Football Ferns fall to England

Three unanswered second half goals have given England a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over New Zealand’s Football Ferns at the Cyprus Cup and a place in the tournament final.

Two goals in two minutes midway through the second half set up the victory, with the result leaving New Zealand to contest the match for third place against the Group B runners up to round out their campaign.

England has proved to be New Zealand’s bogey side in recent times with the Football Ferns losing 2-1 at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany in 2011 and 1-0 at the London Olympics against Great Britain - a squad which featured 16 English players and two Scots.

Despite the loss, coach Tony Readings was pleased with the performance as New Zealand continues to close the gap on the best sides in the women’s game in the lead up to the Football Ferns pinnacle events.

"The game was another step on our journey to 2015 and 2016, we’ll take a lot of positives from the match, but at the end of the day we’ve conceded three and lost the game.

"There’s not much between the two sides. It’s typically a physical, high-tempo match but today we dominated possession and we’ve never done that before and we were able slow the game down.

"We proved we can play good football against top-10 opposition and that’s a good place to start building from heading into the next World Cup and Olympic Games," Readings said.

In a first half of few chances, Amber Hearn gave New Zealand a seventh minute lead after robbing an England player of possession in their defensive third beating another and smashing home from the edge of the box to give the Football Ferns a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

England were ‘knocking on the door’ before substitute Ellen White equalised a minute after coming on as a substitute, firing home an angled drive from the edge of the box. Eniola Aluko edged England ahead two minutes later getting the decisive touch from a lofted a free kick into the Football Ferns penalty area.

Hearn came close to equalising with two minutes remaining as New Zealand pushed forward for a draw. With caution thrown to the wind, Toni Duggan sealed the win in the final minute of regulation when she beat Erin Nayler to the ball and passed into an empty net to complete the 3-1 defeat.

England will face Canada in the Cyprus Cup final with New Zealand awaiting the Group B results to find their opponent from Finland, Netherlands or Switzerland in the match for third place.

"We’ve got no preference on our opponent for our last match, the three sides all play a similar style," Readings said.

The match for third place will be played in Larnaca at 1.30am on Thursday morning (NZT).

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Rape trial of football heroes brings scrutiny on Ohio town

By Drew Singer

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) - Two high school football players accused of raping a girl will face trial in Steubenville, Ohio, on Wednesday in a case that has become a national example of social media's powerful influence in modern society.

Quarterback Trent Mays and wide receiver Ma'Lik Richmond, both 16, are charged with raping their classmate, whose name has been withheld by Reuters, at a teammate's house after a night of drinking on August 11.

Prosecutors say Richmond and Mays sexually assaulted their classmate as she lay naked on the basement floor, too drunk to move or speak. The girl told police she did not remember what happened, but reported the incident the next day once she heard about it from her friends.

The case might have never been known outside the local area, like thousands of sexual assault cases in the United States each year. But after the party, a photograph began circulating on Twitter of two people carrying a passed-out girl by her arms and legs. Along with the photo, graphic banter on social media among people who had attended the party suggested that a rape had occurred and that more than two players were involved.

Local prosecutors charged the two players on August 22.

The case went viral on social media, and the town was accused of wrapping a cone of silence around the team to shield other players from prosecution.

The global computer hacking network Anonymous got involved. It obtained and publicized a video that it said showed several Steubenville players joking about a rape, and organized protests on the steps of the county courthouse in Steubenville which drew people from out of state.

A women's rights group presented a petition to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine demanding prosecution of more players.

The pressure from outside Steubenville shows how social media are transforming society, said Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia University's chief digital officer, who teaches social media.

"Things which used to happen in private settings now happen publicly and have much longer legs than they've had in the past," he said. "In this case, social media has been integral to both the legal case and how the story has affected the community, for better and for worse."

The criticism has stunned this economically depressed steel town of 19,000 which reveres its perennial powerhouse "Big Red" football team and legendary coach Reno Saccoccia.

Saccoccia, 63, has coached at Steubenville for 35 years, winning three state titles through a regime of hard work and tough discipline. He was inducted into the Upper Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 2007, and the school's stadium bears his name.

Even though Mays and Richmond did not play last year, the team posted a record of nine wins and three losses.

"In a depressed area, the public seems to rally around something that's been good and successful, something that puts the city out in a positive way," said Jerry Barilla, who owns a furniture store in Steubenville, where he was born and raised.

With football so ingrained in the town, a trial of its players proved difficult. The county prosecutor and the juvenile judge both removed themselves from the case because they had ties to the team. A judge from a neighboring county was brought in and Attorney General DeWine's office took over the probe.

In October, the new prosecutors sent letters to three more football players - Evan Westlake, Anthony Craig and Mark Cole - promising they would not be charged for their actions on the night of the rape, according to copies of the letter given to Reuters by people directly involved. Days later, they testified at a preliminary hearing against their teammates.

Defense lawyers call the exchange an immunity deal, but prosecutors deny making any commitments.

The three were the only people who attended the party to come forward, and their accounts gave prosecutors enough evidence to proceed to trial. Prosecutors say they do not have enough evidence to charge other players.

Mays and Richmond will be tried as juveniles. The proceedings could last through Friday.

Attorneys for the players say that there is more to the story than social media have said and that there has been a rush to judgment that the two are guilty.

The sex with the girl was "consensual," according to a court filing provided to Reuters outlining the case defense lawyers plan to pursue in the trial. The girl also told friends before the incident that she wanted to have sex with players, the filing says.

Prosecutors declined to comment until the trial begins.

Richmond's grandmother, Linda Wheat, said she received a telephone threat as a result of the attention focused on the case.

"I thought these guys were innocent until proven guilty, but they're not," she told Reuters. "These people online have made them guilty. Why have they ruined them?"

(Reporting by Drew Singer; Additional reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Greg McCune and Jim Marshall)

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Football coach stands by road with ‘Will Work for Helmets’ sign, donations and work orders flood in

North Marion football coach Doug Bilodeau and his dog Sally will work for new helmets — Facebook

The Aurora (Ore.) North Marion High school district is in the midst of a budget crunch, so they certainly didn’t have the funds needed to ramp up its stock of football helmets. That was a big problem for the North Marion football team, which didn’t have enough safe helmets to complete a full set.

While bemoaning this shortage of safe equipment, North Marion coach Doug Bilodeau joked that he was so desperate for new gear for his team that he would stand alongside a highway with a sign that reads “Will work for new helmets.” His daughter thought the idea was so funny that she actually made the sign, and Bilodeau was so touched by that gesture that he, in turn, took the sign out to the street and took a photo with it.

The now famed “Will Work for Helmets” photo landed on Facebook, and that in turn started what may be the most unusual fundraising drive for sports equipment in history. As reported by the Oregonian and Portland TV network KATU, no sooner than the coach had posted the photo than he was inundated by both donations and, fittingly, work orders from those who wanted to contribute to the program.

Hey, he did say “Will work for helmets,” right?

So far, the manual labor chores have only amounted to raking leaves at a number of apartments in exchange for one landlord’s donation of the money for one helmet, but Bilodeau and his players will take on all tasks if it helps them get the money they need to field a new squad’s worth of helmets in 2013.

“If someone has a project, we’ll get a group of kids to go do it,” Bilodeau told the Oregonian. “‘Work for helmets’ isn’t just a slogan. We put it into practice."

The team has already raised enough funds for five new helmets, with a goal of 30 by August. While he had no idea how it would happen just a month ago, Bilodeau now sounds confident that the team can reach its fundraising goal.

“I’ve got to find a way. Collect cans if I have to. I don’t want a kid not playing football because we don’t have the helmets,” Bilodeau said.

If Facebook has anything to do with it, Bilodeau won’t face that gut wrenching dilemma, all thanks to a familial joke about just how desperate he was to get new gear for his players.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Doc Five: Best two-sport college football /basketball players – No. 5, Jackie Robinson

(Associated Press)

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.

THE BEST TWO-SPORT COLLEGE FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL PLAYERS

NO. 5, JACKIE ROBINSON

If our first entry on the list has you scratching your head, gather around for a history lesson on the great Jackie Robinson.

Robinson's legend for what he did to integrate baseball is well known and deserved. So are his achievements on the diamond for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's an absolute shame that Robinson's legend for what he did strictly on the field (or, better yet, fields ... and court, too) at UCLA isn't celebrated enough.

Consider this: While Robinson was a Bruin, baseball might have been his fourth best sport. Many people know about Robinson's four-sport ability, but it's a little surprising everybody doesn't.

In 1939 and 1940, Robinson led college football in punt return average. If you look at the 2012 NCAA football record book, and dig really deep to the punt returns section, you'll still find this:

No other members of the Baseball Hall of Fame appear on that list of best career punt return average, if you were wondering.

In Robinson's final football season at UCLA he led the Bruins in rushing (383 yards), passing (444 yards), total offense (827 yards), scoring (36 points) and punt return average (21 yards). He averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his career.

(Associated Press)Of the players who have tried two sports in college, most are very good in one and a role player in the other. That's still impressive, but typically it's impossible for a college student to be a legitimate star in more than one sport. Robinson wasn't a role player in basketball, though.

Robinson led the Southern Division of the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in 1940 (averaged 12.4 points in 12 league games) and 1941 (averaged 11.1 points in 12 league games). Oh, and after that Robinson moonlighted on the track team, when he could get away from baseball, and won the NCAA title in the broad jump with a mark of 24 feet, and 10 1/4 inches.

This would be comparable to Shabazz Muhammad being the best punt returner in FBS before he filled it up for the Bruins' basketball team, then in the spring he played baseball and also won an individual NCAA track title. There wouldn't be enough bandwidth on the Internet to handle all of the hype an athlete like that would get. When various outlets counted down the greatest athletes of the 20th century, Jackie Robinson was criminally underrated. If social impact was counted (as it presumably was for Muhammad Ali) and multi-sport talent was counted (as it was for Bo Jackson) then an argument could be made for Jackie Robinson being No. 1 on those lists.

One of the greatest second basemen in baseball history was also one of the best college football/basketball players of all time. That is unlikely to ever be repeated.

- - -
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Doc Five: The best two-sport college football /basketball players – No. 4 Tony Gonzalez

(USA Today Sports Images)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.

THE BEST TWO-SPORT COLLEGE FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL PLAYERS

NO. 4, TONY GONZALEZ

This list of greatest players who played both football and basketball in college is surprisingly strong. Donovan McNabb, Julius Peppers and Chris Chambers are three NFL Pro Bowlers who didn't make it. Neither did Super Bowl champion Antwaan Randle El or NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson.

The greatest tight end who has ever lived was a key part of a Cal basketball team that made the NCAA tournament sweet 16, and he can't even crack the top three.

(USA Today Sports Images)Since Tony Gonzalez has set every major NFL tight end receiving record, and pretty much lapped the field in the process, it's almost like his college basketball career is an urban legend kept alive by his goalpost dunk touchdown celebration. But it was real, and at times spectacular.

Gonzalez shot better than 50 percent from the field in his three hoops seasons and averaged 6.4 points. That might not sound like much, but it likely would have been much better had football not gotten in the way.

His biggest basketball moment came against Villanova freshman Tim Thomas in the 1997 NCAA tournament. Gonzalez scored 23 points and was matched up most of the time by Cal coach Ben Braun on Thomas, a 6-10 future NBA lottery pick who scored 9,454 points in 13 NBA seasons. Thomas scored 11 points, and was held scoreless in the second half as Cal won and moved on to the sweet 16.

"I remember telling people, 'That guy's not going to be able to do anything against Gonzalez,'" Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a longtime NBA veteran who played with Gonzalez at Cal told Bay Area News Group. "People thought I was crazy, but I said, 'Gonzalez is going to dominate him.'

"I knew because I had faced him every day in practice. He was so much stronger than me, there was nothing I could do."

Gonzalez averaged 14.6 points per game over the final six games of that season. Again, that was the greatest tight end in NFL history just dabbling after football season was done.

Gonzalez, who played some NBA summer league ball in 2002, is just 6-5 so he was not ideal size to play down low in the NBA. But with his athletic ability and strength, it's not unfathomable that if had he concentrated on basketball at Cal he could have made the NBA.

No big deal. Gonzalez did fine with his career choice (and we're glad he's coming back for another year).

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Football - Croatia's Suker asks fans to respect Serbian rivals

"We will be treated the same way in Belgrade as the way they are treated here and I wish I had a magic wand to make sure that Serbia's national anthem is not jeered," the former Real Madrid striker told Serbia's state Tanjug news agency on Tuesday.

"Serbia's Football Association chief Tomislav Karadzic and general secretary Zoran Lakovic are my friends, we are on the same mission of crushing hooliganism in our two countries and a sportsmanlike atmosphere in our two qualifiers would be very welcome," he said.

The comments by Suker, who won the 1998 Champions League with Real and reached the World Cup semi-finals with Croatia the same year, came on the back of efforts by Serbia coach Sinisa Mihajlovic to defuse tension ahead of the potentially explosive Group A clash.

Having included applauding the opposition's national anthem in the Serbian players' code of conduct when he took over in May, Mihajlovic said last month the bitter memories of Balkan conflicts that tore apart the former Yugoslavia should take a back seat to football.

In a bid to allay fears of crowd trouble, the two federations have agreed not to ask for tickets for away fans at the qualifier and the reverse fixture on Sept. 6 in Serbia's capital.

Croatia top the group alongside Belgium with 10 points from four games, six more than third-placed Serbia, and Suker acknowledged that a win would be a big step towards next year's finals in Brazil.

"We are the favourites but have to prove it on the pitch as we want to seal a berth in next year's tournament as soon as possible," he said.

"Of course, Serbia have a talented team trying to get back into the hunt and we are aware of the threat they can pose on the pitch."

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Setting the market for hypothetical college football free agency 2013 - SB Nation

We're all familiar with NFL free agency by now, but what if college football had the same system?

With NFL free agency upon us, it got us thinking about which college football players would command the most attention if college football had a free agency system. Assuming no one would have to sit out a season after transferring (because wouldn't that be silly), we compiled a list of players that would be among those setting the price in the marketplace.

Remaining years of eligibility would have to be a major consideration in college football free agency, as a player with two or more years left would obviously be more desirable than a player with only one year remaining. However, as we saw with Russell Wilson at Wisconsin in 2011, a one-year player can make a huge impact.

So, for now, let's ignore free agent budgets and the like, and take a look at which players would be the most sought-after if college football players could become free agents. This is hardly a comprehensive list, so feel free to suggest more in the comments.

Quarterback: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M redshirt sophomore), Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville junior), Braxton Miller (Ohio State junior), Christian Hackenberg (Penn State freshman)
Running back: Todd Gurley (Georgia sophomore), Lache Seastrunk (Baylor redshirt junior), T.J. Yeldon (Alabama sophomore)
Wide receiver: Marqise Lee (USC junior), Amari Cooper (Alabama sophomore)
Tight end: Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington junior), O.J. Howard (Alabama freshman)
Offensive line: Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama redshirt junior), Jake Matthews (Texas A&M senior), Laremy Tunsil (Ole Miss freshman)

Defensive line: Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina junior), Devonte Fields (TCU sophomore), Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss freshman), Will Sutton (Arizona State senior)
Outside linebacker: Ryan Shazier (Ohio State junior), Adrian Hubbard (Alabama redshirt junior), Kyle Van Noy (BYU senior)
Inside linebacker: A.J. Johnson (Tennessee junior), Eric Kendricks (UCLA redshirt junior)
Defensive back: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (Oregon junior), Bradley Roby (Ohio State redshirt junior), Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida freshman), Shaq Thompson (Washington sophomore)

Special teams: Stefon Diggs (Maryland sophomore), Dri Archer (Kent State redshirt senior), Venric Mark (Northwestern senior)

Follow @SBNationCFB Follow @SBNRecruiting

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• Let’s have a spring football roundtable

• SB Nation exclusive with Bobby Petrino, football mind

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Football coach stands by road with 'Will Work for Helmets' sign, donations and ... - Yahoo! Sports (blog)

North Marion football coach Doug Bilodeau and his dog Sally will work for new helmets — Facebook

The Aurora (Ore.) North Marion High school district is in the midst of a budget crunch, so they certainly didn’t have the funds needed to ramp up its stock of football helmets. That was a big problem for the North Marion football team, which didn’t have enough safe helmets to complete a full set.

While bemoaning this shortage of safe equipment, North Marion coach Doug Bilodeau joked that he was so desperate for new gear for his team that he would stand alongside a highway with a sign that reads “Will work for new helmets.” His daughter thought the idea was so funny that she actually made the sign, and Bilodeau was so touched by that gesture that he, in turn, took the sign out to the street and took a photo with it.

The now famed “Will Work for Helmets” photo landed on Facebook, and that in turn started what may be the most unusual fundraising drive for sports equipment in history. As reported by the Oregonian and Portland TV network KATU, no sooner than the coach had posted the photo than he was inundated by both donations and, fittingly, work orders from those who wanted to contribute to the program.

Hey, he did say “Will work for helmets,” right?

So far, the manual labor chores have only amounted to raking leaves at a number of apartments in exchange for one landlord’s donation of the money for one helmet, but Bilodeau and his players will take on all tasks if it helps them get the money they need to field a new squad’s worth of helmets in 2013.

“If someone has a project, we’ll get a group of kids to go do it,” Bilodeau told the Oregonian. “‘Work for helmets’ isn’t just a slogan. We put it into practice."

The team has already raised enough funds for five new helmets, with a goal of 30 by August. While he had no idea how it would happen just a month ago, Bilodeau now sounds confident that the team can reach its fundraising goal.

“I’ve got to find a way. Collect cans if I have to. I don’t want a kid not playing football because we don’t have the helmets,” Bilodeau said.

If Facebook has anything to do with it, Bilodeau won’t face that gut wrenching dilemma, all thanks to a familial joke about just how desperate he was to get new gear for his players.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Poliquin: Scott Shafer says Syracuse football's biggest problem deals with ... - Syracuse.com

Syracuse University head football coach Scott Shafer wants to change the perception that his team is not a major program. (Photo by David Lassman | dlassman@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Do you have a question that you’d like to ask of a Central New York coach or administrator, manager or assistant, athletic director or owner? Well, consider me your conduit to Jim Boeheim or Scott Shafer or John Desko or Jon Cooper or Tony Beasley … or any of their aides (or bosses) … or any of our local college and high-school coaches (men or women).

Send your question dealing with your interests in the local high-school, college or professional landscape to bpoliquin@syracuse.com, and I’ll do my best to present it to the subject of your choice and provide his or her answer right here in this space on Tuesdays at 12 noon.

Please do include your name and the identity of your hometown. If the circumstances of your question demand anonymity, I will withhold that information upon your request.

Today’s question? It was directed to Shafer, Syracuse University’s new head football coach and the guy who has succeeded the man who hired him, Doug Marrone.

Here goes …

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Coach, what do you feel is the biggest obstacle you have to overcome to attract top-notch talent to come to Syracuse University and play football for the Orange?

— Tom Fisher, Albany, N.Y.

Scott Shafer: “I think the biggest thing, first and foremost, is the perception that we are not a big-time, major-college program. That’s been our obstacle. But I think joining the Atlantic Coast Conference is going to help us fight that.

“We haven’t been able to lure some of the best players in our own state to come to Syracuse. They end up going to a place like Notre Dame or one of those kinds of schools that, from a perception point of view, look like a major-college program.

“I mean, we’ve gotten kids to come to our campus and because of that we’ve gotten to thinking that recruiting is going well. But then they turn around and opt to go to one of those other universities. You know, to the Notre Dames and the Alabamas. Schools that, I imagine, are more household names in the minds of the kids.

“We do have the statistics that back up the fact that we have a major program here. The truth is we have put a few kids in the NFL, and the stats would verify that. But that perception is still out there for some reason. We have to change the way kids think about Syracuse. That’s our big challenge.”

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2 Ohio Football Stars Allegedly Raped Intoxicated Girl - ABC News

Right now we begin with the sexual assault trial tearing apart steubenville. Two high school athletes are charged with assaulting a drunk girl and elizabeth vargas sat down with one for an exclusive... See More Right now we begin with the sexual assault trial tearing apart steubenville. Two high school athletes are charged with assaulting a drunk girl and elizabeth vargas sat down with one for an exclusive interview. It is deeply dividing this small ohio town where high school football is king. In a town of 18,000 people, the big red football stadium seats 10,000. So when two of the most promising players were charged with rape and other players were accused of posting photos and tweets about it on the internet, the story exploded sparking wild rumors and innuendo and attracting activist groups from around the country. A case that turned a small town in ohio upside down. Two high school football stars charged with sexually assaulting an intoxicated 16-year-old girl over the course of a night last august. The question is whether the girl was too drunk to consent. Social media reports of the event took on a life of their own. Accusations went flying dividing a town. All: We want justice. Reporter: With some convinced the police were slowing down the investigation to protect the beloved teen. My job is to stay focused on the evidence and not try this case in the social media. The only thing that we want to do is determine what the facts are, what the truth is. Reporter: A cell phone photo that circulated from that note The accused malik carrying the alleged victim by her arms and legs. She appears unconscious. While witnesses disagree over whether she was unable to walk, malik who spoke to us in an abc exclusive says she was awake and a willing participant in the photo. So you just grabbed her and that was a fun picture that you took? Well, after that I didn't think it was fun, but at first during that moment -- in the moment. It was a joke picture. Yes, ma'am. So you weren't carrying her out. No. The boys' attorney also try to make the case that the alleged victim was not incompass tailed but alert enough to remember the passcode on her phone later that night. The photo is what it is. The photo doesn't suggest that a person substantially is impaired but suggests a person -- you don't think that looks like substantial impairment. We don't care what it looks like. We know that after the photo was taken she exhibited the ability to make decisions. We have witnesses that will state that they're going to testify that photograph was, in fact, staged. Reporter: Ma league richmond maintains innocence saying he did not assault anyone. My friend texted me and he said that she is saying that you guys raped her. Reporter: What did you think when you read that? And I just texted him like what are you talking about? You're playing with me. We asked the alleged victim and attorney to comment on the photo and said the photograph contradicts the claim that she was being carried as part of a joke and went on to say "just because an argument is made doesn't make it true." Elizabeth, attorneys for the other defendant filed a motion to dismiss this week. Why is that so critical? Because they are trying to subpoena the alleged victim's best friends who have given incriminating statements to the police saying that she had made a plan to meet up with one of the accused rapists later on in the evening and therefore had given prior concept and that she might have even had a history of doing this kind of thing before but they can't subpoena these girls because they're across state lines. This count is right on the border of west virginia and ohio. The judge here has so much power. Huge legal -- you're talking about two sets of judge. A west virginia judge saying i am not going to force these west virginia kids to go to ohio to testify in the ohio case. Why? Because the judge said this is a juvenile proceeding. It's not a typical criminal case. And as a result, I don't think that the rules that apply in criminal cases about forcing people to testify necessarily apply in a juvenile case. Well, it's an important n that a single juvenile judge will hear this starting this week. With all the emotion and rumor and innuendo in the town all the groups inside the town that came to protest and all the attention on the internet to have a single sober juvenile court judge -- that's good news for the defendant, I think, in this case. Particularly a judge not from this specific area. Yeah, he's been brought in. You can see more of her interview on "20/20" this friday -- next friday. Next friday at 10:00, 9:00 central. This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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Spring football 25: Tulsa Golden Hurricane - Yahoo! Sports (blog)

(USA Today Sports Images)

Dr. Saturday will be looking at the 25 most interesting teams headed into spring football through March, examining which programs have the biggest questions, the most expectations and the best storylines. This isn’t a list of the 25 best teams going into the spring, just the 25 we’re keeping the closest eye on. Previously: Missouri

What happened in 2012
Tulsa didn’t jump on many national radars last year, but finished the 2012 season with 11 wins for just the second time in school history. The Golden Hurricane won the Conference USA title and beat Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl. While there weren’t any major national wins, the Golden Hurricane had one of the most dynamic rushing offenses in the country and averaged 35 points per game.

What makes them interesting in 2013
Conference USA is going to look very different next year, but Tulsa should still be the league favorite to repeat as champ. Tulsa returns its three starting receivers, Keyarris Garrett, Jordan James, Thomas Roberson; top two rushers, Trey Watts, 1,108 yards and three touchdowns and Ja’Terian Douglas, 936 yards and seven touchdowns; and starting quarterback Cody Green, a Nebraska transfer who should have better numbers in his second season with the program.

The defense isn’t nearly as plentiful. It loses eight players from a year ago, including all four starters on the defensive line. This is unfortunate considering defense was definitely one of the bright spots for the Golden Hurricane last season. They ranked first in the conference in total defense and second in scoring defense, allowing just 10.93 points per game.

What needs to happen this spring
Running back Trey Watts (USA Today Sports Images)The offense appears solid, but the defense will need to be totally retooled. Not only do the Golden Hurricane have to find replacements for all four spots on the defensive line, but they also have to find a new safety to replace four-year starter Dexter McCoil. If there’s one positive, it’s that Tulsa had a nice rotation on the defensive line and DT Derrick Luetjen, DE Brentom Todd, and DE Derrick Alexander all earned a decent amount of playing time last season.

In the secondary, Dwight Dobbins is the guy to watch at cornerback. He had 27 tackles and an interception last season in spot time while redshirt freshman Darnell Walker Jr. and sophomore Darrell Williams will challenge him for starting roles. Marco Nelson, who had 80 tackles and two interceptions at free safety, should be the anchor of the defensive secondary while everyone else gets settled this spring.

The offensive line loses two first-team all-conference players in offensive tackles Brian DeShane and Jared Grigg, but the biggest shoes to fill on the offensive line will be at center where Trent Dupy started 50 of 52 career games. The Golden Hurricane have a couple options at center, including redshirt freshman Dylan Foxworth and walk-on Billy Lafortune. Guard Jake Alexander also could move over if neither of the other players secure the starting role.

Game changers
Sophomore linebacker Mitchell Osborne has the ability to be one the Golden Hurricanes best playmakers. As a sophomore last season, Osborne made five starts, including a start in the Liberty Bowl, had 40 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles, including one in the final minutes against UAB that helped seal the 49-42 victory. He’ll be a nice complement to Shawn Jackson.

Defensive tackle Jack Jewell, a senior, could make a name for himself in a thinned-out interior line. Jewell had just one tackle a year ago, but has a chance to prove himself in his final spring.

Wild cards
Tulsa is still awaiting word from the NCAA regarding receiver Bryan Burnham, who is seeking a sixth year of eligibility. Burnham tore his ACL during the first game of last season, but had 850 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011. He had nine catches in the season opener against Iowa State before suffering the injury. If he is eligible, Tulsa’s passing offense could be one of the best in the country.

Check out Dr. Saturday's other spring previews: Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford, South Carolina , Baylor, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Clemson, West Virginia.

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.

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Spring football primer: Burning questions for each SEC team - CNN

A standout corner last year, Loucheiz Purifoy is listed as a starting receiver on UF's spring depth chart.SchoolFirst practiceSpring game

With recruiting deregulation on the shelf for the moment, Alabama coach Nick Saban can stop devising a way to end unemployment in his state -- remember, all those scared rival coaches thought Saban was about to hire 10,000 recruiting analysts so 'Bama could text each recruit at least a million times a day -- and begin devising a way to dominate on the field again. But even though Alabama is trying for its third consecutive national title and its fourth in five years, the Crimson Tide's top challengers should once again come from within the SEC.

MANDEL: Pac-12's burning spring questions

Five SEC schools (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas A&M) will start next season with either reasonable or semi-plausible national title dreams. Meanwhile, new coaches at Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee have excitement levels through the roof on their campuses. As usual, it's going to be a busy spring in college football's most dominant league.

• Alabama: Can the Crimson Tide revamp the offensive line and compete for a third consecutive national title? We know Alabama has the talent to reload at almost any position, but its 2012 offensive line was so good that it's difficult to imagine the Tide replacing guard Chance Warmack, center Barrett Jones and tackle D.J. Fluker -- along with position coach Jeff Stoutland, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles -- with no drop-off. On the coaching front, expect the Tide to be just as good. Nick Saban hired former Florida International head coach Mario Cristobal, who had taken the tight ends job at alma mater Miami, to replace Stoutland. Sophomore Ryan Kelly will try to fill the cleats of Jones, while Arie Kouandjio, the older brother of starting left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio, could get a look at guard opposite Anthony Steen, who has 24 career starts at guard. At right tackle, junior Austin Shepherd and juco transfer Leon Brown could get a shot to replace Fluker.

• Arkansas: How will the Arkansas offense change under Bret Bielema? Bielema certainly has a blank canvas. Quarterback Tyler Wilson, tailback Knile Davis, receiver Cobi Hamilton and tight end Chris Gragg are gone. Now that he works in a league that requires a player to have two years of eligibility remaining to use the NCAA's graduate transfer exception, Bielema will probably have to rely on a quarterback already on the Razorbacks' roster. That means Brandon Allen or Brandon Mitchell probably will take over for Wilson. The happiest player in Fayetteville should be Jonathan Williams, who averaged 5.1 yards a carry as a freshman and now plays for the coach who prefers an offense that allowed Montee Ball to run for 55 touchdowns the past two seasons.

• Auburn: Will the Tigers rebound now that they're running the offense they were recruited to run? Quarterback Kiehl Frazier struggled mightily in a pro-style offense last year, but with Gus Malzahn back on the Plains, Frazier should have little trouble picking up the offense Malzahn -- then Auburn's offensive coordinator -- originally signed him to run. Even without Cam Newton in 2011, Malzahn's offense worked well with a power back (Mike Dyer) combined with a speedy back (Onterrio McCalebb). This spring, Tre Mason could fill the McCalebb role. Meanwhile, 215-pound juco transfer Cameron Artis-Payne could fill the Dyer role. (On the field. No one at Auburn wants anyone on the roster to reprise Dyer's off-field role.)

• Florida: Can the Gators develop an offense worthy of playing alongside their defense? Florida was last seen getting destroyed by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl, but don't forget this was also the same team that put together possibly the best regular-season résumé in the country last year. In most of their 11 victories, the Gators won in spite of a limited offense. Will year two under coordinator Brent Pease bring a leap? Florida lost left tackle Xavier Nixon and left guard James Wilson, but with some young players developing and two transfers becoming eligible, the line could be much better. Sophomore tackle D.J. Humphries, a former five-star recruit who played in Florida's jumbo packages as a freshman, will begin spring as the first-team left tackle. Max Garcia (Maryland) and Tyler Moore (Nebraska) should compete for starting jobs at left guard and right tackle. All that competition should produce a deeper, sturdier line in front of quarterback Jeff Driskel, who enters his first offseason as the unquestioned starter. Sophomore back Matt Jones should ease the departure of Mike Gillislee, and early enrollee Kelvin Taylor -- the son of Florida great Fred Taylor -- should also have a chance to win carries in the spring. The big question is whether the Gators can develop a decent receiver. Florida's best receiver may be on defense, though. Cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy is the most explosive player on the roster, and he might wind up playing a big role on both offense and defense.

• Georgia: Can the defense rebound after losing nine starters? Coordinator Todd Grantham will have to earn every penny of his $850,000 salary this spring as he develops replacements for the all-star team that is leaving Athens for the NFL. The good news is the Bulldogs have some talented players waiting in the wings. For example, we learned last season during Alec Ogletree's four-game suspension that Amarlo Herrera is a future superstar. Now it's up to players such as defensive end Ray Drew and safety Josh Harvey-Clemons to prove they deserved all their recruiting hype. If they can, the Bulldogs might be in for a special season. We know the offense -- led by quarterback Aaron Murray and backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall -- will pile up points. If the defense develops quickly, Georgia will remain among the nation's elite.

• Kentucky: Can new coach Mark Stoops reinvigorate a reeling fan base? Early indications suggest the former Florida State defensive coordinator will do just that. On March 4, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart tweeted that 30,999 tickets had been distributed for Stoops' first spring game. Considering Joker Phillips' final spring game was essentially a friends-and-family affair, that's a substantial jump in excitement for a fan base that has had little to cheer about before basketball season. Those fans likely will see a quarterback competition. Maxwell Smith had established himself as Kentucky's best quarterback when an ankle injury ended his season in October. This spring, Smith is healthy and ready to compete with Jalen Whitlow and Patrick Towles for the job.

• LSU: Can John Chavis reload LSU's defense? After last year's win against Washington, Chavis said something quite telling. "We play a lot of people," Chavis said. "We don't recruit guys to redshirt. ... If you've recruited the right kind of people, they're not going to be here for four years anyway." Well, six of LSU's 2012 defensive starters declared early for the NFL draft. Now, Chavis must replace his entire starting defensive line as well as a cornerback, a safety and a middle linebacker. One Jalen (Collins) should join another Jalen (Mills) at cornerback. Meanwhile, junior Ego Ferguson will have every opportunity to grab a defensive tackle spot. Early enrollee Christian LaCouture should have a chance to contribute somewhere along the defensive line as well. Senior Lamin Barrow could replace Kevin Minter in the middle.

• Mississippi State: How will the Bulldogs replace two standout cornerbacks? Johnthan Banks won most of the awards last season, but counterpart Darius Slay was excellent on the other side. They're both gone in 2013, but Mississippi State has a deep group of corners ready to compete to take their place. Jamerson Love should lock down one starting spot, but the other one should be up for grabs. Taveze Calhoun played a lot last year, but he could face a challenge from redshirt freshman Will Redmond or juco transfer Justin Cox, who can also play safety. This competition should be helpful, because the Bulldogs will need a lot of defensive backs ready to play. With division rivals Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas A&M running no-huddle spread offenses, a deep secondary will be critical.

• Missouri: Can the Tigers develop an SEC-ready team? Thanks to a Heisman-winning quarterback and a regime change that infused an already talented roster with the correct attitude, Texas A&M had no trouble adjusting to the SEC in 2012. Missouri, on the other hand, looked like it really missed the spread-out, less physical Big 12. Since the Tigers won't be changing leagues again anytime soon, they'll have to get used to the pounding in the SEC. That means developing depth on the offensive line so they don't suffer the offensive lapses they did while dealing with injuries last season. Missouri also needs a better running game to keep the pressure off quarterback James Franklin, who got mightily banged-up in his first SEC campaign. Help could be on the way in the form of tailback Henry Josey, who was leading the Big 12 in rushing when he suffered a gruesome knee injury in 2011. Josey will begin working his way back into the offense this spring, and he'll be a welcome sight.

Texas A&M's Jake Matthews will shift from right to left tackle following Luke Joeckel's departure to the NFL.

• Ole Miss: With the bulk of the Rebels' vaunted recruiting class arriving in the summer, who can make an impact in the spring? Defensive end Robert Nkemdiche and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil won't take the practice field until preseason camp, but a few members of the class of 2013 could impact the depth chart this spring. Still, the biggest name now on campus is also the most familiar. Cornerback Nick Brassell, who started both ways as a freshman at Ole Miss in 2011, is back after a year spent in junior college getting his academics in order. The Rebels return all 11 defensive starters from 2012, but expect Brassell to supplant someone. Ole Miss coaches believe that if Brassell plays up to his potential, he could spend one more season in Oxford and then become quite wealthy in the NFL. Another potential impact early enrollee is tailback Mark Dodson, the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee. Dodson is the Memphis area's all-time high school rushing leader, and he may be able to earn some carries away from Jeff Scott, Jaylen Walton or I'Tavius Mathers.

• South Carolina: How will the Gamecocks reload in one critical personnel group? Bet you thought I was going to say tailback, but the combination of Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds mixed with the rushing ability of quarterback Connor Shaw should ease the loss of Marcus Lattimore and Kenny Miles. More intriguing is linebacker, where the Gamecocks must replace everyone. Kaiwan Lewis and T.J. Holloman should compete for the middle linebacker spot, while Marquis Roberts and Kelvin Rainey are splitting reps at weakside linebacker. (Cedrick Cooper, who will miss the spring after knee surgery, is the starter on the depth chart.) At Spur, the hybrid linebacker/safety spot ably manned by Devonte Holloman last year, redshirt freshman Jordan Diggs and junior Sharrod Golightly are competing for snaps this spring.

• Tennessee: Who will throw and catch for Butch Jones in his first season? Quarterback Tyler Bray is gone. So are receivers Cordarrelle Patterson, Justin Hunter and Zach Rogers and tight end Mychal Rivera. Essentially, the Volunteers are pressing the reset button on their passing game. Junior Justin Worley and redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman will compete to replace Bray. Vincent Dallas, a receiver-turned-defensive back-turned-receiver, is the most experienced target. Sophomore Alton Howard, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound speedster who goes by "Pig," has the best nickname. He also may fit best in the spread offense Jones prefers.

ELLIS: Butch Jones out to spark a renaissance at Tennessee

• Texas A&M: We know Johnny Football and the offense will score, but how will the Aggies' defense adjust to some key losses? While Texas A&M coaches seem to have developed a nice succession plan to replace offensive tackle Luke Joeckel (move Jake Matthews from right tackle to left) and center Patrick Lewis (start Matthews' younger brother Mike), things seem less clear on the other side of the ball. The Aggies must replace one of the nation's best pass rushers (Damontre Moore) and two excellent linebackers (Sean Porter and Jonathan Stewart). At defensive end, Brandon Alexander should get the first crack at replacing Moore. Alexander played as a freshman in 2011, but he redshirted in 2012 as he adjusted from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 defensive end. By the time the Aggies reached the Cotton Bowl, the older players were raving about Alexander. Juco transfer Tommy Sanders is a prime candidate to take over one of the vacant linebacker spots.

• Vanderbilt: After a nine-win season, can the Commodores produce an equal or better encore? To replicate last year's success, Vandy will have to replace Jordan Rodgers at quarterback. Austyn Carta-Samuels, who started at Wyoming before he transferred to Vanderbilt and backed up Rodgers, is the leader. But watch out for Patton Robinette, a redshirt freshman who left North Carolina's campus in January 2012 to enroll at Vanderbilt. Robinette, who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT in high school, is a fast learner. Meanwhile, the Commodores also must replace tailback Zac Stacy. This might be the chance for Brian Kimbrow, the jewel of James Franklin's 2012 recruiting class, to carve out a niche.

MANDEL: Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel is still adjusting to celebrity life

STAPLES: Meet the 27-year-old assistant now in charge of Johnny Football

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Football recruiting | Lincoln-Way East's Allegretti picks Illinois - Chicago Tribune

 Lincoln-Way East junior Nick Allegretti orally committed to play for Illinois and coach Tim Beckman on Monday. (John J. Kim/Tribune photo / March 12, 2013)

Lincoln-Way East junior offensive guard Nick Allegretti orally committed to play football for Illinois on Monday night after visiting the school over the weekend.

"I felt that Illinois is a great fit for me on and off the field and I was ready to make my decision," said Allegretti, who plans to major in accounting. "I called up the coaches at Illinois and gave them my commitment."

Allegretti, who is 6-foot-4, 280 pounds, helped the Griffins to a runner-up finish in Class 7A last season and has a brother who attends Illinois.

"Illinois is a perfect fit for me. I also believe in Coach (Tim) Beckman and his philosophy that we have a ton of talent in Chicagoland and that we need to start keeping that talent at Illinois.

"I considered the coaching situation and all of the recent changes, but I feel Coach Beckman will do some great things at Illinois. I really was looking at everything, and Illinois hands down offered it all.

Illinois landed its first commitment of the Class of 2014 when Centerville (Ohio) High School defensive end Tito Odenigbo committed Monday afternoon. .

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Doc Five: The best two-sport college football/basketball players – No. 4 Tony ... - Yahoo! Sports (blog)

(USA Today Sports Images)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.

THE BEST TWO-SPORT COLLEGE FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL PLAYERS

NO. 4, TONY GONZALEZ

This list of greatest players who played both football and basketball in college is surprisingly strong. Donovan McNabb, Julius Peppers and Chris Chambers are three NFL Pro Bowlers who didn't make it. Neither did Super Bowl champion Antwaan Randle El or NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson.

The greatest tight end who has ever lived was a key part of a Cal basketball team that made the NCAA tournament sweet 16, and he can't even crack the top three.

(USA Today Sports Images)Since Tony Gonzalez has set every major NFL tight end receiving record, and pretty much lapped the field in the process, it's almost like his college basketball career is an urban legend kept alive by his goalpost dunk touchdown celebration. But it was real, and at times spectacular.

Gonzalez shot better than 50 percent from the field in his three hoops seasons and averaged 6.4 points. That might not sound like much, but it likely would have been much better had football not gotten in the way.

His biggest basketball moment came against Villanova freshman Tim Thomas in the 1997 NCAA tournament. Gonzalez scored 23 points and was matched up most of the time by Cal coach Ben Braun on Thomas, a 6-10 future NBA lottery pick who scored 9,454 points in 13 NBA seasons. Thomas scored 11 points, and was held scoreless in the second half as Cal won and moved on to the sweet 16.

"I remember telling people, 'That guy's not going to be able to do anything against Gonzalez,'" Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a longtime NBA veteran who played with Gonzalez at Cal told Bay Area News Group. "People thought I was crazy, but I said, 'Gonzalez is going to dominate him.'

"I knew because I had faced him every day in practice. He was so much stronger than me, there was nothing I could do."

Gonzalez averaged 14.6 points per game over the final six games of that season. Again, that was the greatest tight end in NFL history just dabbling after football season was done.

Gonzalez, who played some NBA summer league ball in 2002, is just 6-5 so he was not ideal size to play down low in the NBA. But with his athletic ability and strength, it's not unfathomable that if had he concentrated on basketball at Cal he could have made the NBA.

No big deal. Gonzalez did fine with his career choice (and we're glad he's coming back for another year).

Previously on the Doc Five ...
No. 5, Jackie Robinson

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Denard Robinson snags 'NCAA Football 14' cover - USA TODAY

Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson will grace the cover of college football simulation NCAA Football 14 when it launches this summer.

The Big Ten star beat out Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope in a fan vote on the game's Facebook page. Close to 6 million people voted, says publisher Electronic Arts.

Robinson is the third Michigan player to appear on the cover of NCAA Football. In 1998, cornerback and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson appeared on the cover of NCAA Football 99, while college superstar Desmond Howard appeared on NCAA Football 06. Although Howard's last year at Michigan was in 1991, he graced the cover to help promote the franchise's Race to the Heisman mode, which debuted in the 2005 game.

EA says they will reveal new information about NCAA Football 14 in the coming weeks. The series follows up a rough season last year with NCAA Football 13, which featured few adjustments and overlooked technical bugs that plagued the franchise in previous years.

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