Week 2 Eck Poll (9/8/15)

ECK POLL - Week 2
9 polls combine for 3250 max points

NCAA Football Rankings - ECK Top 25 - Updated: Sep 8, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	OHIO STATE (6)	1	0	3242
2	2	ALABAMA (1)	1	0	3009
3	3	TEXAS CHRISTIAN	1	0	2915
4	5	BAYLOR	1	0	2735
5	7	MICHIGAN STATE	1	0	2506
6	4	OREGON	1	0	2423
7	8	AUBURN	1	0	2398
8	10	SOUTHERN CAL	1	0	2208
9	11	NOTRE DAME	1	0	2177
10	9	GEORGIA	1	0	2129
11	6	FLORIDA STATE	1	0	1987
12	13	CLEMSON	1	0	1800
13	12	UCLA	1	0	1730
14	15	OLE MISS	1	0	1483
15	14	LSU	0	0	1357
16	19	GEORGIA TECH	1	0	1345
17	NR	TEXAS A&M	1	0	1155
18	17	OKLAHOMA	1	0	1081
19	NR	ARKANSAS	1	0	1049
20	24	ARIZONA	1	0	605
21	21	BOISE STATE	1	0	529
22	25	TENNESSEE	1	0	483
23	23	MISSOURI	1	0	472
24	NR	UTAH	1	0	285
25	18	WISCONSIN	0	1	217

Dropped from Top 25:
#16 Arizona State, #20 Stanford, #22 Mississippi State

Also Receiving Votes:
Mississippi State (210), Arizona State (152), Northwestern (92), BYU (86), West Virginia (75), Oklahoma State (73), Florida (40), Louisville (39), Stanford (31), Kansas State (28), South Carolina (14), Temple (13), Virginia Tech (11), Minnesota (10), Maryland (9), Duke (9), Miami FL (8), Cincinnati (6), NC State (5), Navy (4), Marshall (4), California (4), Western Kentucky (2), Nebraska (2), Pittsburgh (1), Illinois (1), Memphis (1), LA Tech (1)

Week 1 Results

Here are the results of our first week picks.

All Game times are PT
Thursday, September 3

North Carolina (T) at South Carolina (N, D) - 17-13 SCAR
FL International at Central Florida (N, T, D) - 15-14 FIU
Oklahoma State (N, T, D) at Central Michigan - 24-13 OKST
Elon at Wake Forest (N, T, D) - 41-3 WAKE
VMI at Ball State (N, T, D) -  48-36 BALL
Stony Brook at Toledo (N, T, D) - CANCELLED
Alcorn State at #19 Georgia Tech (N, T, D) - 69-6 GT
Villanova (N, T) at Connecticut (D) - 20-15 UCONN
Western Kentucky (T) at Vanderbilt (N, D) - 14-12 WKY
Michigan at Utah (N, T, D) - 24-17 UTAH
#3 TCU (N, T, D) at Minnesota - 23-17 TCU
Ohio (N, T, D) at Idaho - 45-28 OHIO
Southern Utah at Utah State (N, T, D) - 12-9 UTAHST
Duke (N, T, D) at Tulane - 37-7 DUKE
TX-San Antonio at #24 Arizona (N, T, D) - 42-32 ZONA
UC Davis at Nevada (N, T, D) - 31-17 NEV
New Hampshire (T) at San Jose State (N, D) - 43-13 SJST
Abilene Christian at Fresno State (N, T, D) - 34-13 FRESNO
Colorado (N, T, D) at Hawaii - 28-20 HAW

Friday, September 4

Charlotte (N) at Georgia State (T, D) - 23-20 CHAR
#7 Michigan State (N, T, D) at Western Michigan - 37-24 MICHST
#5 Baylor (N, T, D) at SMU - 56-21 BAY
Rhode Island at Syracuse (N, T, D) - 47-0 CUSE
Fordham at Army (N, T, D) - 37-35 FORD
Weber State at Oregon State (N, T, D) - 26-7 ORST
Kent State (N) at Illinois (T, D) - POSTPONED TO SATURDAY
Washington at #21 Boise State (N, T, D) - 16-13 BOISE

Saturday, September 5

LA-Monroe at #9 Georgia (N, T, D) - 51-14 GA
TN-Martin at #15 Ole Miss (N, T, D) - 76-3 OLEMISS
#20 Stanford (N, T, D) at Northwestern - 16-6 NW
Colgate at Navy (N, T, D) - 48-10 NAVY
Norfolk State at Rutgers (N, T, D) - 63-13 RUT
Illinois State at Iowa (N, T, D) - 31-14 IOWA
Richmond at Maryland (N, T, D) - 50-21 MARY
S. Dakota State (D) at Kansas (N, T) - 41-38 SDAKST
Wofford at #13 Clemson (N, T, D) - 49-10 CLEM
Youngstown State at Pittsburgh (N, T, D) - 45-37 PITT
Maine at Boston College (N, T, D) - 24-3 BC
Portland State at Washington State (N, T, D) - 24-17 PORTST
Kent State (N) at Illinois (T, D) - 52-3 ILLINI
UTEP at Arkansas (N, T, D) - 48-13 ARK
ATLANTA: Louisville vs #8 Auburn (N, T, D) - 31-24 AUB
Virginia at #12 UCLA (N, T, D) - 34-16 UCLA
Sam Houston State at Texas Tech (N, T, D) - 59-45 TTU
BYU (N, D) at Nebraska (T) - 33-28 BYU
Old Dominion (N, T, D) at Eastern Michigan - 38-34 ODU
Penn State (N, T, D) at Temple - 27-10 TEMP
Wagner at Rice (N, T, D) - 56-16 RICE
FL Atlantic (D) at Tulsa (N, T) - 47-44 (OT) TULSA
Morgan State at Air Force (N, T, D) - 63-7 USAFA
Albany at Buffalo (N, T, D) - 51-14 BUFF
Presbyterian at Miami-OH (N, T, D) - 26-7 MIAOH
Howard at Appalachian State (N, T, D) - 49-0 APPST
Savannah State at Colorado State (N, T, D) - 65-13 COLST
North Dakota at Wyoming (N, T, D) - 24-13 NDAK
Bowling Green at #25 Tennessee (N, T, D) - 59-30 TENN
Southern Illinois at Indiana (N, T, D) - 48-47 IND
SE Missouri State at #23 Missouri (N, T, D) - 34-3 MIZZOU
Grambling State at California (N, T, D) - 73-14 CAL
Bethune-Cookman at Miami-FL (N, T, D) - 45-0 MIAFL
Troy at NC State (N, T, D) - 49-21 NCST
Towson at East Carolina (N, T, D) - 28-20 ECAR
Gardner-Webb at South Alabama (N, T, D) - 33-23 SBAMA
MS Valley State at New Mexico (N, T, D) - 66-0 NM
Florida A&M at South Florida (N, T, D) - 51-3 SFLA
Missouri State at Memphis (N, T, D) - 63-7 MEM
Alabama A&M at Cincinnati (N, T, D) - 52-10 CINCY
Southern at Louisiana Tech (N, T, D) - 62-15 LATECH
Jackson State at Middle Tennessee (N, T, D) - 70-14 MIDTENN
Akron at #17 Oklahoma (N, T, D) - 41-3 OK
HOUSTON, TX: #16 Arizona State (N, D) vs Texas A&M (T) - 38-17 TAMU
LA-Lafayette (N) at Kentucky (T, D) - 40-33 KY
South Dakota at Kansas State (N, T, D) - 34-0 KSTATE
Texas (N) at #11 Notre Dame (T, D) - 38-3 ND
Georgia Southern at West Virginia (N, T, D) - 44-0 WVU
McNeese State at #14 LSU (N, T, D) - CANCELLED
New Mexico State at Florida (N, T, D) - 61-13 FLA
UNLV at Northern Illinois (N, T, D) - 38-30 NILL
San Diego at San Diego State (N, T, D) - 37-3 SDST
DALLAS, TX: #18 Wisconsin vs #2 Alabama (N, T, D) - 35-17 BAMA
Texas State at #6 Florida State (N, T, D) - 59-16 FLST
Eastern Washington at #4 Oregon (N, T, D) - 61-42 ORE
Northern Iowa (D) at Iowa State (N, T) - 31-7 IAST
Tennessee Tech at Houston (N, T, D) - 52-24 HOU
#22 Mississippi State (N, T, D) at Southern Mississippi - 34-16 MISS ST
Arkansas State at #10 Southern Cal (N, T, D) - 55-6 USC

Sunday, September 6

Purdue at Marshall (N, T, D) - 41-31 MARSH

Monday, September 7

#1 Ohio State (N, T, D) at Virginia Tech - 42-24 OHIOST

Pick Results:

Nick - 71-14 (83.53%)
Tyler - 72-13 (84.71%)
Derek - 73-12 (85.88%)

Week 1 Predictions

Here we are; Week 1 of the 2015 FBS Season. We will predict every game this season. Here are our first picks of the season.

All Game times are PT
Thursday, September 3

North Carolina (T) at South Carolina (N, D) - 3pm on ESPN
FL International at Central Florida (N, T, D) - 3pm on CBS Sports Network
Oklahoma State (N, T, D) at Central Michigan - 4pm on ESPNU
Elon at Wake Forest (N, T, D) - 4pm
VMI at Ball State (N, T, D) -  4pm
Stony Brook at Toledo (N, T, D) - 4pm
Alcorn State at #19 Georgia Tech (N, T, D) - 4:30pm
Villanova (N, T) at Connecticut (D) - 4:30pm
Western Kentucky (T) at Vanderbilt (N, D) - 5pm
Michigan at Utah (N, T, D) - 5:30pm on Fox Sports 1
#3 TCU (N, T, D) at Minnesota - 6pm on ESPN
Ohio (N, T, D) at Idaho - 6pm
Southern Utah at Utah State (N, T, D) - 6pm
Duke (N, T, D) at Tulane - 6:30pm on CBS Sports Network
TX-San Antonio at #24 Arizona (N, T, D) - 7pm on Pac-12 Network
UC Davis at Nevada (N, T, D) - 7pm
New Hampshire (T) at San Jose State (N, D) - 7pm
Abilene Christian at Fresno State (N, T, D) - 7pm
Colorado (N, T, D) at Hawaii - 10pm on CBS Sports Network

Friday, September 4

Charlotte (N) at Georgia State (T, D) - 12:30pm on ESPNU
#7 Michigan State (N, T, D) at Western Michigan - 4pm on ESPNU
#5 Baylor (N, T, D) at SMU - 4pm on ESPN
Rhode Island at Syracuse (N, T, D) - 4pm
Fordham at Army (N, T, D) - 4pm
Weber State at Oregon State (N, T, D) - 5pm on Pac-12 Network
Kent State (N) at Illinois (T, D) - 6pm on B1G Network
Washington at #21 Boise State (N, T, D) - 7:15pm on ESPN

Saturday, September 5

LA-Monroe at #9 Georgia (N, T, D) - 9am on SEC Network
TN-Martin at #15 Ole Miss (N, T, D) - 9am on SEC Network
#20 Stanford (N, T, D) at Northwestern - 9am on ESPN
Colgate at Navy (N, T, D) - 9am on CBS Sports Network
Norfolk State at Rutgers (N, T, D) - 9am on ESPNNews
Illinois State at Iowa (N, T, D) - 9am on B1G Network
Richmond at Maryland (N, T, D) - 9am on ESPNU
S. Dakota State (D) at Kansas (N, T) - 9am
Wofford at #13 Clemson (N, T, D) - 9:30am
Youngstown State at Pittsburgh (N, T, D) - 10am
Maine at Boston College (N, T, D) - 10am
Portland State at Washington State (N, T, D) - 11am on Pac-12 Network
UTEP at Arkansas (N, T, D) - 12:30pm on ESPNU
ATLANTA: Louisville vs #8 Auburn (N, T, D) - 12:30pm on CBS
Virginia at #12 UCLA (N, T, D) - 12:30pm on FOX
Sam Houston State at Texas Tech (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
BYU (N, D) at Nebraska (T) - 12:30pm on ABC
Old Dominion (N, T, D) at Eastern Michigan - 12:30pm
Penn State (N, T, D) at Temple - 12:30pm on ESPN
Wagner at Rice (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
FL Atlantic (D) at Tulsa (N, T) - 12:30pm on CBS Sports Network
Morgan State at Air Force (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
Albany at Buffalo (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
Presbyterian at Miami-OH (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
Howard at Appalachian State (N, T, D) - 12:30pm
Savannah State at Colorado State (N, T, D) - 1pm
North Dakota at Wyoming (N, T, D) - 1pm
Bowling Green at #25 Tennessee (N, T, D) - 1pm on SEC Network
Southern Illinois at Indiana (N, T, D) - 1pm on ESPNNews
SE Missouri State at #23 Missouri (N, T, D) - 1pm on SEC Network
Grambling State at California (N, T, D) - 2pm on Pac-12 Network
Bethune-Cookman at Miami-FL (N, T, D) - 3pm
Troy at NC State (N, T, D) - 3pm
Towson at East Carolina (N, T, D) - 3pm
Gardner-Webb at South Alabama (N, T, D) - 3pm
MS Valley State at New Mexico (N, T, D) - 4pm
Florida A&M at South Florida (N, T, D) - 4pm
Missouri State at Memphis (N, T, D) - 4pm
Alabama A&M at Cincinnati (N, T, D) - 4pm
Southern at Louisiana Tech (N, T, D) - 4pm
Jackson State at Middle Tennessee (N, T, D) - 4pm
Akron at #17 Oklahoma (N, T, D) - 4pm
HOUSTON, TX: #16 Arizona State (N, D) vs Texas A&M (T) - 4pm on ESPN
LA-Lafayette (N) at Kentucky (T, D) - 4pm on ESPNU
South Dakota at Kansas State (N, T, D) - 4:10pm
Texas (N) at #11 Notre Dame (T, D) - 4:30pm on NBC
Georgia Southern at West Virginia (N, T, D) - 4:30pm
McNeese State at #14 LSU (N, T, D) - 4:30pm on SEC Network
New Mexico State at Florida (N, T, D) - 4:30pm on SEC Network
UNLV at Northern Illinois (N, T, D) - 4:30pm on CBS Sports Network
San Diego at San Diego State (N, T, D) - 5pm
DALLAS, TX: #18 Wisconsin vs #2 Alabama (N, T, D) - 5pm on ABC
Texas State at #6 Florida State (N, T, D) - 5pm on ESPNNews
Eastern Washington at #4 Oregon (N, T, D) - 5pm on Pac-12 Network
Northern Iowa (D) at Iowa State (N, T) - 5pm
Tennessee Tech at Houston (N, T, D) - 5pm
#22 Mississippi State (N, T, D) at Southern Mississippi - 7pm on Fox Sports 1
Arkansas State at #10 Southern Cal (N, T, D) - 8pm on Pac-12 Network

Sunday, September 6

Purdue at Marshall (N, T, D) - 12pm on FOX Sports 1

Monday, September 7

#1 Ohio State (N, T, D) at Virginia Tech - 5pm on ESPN

Preseason Poll (7/30/15)

ECK PRESEASON POLL 
9 polls combine for 1000 max points

Preseason NCAA Rankings - ECK Top 25 - Jul 30, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	OHIO STATE (8)	14	1	996
2	4	ALABAMA (1)	12	2	924
3	3	TEXAS CHRISTIAN	12	1	831
4	2	OREGON	13	2	791
5	7	BAYLOR	11	2	782
6	6	FLORIDA STATE	13	1	760
7	5	MICHIGAN STATE	11	2	751
8	22	AUBURN	8	5	667
9	9	GEORGIA	10	3	653
10	20	SOUTHERN CAL	9	4	596
11	NR	NOTRE DAME	8	5	484
12	10	UCLA	10	3	480
13	15	CLEMSON	10	3	471
14	NR	LSU	8	5	449
15	19	OLE MISS	9	4	382
16	13	ARIZONA STATE	10	3	360
17	NR	OKLAHOMA	8	5	351
18	12	WISCONSIN	11	3	311
19	8	GEORGIA TECH	11	3	253
20	NR	STANFORD	8	5	244
21	16	BOISE STATE	12	2	218
22	11	MISSISSIPPI STATE	10	3	178
23	14	MISSOURI	11	3	173
24	17	ARIZONA	10	4	169
25	NR	TENNESSEE	7	6	164

Dropped from Top 25:
#18 Kansas State, #21 Utah, #23 Marshall, #24 Louisville, #25 Memphis

Also Receiving Votes:
Texas A&M (129), Arkansas (116), Virginia Tech (62), Oklahoma State (44), North Carolina (44), Kansas State (36), Nebraska (27), Utah (22), Michigan (22), South Carolina (22), Marshall (13), Memphis (13), Louisville (9), Florida (4)

#TBT - Looking back at 2005

- Nicholas Eck

Every Thursday leading up to Kickoff 2015, we will look back at one of the past seasons and recall the year that was. Week 2 for this will be the 2005 season.

The 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the least amount of controversy surrounding the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game in many years.

The BCS lucked out as both Southern Cal and Texas ran the table as #1 and #2 respectively. It was the second season in a row that the top 2 teams stayed pat, giving the BCS one less controversy to deal with. Both the Trojans and Longhorns finished the regular season as the only two teams that were undefeated. 

This season also saw a emergence of the Central Florida program. 0-11 the previous season, the Golden Knights finished 8-5, an appearance in the C-USA Title game (44-27 loss to Tulsa), and a berth in the Hawaii Bowl. Penn State also turned a poor 2004 performance into a great 2005 season. 4-7 in 2004, the Nittany Lions finished 2005 with a 11-1 record, and a #3 ranking in the BCS.

Prior to the start of the season, Temple was "expelled" from the Big East and became an Independent program. Army also joined the ranks of Independents when they left the C-USA. 2005 saw the ACC play their first conference title game as Boston College joined from the Big East. Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida left Conference USA to join the Big East, to bring the membership in that league back up to eight. TCU also left Conference USA to join the Mountain West Conference as its ninth member.

Conference USA responded to the mass defections by adding Central Florida and Marshall from the Mid-American Conference, knocking the MAC's membership down from 14 to 12, and Rice, Southern Methodist, UTEP, and Tulsa from the WAC to get up to 12 members. Like the ACC, C-USA split into two divisions and started a conference championship game.

In response to their losses, the WAC added Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State from the Sun Belt Conference while the Sun Belt picked up independent Florida Atlantic and Florida International, who had just transitioned from Division I-AA. Division I-A membership is now at 119 schools.

Conference Champions - *Tie breakers went to BCS representive*

ACC - Florida State (5-3, 8-5)

Big East - West Virginia (7-0, 11-1)

Big Ten - Penn State (7-1, 11-1)

Big 12 - Texas (8-0, 13-0)

C-USA - Tulsa (6-2, 9-4)

MAC - Akron (5-3, 7-6)

MWC - TCU (8-0, 11-1)

Pac-10 - Southern Cal (8-0, 12-1)

SEC - Georgia (6-2, 10-3)
Sun Belt - Arkansas State (5-2, 6-6)

WAC - Boise State (7-1, 9-4)

Top games of 2004

1. Texas 41 - Southern Cal 38 (Rose Bowl)

The game was a back-and-forth contest; Vince Young's third rushing touchdown of the game, gave the Longhorns a one-point lead with 19 seconds left to play. Texas's Rose Bowl win was the 800th victory in school history. 

2. Penn State 26 - Florida State 23 - 3OT (Orange Bowl)

The three-overtime game took over four hours. Florida State's kicking woes continued. Gary Cismesia's 38-yard attempt hit the right upright. Kevin Kelly hit a 29-yard field goal to give Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions the win over Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles.

3. Texas 38 - Michigan 37 (Rose Bowl)

Zac Taylor threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Nunn with 4:29 left, and Nebraska survived Michigan's lateral-filled, game-ending play to beat the No. 20 Wolverines 32-28.

Heisman Trophy Winner

Reggie Bush (JR) Southern Cal - RB (2541 points)

2. Vince Young (JR) Texas - QB (1608)

3. Matt Leinart (SR) Southern Cal - QB (797)

4. Brady Quinn (JR) Notre Dame - QB (191)

5. Michael Robinson (SR) Penn State - QB (49)

Epilogue

In the years following USC's 2004 season BCS title, it emerged that former Trojan running back Reggie Bush, who played for the team in 2004 (and 2005), had received illegal gifts in violation of NCAA rules. The subsequent NCAA investigation confirmed this, and the Trojan football program was hit with severe sanctions in the summer of 2010. Reggie Bush vacated the 2005 Heisman Trophy, runner-up Vince Young commented that he would not accept the trophy. The Heisman Trust later announced that the 2005 trophy was vacated, and no winner will be named for the season.

#TBT - Looking back at 2004

- Nicholas Eck

Starting today, and every Thursday leading up to Kickoff 2015, we will look back at one of the past seasons and recall the year that was. Our kickoff for this will be the 2004 season.

The 2004 NCAA Division 1-A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for the two spots in the national title game (Orange Bowl), triggering controversy. In the 2003 season, no team finished the regular season unblemished, and five teams had finished with one loss. In 2004, the situation became even more complicated as five teams finished perfect, a record for the BCS era (tied in 2009). USC of the Pac-10, Oklahoma of the Big 12, Auburn of the SEC, Utah of the MW, and Boise State of the WAC all finished the regular season undefeated. USC and Oklahoma started the season #1 and #2 respectively, but the other three teams were handicapped by starting outside the top 15. Thus the BCS National Championship was played between USC and OU, while Auburn, Utah, and Boise were having to be content with other bowl games.

Along with controversy picking the national title game participants, there was some controversy selecting the BCS at-large teams. Utah was the first at-large team to receive a bid (higher BCS rank). California was expected to get an invite, being ranked fourth in the BCS entering the final week of the regular season; Texas, who had been left out of the BCS last season entered fifth in the final rankings. Both teams finished 10-1, but the Longhorns received enough support from poll voters to jump the Golden Bears in the final BCS poll, ensuring the final at-large bid.

The Associated Press, as a result of two consecutive seasons of BCS chicanery, prohibited the BCS from using their poll as part of the ranking formula. The AP poll was replaced by the Harris Interactive poll, and the AP continues to award it's own national championship trophy.

Prior to the start of the season, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the ACC, giving the conference 11 members. Connecticut left the Independent ranks to join the Big East. Troy State also left their Independent status in the dust to join the Sun Belt Conference. Florida Atlantic made the leap from Division 1-AA to 1-A giving the big boys a total of 118 programs.

Conference Champions
*Tie breakers went to BCS representive*

ACC - Virginia Tech (7-1, 10-3)

Big East - Pittsburgh (4-2, 8-4)

Big Ten - Iowa (7-1, 10-2)

Big 12 - Oklahoma (8-0, 12-1)

C-USA - Louisville (8-0, 11-1)

MAC - Toledo (7-1, 9-4)

MWC - Utah (7-0, 12-0)

Pac-10 - Southern Cal (8-0, 13-0)

SEC - Auburn (8-0, 13-0)
Sun Belt - North Texas (7-0, 7-5)

WAC - Boise State (8-0, 11-1)

Top games of 2004

1. Southern Cal 55 - Oklahoma 19 (Orange Bowl)

The much-anticipated battle between #1 and #2 turned into a coronation for USC, which settled for a share of the National Championship last season. Heisman winner Matt Leinart threw a record five TD passes and the Trojans won the National Title over the Sooners.

2. Auburn 16 - Virginia Tech 13 (Sugar Bowl)

Auburn needed to blast Virginia Tech, and needed an Oklahoma win over USC in the Orange Bowl for a chance at split national champions. Instead, the Tigers built a 16 point lead on the Hokies, and then needed a couple of major blunders by the Hokies to hold on to a undefeated season.

3. Texas 38 - Michigan 37 (Rose Bowl)

In the week leading up to the game, Mack Brown and the Longhorns were barraged by questions about the worthiness to play in a BCS game. A winning kick put that controversy to rest. The Texas Longhorns proved that they did indeed belong in the Rose Bowl. It was the first ever matchup between two of college football elite programs.

Heisman Trophy Winner

Matt Leinart (JR) Southern Cal - QB (1325 points)

2. Adrian Peterson (FR) Oklahoma - RB (997)

3. Jason White (SR) Oklahoma - QB (957)

4. Alex Smith (JR) Utah - QB (635)

5. Reggie Bush (SO) Southern Cal - RB (597)

Epilogue

In the years following USC's 2004 season BCS title, it emerged that former Trojan running back Reggie Bush, who played for the team in 2004 (and 2005), had received illegal gifts in violation of NCAA rules. The subsequent NCAA investigation confirmed this, and the Trojan football program was hit with severe sanctions in the summer of 2010. Among these were the vacating of the last two wins of 2004 (including the Orange Bowl) and all wins in 2005 (they lost the Rose Bowl to Texas). After USC's appeal was denied, the BCS officially stripped them of the 2004 BCS title in 2011 and left the title for that year vacant.

Back from the Dead - The UAB story

- Nicholas Eck 

In December, in the midst of their first winning season since the 2004 season, UAB announced they would cut the football program. The Blazers also ended cutting their rifle and bowling programs in what President Ray Watts called "cost cutting measures." But six months later, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Blazers will live to play again. 

June 1st, the University of Alabama at Birmingham announced that the school would revive the football, rifle, and bowling programs. We could, like a lot of people in 'Bama, spend time talking about how Watts and the UA board of trustees screwed the pooch on the whole situation. Instead we are going to talk about the monumental task of getting the program ready for the 2016 season.

Creating a Roster

First things first: UAB doesn't have one.

Following the announcement last December, 56 players made the decisions to continue their careers elsewhere by transferring out of the program. According to Norm Reilly, UAB's football sports information director, he states that the number of transfers changes almost every other week.

"Number of players remaining with the program is to be determined," he said, "Not sure where you saw the number 56 for players having transferred. I have a few more than that, though the list has remained fluid since the announcement in December."

Pair that mass exodus with 19 seniors that just graduated, and 7 non-transferring juniors set to graduate by 2016, it seems almost impossible for UAB to comply with NCAA guidelines and field a team by 2016.

By spring 2016, the Blazers will have lost 82 players to graduation and transfers, leaving the program with 23 student-athletes to suit up for the 2016 season. That 23 athletes is only if they are will to chill one season and hit the gym in the meantime. 

But the issue of returning players is just a small part of the massive hill climb ahead of the Blazers. NCAA bylaws state that no program can sign more than 25 new scholarship players each year. If the NCAA doesn't bend the rules, based on the stupid nature of the school board, the squad will be forced to play with a very thin roster.

If the NCAA finds it in their black hearts to allow UAB to bend the rule to fix Watts' mistake, they still are recruiting in a state shared with Auburn, Alabama, and Troy. Hands down, they will not be getting cream of the crop talent, and prospects are going to be weary to sign with UAB.

However, if the NCAA does make UAB play by the rules, it could take the program at least three years just to bring in enough players to have a chance at competing in the FBS. And even then, they have to count on bringing in at least two classes that will play lame duck seasons in the process.

Home, Sweet Home

On top of players, UAB needs a new home.

Legion Field - the home of the Blazers, is a god awful place to play. Built in 1926, the field has turned into a sad excuse for a venue, and was one of the major factors when Watts brought down the hammer in December. 

Since Legion Field is off the table for a long-term solution, the University would ideally like to construct a new field on campus, but it has stated that they can not, and will not foot the bill. Private donors have pledged $7.5 million for an on-campus stadium, but that is not even close enough. Another option is for the Blazers to pair with the city government of Birmingham to build one off-campus, but the mayor has declared that "we do not have the resources to do that."

Securing a Conference

Conference USA rules stipulate that a university must maintain a football program in order to retain a spot within the conference. When UAB decided to chop their program, it raised the question of whether or not C-USA would allow UAB to stay.

Reilly admits that it is still "to be determined" whether or not UAB will be able to field a team in 2016, but Conference USA appears content to wait and won't penalize the Blazers:

"We are very pleased with the decision to bring back the football program at UAB. As a conference we are committed to football, and we welcome the good news that the UAB football program has been given another chance. From all indications, this program will now be able to count on a very strong foundation of community support upon which it will begin the re-building that will position it well for success into the future. Although the lengthy evaluation process was challenging, this final outcome makes it worth the wait. We look forward to working with our colleagues in Birmingham as they plan this exciting new chapter in UAB football.”

Getting back

Under first year head coach Bill Clark, UAB posted their first winning record in 10 years. Clark was named C-USA's coach of the year, and would've coached them to their second-ever bowl appearance had the announcement not been made when it was.

Nicely putting it, all the hard work that Clark put into bring this team back to some-what respectability was quickly flushed down the shitter because Watts and Co. didn't realize that most of the money brought into a school is from the football program. Clark now has no momentum, no players, no recruiting leverage, nothing but the warm fuzzies of his first season.

This will be a rebuild unlike anything since SMU survived the death penalty (if you call that surviving). You can and should celebrate UAB for saving it's team. But the next few years in Birmingham will require hard and painful work. The Board of Trustees may have failed in killing the Blazers, but they crippled it badly.