Let's start with the most important news first. Stanford QB Andrew Luck has a beard, and ohhhhhhhhhhhh mercy is it beautiful. Don't let the naysayers drag you down, Andrew. You look awesome. Now if only you sound like you were kind of trying to do a Chewbacca impression but decided against it at the last second.
The smoldering hole to your left is the University of North Carolina athletic department. Butch Davis was fired on Wednesday, a move that is anywhere from six to twelve months too late, depending on who you ask. That leaves the Tar Heels without a head coach two weeks before they start fall practice. On Thursday, athletic director Dick Baddour stepped down, even though he was set to retire after his contract expired this year. If you're keeping score at home, that leaves the Heels with no coach, no AD and probably still in deep trouble when they come before NCAA Infractions Committee this fall. If North Carolina was looking to secure leniency from the NCAA, they probably should've done this a long time ago.
I present to you THE CECIL NEWTON RULE. The NCAA definition of "agent" just got a whole lot more inclusive. The proposed rule would close the loophole that allowed Cam Newton to save his eligibility in spite of the fact that his father was trying to auction him off to the highest bidder. In the spirit of being even-handed, here's Auburn's (unofficial) response.
The tears. They stream down my face. Pure and unadulterated genius from today's podcast guest, Luke. OOOOOOOOOOOWAH AH AH AH!
This must be the result of some egregious violation! Indiana landed the top rated prep QB in the country, Gunner Kiel. Yes, Indiana. This is a strange reality indeed. Kevin Wilson has a reputation for being great with quarterbacks, but unless he quickly earns a reputation for recruiting awesome offensive lineman, Kiel may not live to see his junior season.
Uniform update! Boise State can no longer wear their all blue uniforms at home for conference games. If you read the article, it would seem the Mountain West's reasoning for this is, "because it's annoying." As gross and disturbing as seeing the blue on blue on blue on blue on blue is, I'm pretty sure it's still better than
In other uniform news, the new Oklahoma State uniforms have been leaked. It's been known for months that Nike was going to Oregon-ize the Pokes' uniforms, but I think they turned out surprisingly good. When you consider how garish OSU's colors are, the potential for severe eye damage was extremely high, and I think that this is very much a disaster averted. I have no problem with schools doing crazy thing with uniforms. Not everyone has classic uniforms, and I respect programs that have the guts to let Nike go crazy with their image. Also, the all white combination is the mad note.