When the new rules proposals came down, we at Your Best 11 tipped our cap to Mark Emmert and the NCAA for making the right call in acknowledging that they could not legislate an equal playing field into existence. 

Having already made the decision to table the proposal that would have allowed earlier prospect contacts, eliminated restrictions on who can recruit and removed the limits on printed materials, the NCAA decided to also shut down the unlimited contact proposal.

Well, to be fair to the NCAA, the governing body of collegiate sports did not actually change its stance on its new recruiting rule that would have allowed unlimited contact with prospects. Rather, it was forced to table the measure because the Division I Board of Directors received the 75 override requests necessary to suspend the new rule's implementation.

As the NCAA announced Thursday, the push to eliminate restrictions on contact between coaches and prospects will have to wait until it is reviewed, in conjunction with the other suspended rules. Board chairman  Nathan Hatch stated that they need to "make sure all the pieces of the recruiting model work together to make the most effective change in the culture."

Read More »5

College football's power brokers still can't decide how to form the selection committee for the new College Football Playoff. Do they follow in basketball's footsteps? Do they stock it with former players and coaches?

So, here at Your Best 11, we've decided to build our own selection committee for the powers that be. We'll pick our special blend of personnel to figure out who deserves to be in not just the top four spots with a shot to play for the national championship on the line, but also the four other major bowls on the landscape.

Britton Banowsky, Karl Benson, Jon Steinbrecher and Mike Aresco. That's right, first up on our list are the commissioners from four of the five non-power conferences. The Mountain West, a conference that has had plenty of success in getting to BCS bowls, sits this one out, as the other four parties get to champion for the "little guy" and even out the bickering of the big boys.

Banowsky, from Conference USA, just saw his league go through a brutal period of reconstruction, leaving him with, come 2014, a far-flung group of teams ranging from the Southwest to Florida and West Virginia. teams from the Southwest through West Virginia. The Southwest ties are strong with Banowsky, who worked in the SWC and the Big 12 before taking the reins of Conference USA. 

Read More »9

I missed last Thursday, folks, I was doing some little thing with the NFL draft, my apologies. It was just, you know, 15 hours of live streaming video talking about all the picks. Nothing big or anything. Anyway, I'm back and ready for action. You all have questions, I have a lot of bottled up rage from not being in the South last week and, also, football answers.

Gah, this is a tough one. The Clemson defense was not very good last year, even though it allowed the third-fewest points in the ACC. Giving up 25 a game is not the hallmark of a quality defense, but Clemson is going into Year 2 with defensive coordinator Brent Venables, and that's a big plus.

After a year of learning his scheme, understanding some of the principles that he is looking to employ and going from knowing assignments to comprehending the scheme, I think they will get better. After finishing right in the middle of the ACC in total defense, I think they can get to the top quarter of the league this season. 

That also depends on health, most notably Tony Steward, the former 5-star linebacker recruit. He's a kid who's been itching to get back on the field and will provide an instant upgrade if he can play for the Tigers this year.

Read More »2

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reported late Wednesday that the Coaches' Poll was here to stay, as college football moves into the next postseason era. Grant Teaff, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, and his gang have decided they could not leave well enough alone.

Whether you like the playoff or you don't, this is a bad move for the game.

We talked about it at Your Best 11 in June of last year. We talked about it again in August after the Lane Kiffin fiasco. Then we hit on Grant Teaff's rebuttal to the Kiffin fiasco, again reminding folks why the Coaches' Poll does not work. Once again, it was brought up in August, when Chip Kelly made the clear point about why the Coaches' Poll is not to be trusted. 

In other words, if you've followed along, we have been over this, folks.

Read More »6

There are several points in the offseason that signify movement, a reminder that a new season is on the horizon.

Spring football, which has concluded for just about everyone, is one of those markers. Conference media days—which have become a sound bite-packed summer tradition right before camps—are another.

An additional strange but celebrated milestone comes courtesy of the oddsmakers. When the brightest, faceless college football minds begin to release point spreads for the season ahead, you can sense the season isn’t far away. That moment, which has arrived earlier each year with the increasing presence of online sportsbooks, is upon us yet again. 

Actual point spreads have been posted, four months in advance of the 2013 college football season. This is not a drill and those are indeed sirens you can hear going off in the distance.

Read More »14

The Big Ten is doing it. The Pac-12 is thinking about not doing it anymore. The ACC decided it isn't going to do it. The SEC is still debating it. The "it" is, of course, going to a nine-game conference schedule. Before they all go too far, everyone should have their finger on the pause button.

For fans, media and even just casual observers of the game, moving to nine makes perfect sense. It results in more games between quality opponents, more chances to play that cross-divisional rival and, more importantly, fewer games against Directional State University.

There's better competition on the field and a more enjoyable experience in the stands.

However, if you are the teams and conferences involved here, the best move is to leave yourself a little wiggle room. The entire landscape of the sport is about to change, and instead of making decisions before the College Football Playoff selection committee is assembled or the selection criteria is created, hold your proverbial horses.

Read More »6

With another year of spring football in the books—outside of New Mexico State, which will officially drop the curtain on May 4—college football will hit pause until teams begin reporting to fall camp. I'm sorry, New Mexico State, but the show must go on.

To celebrate this intermission, we’ve created the "Post-Spring Football Top 25." SPOILER ALERT: New Mexico State did not make the cut.

Using our February Spring Football Top 25 as a baseline, we’ve taken into account spring observations, injuries, roster shuffles and other happenings over the past few months. For the most part, the moves aren’t dramatic, although there were a handful of noteworthy shifts and new additions.

With teams locked in place until recruits arrive on campus in the fall, there likely won’t be much movement until then. 

Read More »282

Last week, we expected to get word on how the new College Football Playoff's selection committee would be set up. Instead, we got a lot of hemming and hawing as the powers brokers were unable to decide what they were looking for in a selection committee.

As we've said at Your Best 11 before, you have to have football guys on board to make this whole thing work.

That means not going the basketball route that so many people are clamoring to see.

Football is not basketball. It's not a sport with a 30-game regular season. It's not a sport with games upon games of cross-conference competition. And it certainly is not a sport that lends itself to simple computer formulas; as evidenced by folks constant complaining about the computer portion of the BCS formula.

Read More »14