62% of the country is dead wrong on the most important question facing the nation this week. twitter.com/11W/status/240…

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 29, 2012

• PEOPLE. WE ARE A DAY AWAY. GET IT TOGETHER. In other wrongity-wrong map news, please enjoy playing “how many mistakes are in this picture” with this map of college football rooting interests (via @RedditCFB).

• And now, the weather. To yesterday’s list of teams affected by Hurricane Isaac, you may now add Louisiana Tech, which has moved its Thursday opener with Texas A&M to Oct. 13, and South Alabama, whose all-n00b debut versus UTSA will shift from Thursday to Saturday.

Read More…

The South Alabama Jaguar is clearly ready for life as a transitional FBS member. (Icon SMI)

You didn’t ask, but we answered:

• What’s all this, then? On July 1, a crop of the realignment changes we’ve been so resistant to took effect. Among the movers was South Alabama, which joins the Sun Belt for its final transitional season before becoming a full FBS member in 2013.

• How does that work, exactly? Right when the Jaguars first started poking their egg teeth through, three years and three jobs ago, we congratulated them on their “clunky, slow-loading website,” a fixture in major college athletics. They’ve since put together a super-handy timeline that every program making a conference jump should immediately emulate, outlining the restrictions and privileges of the program from inception to Sun Belt acceptance. Next season, for example, USA will be an SBC member school in terms of scheduling, but won’t be eligible to compete for a conference title.

• So this is another brand-new program? About as new as they come. The Jaguars have staged games since 2009, and played their first full season in 2011.

• How’d that work out? Glory be, an FBS transitional team entering with a winning record! USA went 6-4 against a slate of mostly FCS competition last year.

Read More…

Assorted light reading to power you through Friday.

After writing up Jamaal Bass’ indictment for an on-field assault on two Toledo band members, we fell into discussion on the merits of marching band instruments as weapons. We received many compelling arguments:

@SIHolly I’m biased b/c I played it … but baritone is my choice. Heavy, yet handheld (easy to swing). I accidentally chipped a tooth once.

— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) March 20, 2012

@SIHolly Also, the brass is far more dense than in a trombone or a trumpet or mellophone. And yes, I’m actually thinking critically here.

— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) March 20, 2012

Read More…

Larry Coker's UTSA Roadrunners will play their first FBS season when they join the WAC in 2012.
(Icon SMI)

The 2012 WAC football schedule has been released, putting to rest this spring’s burning question: Which teams are in the WAC this year? The conference has kindly answered this for us with a handy press release and chart. Highlights for the year ahead:

• Defending conference champ Louisiana Tech draws the hottest Thursday night slot of the year, beginning the season on opening day (that’s August 30, for you sickos setting countdown clocks right this minute). The Bulldogs have to do it in Shreveport against Texas A&M, but it’s a jewel of a matchup stacked against the likes of Idaho-Eastern Washington, New Mexico State-Sacramento State and Utah State-Southern Utah. It’s also one in which you shouldn’t necessarily write off the Bulldogs as a competitive opponent: Sonny Dykes’ brand of offense should be coming into its own this season, and Tech played new Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin’s Houston Cougars to a one-point loss last season.

Read More…