http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/627 Recent articles about the Alabama Crimson Tide en-us As 3SIB noted earlier today, the "Bama Boys" are at it again. The Knoxville News-Sentinel and Tuscaloosa News are both reporting that Coach Phillip Fulmer was served with a deposition subpoena while attending the SEC Media Days in Birmingham earlier today by attorneys representing disgruntled ex-Alabama booster Wendell Smith in his defamation and libel suit against the NCAA. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:58:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295048 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295048 The 2008 pre-season power rankings have the Ohio State Buckeyes in first place, followed by Georgia. The Oklahoma Sooners come in third. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:05:48 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294367 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294367 I want to make it clear that every list you'll see regarding the most difficult schedule for the 2008 college football season is entirely subjective. I took into account where those tough games take place - at home or on the road. Ultimately, I ranked the teams based on the total number of pre-season Top 25 games on the schedule and how many of those games are at home or on the road. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:47:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294169 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294169 Sean Jackson, one of these CFN bloggers, had a coherent (that was about it) write up on how the Big Ten can be better in 2008. Now, I won't get into the fact that he's just one of the many talking about the Big Ten as if it's the MAC or even the Big East circa 2004. Jackson just made some fundamental mistakes in his assessment of the conference going into 2008, mistakes which should have been, at the very least, addressed by CFN before publishing the article. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:48:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294100 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294100 Week 3 of the Big Orange Roundtable covering the Tennessee Vols, from Gate 21 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:06:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293791 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293791 When it comes to college football, we really are just rooting for laundry. Players come and go (unless they're like Riley Skinner, who's seemingly been at Wake Forest since the dawn of time) but it's the uniforms that make college football. In that spirit, The Señior is putting the players to the wayside and ranking the game's top 10 helmets. Without further ado ... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:14:29 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293581 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293581 I wonder if Bear Bryant is rolling in his grave over this? Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:14:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293130 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293130 It started in 1977, over 30 years ago when the streak began. Woody Hayes, the most beloved of any Ohio State head coach past or present, was the first to endure the pain that has now extended into three decades. How can one team with such a rich history like Ohio State not have a victory against an SEC opponent? Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:20:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292030 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/292030 Whether you believe he's a legend in the making or a liar, Urban Meyer stokes passions on all sides. Legend advocates will cite his second-year National Championship and a sophomore Heisman Trophy winner. Liar advocates are lining up against Meyer as stories continue to build, just as bridges linking Meyer to other coaches continue to burn. Consider these recent stories from other sites and sources on Meyer's recruiting tactics. It's unlikely the following schools have Meyer on their Christmas card list. LSU: Florida was ready to take all-star corner Patrick Johnson with what they thought was a bogus test score, but he committed to LSU. How did Florida respond? "Florida flagged my scores," Johnson said. "They called the compliance office." "I'm not upset," Johnson said. "Florida made an issue about the ACT score. They're cowards. They had to go behind my back. But that's OK. We play them this year (on Oct. 11 at Florida)." FSU (posted on noledigest.com): "While Gator fans will sit and give excuses or spin the details of what is going on, there is no denying that it seems like the UF staff flat-out lies to these kids. "Here is a quote from Trent Pupello (a player they initially compared to Jeremy Shockey), who is looking to leave the program this year: 'Coach (Steve) Addazio (UF tight ends coach) told me to work on my speed,' Pupello said. 'He didn't say that my speed was slow or anything. He just said that everything (at this level) is faster. "'I need to work on speed and getting stronger, which is pretty much what we all need to work on. He said that they need me at tight end, that I'll have an early chance to play and that all of the tight ends will play on the special teams.'" Michigan site (on the recruitment of Daryl Stonum): The University of Florida stayed on the four star pass-catcher well all the way through. Things crescendoed recently after a conversation with Urban Meyer. According to Stonum, Meyer had a compelling reason why he should become a Gator. "He told me that he talked to Coach Carr and Coach Soup and that they told him that I would be a much better fit in the Florida offense than I would be in the one at Michigan," Stonum recalled. "I thought, wow, my coaches are selling me out? I confronted them about it. I asked Coach Carr and Coach Soup about it, and they said they never talked to that guy and that there was no way they ever said anything like that and that they think I should be a Wolverine. I believed them. Right then, I knew just how Florida rolled." Just Funny: You can't tell the story about Jevan Snead enough (recounted in the book Meat Market). The funniest thing I read in it concerned what Urban Meyer told Jevan Snead. Snead had watched the Outside the Lines special on Tebow, which showed Meyer and OC Dan Mullen in the stands. Problem was, Meyer had told Snead, committed at the time, that he was the only quarterback they were going after. When Snead asked Meyer about it, Meyer responded, "We are recruiting him for linebacker." I had heard that before, but got a big kick out of reading it in the book straight from Snead. More LSU from Fox 26 in Houston: "Hempstead's Terrance Toliver, one of the nation's top high school football recruits, says negative recruiting tactics by the University of Florida first had him confused and bewildered. But in an unusual move, two Hempstead High School employees went above and beyond the call of duty to help Toliver make the biggest decision of his life. "After a vigorous early recruiting rush, it came down to LSU and Florida for Toliver, considered by many the No. 1 high school recruit in Texas and the best wide receiver in the nation. He ended up signing a letter-of-intent with LSU on National Signing Day Wednesday, but not before Florida coaches took several shots at LSU, leaving Toliver unsure what to do next. "'Every time (Florida recruiters) came, they just said LSU doesn't qualify their players,' Toliver told FOX 26's Mark Berman Wednesday. 'About (how) their academics are not all that. It kind of had me confused.'" "Eventually a bewildered Toliver asked his football coach Rick Sargent and Hempstead instructional coordinator Tina Johnson to go to Baton Rouge to find out the truth about LSU. The two went last weekend. 'They went and checked (LSU's) academics out and their facilities,' Toliver said. 'They just came back and told me whatever Florida was saying about the academics wasn't true.'" Notre Dame Blog: When Meyer recruited Justin Trattou he did so by the cover of night. Not that it's illegal, but he told Trattou not to tell anyone he was talking with Florida. Keep in mind that Trattou was committed to Notre Dame at the time. Amongst other things, Coach Meyer talked to Trattou about how the 3-4 defense was not a good fit for him and his football future (read: NFL, which is garbage—the Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers all use the 3-4). Former Gators assistant coach Greg Mattison's favorite topics about Notre Dame (with several recruits), despite his previous love for the school, included how the weather sucked and the social life suffered. Case in point No. 2: Omar Hunter, same deal as before. Omar was snookered into lying to everyone from Notre Dame coaches and players to likely even his parents, especially his father, who wanted him at Notre Dame due to the academics. Hunter said that he was not talking to other schools, when in fact he was—Florida included—while being a Notre Dame commitment. In the end, Hunter was a fraud himself, but he was not the one who was truly taken for a ride. Coach Mattison recruited Hunter. He had an ax to grind with Notre Dame after leaving South Bend on not so good terms, and he definitely took it to another level with Hunter. Mattison, you see, had an assistant coaching job lined up with the Baltimore Ravens long before this past National Signing Day came around. So when Hunter switched his commitment to UF after initially deciding to attend Notre Dame, Mattison and Meyer did what came naturally. They lied to Hunter about the entire situation, telling Hunter that Mattison was not leaving Gainesville. Just by complete and total coincidence, Mattison ended up taking a job with the Ravens right after National Signing Day. Shocking! And oh yes, Notre Dame assistant coach Bill Lewis, who recently retired as a football coach, told Hunter what was about to happen. Hunter did not listen and signed with the Gators. Urban continues to build the best talent base not located in Southern California. Success certainly breeds enemies, but so does recruiting. Urban Legend or Urban Liar? Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:09:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291802 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291802 Rivalries are the essence of college football -- keeping the fires stoked is very important. Thus, I pose a simple question: What is the "state" of football rivalry at Tennessee? Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:40:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290117 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290117 These are my rankings for the SEC defenses for fantasy college football. In no way does this reflect how I predict teams to finish in the conference standings. Thanks for viewing! Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:43:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288273 These are my rankings for the SEC offenses for fantasy college football. In no way does this reflect how I predict teams to finish in the conference standings. Thanks for viewing! Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:33:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288270 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288270 Is college football getting worse? What happened to these guys being respectable young men? Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:45:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288053 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288053 Click the link to see DTI's pre-season All-America Offense.....More great articles, opinions, and more from Yardbarker Network Site dottingthei.com...check out our raw feed in YBN and our site at http://dottingthei.com for the hottest news, opinions, and analysis on Ohio State Sports. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:52:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287312 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287312 After a mediocre debut season last year, how much margin for error does Nick Saban have this year in Tuscaloosa? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:01:03 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285645 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285645