College Football 2011: The 15 Top 25 Teams with No Arrests or Suspensions...Yet
Sure, they make a lot of money and have a lot of prestige. But college football coaches do have a lot of headaches to deal with. One of the biggest ones is the fact that they have a roster of over 100 aggressive, competitive young men who live on a college campus.
There are times when that combination leads to poor decisions, and those poor decisions can lead to suspensions and arrests. Those can be just as devastating to a team as an injury. Ask the folks in Columbus about that.
So, with thanks to ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach for his post-spring top 25, let's go through and see which teams have avoided the police blotter and the suspension rolls—so far.
No. 25: Mississippi State
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The Bulldogs are coming off their bowl game demolition of Michigan with high hopes, and no evidence of arrests or suspensions.
Wide receiver Chris Smith did break his jaw during an "altercation," but was not arrested and apparently will miss no playing time.
No. 23: Virginia Tech
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It's a sign of how far Virginia Tech football has come that the Hokies can be coming off an Orange Bowl season, and their fans are looking to rebound from the "disappointment" of 2010.
But at least they will be looking forward to their 2011 campaign without any arrests or suspensions.
No. 22: TCU
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The Horned Frogs will go into their swan song season in the Mountain West Conference without any arrests or suspensions on their roster.
No promises for their fan base when the Frogs head to Idaho to face Boise State.
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No. 21: Arizona State
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The Sun Devils get a new logo, a new motto ("Fear the Fork"), and a clean record heading into the 2011 season in the newly-christened Pac-12 Conference.
Good for head coach Dennis Erickson, who hasn't had the most stellar history in keeping his players out of trouble.
No. 20: Texas
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After the disastrous 2010 season, Longhorn fans may have rooted for a few of the underperforming players from last year to be "unavailable" for Mack Brown.
But Texas will head into 2011, looking to rebound, and unburdened by any arrests or suspensions.
No. 15: Ohio State
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Whoops! How did they get here? My mistake ...
No. 13: Nebraska
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The Cornhuskers head into the B1G Conference with no arrests and no suspensions.
And no profanity-laced tirades against officials from head coach Bo Pelini. Yet.
No. 12: Wisconsin
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The Badgers will be looking to defend their B1G crown and avenge their Rose Bowl loss without any arrests or suspensions weighing them down.
(Wait for it.)
That's what the lager and cheese curds are for, right?
No. 11: Arkansas
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In all fairness, it was a little challenging to research Arkansas' suspensions.
A Google search of "Arkansas football suspension" brought up a whole bunch of hits about the Hogs' opponents in the Sugar Bowl, a certain team from Columbus which apparently had some discussion about players being suspended.
No. 9: Texas A&M
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The Aggies head into the less-than-accurately-named Big 12 Conference in 2011 as contenders for the title, and without any arrests or suspensions to block their way.
No. 8: Stanford
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It shouldn't be a surprise that a school like Stanford has no arrests or suspensions to deal with, given its high academic and moral standards.
After all, Tiger Woods is an alum.
No. 6: Oklahoma State
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No, Justin Blackmon's arrest doesn't count. His arrest was so 2010, and we are so over that by now.
No. 5: LSU
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The Tigers dealt with the "will-he-or-won't-he-go" drama of head coach Les Miles over the offseason.
Perhaps one thing that kept the Mad Hatter in Baton Rouge was the lack of arrests or suspensions on his roster. Or, perhaps not.
No. 3: Florida State
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The Seminoles are back in the pre-season discussion for the national championship!
And without any arrests or suspensions! Turn up the Nirvana, tune in an episode of Friends, and welcome yourself back to the 90's!
No. 2: Alabama
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The Crimson Tide enter the 2011 season without any arrests or suspensions. The University of Alabama unveils a statue of head coach Nick Saban. Unrelated stories?
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