Tons Going on In Tampa

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Posted by DCS

It goes without saying that the Superbowl is pretty much making Tampa, FL the center of the sports universe right now. That's good because it means the USF Bulls also get more attention and publicity than they would normally be accustomed to. For example, their practice fields (which the Pittsburgh Steelers are using) got a nice little makeover by the "God of Sod," George Toma. Also, the Gramatica brothers (two of which kicked for USF) were used in a segment for the Conan O'Brien show on kicking field goals. And if that weren't enough, USF is doing a pretty good job of making their own publicity without the help of the Superbowl:

• Backup quarterback Grant Gregory will transfer to a D-1aa program
• Five star (scout) / four star (rivals) JUCO DE commits to the Bulls - Rivals.com profile

In other news:

• Doug Marrone was an offensive lineman and coached offensive line. Now he's putting those skills to good use (Donnie Webb / Syracuse Post-Standard)
• Nolan MacMillan is headed to Iowa much to the disdain of hopeful Syracuse fans...
• ...but Auburn picks up another running back recruit. Does this mean that it makes Auburn a less appealing destination for four star (rivals) RB David Oku? Oku is also considering Syracuse
• Brian Bennett gives his top five Big East recruiting moments of the last five years
• B-Squared gets some heated questioning over his "Big East vs. Mountain West" post
• The Hartford Courant's Desmond Conner reports that Florida receiver Mike Lang is in fact slated to go to UCONN

Big East vs. Mountain West

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Posted by DCS

There's been a lot of talk lately, about the Mountain West's appeal to the BCS to have them included as an an automatic bid in the BCS Bowl process. With the success of Utah and TCU, one can't blame them for trying to get in the door. A big part of this discussion has been their perceived comparability to the Big East and ACC Conferences in football. Well, in case there was any question about how the Mountain West stacks up against the Big East, Brian Bennett of ESPN's Big East Blog gives us the lowdown. B-Squared's analysis is pretty much gold to me, so I think we can all sleep better at night knowing that the Big East is still a valid BCS auto bid, and a better overall football conference than the Mountain West.

With that, I give you links:

• Three star (rivals) linebacker Dede Lattimore is headed to USF
• Highly touted linebacker Barkevious Mingo out of Louisiana is on his way to visit UCONN -- You've got to love this guy, if only for the name (Desmond Conner / Hartford Courant)
• Brian Bennett tells us to keep our eye on prospect Justin Brown as he chooses between Penn State and Rutgers
• Tyler Dunne at the Daily Orange Football Blog notes that Charley Loeb is jacked to start competing for the starting QB job right away
• Running back Jeremy Wright is going to be a Louisville Cardinal
• Donnie Webb of the Syracuse Post-Standard gives us a little more on newly committed Orange DE Torrey Ball
• Keith Sargent of Scarlet Scuttlebutt discusses the upcoming national signing day with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano