Charles Barkley may not be current on Auburn news, but he is a prolific horseback rider. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

Ever since the poisoning of the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, Auburn fans have mourned the gradual loss of their iconic landmarks. The school held a final rolling of the trees after the Tigers’ spring game on April 20, which served as a memorial before the trees were finally taken down.

Evidently, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley didn’t get the memo. An Auburn fan who played his college basketball with the Tigers, Barkley offered his thoughts on the upcoming football season on the Tim Brando Show. He doesn’t seem to be particularly well-versed on the latest news coming out of the Auburn community.

Charles Barkley on Tim Brando Show: "We've got Gus Malzahn. I'm very confident we're going to be rolling trees at some point this year."—
Chris Vannini (@CoachingBuzz) April 30, 2013

Too soon, Chuck. Too soon.

Gus Malzahn’s up-tempo bingo-calling impressed recruits at Azalea Place Assisted Living. (Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

By Zac Ellis

More than 100 Auburn athletic department employees took part in the school’s annual Tigers Give Back Community Service Day on Friday, and new football coach Gus Malzahn put his own spin on a classic game: bingo.

Malzahn ran through numbers quickly as the newest bingo-caller at Azalea Place Assisted Living Facility, one of the 13 sites participating in the Tigers Give Back program. Much like Malzahn’s approach to offense, the coach preferred an up-tempo style of play.

“I tested them a little bit,” Malzahn joked. “We ran the hurry-up, no-huddle bingo today, and they did a good job keeping up with it.”

Read More…

AD Jay Jacobs (center) said that Auburn’s internal review found no evidence of academic fraud. (Todd J. Van Emst/AP)

By Zac Ellis

Auburn has found no evidence of the academic fraud outlined in a story posted on Roopstigo.com earlier this month, the university announced Monday.

Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs presented a point-by-point rebuttal to the Roopstigo report on the school’s website. Jacobs said an internal review debunked the majority of the claims in author Selena Roberts’ story. Jacobs emphasized that the review by Auburn Athletics and Auburn University Internal Auditing found no evidence to support the most serious claim, which stated that academic fraud occurred prior to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

Auburn concluded the release with the hashtag #GetTheFacts.

Jacobs called Roberts’ story an “attack” and vowed to continue to protect Auburn.

Read More…

Notre Dame defender Louis Nix stole the spotlight Saturday with this rumbling two-point conversion play. (USA Today)

By Zac Ellis

After yet another weekend full of spring football games, here’s a rundown of the latest news and notes from across the nation:

• Notre Dame: The Irish defense came to play in the annual Blue-Gold game on Saturday, accounting for 10 sacks, two interceptions and a safety in the scrimmage. The offense, however, failed to find its groove, with second-year quarterback Everett Golson finishing 6-of-13 passing for 98 yards with one interception. He was also sacked three times. Coach Brian Kelly said he wasn’t concerned with the offense’s struggles, admitting he’d seen improvement on that side of the ball throughout spring. But the offense did find a spark late in the game when nose guard Louis Nix III took a goal-line snap and rumbled in for a two-point conversion. Perhaps Kelly should consider that package for the fall.

• Alabama: The Crimson Tide were anything but streamlined in Saturday’s A-Day game. The Crimson and White teams combined for nine turnovers — six interceptions and three fumbles — in the contest, leaving coach Nick Saban understandably upset. “The biggest thing I was concerned about was how the team would go out there and what would be their energy, their enthusiasm, and their attention to detail,” Saban said. “I don’t think that there were enough guys that answered that question in a positive way to my liking. But I’m never satisfied.” SI.com’s Lars Anderson reported on the game from Tuscaloosa. Oh, and AJ McCarron’s famous female companion Katherine Webb also made an appearance.

• Penn State: Around 28,000 fans ventured to Happy Valley for the Nittany Lions’ spring game this weekend, braving the icy elements in State College. But there wasn’t much closure for fans hoping to get a feel for Penn State’s quarterback situation, in which Steven Bench and Tyler Ferguson are battling for the starting job. Coach Bill O’Brien was non-committal when discussing both passers after the game, but the competition may become more heated when five-star recruit Christian Hackenberg arrives on campus this summer.

Read More…

DeWayne Walker set the coaching carousel spinning once more with his late departure from New Mexico State. (AP)

Tommy Tuberville’s sitting by the phone* and Jimmy Sexton’s got that particular sparkle in his eye. It can mean only one thing: The coach firin’ season is upon us once more. We’ll be tracking the carousel of progress, right here, for as long as it takes to stop spinning. Raise a glass to times past, won’t you? * Well, not anymore, but never tell us we don’t have the gift of very specific prophecy through throwaway jokes.

New Mexico State [updated 02.01.2013]

• Who’s out: DeWayne Walker, who jumps to the NFL with less than two weeks remaining between now and Signing Day. And not even for a coordinating gig: Walker will coach defensive backs for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Walker released the following statement through the athletic department: “I really appreciate the opportunity that Dr. Boston and New Mexico State gave me to be a Division I head football coach. Unfortunately, I did not get the program as far as I would have liked from a wins and losses standpoint. But, we do have a better locker room, better kids and a better foundation for the program moving forward. There are a lot of people that I want to thank for their support and will be reaching out to those individuals in the coming days. They have helped me in moving the program forward. I am excited about starting a new chapter in my coaching career, as is my family. I wish New Mexico State great success in the future and wish everyone the best. Go Aggies!” • Who’s in: Doug Martin — the one who played at Kentucky, not the one who played at Boise State. Although if Martin The Younger is really so opposed to his excellent nickname, we’re gonna refer to Martin The Elder as coach Muscle Hamster instead. It’s been a whirlwind courtship for Martin and the Aggies: He was announced as offensive coordinator on January 17, temporarily promoted to interim head coach on January 24 and will be officially announced as DeWayne Walker’s successor on Monday, February 4. Martin’s previous head coaching experience consists of a seven-year stint at Kent State, from 2004-2010. Read More…

We interrupt this preview for another appearance from the Utah student section. (AP)

Sing to us, O Muse, of a Thursday night with three college football games, all conference matchups and one even featuring a ranked team:

Arkansas State @ Florida International

• What information do I, the discerning consumer, require in order to consume this game? The Red Wolves and Golden Panthers kick off in Miami at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPNU and streamed on WatchESPN.

• What’s at stake here? The chance to scrabble for glory in the presumptive top half of the surprisingly deep Sun Belt lobster pot, with the likes of Louisiana, Western Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee. On the flip side, the loser could be cast down with the likes of Florida Atlantic. Each squad already has one conference loss and a losing record overall.

• Who should we be watching? For the Red Wolves, Tennessee transplant David Oku at running back and latest Gus Malzahn project, Ryan Aplin, at quarterback. For the Panthers, keep an eye on tackling enthusiasts Tourek Williams at defensive end and Jonathan Cyprien at safety.

• These are very colorful mascots, not unlike the fall foliage showing its petticoats around our great nation. They are indeed, although we will still never forgive Arkansas State for not taking our kind suggestion of “The Arkansas State Vine-Ripe Pink Tomatoes” more seriously when selecting its new mascot a few years back.

Read More…

Meet the new Boise. Same as the old Boise? If Joe Southwick has anything to say about it… (AP)

The return of our weekly highlight show of lesser FBS luminaries. Non-AQs and independents, be welcome. (Not you, Notre Dame; more on that at the bottom.)

• Time chasers. We mentioned this last week, but games we would most like to see played in other times: Boise State-Michigan State at the end of last year and Arkansas State-Oregon at the end of this one. The Broncos’ opening-week win streak was snapped, but not for a lack of effort on the part of Boise’s almost entirely rebuilt team. That Sept. 20 date with BYU is looking like appointment television about now. And we’re eager to see how Ryan Aplin and the Red Wolves develop offensively under Gus Malzahn as the season progresses against competition that’s more on their level. (Not included in this category: Memphis in Week 2. What do y’all reckon that score will look like?)

• ALL HAIL THE LORDS OF EARLY SEPTEMBER. Great show, Ohio. Now do it again, 11 more times. The Bobcats’ remaining regular season schedule, we remind you, consists of New Mexico State, Marshall, Norfolk State and eight MAC teams that finished with losing records in 2011. But this is MACtion, where accidents happen with a frenzied glee.

• HOUSTON. LOOK AT YOUR LIFE. LOOK AT YOUR CHOICES. We liked Houston. We really, really did. We agreed with noted football robot Paul Myerberg that the Cougars looked like a good bet to take the West, and look where that got us. Either Dennis Franchione has quietly built a program capable of winning in its first year of FBS competition, or Houston is flailing its way to a 2012 face plant. Or, heavens forfend — both. We know, at least, what Tony Levine thinks.

Read More…

In two weeks and five days, the 2012 season will be upon us. Two days after that, Gus Malzahn will make his FBS head coaching debut. Have you ever thought about how major college football propels an entire gender to think it’s OK to wear a suit with a visor. Isn’t that something?

19 days.

Michael Dyer led Auburn in rushing in 2011 before transferring to Arkansas State. (AP)

An abbreviated list of areas in which running back Michael Dyer excels:

1. Running down a football field while holding a football and not getting caught. Dyer was Auburn’s leading rusher in 2011, averaging more than 100 yards per game all by his lonesome, and ranked No. 20 nationally in ground yardage.

2. Drawing disciplinary action from football coaches. Suspended for (sing along if you know the words) The Ever-Popular And Mysterious Violation Of Team Rules before Auburn’s Chick-fil-A Bowl game, Dyer transferred to Arkansas State, now the fiefdom of his old coordinator, Gus Malzahn. Denied an NCAA waiver to play this season, Dyer pledged to stick it out with the Red Wolves rather than opting for the 2013 NFL Draft.

Less than two weeks later, however, Dyer is adrift again after a violation of team rules that’s a little more concrete:

According to a Jonesboro Sun report written by Matt Roberson (subscription required), the dismissal is likely related to a March traffic stop in White County. Dyer was pulled over by an Arkansas State Trooper who found marijuana and a gun in his vehicle. [...] It is unclear who was in possession of the gun and marijuana, per the newspaper’s report. Trooper Royce Denney issued Dyer a speeding ticket and no charges were filed stemming from the discovery of the handgun or drugs. Per The Sun Denney is currently under investigation for his handling of the stop.

Please join us in regretting that Terry Bowden no longer reigns at nearby North Alabama, which would solve this problem to everyone’s satisfaction.

Paul Johnson and Jon Barry won the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament. Paul Johnson is clearly as bewildered as we are to learn he excels at the serene sport of golf. (Abell Images)

The Chick-fil-A Bowl’s annual charity golf tournament kicks off this weekend, forcing 16 ACC and SEC skippers to mute their phones (probably), partner up with celebrity alums from their current programs and battle for scholarship dollars in the carefully sculpted wilds of Georgia. The pairings for the main event have been released. We have some thoughts.

Read More…