly an honors graduate. Besides the dozen or so typos, incomplete sentences and generally horrible grammar, his resume was a fine example of a quality Southern education. Uh no. He didn't get the job.

Which leads me to this question: What is the weakest academic school in the Big Ten? What is the easiest school for average (C) students to be accepted? What is the easiest school for athletes to stay eligible without really having to work/study as at most schools? I have my ideas, but I'd be interested in other opinions. My "bottom four" are: Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Indiana.

Odds to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship
Boston College +800
Clemson +600
Duke +8000
Florida State +160
Georgia Tech +1200
Maryland +1400
Miami FL +180
N.C. State +1500
North Carolina +2000
Virginia +2000
Virginia Tech +500
Wake Forest +500

Odds to win the Big 12 Conference Championship
Baylor +5000
Colorado +1000
Iowa State +700
Kansas +1500
Kansas State +2000
Missouri +1400
Nebraska +550
Oklahoma +120
Oklahoma State +5000
Texas +175
Texas A&M +1800
Texas Tech +700

Odds to win the Big 10 Conference Championship
Illinois +10000
Indiana +8000
Iowa +600
Michigan +200
Michigan State +1000
Minnesota +1200
Northwestern +2000
Ohio State +100
Penn State +300
Purdue +2000
Wisconsin +800

Odds to win the Pac 10 Conference Championship
Arizona +1500
Arizona State +700
California +350
Oregon +450
Oregon State +2000
Stanford +4000
UCLA +600
USC -300
Washington +4500
Washington State +2500

Odds to win the SEC Championship
Alabama +800
Arkansas +3000
Auburn +200
Florida +160
Georgia +600
Kentucky +20000
LSU +220
Mississippi +2000
Mississippi State +10000
South Carolina +800
Tennessee +750
Vanderbilt +10000
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My looks:
Iowa at 6-1, Cal at 3.5-1, Tenn. at 7.5-1 and Arkansas at 30-1.

Odds To Win 2006 Heisman Trophy
101 Brady Quinn (Notre Dame) +297
102 Adrian Peterson (Oklahoma) +450
103 Troy Smith (Ohio State) +1000
104 Steve Slaton (West Virginia) +1500
105 Chris Leak (Florida) +1800
106 Mike Hart (Michigan) +2000
107 Darius Walker (Notre Dame) +2200
108 Ted Ginn (Ohio State) +2300
109 Michael Bush (Louisville) +2500
110 Marshawn Lynch (Cal) +3500
111 Kenny Irons (Auburn) +3500
112 Chad Henne (Michigan) +3700
113 Drew Tate (Iowa) +3700
114 Brian Brohm (Louisville) +4325
115 Kenneth Darby (Alabama) +5000
116 Kyle Wright (Miami) +5499
117 Blake Mitchell (South Carolina) +5999
118 Drew Weatherford (Florida State) +5999
119 Drew Stanton (Michigan State) +6499
120 JaMarcus Russell (LSU) +7999
121 Reggie Ball (Georgia Tech) +7999

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Midwesterners generally have a huge advantage in the Heisman, which lately has become a regional popularity contest. The number of voters in the mideast and midwest surpass the number of voters in the east, south and western regions. Add the national popularity of ND among many media types who vote and you have a recipe for another ND Heisman. If ND has a nearly undefeated season, I could see Quinn collecting the trophy. And that's why he's the favorite. He doesn't need an undefeated season to win the Heisman. Most other candidates do. Peterson may be the best football player in the land this year, but he's going to need a lot of votes from the east and west to win this thing. And that won't happen against a candidate from Notre Dame. Quinn's a nice player, but I need more than 3-1 to tie up my money on him for five months.

I already put money on LSU to win the Sec. I'm a Canes fan, so there my pick for the ACC. My shocker pick is for Arizona to win the Pac 10. On Heisman, If a Notre Dame player has a good chance he will get more votes than he should.

Odds to Win 2007 BCS National Championship Game
1 Ohio State +700
2 Notre Dame +690
3 Oklahoma +738
4 West Virginia +750
5 Florida +1500
6 Texas +1200
7 Florida State +2000
8 Southern Cal +1128
9 Miami +1800
10 LSU +2000
11 Auburn +1500
12 Michigan +2933
13 California +3195
14 Iowa +3195
15 Louisville +2837
16 UCLA +5547
17 Penn State +4346
18 Georgia +4940
19 Tennessee +5547
20 Nebraska +6800
21 Oregon +6800
22 Arizona State +6800
23 Virginia Tech +6800
24 Alabama +8000
25 Clemson +8000
26 Michigan State +12000
27 Boston College +12000

Here are a couple of long shots to win it all: Iowa at 32-1 and Louisville at 28-1. Iowa has a three-year starter at QB, a strong running game, solid lines and has their toughest opponent, Ohio State, at home. They have to go to Michigan, but Ferentz has gotten the best of Carr lately and has shown they can handle the Wolves in the Big House.

Louisville has a two game schedule. The rest of their games are almost gimmes. And those two tough games, West Virginia and Miami, are at home. This schedule reminds me a lot of Penn State's last year. It sets up nicely for a possible undefeated season. And unless there are two unbeaten teams from major conferences after the conf. champ. games (which doesn't happen too often), an undefeated Louie team will likely be in the BCS title game.

I didn't get ALL of the rules changes in the above article. There is another one related to the clock that will likely reduce the number of possessions in college games and could lead to lower scores. In previous years, the clock started when the ball was snapped after a change of possession. Now the clock will start once it is spotted. In addition, the clock will start when a ball is kicked on kickoffs, not when it is touched by the receiving team. Some people believe these new rules could trim around six minutes of the clock compared to previous seasons. One prominent handicapper thinks it could mean two less possessions per game, which might mean scoring could be down 3-7 points depending on the team.

Master linesmaker Ken White at LVSC, which gives out line recommendations on all games to most sports books in Vegas, says he will make adjustments on totals.

The whole point of the changes is to shorten games. If these changes are successful at accomplishing that, they likely will shorten scores too.

Coast2Coast,

Thank you for the rule change info. My husband and I are Big 10 fans and go to a game or 2 per year. I'm sure I would have been wondering about clock startage/stoppage if I hadn't come across your post.

I'd say OSU and IU have the reputation of having the weakest academic programs and I believe they have earned it.

As an Iowa fan, I expect them to lose a game in the first few weeks of the season ending the hopes of a national title. They will be a better bet next year when they lose OSU and Michigan on the schedule.

Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops today kicked OU QB Bomar (and a starting offensive lineman) off the team. That will certainly affect OU's chances at a national title. Guess there is some integrity among some coaches. Anybody think Bobby Bowden would have done this? Not a chance.


http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2537332

I'm putting together my annual update on best and worst college coaches vs. the spread. I believe this is important data that shows which coaches have a history of exceeding or failing to meet public expectations, as expressed in the betting line. I'll put the info up in the next few days. Any guesses?

I have always heard Mac say that Spurrier seems to know the number when he was at Florida by passing the ball when the Gators were still up big. My own thought for a coach is Kirk Ferentz from Iowa, I usually have good luck when I go with the Hawkeyes.

Reents...you know your college coaches. Spurrier historically has been a profitable coach to back, but he was never in the very top echelon, even at Florida. You are right on it that Ferentz is money. His 63% mark ATS is in the top three of college coaches who have coached at their schools for at least three years. There are two slightly better though. But you better have some large cahones to go against a Ferentz-coached team in any situation.

On the othe hand, there are two college coaches who have coached at their school for at least three years who have lost more than 60% of their games against the spread. Back their teams at your peril.

There also is one Big Ten coach who is an absolute go against when his team is a dog on the road. His 3-14 ATS mark as a road dog is evidence that he cannot get his teams to play to their capabilities or expectations when they play better teams on the road.

Answers tomorrow.

I'll go with Lloyd Carr as the Big Ten coach.

Good guess, Dolphin, as Carr has a losing record ATS overall and is a good go against as a road favorite (15-25). But Carr actually has a winning record as a road dog (9-4 ATS).

The coach in question who has failed miserably as a road dog is Cowboy Joe Tiller. While he is a 64% ATS coach at home and 52% ATS overall, his teams have gone 3-14 ATS (17%) as road dogs.

The two coaches with the best overall ATS records? Johnson of Navy and Petrino of Louisville. The two worst? Franchione of A&M and Doba of Washington State.

Here is the data........

Top College Coaches Against The Spread
(Minimum Three Seasons at their school)
Eight Coaches Above 60% ATS

Johnson Navy 27 14 65.85%
Petrino Louisville 22 12 64.71%
Ferentz Iowa 49 28 63.64%
Morriss Baylor 19 11 63.33%
Carroll USC 37 22 62.71%
Friedgen Maryland 34 22 60.71%
Kragthorpe Tulsa 20 13 60.61%
Edsall Connecticut 35 23 60.34%


Worst Coaches Against The Spread
(Minimum Three Seasons)
7 coaches below 45%, 2 below 40%

Coker Miami 25 31 44.64%
Bennett SMU 20 26 43.48%
O'Leary UCF 10 13 43.48%
Smith Mich State 15 20 42.86%
Shula Alabama 14 19 42.42%
Franchione Texas A&M 13 20 39.39%
Doba Wash. State 13 20 39.39%


80% + Angles Against the Spread
(Minimum 10 games that fit the angle)

Chuck Amato of NC State (47% overall) is 13-1 (93%) as a road dog.
Dennis Franchione of A&M (39% overall) is 2-9 (18%) as a road dog.
Joe Tiller of Purdue (52% overall) is 3-14 (17%) as a road dog.

Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia (56% overall) is 9-2 (82%) as a road favorite.

Sonny Lubick, Colo. State (55% overall) is 9-2 (82%) as a home dog.
Al Groh of Virginia (55% overall) is 9-2 (82%) as a home dog.


Big Ten Coaches Against The Spread
Ferentz Iowa 49 28 63.64%
Mason Minnesota 54 44 55.10%
Paterno Penn State 202 175 53.58%
Tressel Ohio State 30 27 52.63%
Tiller Purdue 50 46 52.08%
Carr Michigan 58 65 47.15%
Smith Mich State 15 20 42.86%
Zook Illinois 4 7 36.36%
Hoeppner Indiana 3 6 33.33%