Over The Pylon

NCAA probation?!? Me?!?! NEVER!

Apologies for the delay in posting, as not only is it a fairly slow time around Ball State land, the weather Gods decided to pummel the Washington, DC area with 20 inches of snow. While blessed with the Cardinal Mobile with 4-wheel drive, dealing with lane upon lane of Maryland drivers who can’t drive in sunshine-laden dry roads makes for stressful times, traffic at the wazoo, and no time to even catch up on what’s going on. So let’s play some catch up…

• Buffalo hires Jeff Quinn: I think most who watched the Cincinnati Bearcats this season believe that it was more about Kelly and less about Quinn, but kudos to Buffalo for doing what most fans of mid-major programs hope for… hiring a coordinator from a BCS level school. In Buffalo’s case, they got the best around, as Quinn’s UC squad is heading to the Sugar Bowl after being just short of playing for a national title. Quinn will stay on at UC for the Sugar Bowl, which is a bit surprising in my mind, but Buffalo fans seem to be ok with that, so bully for them.
• San Jose State hires Mike MacIntyre: Not really noteworthy since SJSU is far from a national program, but I never thought I would see the day when a Duke offensive coordinator was at the top of anyone’s list, unless it was a list of worst coaches in the country.
• Joe McKnight/USC may be dirty after all: For years I’ve had to endure RV telling anyone who would listen that Pete Carroll and the Trojans were the dirtiest program in all of college football. All that was without anything resembling evidence or even questionable tactics, short of the Reggie Bush mess. Now, though, it appears there may be some more significant smoke from this supposed non-fire. If I considered myself a USC fan, I would be concerned. As I’m not, I can only hope this ends brutal, bloody, and legacy tainting.
• Bowl Season has begun: Not like Ball State fans would notice since our Cardinals are nowhere to be found this Bowl season, unlike the previous two. As much as philosophically, I’m opposed to a system rewarding .500 teams in mid-level conferences by allowing them to play in a bloated Bowl season that ends up costing institutions of higher learning hundreds of thousands of dollars, I love it and watch them religiously. The largest spread of the Bowls was the opener… the New Mexico Bowl, where Fresno State was spotting Wyoming 13. One game in… one point spread obliterated as Wyoming upends the Bulldogs in double overtime. Here’s hoping that the rest of ’em are just as good.

Amidst the coaching changes, Bowl discussion, etc., Cardinal fans are left wondering/waiting/hoping about the futures of MiQuale Lewis and Madaris Grant, two Cardinals awaiting rulings from the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility for medical hardships. Part of me is optimistic that the NCAA will give these kids a chance, but following college athletics has taught me really only one thing… that the NCAA figures out what is sensible, logical, and reasonable, and then does the exact opposite.

Filed under: Ball State, MAC, MWC, Pac 10, WAC |