Report: Major College Football Program May Face Recruiting Violations, but Who?

Colin Cowherd is At it Again…College Football Style

Yesterday afternoon, Colin Cowherd went on his radio show and dropped the revelation that the NCAA was preparing to impose sanctions a top college football program.

Since then, speculation has been endless, and things have spiraled out of control to the point where every major program has come under scrutiny all across the Internet. We're here to break down what we know so far as this rumor floats around college football circles.

As always, if you have any thoughts, make sure to leave them in the comments below.

Colin Cowherd Drops the Rumor

During his radio show, Colin Cowherd dropped the bombshell that a top college program is going to be outed for recruiting violations.

"I received an interesting text about 10 days ago, and this should be very frightening if you’re a fan of college football, that a major program in this country is going to be outed very soon for major recruiting violations.  It is a top 10-12 program. I know what I think it is according to both my sources; I received another tip last night.  I went to Vince Doria, who is sort of the journalistic editor at this company.  He had heard the exact same thing.  We are pursuing this story with vigor.  A major publication is about to unseat a major college football power on recruiting violations.  I will tell you from my source, it is not — it is not — Auburn.  I will leave it at that.  It is a major program and a major publication.  When we can validate more… I have not been able to validate it nor has this company.  We’re both pursuing it."

You know, I'm not saying you shouldn't report something until you're totally sure...but you shouldn't report something until you're totally sure.

This has created a strong Internet buzz and endless speculation about the identity of the team, and this could get really ugly, really fast.

Speculation Begins

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: Head coach Chip Kelly of the Oregon Ducks looks on against the Auburn Tigers in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/G

Once this rumor hit, people started to speculate about which school it could possibly be.

The finger was immediately pointed at Oregon as the team that could be sanctioned. However, John Canzano of the Oregonian did some digging, and evidently the Ducks haven't heard anything from the NCAA regarding violations.

With Auburn and Oregon seemingly out of the fold, speculation continued, but there was little information to back up any claims.

Who Could It Be?

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: Head coach Chip Kelly of the Oregon Ducks looks on from the bench against the Auburn Tigers in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jo

Despite the denials by Oregon, Sports by Brooks tweeted the following:

Mult. ESPN sources have now verified to me Cowherd was referencing Oregon as school to be 'outed very soon for major recruiting violations.'

More speculation continued on the Internet, with fingers being pointed at everyone from Tennessee to Texas. Again, there is no evidence to confirm any of this, but this is the atmosphere Colin Cowherd has created with this report.

He has created a firestorm, and now it's like the Wild West, with people throwing names out there with nothing to back it up.

I won't go out on a limb and make a pick because that's irresponsible, so we'll just have to wait and see how this saga unfolds. Because I love the sport, I'd just rather see this all blow up in Cowherd's face.