The Bench Jockeys

November 20, 2011 –  November continues to be a month for shakeups.  And we aren’t just talking about the insane horserace for the Republican nomination.  This afternoon, the BCS Rankings will be released for Week 13 and as the college football season wanes, one thing is quite clear:  the SEC continues to reign supreme.  LSU will retain its #1 ranking, Alabama will move back to #2 and Arkansas will find itself in the #3 slot.  Two weeks ago after the LSU-Bama field goal-fest, The Bench Jockeys projected that LSU would face the Crimson Tide again for the National Championship. With this weekend’s Top 10 bloodletting, only 1 team stands in the way of that rematch – Arkansas – which will LSU for the SEC Championship.  If Arkansas can pull off the upset, LSU, Bama and Arkansas will each have 1 loss (LSU to Ark; Ark to Alabama, and Alabama to LSU).  In that case, who gets the nod for the National Championship?  We know one thing: the talk of a Playoff System will be plentiful.  Also of interest, the only other undefeated college team, Houston, may finally crack the Top 10.

To say it has been a tumultuous offseason for college football would be an understatement.  Former booster Nevin Shapiro’s allegations of impropriety at the University of Miami make Jim Tressel’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” transgressions at Ohio State – which came to light earlier this spring – look rather pedestrian.  The Ponzi-scheming jail-bird, Shapiro, maintains that he has provided millions of dollars’ worth of financial benefits to at least 72 University of Miami student-athletes for nine years beginning in 2002.  The accusations against the Hurricanes come just one year after the University of Southern California Trojans were required to forfeit an entire year’s games, lost 30 football scholarships beginning in 2010, were forced to vacate its 2005 BCS National Championship and sustained a two year post season ban (2010 & 2010) as a consequence of illegal benefits lavished upon star tailback, Reggie Bush back in 2004.  If even 10% of what Shapiro says is true, Miami is in line to face stiffer penalties than USC.   However, the bottom line for the “Canes Nation is: will the NCAA Committee on Infractions determine that the actions of the university rise to the level of a willful violation and justify the recommendation the “death penalty” for The U?  It surely does not appear that University President, Donna Shalala can dodge exposure in light of the bowling alley photo that has surfaced of her, Shapiro and a check, so perhaps she needs to take one for the team so Miami’s football program can avoid being the new poster child for rules’ violations. Read more »