The modus operandi for people running football in 2011 has been to unnecessarily micro-manage it from the minutia up, so it should come as little-to-no surprise that a new guy brought in to be the officiating consultant of the Pac-12 is the stuffed-shirt dean from any number of teen sex comedies and wants to make sure nobody has a good time at the football games. NCAA rule violations? Let’s just sweep that sort of important thing under the rug under the “board of trustees” (or whatever) leaves. But hand gestures? Hand gestures?

From Sorry Bro Sports:

New Pac-12 coordinator of officiating Mike Pereira says the Ducks signature ‘O’ shape the players occasionally make with their hands after a touchdown, “borderlines on unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Seriously, look at this guy. I don’t want to boil down the “what does and doesn’t constitute sportsmanlike conduct” debate to “lol what a nerd”, but come on, has this guy ever had a day of fun in his whole life? He could be on our currency. He’s the kind of guy who looks at professional sports and decides that “the O hand gesture looks more like a triangle than an O” is the first thing you should fix.

“Slippery slope” is an even worse talking point, but if we take away school spirit hand gestures and the ability to choose the color of your shoes, what’s next? Taking the logos off the helmets, because supporting your team is “bragging”? Should we limit the school fight songs to one long monotonous note, held for 8-10 seconds before the start of the game, but before any of the fans (or “persons”) have arrived?

Come on, Mike, don’t be such a square. Let them make circles.

Listening to Alex Trebek’s words wash over a college football game just feels magical. That’s a testament to the guys at Solid Verbal, who must have spent weeks parsing over old episodes of “Jeopardy!” to pull enough dialogue from its host to fill over three minutes of highlights of last season’s Standford-Oregon game.

Well done, guys. This is fantastic. Read the rest of this entry »

One controversial play came out of Auburn’s BCS championship win over Oregon last night, and it was that fourth quarter run from Auburn running back Stephen Dyer. Dyer’s roll-and-run over an Oregon defender looked eerily similar to that of Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams in last week’s Sugar Bowl.

In both instances, the runner appeared to be down while rolling over the top of the defender, but instead got up and kept running. You can see where Williams and Dyer each had his wrist touch the ground at one point during the run. The guys at Mocksession put together a great video for it, which we have for you after the jump.

Oklahoma and Connecticut combined for 68 points in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. Will we see another high-scoring game, despite the fact that neither team has played in over a month? Here’s what other people are saying…

Oregon has already blasted one top-five opponent this season. The Ducks defeated Stanford 52-31 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Oct. 2, rolling up 626 yards of offense and scoring 28 points in the second half. If you watched the No. 4 Cardinal demolish No. 13 Virginia Tech 40-12 in the Jan. 3 Discover Orange Bowl, you know the Ducks beat a really good team. –Mark Schlabach, ESPN.

The sham that is big-time college athletics was on full display this week in the Arizona desert, where the Oregon and Auburn faithful gathered by the thousands to dump millions into the state’s tourism economy on behalf of their alma maters. It was all set to conclude Monday night in a spectacle suspiciously reminiscent of a big game the NFL itself will be holding in just a few weeks.

…Here’s hoping Cecil Newton got his money. It’s only right, because everyone else gets theirs. –Tim Dahlberg/AP.

I assume that the point spread drop [to 72] for tonight’s BCS title game means that Vegas suspects Cecil Newton took Oregon and the points? –@TheCajunBoy

Strong Side: [Auburn quarterback Cam Newton is] still eligible to illegally play college football for five more years. Weak Side: Can run and pass but can’t lateral for sh:t. –Onion Sports Network.

I’m picking Oregon to win, because (a) they’re getting a point and a half, and (b) their offense is so unstoppable that Denzel and Chris Pine should be piggy-backing on LaMichael James. And then after tonight, college football will finally be over. I’ll just have to scream at the nearby university kids at the local bars just to stay in practice? They’ll love the attention, anyway.

When Auburn and Oregon meet for the BCS National Championship game Monday night, there will be more on the line than just college football’s ultimate prize. One male Oregon fan has decided that it would be funny to make an interesting wager with a lady supporter of the SEC champs. And where better to find willing, sexually liberated women than Craigslist?

Ryan Tharp is willing to bet that the Oregon Ducks will crush the Auburn Tigers in the BCS Championship game. He’s so sure of it, he posted an ad on Craigslist saying so.

In that ad, he says he’s looking for an Auburn fan who’s willing to join him in a post-game, short-term Las Vegas wedding.

“I, along with several buddies, will be celebrating the Duck victory in Vegas from Jan. 11 to 14. During that extravaganza, I plan on taking in the entire Vegas experience, including marrying a stranger,” he writes in the ad.

Herein lies the wager: The loser of the game must pay for the following day’s annulment. –KPTV

Maybe I’m just a grumpy Gus constantly yelling at kids to get off my lawn, but this is a really horrible idea. I can just see this dude and his buddies, trying to get laid, commenting how ‘money’ their Ed Hardy tees are. If you do happen to be interested, ladies, and I can’t understand how you wouldn’t be, the Criagslist post can be found here. I, meanwhile, have a lot of things to complain about and little time to do so.

The Oregon Ducks are planning to wear special uniforms for their national championship tilt against Auburn. And while those gentlemen living in the deep south have exercised some fashion nightmares in their days, this submission is enough to make Ryan Seacrest squeal like a little girl. In other words, normally.

No big surprises – they include muted metallic grays and blinding lime green highlights, including green socks.

The Oregonian talked to designer Todd Van Horne about the newest look. Apparently, head coach Chip Kelly also lists fashion consultant on his resume.

“We worked with (Kelly) and designed something that will actually look like blur on the field,” [designer Todd] Van Horne said.

–The Oregonian.

Not pictured: the neon jockstraps and incandescent LED lights in the helmets that change the color of the “O” depending on the player’s mood. I’ve had it with all of the Oregon uniforms. I don’t need to see every which way a school can polish a turd. Until they put actual wings and machine guns on there, I’m done. Yes, I think it’s time to see machine guns in college football. Mike Leach is totally cool with it.