Coach Bill Lewis

Indeed.

In your estimation will Sid Moore play tackle or end? I read in Athlon they project him to start at defensive end. I think he could replace Sarge there.

Well done.

Below is everyone's schedules and the W-L record of each opponent. Below this I sorted it by overall then by conference. What I noticed is the strongest teams from last year...Rice, Marshall, MUTS, UNT plays the easiest schedules ...out and in conference. At least going by how each school finished last year. It's kind of hard to read the schedules in the boards format...click on it will enlarge the picture EDIT: just realized I left out ODU..not on purpose. I guess that kind of thing happens when you are doing numbers at 3am I will add ODU later today View the full article

C-USA Forces Student-Section Seating Change at Apogee New League Rule Will Prohibit Student Seats Behind Visitors Bench DENTON - Conference USA presidents and athletics directors have decided to modify but strictly enforce a league rule that prohibits student from sitting directly behind visiting benches for football games. http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-...14aaa.html View the full article

To me it's not as much the weight that differentiates the Alabama's from the UAB's it's the height and weight is extremely overrated especially on defense. I was looking at the Texas Tech signees on the offensive line last night and these guys are like 6-4. 6-5 260. But they are extremely quick and mobile. I almost think that schools would prefer a tall kid that has good speed and quickness with a frame that they can add good weight onto as opposed to a 320 pound guy that is fat.

Tyler Gaston had some apprehensions about the Jan. 1 date for UNLVs bowl game. Every Rebel, including Gaston, was thrilled the team was selected for any game, but some put extra value on playing in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against North Texas because New Years Day is a traditional date for college football. Normally, Gaston said, he would celebrate New Years Eve with his family, so his first reaction was a little sadness that he couldnt do that this year. But then I thought that I may not see these guys anymore after this year, said Gaston, a senior defensive tackle and Rancho High grad. What better way to bring it in than with my new family? UNLV coach Bobby Hauck and a few selected players were all smiles Monday as they discussed the programs first bowl game since 2000 and only the fourth in program history. The news about the game started to trickle out to the players Sunday as they prepared for a team meeting. The general feeling was joy and surprise, since the Heart of Dallas Bowl is not one of the six with Mountain West ties. Offensive lineman Brett Boyko said the constantly changing predictions over the past week were annoying. Quarterback Caleb Herring tried to avoid the updates and guesses, but word would leak to him from one source or another. Read more: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013/dec/10/rebels-surprised-then-excited-when-bowl-decision-b/

Now Kenneth Penny has some idea of what its like to win the lottery, discovering relatives he never knew existed. They werent coming for cash, but for tickets since Penny and his UNLV football teammates found out Sunday they were heading to the Heart of Dallas Bowl. And that meant Penny, a standout Rebels cornerback who is from the Dallas area, would be hearing from the folks back home. My phones been blowing up, Penny said Monday. Yesterday, my mom was like, Well, your new cousin New names and new faces are all of the sudden coming up now. The Rebels (7-5) make their first bowl appearance in 13 years when they take on North Texas (8-4) at 9 a.m. PST on New Years Day in what will essentially be a home game for the Mean Green. North Texas is a touchdown favorite. Read more: https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/rebels-have-few-texas-connections-heading-bowl-game

I agree in principal with this.

http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-fo...13aan.html Conference USA Announces Future Bowl Line-Up Oct. 28, 2013 IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky and the league's Board of Directors have confirmed nine bowl affiliations through the 2019 season, securing a minimum of five berths annually and offering fans a number of great destinations between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Complete Bowl Release Get Acrobat Reader Conference USA has announced new bowl agreements this month with the Bahamas Bowl, Miami Beach Bowl and the ESPN owned and operated Boca Raton Bowl. Additionally, C-USA maintains relationships with four other ESPN bowls: Beef `O' Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas, Texas, Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque and the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl in Honolulu, as well as the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Conference USA has secondary agreements with two bowls also located right within the league's footprint, giving teams the opportunities to participate in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas and the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La. "Our future bowl line-up is truly amazing," Banowsky said. "We have been fortunate to partner with great bowls in the past. In addition to the bowls within our members' footprint, fans also have some tremendous destinations to see their favorite teams play." In these bowls, Conference USA will have the opportunity to face opponents from the American Athletic, Big 12, Big Ten, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt Conferences. The following is a breakdown of C-USA's nine bowl partners: The Bahamas Bowl will join the bowl line-up in 2014 as the only postseason college football game outside of the United States. The inaugural game will be held in the new Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. Conference USA expects to face a team from the Mid-American Conference in 2015, the American Athletic Conference in 2018 and the Sun Belt Conference in 2019. Beef `O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl began in 2008 and has had a Conference USA participant since its inception, and has been victorious the past two seasons. This bowl is owned and operated by ESPN and held prior to Christmas each year at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. C-USA will meet a team from the American Athletic Conference a minimum of three years. The Boca Raton Bowl will be played in FAU Stadium on the campus of C-USA member Florida Atlantic University. It is the newest bowl announced that will be run by ESPN. The league will send a team to a minimum of four Boca Raton Bowls, beginning in 2014 against the Mid-American Conference. C-USA will face a member of the American Athletic Conference in later years. Conference USA will enter its first-year as a primary partner with the Gildan New Mexico Bowl and will send a team to Albuquerque all six years between 2014 and 2019. C-USA will face a representative from the Mountain West Conference each season at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico. The Heart of Dallas Bowl presented by PlainsCapital Bank was established in 2012 with the unique perspective of creating an event that will give back to its community. The Heart of Dallas is a non-profit dedicated to supporting causes in the Dallas area, using sports and entertainment as a vehicle to help gain awareness. Conference USA expects to play in the bowl six years and will alternate opponents from the Big Ten and Big 12 as teams meet in the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium. The Miami Beach Bowl will also host its first game during the 2014 season, with Conference USA expected to face a team from the American Athletic Conference in 2014 and 2015. The American will own and operate the Miami Beach Bowl, which will be held at Marlins Park - the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. Marlins Park is located on the former site of the historic Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami. Conference USA will play in the bowl a minimum of three years. The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl has hosted a Conference USA team nine times during its 12-year history, with a current C-USA team winning six of those 12 bowls. The game will continue to be played at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. C-USA is scheduled to be involved in three games over the next six years. C-USA also resumes its long-term partnership with the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl to play in the annual Christmas Eve game. A C-USA team has participated in, and won, the last four games in Honolulu. Following a 2013 meeting with a Mountain West team, the two conferences will square off again at Aloha Stadium in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Conference USA enters a new secondary partnership with the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La. C-USA will provide a surplus team to the bowl in the event the Southeastern Conference or Atlantic Coast Conference are unable to provide a team. View the full article

Nice work mate!

And that decision was a big mistake IMHO.

Is the West wide open now with Tulsa's loss? Tulsa has the same problems that any returning champ does in this league, young replacements taking the place of veterans. Look at any Conf Champ in Conf USA for the past 10 years and you will find a team heavy laden with Seniors and Juniors. I looked at Tulsa's O line, and they are young and inexperienced. I am sure they still have talent on the team, but without solid and experienced play on the O-Line, no team is going to win championships in this league or any other league. A 5th year Senior is a grown man, a red shirt Sophomore is still a teenager. It's not as if Blankenship has suddenly forgotten how to coach. Give most coach's an experienced team and they can make magic happen. You can't replace age, strength and experience with youth and inexperience. One thing is for sure, the West is now open for a spoiler team to take control. How about North Texas? or LA Tech? We will see if Rice can live up to the hype as well. Should make for an interesting race. Thoughts? View the full article

How about this?

When the Cowboys drafted Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, they saw DeMarco Murray 2.0. There are some similarities between the two players, too. Both are tall, upright runners who found success in college as pass-catching backs. Randle hauled in 108 passes in his three seasons at Oklahoma State, a large number for a collegiate running back, and averaged 5.5 yards per carry (YPC) in a competitive conference. The primary difference between Randle and Murray, however, is that Randle doesnt have outstanding straight-line speed. At just 198 pounds, he ran a 4.63 40-yard dash. Meanwhile, Murray checked in at 213 pounds and ran a 4.41, putting him in elite company. Weve had this talk before, and yes, there are slower running backs who have found success some guy named Emmitt comes to mind. But when we use any stat, were not looking for perfection. Rather, we want to tilt the odds in our favor. And using the 40 time as one of the tools to grade rookie running backs is a smart move. Since 2005, the most successful backs in the NFL in terms of approximate value have been the fastest, and it isnt even close. Read more: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-JonathanBales/RTN-Why-Lance-Dunbar-Is-the-Right-Choice-as-the-No-2-RB/3a0afc34-b849-4dfb-a35b-7e82c774942b

Shortly after Johnny Manziel won the Heisman, Texas A&M AD Eric Hyman convened a Johnny Football summit in his office. Everyone who mattered was there -- Manziel's parents, compliance, coaches, marketing, SIDs, even the celebu-quarterback himself. The tone from the head of the athletic department: Everything has changed. Here's how we're going to handle it. The 62-year-old Hyman knows a little bit about handling hype. The man who hired game-changer Gary Patterson at TCU, inherited Steve Spurrier at South Carolina and was run over by two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin as a North Carolina defender, was going to set the ground rules. Hyman went so far as to consult with Florida external relations guy Mike Hill, who helped oversee the Tim Tebow phenomena. MANZIEL'S FUTURE IN DOUBT? Report: NCAA investigating Johnny Manziel Hyman at least attempted to get out in front of the Johnny Football parade before it ran over him and his department. "The meeting that Eric Hyman had wasn't a get-after-you, tell-you-what-to-do meeting [for Manziel]," Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin told me earlier this year. "[it was] 'We're here for you. You don't have to handle this on your own.' " We now know in one, long tortuous offseason that Manziel has spit on those who have tried to help him. Advice has been discarded like a linebacker trying to wrap up. When news broke Sunday that Manziel may have taken money for signing autographs and memorabilia, it was a reminder of how far the parade had veered off the prescribed route. Read more: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/blog/dennis-dodd/23015877/johnny-football-has-spit-on-all-the-help-texas-am-offered-him

Workers from AstroTurf, a Dalton Ga. company, began the process of planting the seal of Old Dominions new conference on the turf at Foreman Field Sunday afternoon. Workers are tearing out the Colonial Athletic Association logo and replacing it with one from Conference USA. AstroTurf employees should complete the task late Monday. But that is merely a symbolic change. The real change begins Monday at 6:15 a.m., when ODUs football team holds its first practice. This is a season of transition for ODU. The Monarchs left the CAA and joined Conference USA on July 1. However, because of NCAA rules, ODUs football team cant begin playing a Conference USA schedule until 2014. ODU plays as an independent this season, one that will present major challenges that the Monarchs have never faced before. ODU is moving from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and that's a huge step up, especially for a program that has played just four seasons of football. ODU has never played an FBS team, yet will play two in its first two games. The Monarchs open at East Carolina Aug. 31, and ECU is the consensus pick to the C-USAs East Division. ODU then plays at Maryland on Sept. 7. It will be ODUs first game ever against an ACC school. ODUs coaching staff has worked hard to prepare the Monarchs for the transition. They had what recruiting services say was a good FBS recruiting class - remarkable when you consider ODU wasn't yet at the FBS level. Regardless, it was one of the nations largest recruiting classes. There will be 37 new players in ODU blue and silver Monday, including 12 junior college and 25 high school players. All 12 juco transfers will play this season. So, likely, will at least a handful of the freshmen. Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2013/08/sizing-who-may-back-heinicke-odu-opens-practice

The days of cross-country travel for Louisiana Tech athletics are over after the Bulldogs left the Western Athletic Conference in favor of the more regional Conference USA. Student-athletes and fans rejoice about most games being in the same or adjacent time zone as opposed to the multiple time zone trips to the West Coast. But does fewer miles traveled mean more dollars in the Tech athletics budget? Yes and no, says Marie Gilbert, an associate athletics director and chief financial officer for Louisiana Tech. Gilbert said the football team is making the same number of chartered flights (five), as they did in 2012, but the shorter distance of those flights amounts to an estimated 10 percent savings in football travel expenses. (The trips) just arent to Hawaii and San Jose State, Gilbert said. Were still making three flights for conference games and then the two additional flights in non-conference (North Carolina State and Kansas). Next year depending on the non-conference schedule, the (savings) might be even more. The Bulldogs will fly to Florida International, UTEP and UTSA in conference play. Other road or neutral games include Army (in Dallas) and Rice (Houston). Techs mileage is significantly less in 2013 than its previous 12 years in the WAC. The Bulldogs will travel 3,965 miles total in seven road games, averaging 566 miles per trip. The 2012 Dogs averaged 774 miles per trip while the highest average trip came in 2008 1,616 miles per trip. That included a flight to Hawaii, which hosted Tech four times in the last 12 seasons. For all sports, Gilbert estimates a total savings of about $150,000 for 2013-14 although cost estimates arent finalized for the coming season. Read more: http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20130805/SPORTS/308050026/Tech-trips-shorter-spending-less-C-USA?nclick_check=1

Per twitter. Every game will be a sellout. I hope we add a couple thousand temporary seats. Have little doubt we'd be able to sell them. Have plenty of space for it. It's unlikely to happen though from what the AD has said. View the full article

So, fireworks or dud? The moves aren't "Dawg Dazzle" quality, but they are better than the fireworks we let off in our backyards. And they certainly aren't duds. The emphasis was on growth and television markets. FIU (48,000 students), North Texas (36,305) UT-San Antonio (30,474), FAU (30,000), Charlotte (26,232) and Old Dominion (24,753) are up and coming schools with growing enrollments. Among the departing members, only UCF (59,490), Houston (40,747) and East Carolina (26,900) had larger enrollments. As for television markets, six of the eight largest markets in C-USA will belong to first-year members. Besides, although conference reconfiguration was football-driven, the updated Conference USA will be stronger in basketball than the old version. Overall, C-USA leadership did as well as reasonably could be expected. That's worthy of at least Camden Park-quality fireworks. AAC: Even the acronym sounds like someone gagging. Everyone that mattered has bailed, including Syracuse, Pittsburgh, the Catholic Seven basketball schools, Louisville and Rutgers (2014), while TCU, Boise State and San Diego State became no-shows. Read more: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/x1489432505/A-look-at-changes-to-college-athletics

OFF WR - Carlos Harris (so.)/Darius Terrell (jr.) WR - Darnell Smith (sr.)/Lynrick Pleasant (sr.) WR - Brelan Chancellor (sr.)/Carl Caldwell (sr.) LT - Antonio Johnson (jr.)/Ryan Retnfro (rs fr.) LG - Mason Y'Barbo (jr.)/Travis Ellard (so.) C - Kaydon Kirby (rs fr.)/Shawn McKinney (jr.) RG - Cyril Lemon (jr.)/Micah Thompson (so.) RT - LaChris Anyiem (sr.)/Justin Manu (jr.) TE - Drew Miller (sr.)/Daniel Prior (sr.) QB - Derek Thompson (sr.)/Andrew McNulty (so.) RB - Brandin Byrd (sr.)/Antoinne Jimmerson (so.) DEF DE - Chad Polk (so)/Brandon McCoy (sr) DT - Richard Abbe (sr)./Sir Calvin Wallace (fr.) DT - Alexander Lincoln (jr.)/Austin Orr (so.) DE - Aaron Bellazin (sr.)/Malik Dilonga (fr.) OLB - Derek Akunne (jr)/LaJaylin Smith (so.) MLB - Zachary Orr (sr.)/Robert Lewis (jr.) OLB - Will Wright (sr.)/Jamal Marshall (so) CB - Hilbert Jackson (sr.)/James Jones (jr.) CB - Zac Whitfield (so.)/Kenny Buyers (so.) SS - Laramie Lee (jr.)/Zed Evans (sr.) FS - Marcus Trice (sr)/Andrew Tucker (rsfr.) Special Teams K - Zach Olen (sr.) P - Blake Macek (fr.) KR - Brelan Chancellor (sr.) PR - Brelan Chancellor (sr.) Returning leaders Passing - Derek Thompson, 372-214-2649-14-14 TD's Rushing - Brandin Byrd 205 att, 860 yards, 2 TD's Receiving - Darnell Smith, 28 receptions, 379 yards, 2 TD's Tackles - Zachary Orr - 108 Sacks - Aaron Bellazin - 5 Interceptions Zac Whitfield - 3 Returning starters in bold To get more info and to order the magazine please visit: http://www.AthlonSport.com

https://twitter.com/radioinsight/status/...0896007169 Let me note that this site is very good at mining domain registrations for making predictions on radio station changes (format, name/branding, dial position, etc.). So unless this law firm is being thorough enough to register several domains to throw people off...

The oBE is having a fit on their board trying to come up with a new name for their conference. Any marketing majors know what the branding/rebranding process is and what $250k will get you. I'm sure it has something to do with location, mission and make-up of the conference [Cincy, USF, Temple, UConn, UCF, Houston, SMU, ECU, Tulane, *Memphis and perhaps a couple of others]. Connect the dots here and you see they don't have a whole lot in common. Most are in larger cities and public though you probably don't want to slight the privates with new name. What has now happened is probably a good thing for the Go5 as the playing field has been leveled yet again. Sooner or later we're going to see the need to work together to avoid the appearence of irrelevance. p.s. good luck to the (fill in the blank) conference, they're going to need it.

Feb. 28, 2013 2013FBCompositeSchedule Conference USA has announced date changes to three football games this fall. All three date changes are to accommodate national television. Game times and networks will be announced at a later date. The first game is a non-conference contest between Iowa State and Tulsa, a rematch of last season's AutoZone Liberty Bowl won by the Golden Hurricane, 31-17. The 2013 game will now be played Thursday, September 26, in Tulsa. The initial conference meeting between Marshall and Middle Tennessee has also changed dates. The Thundering Herd and Blue Raiders will now face each other on Thursday, October 24 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The late season meeting between Marshall and Tulsa has been moved up two days and will now be played Thursday, November 14, in Tulsa. One other date change that has been announced involving a Conference USA team is Florida Atlantic's season opener at Miami (Fla.). That contest will now be played Friday, August 30, in Miami Gardens, Fla. A game time and any television details have not yet been announced. Additional date changes to accommodate television do remain a possibility, and details of such games will be announced as soon as possible. C-USA's 17th football season will begin on Thursday, August 29. The league's ninth annual football championship game is scheduled for Saturday, December 7. View the full article

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/unc-...33849.html If this is how the school operates, I say burn it to the ground. View the full article