Good morning, weekend warriors, and welcome to a rare Saturday edition of skull session. With a scrimmage on tap today and the spring game exactly one week away it got me thinking about the wonderment of TBDBITL ripping off a real gameday skully in St. John so, in the honor of that cleansing event, a weekend version seemed in order.
NCAA Changes The Game. The braintrust in charge of college football anounced yesterday some significant changes that go into effect this fall, one of which messes with the game clock. The "Dooley Rule" is potentially a 10-second rundown of the game clock if a team commits a foul that stops the clock in the final minute of both halves. When such a penalty occurs the opponent is given the choice of taking the yardage penalty and the 10-second rundown, taking the yardage penalty without the 10-second rundown or declining both the 10-second rundown and the penalty yardage.
The rule would obstensibly eradicate the rare events that some 157 people watched unfold that crazy night in Nashville but as the Good Doctor opined, at what cost?
In practice, it's punitive. It's punitive when the NFL does it, too. A runoff always explicitly favors the team that holds a late lead, by imposing circumstances that didn't apply when it built that lead.
How popular will those vanishing seconds be when a bogus holding call costs a team a chance to run another play in the red zone, or kick a game-winning field goal? Does it make sense to suddenly declare "game over" over an intentional grounding call? It's like ending a game with a disqualification.
A situation like the end of the Music City Bowl bothers me a lot less than ending on a game on a runoff, because the rules and the consequences apply equally to both teams at all times: A penalty is a penalty is a penalty, period. Start futzing with the clock, and you're manufacturing a whole new brand of screw job: Death by micromanagement.
Hard to sum it up any better than that. Just because the NFL has it doesn't make it right for the college game.
It wasn't all bad news as the NCAA did amend the intentional grounding rule to say it will only be flagged if the receiver is not in the area of the pass as opposed to the receiver being required to have a reasonable opportunity to catch the pass. This mimics the NFL rule and should lead to more consistency in application. Hopefully.
A more high profile change is the implementation of the taunting rule that was approved last year. This year, taunting fouls that occur before a Hurricane player crosses the goal line will be enforced as spot fouls, thus nullifying touchdowns, instead of deadball fouls enforced as 15 yard penalties on the extra point or two point conversion. What's your take on this one? It feels like the right move for the image of the college game but though I'm not overly passionate, I have no problem with a little poor sportsmanship on the way to paydirt. High stepping is cool to me. I'd do it after successfully completing a simple task like dropping back and hitting the imaginary trashcan/receiver on a fade route with a pizza-greased paper towel if I wasn't scared I'd shred my hammy. Let the kids have fun. Or at least don't go so far as to take the points away. The new rule should nip the issue but is it really that big of one to begin with?
The Old Ball Coach Gets A Raise (So He Can Afford Clowney's Allowance). Steve Spurrier cashed in on SC's first ever appearance in the SEC Championship game increasing his salary from roughly $2 million last year to $2.8mil in 2011, $2.875mil in '12 and $2.95mil in '13. Interestingly, the length of the deal was not extended.
Though Spurrier's wallet just got fatter, it's not all good news in the land of the 'Cocks as QB Stephen Garcia is still suspended indefinitely in addition to the OBC's worries about his players spending too much time drinking beer this summer instead of honing their craft:
"I don't think we've had great summer workouts with our quarterbacks and receivers for some reason," he said. "When they come out in August they're about where they were when we left them in spring ball. It's an individual thing. Coaches can only give them a plan, then they've got to do it. We can't coach them during the summer."
"We've tried to teach our players here's what you need to do all summer," he said. "Some guys do it. Some go drink beer all summer."
Begs the question, exactly what does Spurrier have planned for the summer?
Gator Offense Hit With Two WR Defections. After a decidedly less than impressive showing from Florida's offense in the spring game, Will Muschamp announced yesterday that Chris Dunkley and Javares McRoy will transfer elsewhere. Dunkley, now a redshirt freshman, dealt with a hamstring injury and didn't play last year but came to Florida credentialed as a four star wideout ranked #9 at his position by Rivals. Recent academic issues saw him suspended for part of spring practice this year. McRoy, Rivals #29 WR, enrolled early so he could take part in spring ball but will now take his talents to Texas Tech so he can play with his brother.
Did You Know About This Shaun Gayle Related Craziness? Holy smokes. This is likely old news for some of you since the case ended a month ago with the conviction of Marni Yang in the shooting death of Shaun Gayle's girlfriend and her unborn child. I just happened to catch the sad and bizarre story as Gayle gave his first TV interview last night on 20/20.
It appears Gayle was a pretty legit playboy who managed to keep an 18 year relationship with Reuter while hitting a high volume of women on the side. This was apparently not a complete secret to Reuter and though she and Gayle weren't planning on having a kid, both were on board with the idea of raising the child. The problem was Yang, whom Gayle tagged the night before the murder, was a full fledged lunatic stalker. She hacked Gayle's computer, wrote letters to his family and other ladies and called people listed on his cellphone before eventually entering Reuter's residence, killing her and the unborn child with mulitple shots to the abdomen and finally a bullet to the head.
Initially checked out as a suspect, Gayle was cleared and wore a wire on a few occassions in an effort to help police build their case. Finally, Yang was later recorded by a friend describing the killings, evidence that has her facing life in prison. Unbelievably sad stuff.
A Good Landing Spot For A Very Large Meteor. Today is the day Brady Hoke leads Michigan in their first spring game but what happens before it might be just as meaningful. Last night, Hoke held a "Team Meeting" with 300+ former players in an effort to further unite what was once a fractured player-alumni base. Hoke's paraphrased intentions of introducing the new staff to the former players, talking about the direction of Michigan football and a conversation about "how they're accountable" are all obviously very good moves. Eighty-five of the players will also participate in a flag football game held this morning before the spring game. Here's a roster in case the aforementioned meteor comes through.
One Last Look At Diebs, Lighty and Dallas. If you are looking for something to do on the cheap tomorrow, you can head to Upper Arlington High School to watch Diebler, Lighty and Lauderdale as they take part in the 3rd Annual Ohio College All-Star Classic. The game starts at 3:30, following the Boys HS All-Star Game at 1:00. Admission is $5.00.
