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[imahawki]

College football really kicked off last week. There were a number of watchable games including Hawaii vs. Colorado State.

But, this week really gets things going.
There is a BigTen matchup on Thursday 8/30 between Purdue and Northwestern.
Friday Wisconsin takes on Western Kentucky, Michigan State plays Utah State, and Colorado plays Colorado state on a short turn around.
Saturday of course you have a full slate. Notable to me would be Maryland vs. Texas, Oregon State vs. Ohio State, Northern Illinois vs. Iowa, Tennessee vs. West Virginia, and Alabama vs. Louisville.
Sunday and Monday there are games between LSU vs. Miami and VaTech vs. Florida State respectively.
Other hot takes - largely BigTen focused as that's my wheelhouse.
In the wake of the Nassar scandal with at least 16 MSU football players being accused of sexual assault over the past few years, I did not expect Mark Dantonio to still be coaching.
Urban Meyer should have been fired. I think the special investigators decided they didn't want to be assassinated and thus handed down a suspension but released a report that looks a lot like something that would justify firing someone. One sports podcast I listened to theorized that they basically were saying, here sports media, you do our job if you think this egregious enough.
I don't think PJ Fleck is going to get it done at Minnesota at the end of the day.
I do think Jeff Brohm is going to get it done at Purdue and won't be there in three years.
I think Matt Campbell is going to continue to get it done at Iowa State and won't be there in three years.
Nebraska is in an extremely tenuous position at QB after Scott Frost named true freshman Adrian Martinez starter causing redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia to request to be released for transfer. This leaves the Huskers with ONE scholarship QB.
Illinois could be train wreck bad but I'm not sure they have options other than just sticking with Lovie Smith at this stage. I personally think they should give him more time if he shows even an improvement in program culture.
Tom Herman starts his second year at Texas. Tom Herman had previously averaged a 3 win improvement in his first year taking over a program. He failed to do that at a program that has top 3 financials and top 3 in-state talent in a weak conference. I'm not ready to say uh oh, but I'm watching.
Lincoln Riley starts his second year at Oklahoma. It will be interesting to see how he performs without a generational talent at QB.
My Favorite Team
I'm a die hard Iowa Hawkeye. As I mentioned Iowa opens up against Northern Illinois which is one of two teams predicted to win the MAC conference and has an early round NFL draft pick at defensive end.
Iowa has four players suspended for their season opener. Two are alcohol related legal issues and two are team rules related. Two are defensive linemen, which I don't think will have a great impact, but the other two are starting offensive tackles, which does worry me.
Iowa likely has first round NFL draft picks at QB and TE in Nathan Stanley and Noah Fant. Stanely nearly broke the school record for touchdown passes as a first-year starter last year.
Iowa will be green at RB and LB. I'm less worried about the former. In the latter case, Iowa graduated three seniors including standout Josey Jewel who now plays for the Packers.
Iowa is typically reliable for 7.5 wins. With this year's schedule 7 would be disappointing. 8-9 seems a reasonable range and 10 wins is not crazy talk but will require some lucky bounces and some things to work out better than expected at some of the key positions where we currently have question marks.

[hughver]

Washington-Auburn should be a heck of a game.

[Mudflap]

Washing-Auburn should be a heck of a game.

ya but that involves a PAC 12 team so it gets overlooked. Oops did put Oregon State & Ohio game as notable.(should be blowout even with the "HE DIDN'T KNOW" coach out)

Mudflap

[imahawki]

Didn't realize there was another thread.  Not sure if mods can merge them or not.

[Kristin Meredith]

I must be in the minority on domestic violence and keeping one's job.  Probably in a real small group since I am a woman.  But my world view is:  if the abused spouse did not report it to the police and pursue legal action against the alleged offending spouse, there is nothing to take action on.

I was a bad faith attorney and defended insurance companies against claims brought by insured's, primarily corporate insureds.  We held seminars for claims people to help teach good claims handling practices. So many times in claims file, a claims rep would say "But I had a conversation with the insured or party X about so and so and it affected how I handled the claim and why I took that action" "Did you document that action?" "No" Our No. 1 response -- "If it is not documented in the claims file, it did not happen."  I feel the same about domestic abuse.

Yes, I know all the reasons/excuses offered as to why folks don't go to the police and press charges, I am just not persuaded by them.  So you tell Urban's wife and what?  He is suppose to send your husband to bed without dessert? dock his pay? (he can't) scold him? If a spouse is abusing you, don't complain to friends and hope that someone magically makes it all better.  Pursue your appropriate legal avenues and then let the situation play out as it should. If the offending spouse is guilty, he/she will be held liable legally and then the employer can take action.  Otherwise, it becomes a slippery slope/nightmare for an employer.  Ex-spouse doesn't like custody or alimony arrangements -- claim the other spouse abused you and expect their employer to fire them.  A good way to blackmail folks.  We have legal systems and processes for a reason.

Now, I realize OSU had a different standard for reporting, but according to the report, numerous folks interviewed had the same understanding of the criteria for reporting as Urban did and OSU acknowledged they needed to go back and do some University wide re-education.  I am just not going to beat up on the guy for this situation.

[imahawki]

The police were involved. 
http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180803/powell-police-refuse-to-release-report-involving-zach-smith

Urban Meyer has been covering for Zach Smith since 2009 and likely Courtney was going to Urban and Shelly because Urban had previously requested to keep this stuff under wraps.  It is monumentally clear that Urban felt like he owed Zach extra air cover as the grandson of Urban's mentor. 

On top of all of the cover up Urban has shown no remorse at all.  I'm kind of with Stephen A. on this one.

[Kristin Meredith]

She did not press charges.  It stopped there.  She has even stated that his parents, and amazingly her parents, told her not to press charges. She has admitted he may have lost his job if she did that and then there would be no money to support the kids.  I sympathize, but we have a legal system for a reason.  Let it work or live with the consequences of not allowing it to proceed.  But don't try to have it both ways.

Of just as much note, Urban's wife is employed by OSU as a clinical professor at the nursing school.  I have not seen anything that indicates that she reported it to OSU which, if you believe the school as to standards all employees were to follow re claims of domestic abuse, she should have.  No news articles on that.  I have seen no disciplinary action against her. If someone knows of some, I would be interested to find out what happened in her case.  I assume you condemn her also and think OSU should fire her?

[imahawki]

She did not press charges.  It stopped there.  She has even stated that his parents, and amazingly her parents, told her not to press charges. She has admitted he may have lost his job if she did that and then there would be no money to support the kids.  I sympathize, but we have a legal system for a reason.  Let it work or live with the consequences of not allowing it to proceed.  But don't try to have it both ways.

Of just as much note, Urban's wife is employed by OSU as a clinical professor at the nursing school.  I have not seen anything that indicates that she reported it to OSU which, if you believe the school as to standards all employees were to follow re claims of domestic abuse, she should have.  No news articles on that.  I have seen no disciplinary action against her. If someone knows of some, I would be interested to find out what happened in her case.  I assume you condemn her also and think OSU should fire her?

Actually I do.  Victim shaming is abhorrent.  Hopefully there is a large Title IX lawsuit.  Shelly Meyer is a mandatory reporter as an employee as well.

I'd be fine discussing any of the other 90% of my post as well.

[Kristin Meredith]

Incorrectly labeling people for rational positions that disagree with your own in order to advance your world view and silence their position is abhorrent also, but very much on trend. Also, unless Ohio has some bizarre law, mandated reporters only have to report abuse against those 18 or under or adults who are mentally impaired.

Roll Tide!

[Mudflap]

wow

[Bar-B-Lew]

Interesting how some fans of some colleges will go to the ends of the earth to dislike anything related to other teams in their conference.  Somewhere in my late 30s I started to blame my own team for poor performance rather than the teams we played no matter how much I loved my team....ownership, accountability, reality, etc.

[GatorDave]

Interesting how some fans of some colleges will go to the ends of the earth to dislike anything related to other teams in their conference.  Somewhere in my late 30s I started to blame my own team for poor performance rather than the teams we played no matter how much I loved my team....ownership, accountability, reality, etc.

You do realize that fan is short for fanatic right?  Of course my teams can do no wrong.

[jdmessner]

College football really kicked off last week. There were a number of watchable games including Hawaii vs. Colorado State.

But, this week really gets things going.

Michigan State plays Utah State.

Other hot takes - largely BigTen focused as that's my wheelhouse.
In the wake of the Nassar scandal with at least 16 MSU football players being accused of sexual assault over the past few years, I did not expect Mark Dantonio to still be coaching.

Urban Meyer should have been fired. I think the special investigators decided they didn't want to be assassinated and thus handed down a suspension but released a report that looks a lot like something that would justify firing someone. One sports podcast I listened to theorized that they basically were saying, here sports media, you do our job if you think this egregious enough.

I don't think PJ Fleck is going to get it done at Minnesota at the end of the day.

That's a lot to ponder! Just a couple of thoughts on a few of your points.

I ended up with "free" tickets to the Michign State - Utah game. When I was a kid I never understood why my dad wasn't overly excited when I won free tickets to go see the Tigers play. After paying for gas, food, and parking, the tickets were anything but free! I now know first hand the cost of free tickets!!

The game was good. There was no mention or indication of the off field issues (I would have been surprised if there were). The student section was full and there was a near capacity crowd. It was a spirited game and much closer than most anticipated. I think overall Dantonio runs a good/clean program and that is the reason he is still coaching.

When it comes to Urban Meyer, I must admit I have a long time bias against OSU. It is easy to condem him and say he's a bum and should be run out of the game. However, the points Kristin made are valid. When it comes to attitudes regarding the way women are treated and domestic violence, I do think the views of the past are dramatically changing. This is true not just in football, but in society. It is a change that is long overdue, but won't happen as fast as some people would like. Time will tell if we have actually learned anything.

I think your observation about PJ Fleck is spot on. I saw several Western Michigan games in the "Row the Boat" era. When things were going good they were great, but when opportunity knocked he couldn't wait to open the door and go to the next big pay day. I don't blame him for wanting to move up the coaching ranks, but he pulled a few stunts going out of town that did not sit well with folks. A lot of his rhetoric sounded kind of hollow by the time he left.

The season is upon us. This is the greatest time of year to be a fan. Hopes and dreams are still possible. The harsh realities of the season have not set in yet. Fly your colors and enjoy the game. Almost time for ND and U of M. Can't wait!

[Bar-B-Lew]

how bout them Bulldogs!   Mississippi St that is.

[Bobitis]

UW should have beat Auburn, but blew too many red zone attempts. One conversion would have given the Dawgs the win.

This was a great weekend fraught with upsets.

As a youngster, I loved Notre Dame football. They were always the team that the media couldn't resist. I guess that's why they're ranked so highly today. 5 decades later. 

The Dawgs gave up too many points yesterday against UCLA who remains is 0-6 now. Bama gave up too many points in another blowout win, and even Saban admits so. Yeah, they beat Arkansas by 30+ points, but they also gave up 30+ points.
My Dawgs gave up 24 to the Bruins. That's not acceptable, even if it was in the Rose bowl.