Headlinin’: Boise State is ready when you are, Big East

November 4, 2011   ·   0 Comments

Headlinin’: Boise State is ready when you are, Big East

Making the morning rounds.

• We have seen this “East” of which you speak, and it meets our specifications. The Idaho State Board of Education voted 7-1 Thursday to preemptively approve Boise State’s entry to the Big East, all but guaranteeing the Broncos’ exit from the Mountain West as soon as it has a formal invitation in hand. “[The MWC] is simply not the same conference that we first agreed to join,” said BSU president Bob Kustra, citing the departures of Mtn. heavies BYU, TCU and Utah since Boise was tapped for promotion from the WAC last year. “My hope for a competitive and compact geographic conference has been dashed on the hard facts of media dollars and BCS membership.”

On those fronts, the board of education projected joining the Big East will more than double Boise’s annual payout from the BCS to approximately $3.7 million, on top of much bigger bucks when the Big East’s television contract comes up for bid next year. By then, the conference should have at least 12 teams in the fold for 2012 — not including outgoing Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia, all of which may be contractually pinned down for at least another year before escaping to their new leagues — and a new championship game to sell. [Idaho Statesman]

• This is… not going as planned. At 2-7, Boston College is officially bound for its first losing season in 13 years after Thursday night’s 38-7 debacle against Florida State, a nationally televised invitation for another round of daggers aimed at doomed coach Frank Spaziani. Predictably, leading BC blogs Eagle in Atlanta and BC Interruption — both of which have been calling for Spaz’s head for weeks — took yet another opportunity to reiterate that “the problem is … coaching and head coaching” and remind readers that Spaziani has now overseen all of the Eagles’ six worst losses since joining the ACC in 2005. No surprises there.

Then there’s former All-ACC offensive lineman Matt Tennant, who actually played for Spaziani’s first team in 2009 before moving on to his current role with the New Orleans Saints and felt compelled to air his grievances on Twitter shortly after halftime: “Spaz is defeated. Going to a low-tier bowl is not acceptable. And this year they get nothing. Things need to change.” Here’s guessing you’re going to get your wish before the month is out, Matt. [Eagle in Atlanta, BC Interruption, @MattTennant65]

Elsewhere on Thursday night… Tulsa came from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Central Florida, 24-17, keeping pace with Houston at the top of Conference USA’s West Division with the undefeated Cougars coming to Tulsa for a likely winner-takes-all finale on Nov. 26. … Miami (Ohio) thumped Akron, 35-3. … And an alert screenshot artist provided the #firecraigjames movement with an official avatar.

• I guess two wrongs do make a right. The Florida State Attorney’s Office will not pursue charges against Florida defensive tackle Dominique Easley or former Alabama defensive back Reggie Myles, who accused Easley of an unprovoked assault after the Crimson Tide’s blowout win in Gainesville on Oct. 1. “There are no clean hands in this situation,” said State Attorney Bill Cervone, who actually issued a release describing the incident between Easley and Myles as “offsetting penalties.” “There is also no harm done, despite protestations to the contrary, that outweighs these factors. Any harm to either party is in essence canceled out by the harm to the other party.” [Gainesville Sun]

• What can we say? We like corn. The “official” trophy for the winner of the newly minted Nebraska-Iowa rivalry remains a mystery until later this month, but student groups from both universities have agreed on a new idol to exchange amongst themselves: The Corn Bowl, an engraved metal bowl “illustrating harvest and abundance of corn in Iowa and Nebraska,” which beat out three other contenders with 35 percent of the vote to become the official rivalry trophy of the Iowa and Nebraska student bodies. The bowl will be exchanged annually based on the results of a “Penny War” for charity. [Lincoln Journal Star, NebraskaIowaTrophy.com]

Quickly… Ohio State running back Jordan Hall is likely out against Indiana with a sprained ankle. … Wisconsin‘s secondary accepts the blame for Ohio State’s game-winning bomb. … The Vanderbilt punt returner who was leveled by Arkansas‘ Marquel Wade last weekend received personal apologies from Wade and his mother via Facebook. … And a Mississippi state trooper crashes Auburn’s Tiger Walk.

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Matt Hinton is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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