MeanGreen61

#101 Minnesota http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/2...esota/#more-894 Who is No. 100?: This team finished last in the F.B.S. in average attendance with 6,810 fans per home game.

Dates back to the SWC breakup days.

#101 is Syracuse ?

#102 North Texas http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...texas/#more-893 Who is No. 101?: This distinguished program had the worst season in team history in 2007. Maybe next time don’t fire a coach who leads you to seven bowl appearances in ten years?

Bye-bye Boise (hello D.C.?) Posted on May 15, 2008 by Patrick Hite Column by Patrick Hite patrick@accnation.com Most of the news coming out of the ACC’s spring meetings was expected — no 18-game schedule in basketball or 9-game schedule in football– but I thought the best news this week was that, after 2008, the ACC won’t be affiliated with the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Despite what John Swofford said about the “excellent experiences” Boise provided for ACC teams, no one — not the players or the coaches or the administrators or the fans — wanted to go to Boise. Exactly what were those experiences? A chance to see the second-largest ball of twine west of the Mississippi? The annual cow-tipping contest? A potato-carving convention? ACC teams basically got stuck playing a road game (against a WAC team in a WAC stadium, sometimes against Boise State in Boise State’s stadium) in a place where none of their fans wanted to travel (especially to see an eighth-place team). The Boise bowl will be replaced in 2009 by either the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala., or the Congressional Bowl in Washington D.C. The ACC already has a deal to send it’s ninth-place team (if it’s bowl eligible, which doesn’t seem likely) to the Congressional Bowl in 2008. FULL ARTICLE http://accnation.com/2008/05/15/bye-bye-boise-hello-dc/

Post on the CUSA board by West is Best with no link to article, etc. UTSA is expected to get the green light from UT BOR in June to start football. UTSA has committed $80mm for sports complex amd will play games in Alamo Dome. Dennis Franchione and R C Slocum head the list for first coach.UTSA has had talks with CUSA and CUSA has shown strong interest.UTSA visited UCF to review their sports complex. A second SA bowl game (with CUSA as host) is in the works. THREAD http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=298972

#103 Akron http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...akron/#more-892 Who is No. 102?: The third university on the Countdown with ties to Hayden Fry, following Baylor and S.M.U. Hayden Fry: the Kevin Bacon of college football coaches.

Exerpts Orlando Sentinental article from the muts board. Memphis and East Carolina aren't going anywhere soon (much as they'd like to). The next round of conference expansion -- or realignment -- isn't ready to take off yet. Too many BCS leagues are too healthy. The Big East, the league everyone thought would fold up and blow away, is arguably stronger financially than it ever has been. How the league survived the ACC's raid from five years ago and thrived will be in commissioner Mike Tranghese's obit (which we hope doesn't come for some time.) Other BCS leagues ARE talking to schools. The Big Ten, for instance, might have expansion on the back burner. (Or, at least, not on a front burner.) But the league is still talking to a handful of potential 12th members. You know, just in case. Among those on the speed dial: Texas, Missouri, Syracuse and Rutgers. (Notre Dame? Puh-leeze. Don’t think the Big Ten's gonna get embarrassed a third time there. Besides, ACC Commissioner John Swofford has always held out hope he can make Notre Dame an offer the Fighting Irish won't refuse.) The suspicion around the Big East is that East Carolina and Memphis, for whatever reason, leaked all of this stuff. That each of them is desperate -- for different reasons -- to get out of C-USA and get into a league that sends out more than $2 million a year in revenues. That schools, including Memphis (but maybe not East Carolina or Western Kentucky), are actually not so enthused about a football-only membership in any conference. Football is still the big money driver as the NCAA Tournament's coveted units seem to miss less and less ever year. That the Big East's football coaches really, really, really want to find a ninth member -- and maybe a 10th. The difficulty in finding five non-conference games is a pain they're tired of dealing with. That any notion the Big East is going to ADD to 16 basketball schools is, well, wrong. There's still a bit of believe that the league will at some point divide into eight all-sports schools and eight non-football schools (including football-independent Notre Dame. ARTICLE http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_co...carolina-m.html

#104 Rice Game to watch: I’m excited for the Sept. 27 game against North Texas, which may feature 100 points, 1,000 yards of total offense and take two days to finish. This game has Versus written all over it. http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...-rice/#more-887 Who is No. 103?: This university is located in the birthplace of the Soap Box Derby and Alcoholics Anonymous. Looks like #103 will be Akron.

FWIW http://theredzonereport.com/2008/05/15/unt-fiu-2008-preview/

Off the Muts board. 4. NCAA puts bowls on notice: The NCAA sent out an interesting letter to all the bowls last week. The letter essentially said that while the NCAA has certified 34 bowls for next season, that certification does not guarantee that a team will be available for any bowl. It is a pre-emptive move by the NCAA to ward off litigation in case there aren’t enough teams with at least six wins to fill the bowls. Some of the bowl execs I talked to want to know: “If you were worried about having enough teams, why did you certify two more bowls?” This could get nasty. Right now a bowl cannot take a team unless it has a 6-6 record or better. This December a bowl could be in a situation where it has to petition the NCAA for a waiver to take a 5-7 team. If that happens the NCAA will get hammered in the court of public opinion. And it should. Atlanta Journal Blog http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...ant_acc_pl.html

COACHES WARM TO EARLY SIGNING PERIOD AT D/FW FOOTBALL FORUM http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...um.3af5e1d.html

North Texas Mean Green Spring answers 1. Welcome back: Gary DeLoach returned to North Texas as defensive coordinator to fix a unit that ranked last nationally in scoring allowed last fall (45.1 ppg). DeLoach's impact began to show this spring as the Mean Green defense made strides, though it was shorthanded up front. The defense scored a touchdown off a forced fumble in the spring game and showed improvement in the back half. DeLoach, who held the same position at North Texas from 2000 to 2002, used a three-man front at times and got good results. 2. Target practice: Coach Todd Dodge wants his young wide receivers to start stepping up. Redshirt freshmen Sam Roberson and Marcus King answered the charge this spring. Roberson and King impressed the coaches early in practice and will provide depth alongside top wideout Casey Fitzgerald this fall. "It's time for the six receivers we recruited in our first class to step up and compete," Dodge told the Denton Record-Chronicle. 3. Need for speed: After ranking 113th nationally in kickoff returns last season, North Texas appeared to find a solution this spring in Jamel Jackson. A transfer from Northwestern State, Jackson showcased his blazing speed in the first spring scrimmage, returning a kickoff for a touchdown. The 5-9, 165-pound Jackson likely will return both kickoffs and punts this fall, and could get a look at wide receiver. "I believe I'll get a real shot," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I'm getting used to the plays and routes, but I really have a chance." Fall questions 1. Line limbo: The defensive line remains iffy entering training camp after tackles Isaac Thomas and Jonathan Stewart missed spring ball with injuries. Both are expected back this summer, but the Mean Green must replenish their pass rush after losing standout end Jeremiah Chapman, who led the team in both tackles and sacks last fall. 2. Line limbo, Part II: North Texas has similar concerns on the offensive line despite the return of four starters. Starting center Kelvin Drake and reserve center/guard Chad Rose both missed spring ball following surgeries, and tackle Matt Menard also sat out a chunk of practice. Promising reserve Matt Tomlinson underwent shoulder surgery in early April. The Mean Green need more healthy bodies this summer and for junior college transfers Nate Jenkins and Gabe Hollivay to contribute right away. 3. More from Micah: After sharing carries with Jamario Thomas as a true freshman last fall, Micah Mosley steps into a featured role this season. Mosley's ability to handle a greater burden for a team that historically has produced standout running backs will be vital. He averaged 4.9 yards a carry last fall and reached the end zone five times. SUN BELT TEAM REPORTS http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3397798

#105 Temple http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...emple/#more-885 Who is No. 104?: While this team has had three head coaches since 2005, it had the same coach from 1940-66.

Jenkins is a Rivals 3-star and a Scout 4-star offensive tackle. Rivals http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commi...&School=163 Scout http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p...756&yr=2008

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/

Me thinks Temple & Rice.

#106 Tulane http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...ulane/#more-884 Who is No. 105?: First of back-to-back teams with mascots in the Strigiformes order, the most typical family being the Strigidae.

Off the CUSA board. Tigers, Big East Bound? May 14, 2008 | 9:04 PM Category: Sports Report This Post Featured On: MyFoxMemphis Ever since the Memphis Tigers got left behind in the Great Bum Rush to leave Conference USA-- also known as the Big East expansion in 2003-- Tiger fans have had one singular goal. To follow their old rivals from Louisville, and Cincinnati to the greener pastures of the Big East. And here's where it gets interesting. Sources have confirmed to FOX13 Sports that University of Memphis officials have been in serious talks with the Big East about joining the conference. How about them apples? If and when it happens, the University of Memphis will the jackpot. Big time. As a member of a BCS conference, the revenue sharing they would be entitled to, blows away anything they receive from Conference USA. Consider this. In football alone, the Big East received over 18 million dollars to divide among it's 8 football members following the 2006-2007 season. Conference USA meanwhile had to split 18 million dollars with 4 other Conferences, comprised of 51 schools. The Tigers take of that, came to a mere 353 thousand dollars. Talk about living in a different tax bracket. So what do you think? Obviously this would move would benefit the Tiger Football program more than any other. What would it mean though for Tiger hoops? John Calipari has proven that he can prosper as the Big Fish in a small pond (3 straight 30 plus win seasons), would he enjoy knocking heads in the rugged and tradition rich Big East Conference? This brings up a whole lot of questions and avenues to explore, but to avoid turning this into the worlds longest blog entry, I'll end it now with this--Would you have any reservations about the Memphis Tigers joining the Big East, or is it a no-brainer to leave C-USA in the dust? LINK - ARTICLE http://community.myfoxmemphis.com/blogs/Ma..._Big_East_Bound CUSA THREAD http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=298588

Arkansas State http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...te-preview.html Florida Atlantic http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...au-preview.html Florida International http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...iu-preview.html Louisiana-Lafayette http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...te-preview.html Louisiana-Monroe http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...oe-preview.html Middle Tennessee http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...su-preview.html Troy http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...ns-preview.html Western Kentucky http://www.collegesports-fans.com/football...rs-preview.html

"Both the Congressional Bowl and the GMAC Bowl are potential opportunities for us to do that, starting in 2009." Article http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3395953

MAC commissioner comments on possible bowl shuffles & the GMAC Bowl. http://macreportonline.com/index.php/20080...mp;-Awards.html

My guess is Tulane.

#107 SMU http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/1...7-smu/#more-883 Who's #106? the only team on the Countdown with a tide related nickname.

Gives 3 non-conference games with a 12 game schedule.