NCAA Posts:

The Army/Navy Game: the Most Respected Game in Football

By Travis Pulver | December 8, 2012 @ 6:00 am

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For all intents and purposes, the 2012 regular season for college football is done. The rankings are set, the bowl game matchups have been made, and the majority of the awards have been handed out.

However, the regular season is not done yet, because the best has been saved for last. No, it's not a game between Alabama and whoever, but a game between two of the most historic institutions of higher learning in the nation; two institutions where sports do come after academics, and a whole host of other things; two institutions that are more concerned with the overall quality of a man than his ability to tackle or catch a pass.

I'm talking about the Army/Navy Game of course.

Junior College Player Dunks From Free Throw Line in a Game, Gets Robbed by Bad Call

By Eric Gray | December 7, 2012 @ 12:11 pm

Jacksonville College's Daniel Skinner takes flight

C'mon Ref, The Defender Was Moving!

I guess this is what dudes are just doing these days? Taking off from inches in front of the free throw line in the middle of a game like it's no big deal? Check out Jacksonville College's Daniel Skinner in this clip. He's out on the break with a full head of steam with a defender backpedaling in front of him. Skinner takes off, and the backpedaling guy gets freaking crushed on as Skinner takes flight.

There's some home cooking in play here, because Skinner gets inexplicably called for a charge even though the other guy never even came close to establishing his feet to take the charge.

Jacksonville College is a junior college in East Texas, and is now officially on the map thanks to Skinner's exploits. I don't know anything about Skinner's game, but with athleticism like that, I'd bet he's playing D1 somewhere next season.

h/t The Big Lead

No. 10 Gonzaga vs. No. 13 Illinois Highlight a Great Week in College Basketball Action

By Travis Pulver | December 5, 2012 @ 3:27 pm

(13) Illinois at (10) Gonzaga; Saturday, Dec 8 @ 10 PM ET

(6) Florida at Florida State; Wednesday, Dec 5 @ 7 PM ET

Long Beach State at (4) Syracuse; Thursday, Dec 6 @ 8 PM ET

(16) Creighton at Nebraska; Thursday, Dec 6 @ 8 PM ET

Harvard at Connecticut; Friday, Dec 7 @ 7 PM ET

Portland at Kentucky; Saturday, Dec 8 @ 12 PM ET

Akron at (16) Creighton; Sunday, Dec 8 @2:05 PM ET

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As the season goes on we are starting to see some really good story lines developing; well-some entertaining and dramatic ones at least.

After losing a pair of games to teams that were not ranked the mighty Kentucky Wildcats have fallen out of the top 25. No, sports fans, pigs aren't flying. It just might be that these guys are not overnight sensations like the five guys that UK had last year.

That's the problem with high expectations--you only have two options. Either you back them up or you fail. So far these guys are failing.

Indiana appears to be no joke and will likely look that way till they meet up with Minnesota in mid-January, but they won't really get tested till February when they play Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State in three consecutive games.

In the meantime it will be a lot of fun to see who continues to dominate and who starts to fall by the wayside. After all, you can only pretend for so long. Eventually the competition will catch up with you!

It’s Time to Go Bowling Baby! Do You Know When Your Favorite Team is Playing?

By Travis Pulver | December 4, 2012 @ 9:00 am

BCS Championship: No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No.2 Alabama, Jan 7 @ 8:30 PM ET

Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 7 Kansas State, Jan 3 @ 8:30 PM ET

Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Stanford, Jan 1 @ 5 PM ET

Sugar Bowl: No. 22 Louisville vs. No. 4 Florida, Jan 2 @ 8:30 PM ET

Orange Bowl: No. 16 Northern Illinois vs. No. 13 Florida State, Jan 1 @ 8:30 PM ET

Cotton Bowl: No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 12 Oklahoma, Jan 4 @ 8:30 PM ET

Capital One Bowl: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. Nebraska, Jan 1 @ 1 PM ET

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The one bowl match-up everyone knew for certain was the BCS Championship game, a classic tilt between two of the most historic programs in the country, the No. 1 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. 'Bama has been set as the early 9.5 point favorite, but I can't imagine that sticking. The Irish are a much better team than that; if they don't win there is no way they lose by more than three.

Beyond that game there were a lot of good match-ups, some not so good ones, and some that could be considered down right bad. There has bee a lot of discussion on how teams are selected, and it would not be surprising if there was a lot more during the entire Bowl Season.

No matter what, the slate is set with the first game, the New Mexico Bowl, scheduled to kick off on December 15 at 1 PM ET with the Nevada Wolf Pack taking on the Arizona Wildcats. Thirty three games later, the BCS Championship kicks off at 8:30 PM ET at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.

So guys, set your DVRs; it's time to go bowling!

Heisman Finalists are Named with No Surprises

By Travis Pulver | December 4, 2012 @ 8:24 am

2012 Heisman Trophy FInalist (L to R): Colin Klein, Johnny Manziel, and Manti Te'o

With the regular season done (with the exception of the Army/Navy game), the Bowl game schedule set and teams getting ready to play, there is just one thing left to do to bring the 2012 regular season to a close: the awards need to be handed out.

A number of position specific awards are handed out, but the main one can technically go to anyone even though a quarterback or running back are the most common winners. I'm talking about the Heisman Trophy of course.

Alabama’s Dramatic SEC Championship Win Highlights a Great Weekend of College Football

By Travis Pulver | December 3, 2012 @ 7:59 am

SEC Championship: No. 2 Alabama 32 No. 3 Georgia 28

Pac-12 Championship: No. 16 UCLA 24 No. 8 Stanford 27

No. 18 Texas 24 No. 6 Kansas State 42 (Unofficial Big 12 Title Game)

Big 10 Championship Game: No. 12 Nebraska 31 Wisconsin 70

ACC Championship: No. 13 Florida State 21 Georgia Tech 15

C-USA Championship: Central Florida 27 Tulsa 33

MAC Championship : No. 17 Kent State 37 No. 21 Northern Illinois 44 (2OT)

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With a trip to the national title game on the line, you would hope that the competing teams would put it all on the line in order to win. I think it is safe to say that is exactly what the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide did.

The Bulldogs will likely be kicking themselves over this one as they prepare to play in the Capital One Bowl instead of the BCS title game. Aaron Murray had the 'Dogs moving and within reach of the go-ahead score, but instead of having him spike the ball to stop the clock the coaches had him run a play (mistake No. 1). Alabama defended the play well getting a hand on the ball before it tumbled into the arms of a Georgia receiver that was falling down (mistake No. 2).

Unique Johnny Manziel Tribute Gets Student in Trouble (VIDEO)

By Travis Pulver | November 30, 2012 @ 11:59 am

Johnny Be Good But I Don't Know About This Haircut!

Whether he wins the Heisman trophy or not this season there is one thing that is abundantly clear when it comes to Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel—the youngster from Kerrville, Texas (population right around 23,000) is here to stay.

After racking up 4,600 yards of offense for the Aggies during the school’s first season in the SEC Manziel has firmly established himself as the favorite to win the Heisman trophy this season. It’s a feat that has never been accomplished by a freshman in the previous 77 years the award was given out.