College Football

Jenkins transferring from Wazzu back to Arizona

Now if somebody were to ask you what sets Vol fans apart from the rest, you might point to any number of things, ranging from attire to musical taste to an extreme tolerance for student-athlete hi-jinks.  Someone else might suggest it’s about class. Seriously. But Butch Jones is here to tell us that’s all wrong. Tennessee remains a long way from getting to that championship level, but Jones believes he eventually can get the Vols to that point. He believes Tennessee’s fans are patient and passionate enough to understand the program’s short-term challenges and long-term potential. “I think the thing that separates our fan base from a lot of other fan bases is we’re very knowledgeable,” Jones said. Why, yes, that’s it.  At least if you mean “knowledgeable” in the sense of being consistently disappointed in the direction of the program for the last decade, it is.  There really aren’t too many other fan bases who can share Urnge Nation’s depth of experience lately. Although I suspect that when Jones says knowledgeable, he really means tolerant.  Good luck with that, brother. Filed under: Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange

Hands down, this is the most Bianchi-ist thing Mike Bianchi has ever written. Everybody knows Nick Saban is not really the devil. Urban Meyer is. He was only half kidding. Filed under: Media Punditry/Foibles

Mike Gundy’s decided he wants to be this year’s Randy Edsall.  Wes Lunt is a quarterback who’s left the OSU program, and his list of schools blocked by Gundy numbers an astounding 37. Now it’s not all Gundy’s fault.  He can do this because the system lets him.  Still, there’s something wrong when the same guy who flirted with taking a job at Tennessee just a few months ago can now block a kid from enrolling at the same place. Maybe Gundy was one of the coaches who called Jimbo Fisher to give him some moral support about Matthew Thomas. Filed under: College Football

The previous Saturday saw Georgia scratch and paw their way to a closer-than-the-score-indicated win over a game bunch of Missouri Tigers. Thankfully, the scheduling gods had the foresight to entice pay Florida Atlantic University (3-9, 2-6 in SunBelt Conference play in '12) to travel north from Boca Raton for an expected butt-whippin'. As with Buffalo, and to a certain degree Mizzou, this game - despite the big margin of victory and 5,723* yards of total offense - certain facets of team play raised more questions than answers. Carl Pellini's Florida Atlantic Owls came out of the blocks with a purpose in the first half. On the Boca Burger's visitors opening drive, they marched 46 yards in 12 plays only to fumble deep in Georgia territory when Chase Vasser crashed an FAU receiver. Malcolm Mitchell, making his 3rd defensive start because of continuing suspensions affecting our secondary, recovered at the Georgia 26. Georgia promptly drove 71 yards in 7 plays to open the scoring when Aaron Murray dove in from 1-yard away. The key play on the opening drive was a Rantavious Wooten's end-around for 24 yards. FAU and Georgia traded punts on the next two series, but the Owls scored with under 4:00 remaining in the first half when Damian Fortner ran 43-yards to pay dirt past an utterly confused and disgusted secondary. Georgia 7, FAU 7. The following kickoff pinned Georgia deep at their own 6 yard line. Keith Marshall promptly ripped off 20 yards to get out of the hole, then Murray began picking apart the Owl's secondary with successive passes of 34, 10, and 24 yards to get Georgia inside the Owls 2 yard line. Keith Marshall scored on the next play to put the Dawgs ahead 14-7. Five efficient plays, 94 yards in 1:19. FAU opened the second quarter by promptly driving the ball with more big plays against a still discombobulated Georgia defense, tying the game as the 2nd quarter got underway on a 2-yard Graham Wilbert touchdown pass. This particular drive was highlighted by a 48 yard pass on 3rd and long from Wilbert to William Dukes to set up FAU at the 2. At this point, my flat-screen was in real jeopardy of getting an empty long-neck thrown at it. Maddening. Dawgs 14, The Fightin' Pellini's 14. Both teams swapped punts mid-way through the 2nd quarter. Georgia's 6th possession of the night resulted in an 8-play, 67 yard scoring drive culminated by Aaron Murray's second 1-yard touchdown run of the evening. Dawgs 21-14. FAU's next drive stalled after 33 yards, and punted. Georgia got the ball with 2:33 left before halftime. Aided by two costly FAU penalties, Aaron Murray went deep and found Michael Bennett down the middle for a 67 yard touchdown pass. The Owls received the ball with 1:34 left before the half and ran the clock out. Halftime: Georgia 28, FAU 14. There was never any doubt that Georgia could score at will, but the defensive gaffes - particularly in 3rd down situations - was most troubling. At any rate, the flat-screen survived. Georgia received the 2nd half kickoff and picked right up where they left off prior to the break, going 6 plays for 85 yards with Arthur Lynch catching the ball and tip-toeing just inside the pylon for a nifty 36-yard score. Georgia 35, FAU 14. Todd Grantham's halftime ass-chewing must've worked as FAU went 3'n out for the first time in the game on the Owls first possession of the half. Georgia got the ball back, gobbling up yardage in huge chunks before Todd Gurley scored on a 38 yard run at the 10:18 mark in the quarter. Tavarres King hauled in a 25 pass to open this particular drive as the rout was on. Dawgs 42 - 14. FAU punted again on their next possession, another 3'n out. The Dawgs again began to zip down field and were about to score from the Owl's 8 yard line when Murray threw a horrible interception in the end zone for a touch back. This turned out to be insignificant, as on the very next possession, Amarlo Herrera picked off Graham Wilbert and returned the ba

The Eastern Michigan Eagles need new bathrooms, and coach Ron English is ready to jump out of a plane to get them.

Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt is not being released to transfer to Southern Miss, Tennessee or Vanderbilt, according to several people briefed on the decision.

Fans start petition to help Georgia OL Houston

When quarterback Wes Lunt announced he was going to transfer from Oklahoma State, both he and the school went out of their way to handle it in the classiest way possible. Lunt thanked Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy thanked Lunt. Lunt was a highly touted recruit and was a starter to begin the 2012 season as a true freshman, but he dealt with injuries and it was time to move on. Oklahoma State had a logjam at quarterback after the spring. Everyone seemed on board with him moving on and doing what was best for his future. That makes Oklahoma State's subsequent significant transfer restrictions on Lunt so odd, and infuriating as well. According to the Tulsa World, Lunt will not be allowed by Oklahoma State to transfer to a school in the Big 12, SEC or to Southern Mississippi (whose new coach, Todd Monken, was previously Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator). OSU confirming my tweet from two days ago that Lunt is being blocked from transferring to certain destinations -- Southern Miss, SEC, Big 12 — Jimmie Tramel (@JimmieTramel) May 17, 2013 A similar report from CBSSports.com lists just SEC and Southern Mississippi on the restricted list. Derek Leonard, Lunt's high school coach, told Channel1450.com in Springfield, Ill. that the Big 12, SEC, Southern Mississippi and Eastern Michigan were on the list. None of it makes sense. Let's revisit those quotes from the transfer announcement. "We appreciate Wes and we thank him for everything he has done," Gundy said. "He's leaving on good terms and is making this decision based on what he thinks is best for his future." "This was not a decision I took lightly, but it is a decision that I felt was right for me," Lunt said. "I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the entire Oklahoma State University community. Specifically, I would like to thank the coaches, players, and the whole OSU football family. I wish the Cowboys the best of luck in the future." There are many things about college football that benefit the school and not the athletes that the NCAA laughably spends so much time saying it looks out for. In fact, almost everything is in place to benefit the schools. It's a one-sided relationship. Blanket transfer restrictions like this are one of the more outrageous slights against young men who want to switch schools for whatever reason. Lunt wanted to change schools because, presumably, he feels he has a bright college future ahead of him but was not going to start at Oklahoma State. That happens. It happened to Joe Flacco at Pitt. He went to Delaware and did pretty well for himself. One would presume when Gundy was flirting with Tennessee about its opening this offseason that he had legitimate reasons, whether it be for his family or career, for looking into a change. Nobody blocked him from talking to any school, even while under contract. That's fair. Well, fair for those few in college athletics who are making millions. Not fair, apparently, for the unpaid labor of college football. Unless there's more to the story – and go back and look at the quotes, it would make no sense for Gundy to lie in public comments he didn't need to make, say "he's leaving on good terms" and hurt his credibility – there's no reason to be so restrictive for Lunt. He's a young man who could have a bright and lucrative future. Gundy is making it harder for Lunt to seek out the type of college football career that he wants, and get the college education at the institution he desires. It's an unnecessary power trip that could have a significant negative impact on a 19-year-old's life. This is college athletics at its most ridiculous, petty and hypocritical. It needs to be changed. - - - Want to join the conversation? Hit us up on Twitter @YahooDrSaturday and be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.

This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss. BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS: ACTORS WHO PLAYED COLLEGE FOOTBALL NO. 1, JOHN WAYNE, USC Nobody embodied manliness for most of the 20th century more than John Wayne. IMDB counts 180 movies and shows for Wayne, and in most of them he plays the role of a tough guy, usually in Western films. And of course, the ultimate man's man played college football. Before John Wayne was a movie legend, he was just Marion Morrison, a USC offensive tackle. His football career came to a sudden end, but after that Morrison set off on a movie career and became famous under his screen name. Movie fans will forever be grateful. Wayne graduated high school in 1925 and came to USC on a football scholarship. Wayne is generally listed as being 6-foot-4, and he had the physical presence to be a college football player. His football scholarship covered the $280 a year tuition (!!!) and one meal a day, according to a feature on Wayne on USC's website. He and a few other football teammates started working part time at Fox Film Corp during college. He played on the freshman team at USC, then was on the varsity team as a sophomore. Legend has it that Wayne broke his collarbone while body surfing at Newport Beach before his junior year, and had his football scholarship taken away. He left USC shortly after his junior year started. "(H)e felt his football playing days were over because of his bad shoulder," Eugene C. Clarke, a USC trustee who grew up with Wayne, said according to the USC feature on Wayne. "So he did what he felt he had to do. He quit school and went to work at the studios." The entertainment world wouldn't be the same if Marion Morrison hadn't blown his football career in a surfing accident. His first few roles included some as a football extra, including a role as a USC football player in "The Drop Kick," a 1927 film. Eventually he grew to be an icon, and was the lead in more than 140 films, an unfathomable number. His biggest moment might have been when he won a Best Actor Oscar in 1969 for "True Grit." The Duke's football career probably didn't turn out as he hoped. It wasn't such a bad break, however. Previously on the "Doc Five" 5. Carl Weathers 4. Dwayne Johnson 3. Burt Reynolds 2. Ed O'Neill - - - Want to join the conversation? Hit us up on Twitter @YahooDrSaturday and be sure to "Like" Dr. Saturday on Facebook for football conversations and stuff you won't see on the blog.