For the second consecutive week, College FootBlog rolls out our 3rd & 1 feature, which breaks down three observations from the college football action from the previous weekend.  And we finish by giving one key match up to look for in the upcoming week.  Let’s get to it, shall we?

1st:  Another week, another set of hangover games.   Last weekend, the Alabama Crimson Tide fell at South Carolina after thumping the hated Florida Gators the week before.  This weekend, Kentucky returned the favor.  Steve Spurrier took his Gamecocks into Lexington, and the Wildcats shocked them 31-28.  Not to be outdone, Oregon State lost a double-overtime thriller to Washington, just one week after knocking off previously undefeated Arizona.   

2nd:  Michigan QB Denard Robinson cannot take the punishment of a full Big Ten schedule.  Although Robinson is the most explosive player in college football, Rich Rodriguez has no other legitimate weapons on offense, making Robinson a one-man show.  Robinson is on pace for around 250 rushes this year–if his body can take it.  They need more production and more carries from their running backs to take some pressure off Robinson (RB Vincent Smith is second on the team in yards and carries and currently has nearly half the rushes (70) that Robinson has accumulated this season.  More importantly, Robinson, who is listed 6’0″ and only 188 lbs. does not have the body to take that many hits in the thick of the Big Ten schedule.

Wisconsin's bruising running back, John Clay took it to Ohio State this past weekend (google images)

3rd:  John Clay is the real deal.  The Big Ten’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, along with Wisconsin’s massive offensive line smacked Ohio State right in the mouth this weekend, en route to this season’s biggest upset as they took dominated the Buckeyes 31-18.  Clay led the Badgers’ ground assault with 104 yards and two touchdowns on just 21 carries (5.0 yards per carry).  Behind arguably the most physical offensive line in the country, the 255 lb. junior proved to be too much for a Ohio State defense that features seven players who could be playing in the NFL in the very near future.  Clay and fellow tailback James White will get another opportunity to shine on national television this upcoming weekend when they travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes.  If he has a similar performance against Iowa’s stout defense, Heisman voters will be forced to take notice.

…and 1:  Mizzou QB Blaine Gabbert will get his first major test of 2010 this weekend when Oklahoma comes to town.  At 265 yards per game, Gabbert ranks 20th in the country.  Statistically, the Sooners defense has been far from stellar this season, but a closer look shows that Bob Stoops’ squad has brought their A-Game in their only two legitimate contests so far this season.  The Sooners shut down Florida State in week 2 and rattled Texas QB Garrett Gilbert in the Red River Rivalry game a couple of weeks ago.  Look for OU to come after Gabbert, who has battled through a hip injury.  The Sooners will bring it this upcoming weekend, and they will look to ruin Mizzou’s homecoming weekend on the national TV game of the week.

For the elite high school quarterbacks in the country, the opportunity to play quarterback at one of the bigtime college football programs is a dream come true.  One major factor in making the final decision on which program gets the signature on the letter of intent is the degree to which that individual player will be prepared for the next level (the NFL).

The high-powered programs like Florida, Oklahoma, Miami and USC are just a few of the major BSC schools that elite high school quarterbacks consider, and why not?  These teams are known for their juggernaut offenses, and they are consistently in the hunt for a national championship.  College FootBlog takes a deeper look into the progress of the top performing quarterbacks from the NFL and where those QBs played their college ball.

Drew Brees has continued to relish the underdog role in the NFL, much like he did when he played QB at Purdue (google images)

If you are a coach or a parent of an elite QB, the you may want to take a hard look at the numbers because you’ll probably be very surprised.  For a number of reasons, which we will cover later, the major programs typically do not groom their top-tier signal callers for the NFL.  Let’s take a look at the passer ratings from the last season.

Of the top ten quarterback ratings, only two, Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Tom Brady (Michigan) went to perineal BCS power houses, and Manning was ranked sixth, with Brady at #9. 

Purdue’s Drew Brees was the Superbowl MVP and the top-rated QB in the NFL last year, with a QB Rating of 109.6.  Brett Favre was a close second and is a sure-fire, first ballot Hall of Famer, and he played at Southern Miss.  

Phillip Rivers was the 3rd-ranked QB last year and has been a dominant player since his arrival in 2004, but NC State is not exactly known as Quarterback-U.  Aaron Rodgers was #4 and played at Cal, which doesn’t have the glamor of USC, but he outperformed his former rivals from LA last season.  Matt Schaub was ranked seventh and hails from the University of Virginia. 

The other three QBs in the top ten really dispel the idea that you have to go to a bigtime program to prepare for the NFL.   Fifth-ranked Ben Roethlisberger went to Miami–no, not that ‘Miami’…Miami of Ohio.  Eighth-ranked Tony Romo and 10th-ranked Kurt Warner played Division IAA (or FCS for those who are up on the new abbreviations) at Eastern Illinois and Northern Iowa, respectively.

Now, let’s take a look at the lowest ranked QBs from last year’s NFL season.  Five of the worst eight QBs in the NFL last season were from major programs, including #32 (the worst) first-round bust JaMarcus Russell from LSU.  Former USC quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Mark Sanchez were numbers 25 and 28.

Former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn came in at #27 and rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford struggled in his first season out of the University of Georgia, ranking 29th.

When digging into the numbers it really should not come as a huge surprise.  Afterall, the quarterbacks at the major programs typically have a bigtime advantage with their receiving corps versus the opposing secondaries.  For example, in Stafford’s last season at Georgia, he had 6’2″ and 2nd round pick Mohamed Massaquoi and soon to be first rounder AJ Green, who is 6’4″ and could be the best wideout in the country this year.

Even in the SEC, which is widely known for being the best conference in college football, the dominant programs have bigger, faster and stronger WRs, creating bigger windows to throw into and much more room for error. 

In the NFL, it is typically the cornerbacks that are the fastest players on the field, and while they may be at a disadvantage in size, the talent pool is much smaller, and those large windows to complete passes are not only smaller, but they also close very quickly.  In the NFL, a ball delivered a split-second too early or too late is the difference between a completion and a pick-six for the defense.

The QBs at the lesser-known programs have to deal with a more balanced and level playing field and often do not have this colossal advantage with their receivers, forcing them to make better reads and to thread the needle, instead of throwing to an area.

In the end, there are a few low-ranked QBs that could easily turn things around.  After all, Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford were only rookies last season, but the trend is quite staggering when you take away all the glamor and simply look at production on the field.  For the time being (and seemingly for the immediate future), it is the underdogs that continue to lead the way.

The fate of the Big 12 Conference was in the hands of the Texas Longhorns, and earlier this week, the conference was finally able to exhale.  After more guaranteed revenue, the University of Texas agreed to keep the conference intact, and they were soon followed by Oklahoma. And despite the departures of Nebraska next fall and Colorado in 2012, the threat of the mega-conferences is on the back burner.  Now the question is how long the current situation will last.

Mack Brown and his Texas Longhorns are staying with the Big 12....at least for now (google images)

It appears that this is a band-aid on an issue that could require plastic surgery.  Had Texas and Oklahoma left for the Pac 10 and Texas A&M bolted for the SEC, it would have had a domino effect in the rest of the college football world.  All conferences must learn from what could have happened and they need to prepare themselves for the same situation 3-5 years down the road.   College FootBlog takes a look at what might have been had the Longhorns set the mega-conferences into motion and weighs two potential impacts it would have had.

1.  The ACC and Big East would have been dead in the water.  The ACC thought they were going to challenge the SEC when they on-boarded Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College a few years ago.  Instead, Miami and Florida State have struggled to live up to their prestige from the 80′s and 90′s, and with huge losses in out of conference and bowl games, they have been little more than an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl because the BCS has to have a representative from their conference.

The Big East has come a long way since losing their coveted teams to the ACC.  But it hasn’t been easy.  Despite having three teams finish in the Top 25 last season, the Big East is still trying to prove they belong with the big boys.  The emergence of Pitt, Cincinnati and Rutgers has helped give them some respectability, but they are still largely considered a second-tier league.  With the depth they had last season, that is somewhat unfair, but that is still the general consensus.

The Big Ten flirted with Pitt when they originally wanted to have 14-16 teams in their league, and much like when the ACC raided them a few years ago, the conference seemed ready to take their lumps and move on.  There is talk that if and when the SEC comes calling, they will go after Virginia Tech, but even if the mega-conferences leave the ACC and Big East alone, each conference could easily become a footnote in the BCS title hunt if the big conferences get bigger and deeper.  That would result in far less revenue and could effectively make each conference a new-aged mid-major.

If they don’t want that to happen, representatives from each conference need to take advantage of the new three-year window and fight for stability and/or growth.  Otherwise, FSU, Miami and Virginia Tech could easily look to jump ship before it goes down.

2.  The Mid-Majors would have droppped further into obscurity. Even with Boise State making the move to the Mountain West, they simply will not be able to compete in terms of revenue and overall respectability vs a 16-team Pac 10.  Add to it that Utah is likely jumping ship from the MWC to become the Pac 10′s 12th team, and they will continue to fight for some well-deserved attention in college football.  Should the Pac 10 increase to a 16-team league in the future, all hope of having a representative in the BCS National Championship will be gone.

The conference already had an uphill battle due to the lack of television coverage and the perception that they, along with the other mid-majors are the little brother of the bigger, more traditional BCS conferences, but one or two mega-conferences would effectively shut the door on their chances for a title.

That would be a shame, considering what Boise State and Utah have more than represented themselves and their conferences on the big stage of a BCS bowl game.  A one-loss or even a two-loss team from a mega-conference could easily get the nod from voters to play in a title game over an undefeated mid-major team.  Considering the strength of schedule from a 16-team SEC and/or Pac 10, it would be very difficult to keep a conference champion from a dominant conference out of the National Championship.

The other major issue facing the non-BCS Conferences would be their ability to schedule decent out of conference games.  Boise State and TCU are already teams that present a no-win situation for a major program.  If the larger program wins, they were supposed to win.  If they lose, the upset becomes an instant classic.  A 16-team conference would provide more than enough competition and national recognition without scheduling a couple tough out of conference games, leaving the cupboard bare for the mid-majors to challenge the big boys.

College FootBlog wants your input.  Let us know your thoughts on the Mega-Conferences and the pros and cons if they become a reality.

Sometime soon, the Big Ten could get a facelift -- and transform college football in the process.

By: Brian Mosgaller

Sometime in the relatively near future, the Big Ten Conference will undergo a makeover so dramatic it would make Heidi Montag proud.

But the big question is, how will the procedure affect Spencer and LC and Audrina?

Welcome to college football’s version of The Hills (and apologies for the analogy).

Despite recent noncommittal (and non-denial) statements regarding conference expansion from league commish Jim Delaney, it is practically a foregone conclusion that the Big Ten will be adding teams within anywhere from two to five years. What is not decided, however, is what form this restructuring will take, who the players will end up being, and what kind of ripple effect will be initiated by it.

However it ends up manifesting, though, the Big Ten’s giant steps toward a superconference are going to shake the grounds of college football and give new direction to college sports in general, meaning that it this is a tremendously important and weighty development that deserves further examination.

So let’s breakdown what we know, and attempt to extrapolate what we don’t.

The Motivation

Shocker alert: this transformational rearrangement is being driven by money. Gasp!

But seriously, it is no secret that the Big Ten has found a cash-generating godsend in its Big Ten Network. Once thought to be a misguided and transparent attempt to make schools money, the BTN is now available in up to 75 million homes in the U.S.

The important numbers here are that last year the conference’s deal with ABC/ESPN provided about $9 million to each member school, and the BTN added approximately $7 million to $8 million to that booty. With bowl games and March Madness (among other things) topping off the pot, the estimated figure each Big Ten university ends up with is a staggering $22 million.

And the crazy part is that amount could double (at least) with expansion – expansion that could help the network cast its reach both East and West, as well as create a championship game worth between $15 million and $20 million.

For comparison, the SEC – winner of six BCS championships, as many as the other Big Five conferences (the Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, ACC and Pac-10) combined – pays out around $11 million to its member schools. The other conferences vary in their disbursements but are generally in a similar range (the Big East is the lowest, handing out an estimated $4.5 million).

In short then, the Big Ten Network has proved to be a cash cow for the league, and, naturally, they want to fatten the cow.

The Candidates

So what’s the best way to plump up that dead-president-spewing bovine? By growing the market for the network, of course.

Yet it is not quite that simple – there are prerequisites and mitigating considerations which factor into the expansion equation.

To wit, it is no mystery that the Big Ten, a proud and storied academic conference, wants to add schools that would not diminish the league’s scholastic prestige.

As a qualifying criterion then, it is commonly rumored that whatever schools are to be vetted for potential membership should be part of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization of 61 respected research institutions, as are all the 11 current members.

Moreover, the conference isn’t going to add just to add – it has to make sense (both financially and academically, as was mentioned) but also competitively. Sure, adding Buffalo would tap the New York market and add an AAU member, but it wouldn’t make sense on the field, where this discussion starts and ends.

With all that said, everyone knows the number one target: the elusive Golden Domers. That’s right, good ol’ Notre Dame. For years, the Big Ten has courted the Irish and for good reason. Although Notre Dame is not an AAU card carrier and doesn’t geographically enlarge the conference’s domain, it brings with it arguably the largest and most devoted fan base in the country. While the league wouldn’t be directly cracking the East Coast television market, it would in reality be gaining viewers and Notre Dame graduates from sea to shining sea.

Unfortunately, it is also common knowledge that Notre Dame is quite fine where they are, thank you. Sure, it comes off as a little arrogant considering the school’s recent on-field struggles, but the fact is, Notre Dame still holds an exclusive deal with NBC, and their pocketbook is presumably doing alright.

So, if the leprechauns want to play hard to get, the league must seek elsewhere – namely, the Big East and Big 12. And here is where any number of names can get floated. But the ones that make sense for all parties seem to be, in order of fit, Missouri, Rutgers, Nebraska and Pitt, with Virginia and Texas still in the conversation.

Now mathematically, the Big Ten is going to want an even number after two decades of confounding numerologists who take the conference title literally. Therefore, the expansion must occur by one, three or even five. Basically then, depending on what Mr. Delaney and his university president cohorts decide to do, the enlargement can either add just Missouri (or Rutgers); Missouri, Rutgers and Nebraska; or Mizzou, Rutgers, Nebraska, Pitt and either Notre Dame (if they finally acquiesce), Texas or Virginia.

Missouri seems to be the most logical pick. Even if it isn’t located on the Atlantic coast, it does offer St. Louis, and it is a natural rival of Illinois, an acceptable scholarly fit and willing participant in expansion. Granted, joining the conference of the Midwest may hurt the Tigers recruiting in Texas, but it won’t totally destroy that pipeline, and the pros simply outweigh that con.

Rutgers, too, makes a bunch of sense. Obviously, the Scarlet Knights would attract an audience in the near vicinity of the Big Apple, plus they are a respected school and (newly) competitive football program.

Nebraska is a bit more of a stretch. At first glance, it seems to be a geographic outlier, a bad market, and an imperfect academic match. However, Nebraska’s brand is still a strong one nationally that resonates from Pac-10 country to the ACC. There’s still cachet with the Black Shirts. Plus, NU is likely itching to get out of the Big 12 (like Missouri), a conference increasingly dominated by, and devoted to promoting, the southern powers in Texas and Oklahoma. So, sign the Huskers up.

Pitt isn’t ideal, but they are more than suitable. The Big Ten may already be in Pennsylvania (thanks to the Nittany Lions), but adding the football crazy Pittsburgh market wouldn’t be detrimental for the conference, and the Panthers football tradition jives nicely with the Big Ten.

As for Texas and Virginia, the reality is it will probably never happen. Texas is the Big 12, and they want to remain the big power of America’s Southwest. It’s understandable. Yet, if five or so years from now, the Big Ten has already plucked Nebraska and Missouri from the Big 12, and the Pac-10 has pilfered Colorado in its own expansion, the Big 12 may be in shambles. All of sudden, Texas jumping on the cash boat that is the Big Ten seems a bit more enticing.

And Virginia, who has not been frequently mentioned in this discussion, makes for a nice back-up plan.

The Ripple Effect

If, in the end, Delaney and Co. opt for the minimalist one team expansion (come on Jimmy, think big!), the ramifications on the national football scene will be marginal. Say, for example, the Big Ten tacks on Missouri, creating two six-team divisions, the Big 12 can likely persuade TCU to fill the void, and all would be well. Even if Colorado were to migrate west, the Big 12 could add a Utah or BYU or New Mexico to maintain the status quo.

But if the Big Ten goes for a bigger splash – adding three teams, making two seven-team groupings – the game of musical chairs gets a little more interesting. If those teams are Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers, and the Pac-10 goes ahead and appends Colorado and Utah, the Big 12 is put in a more precarious situation and the stakes are raised for other conferences (read: the ACC or SEC) to follow suit and grow their own leagues.

The most intriguing possibility, though, is if the Big Ten settles on the cannonball, picking up Missouri, Nebraska, Rutgers, Pitt and Notre Dame. In this scenario, shit will get crazy. For one, the Big Ten would no longer necessarily be producing two divisions, the winners of which would meet in a December championship game, but could instead arrange the schools in four four-team pods and actually have a four-school, in-conference playoff.

Meanwhile, both the Big 12 and the Big East would be scrambling and the ACC and the SEC would definitely be pressured to grow. In order to do so, the ACC could raid the Big East for the likes of West Virginia, Louisville, Connecticut and Cincinnati, leaving the formerly formidable Big East to take from the Conference USA, not exactly renowned for its gridiron greatness.

At the same time, the SEC would set its gaze west to the Big 12 (already on life-support) and come away with Texas, Texas A & M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. With three conferences at the “super” level of 16 members, the Pac-10 would logically want to keep pace, and would tack on UNLV, Boise State, Fresno State and New Mexico to reach 16 as well. Finally, the scraps of the Big 12 could then join forces with what’s appealing from the Mountain West and WAC, making one large, mid-level conference.

I told you shit would get crazy.

The Takeaway

Alas, the bottom line is that all of those things may or may not happen at some point, but it almost certainly won’t be for awhile. Gradualism (and trial-and-error) seems to be the strategy of choice. For now, the Big Ten will add either one or three, leaving the greater football world relatively undisturbed, and the Pac-10 will find two willing additions and launch the West Coast version of BTN.

Notre Dame will keep doing its independent thing (despite existing rivalries with Big Ten schools Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, and alluring ones with Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio State), and the Big Six will stay the Big Six.

But although grand, large-scale change isn’t on the visible horizon, it is not unthinkable within as short a time span as a decade. The world is changing at a faster and faster pace, and college football inevitably will, too.

Which is why debating the merits of Big Ten expansion is an exercise in futility. Expansion will happen, and the waves will eventually ripple throughout the college world. All we can do now is wait and see if the dramatic cosmetic overhaul will yield a beauty queen or a cautionary tale of the procedure’s downside…like Heidi Montag.

Having four players drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, including three of the top four picks overall is quite a feat.  But replacing those four impact players and competing for another Big 12 Championship could be an even taller order for Bob Stoops and his staff.  College FootBlog takes a look at the players who will look to fill this huge void and then we will break down what to expect from the Sooners this fall.

Quarterback Landry Jones got valuable experience last season, due to Bradford's injured shoulder (google images)

Quarterback:  As unfortunate as Sam Bradford’s injured shoulder was last year, the silver lining has to be that freshman quarterback Landry Jones was able to get an entire year of experience, including the Red River Rivalry game against Texas, who had one of the best defenses in the country last season.  Jones looked great at times, but he looked really, really bad at times, too, and we’re not just referring to his dirty mustache.  Against Idaho State, Jones threw for six touchdowns, but that was somewhat offset when the Sooners traveled to Nebraska, where he had no TDs and five interceptions.

Most of Jones’ struggles last season seemed to happen on the road, and that could be attributed to the fact that he was a freshman thrown into the fire.  Reports out of Norman are that Jones had a very solid spring, capped off by a great showing in the Sooners’ spring game.  With the departure of Bradford, this is officially Landry Jones’ offense now.  Look for more consistency and solid numbers from him this fall.

Defensive Tackle:  Replacing a top-tier defensive tackle is extremely difficult.  Since redshirting his first year at OU, Gerald McCoy has been a fixture on the Sooners’ interior D-line, and he dominated last season, collecting fifteen tackles for loss, despite consistently facing double team blocks.  McCoy’s leadership will also be missed– he was the first OU sophomore ever to be elected team captain.

The DT with the most upside who will attempt to fill McCoy’s shoes is probably sophomore Jamarkus McFarland.  McFarland was one of the top players in the 2009 recruiting class and got some playing time as a true freshman last season.  At 6’3″ and 285 lbs, size will not be an issue, and even though his playing time was limited last season, the projected starter did get some experience and also learned a lot from McCoy, who was known for his leadership on the team.  Still, to expect the same results as McCoy would be unfair and unrealistic, at least this season.

Offensive Tackle:  Trent Williams was much more than an OT for the Sooners.  At different times, the talented offensive lineman played guard and even center for OU.  That versatility was a big reason for his #4 selection in the draft, and it was vital to the success of the Sooner offense.  It’s not often that an offensive lineman runs a 4.88 in the forty-yard dash, and replacing that kind of athleticism is not an easy task.  Williams was a solid pass blocker, but he excelled at run blocking.  Maintaining a solid running game will be critical if Oklahoma wants to be successful on offense.

Sophomore Donald Stephenson is the most likely candidate to replace Williams at LT.  After being academically ineligible last season, Stephenson is now in good standing and should have an impact this fall.  He is considered to be the most talented O-lineman returning, but his maturity and work ethic have come into question in his short time at OU.  If he can remain eligible and step it up a notch in the weight room, he could be a solid tackle, but he will not be able to replace the athleticism of Williams.  Expect a bit of a drop off at that position this season.

The Sooners were not able to replace Gresham's production last season (google images)

Tight End:  Even after missing the entire 2009 season due to an ACL tear, Jermaine Gresham was still the first TE taken in the NFL Draft.  His rare blend of size, speed and receiving ability makes him a relative “can’t miss” for the NFL.  As a junior in 2008, Gresham quickly became a favorite target for Sam Bradford, collecting 950 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns.  The Sooners missed his presence last season, and no one seemed to create the vertical threat in the middle of the field that Gresham provided.

The top two candidates for the starting TE position this fall are Trent Ratteree, who was actually a walk-on and redshirt junior James Hanna.  Hanna backed up departed senior Brody Eldridge last season, so neither tight end has a wealth of experience, and neither provides the downfield threat that Gresham brought to the table.

What will the overall impact be for OU in 2010?  Fortunately for Sooner fans, Bob Stoops has consistently restocked his roster with solid recruiting classes, so the cupboard is not exactly bare.  However, replacing four players that go that high in the NFL Draft is not easy to do–just ask Pete Carroll, who lost four players on the first day of last year’s draft.  USC’s defense was still talented, but they were not the dominant group that the Trojans have consistently produced since Carroll arrived at Southern Cal.  Stoops will likely run into the same issues, but the impact should not be as great as what USC faced, mostly because OU had to play all of last season without two of their four 1st round selections.

This time of year is pretty dead for the average college football fan.  Let’s face it–spring football just doesn’t do much to tide the football fanatics over.  Thankfully, college football never completely leaves the national media, thanks to some really, really dumb decisions that key players at major programs make.  The vast majority of these actions seem to take place in the off-season and often lead to suspensions five months before the college season begins in early September.

In case you missed it, College FootBlog came up with an All-Suspension Team for the offensive side of the ball in our last post (link).  This post, we will focus on the defensive players who have recently been suspended for various reasons, which, in turn, have cost the individual players the opportunity to win prestigious awards, and they have disrupted chemistry from their individual teams.

So, let’s meet our group of degenerates on this side of the ball, shall we?

Florida coach Urban Meyer drew as much criticism for his half-game suspension as Brandon Spikes for his eye gouging incident last season (google images)

Defensive End: Carlos Dunlap (Florida): Dunlap is one of the top pass rushers going into next month’s draft.  At 6’6″ and 277 lbs, he was unstoppable off the edge, and he was a standout on special teams because of his ability to block kicks.  In 2009, Dunlap was a Consensus All-SEC selection, but he was suspended for the SEC Championship Game because of his charges of drunken driving on December 1st, 2009.  The experts still have Dunlap going in the first round of the NFL Draft, but his absence from the SEC Championship may have played a part in the loss to eventual National Champion Alabama.

Defensive Tackle: DeMarcus Granger (Oklahoma): During the week of OU’s Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia in 2008, Granger allegedly stole a jacket from an Arizona shopping mall.  This begs two questions:  1)  Why did he need a coat in Arizona and 2)  why didn’t he just have a car dealer in Norman just lend him one?  Regardless, the incident likely forced him to stay in college football the next year instead of declaring for the NFL Draft.  He has battled injuries and has been overshadowed by fellow teammate Gerald McCoy ever since and is now projected to go in the fourth round by most experts, costing him millions of dollars.

Linebacker: Brandon Spikes (Florida): Spikes surprised many when he opted to return for his senior season in Gainesville.  His overall performance did not suffer (in 2009, Spikes was again selected a First-Team All-American), but his character came into question when a television camera clearly showed that Spikes was gauging the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey.  His head coaches character would come into question shortly thereafter, as Urban Meyer decided that a half-game suspension would be enough of a slap on the wrists to suffice.  After public scrutiny, it was Spikes who made the decision to sit for an entire game.  Despite the altercation, Spikes is projected as the top inside linebacker in next month’s draft.

Cornerback: Paul Oliver (Georgia): After his first two seasons in Athens, Oliver exploded onto the scene as a junior, when he was considered one of the top corners in the SEC.  In that season, Oliver held former Georgia Tech and current Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson to two catches for 13 yards.  Unfortunately, Oliver’s senior season never happened because he failed to meet academic eligibility requirements.  He was later drafted in the NFL’s supplemental draft in July of 2007.  He is now a back up safety for the San Diego Chargers, but another year in the SEC could have produced a lot more money in the following year’s draft.

Safety: Brandon Meriweather (Miami): Despite firing three shots from his gun at an assailant who had already shot his teammate Willie Cooper in the butt, Meriweather was not suspended because his firearm was legal.  The suspension was handed down by the ACC because of his involvement in the 2006 brawl against Florida International University, where Meriweather was seen repeatedly stomping several FIU players who were on the ground.  Despite the incident, Meriweather was selected as the 24th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, but the shooting incident and brawl are thought to have cost him a much higher selection.

Tell us what you think.  It was pretty hard to limit the list to just these players, but we probably missed some obvious ones.  College FootBlog wants your feedback!