I'm sure there will be changes - but what do you think will be the starting 5 most games?

Florida Gator players in trouble...

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TIA, just curious. I think we should put them back up regardless. And I think we should still count them as well. Alabama claims way more football titles than are officially or at least universally recognized. I feel like we could do the same. Still, want those banners back officially.

dont see anyone. Saw about 6 for Alabama

Double post

spread is down to 24.5!

Louisville-Escorts-Indictment
Basketball 'escort queen' indicted on forged checks charges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. A woman who declared herself the "escort queen" of a sex scandal involving the University of Louisville's basketball team has been indicted on theft charges.

The Courier Journal reports Katina Powell was indicted by a grand jury Thursday of criminal possession of a forged instrument and theft by deception.

An arrest citation says Powell is accused of stealing blank checks in April totaling $2,900 and attempting to cash them at a liquor store. The citation says the checks were stolen from Thomas Tyre, who has said he wanted the case dropped.

Powell called herself the "escort queen" in a book. Powell allegedly provided women to have sex with Louisville basketball players and recruits between 2010 and 2014. The scandal led the NCAA to revoke the Cardinals' 2013 men's basketball championship.

___

Assuming we lose to Bama it looks like we will probably be 3-1 heading into the FSU game then followed by a Friday night home game vs GT. There is a great chance that Cardinal Stadium is going to be ROCKING for FSU and GT. If we can somehow beat FSU at home that Friday night will be NUTS!

Per E$PN a two year deal for $12 million, fully guaranteed. I don't follow the NBA, but I do like to see former Cards do well.

CFN ran an article on college FB average attendance yesterday. Average Attendance from all teams and all D1 conferences.

Here is the link:

https://collegefootballnews.com/201...am-analysis-attendance-rankings-by-conference

I would offer a few points:

• Louisville hasn't done too badly.
• Only 3 Schools that the Cards can't catch due to Stadium size limitations: Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech
• ACC is among the lowest average attendance, if not the lowest, in the P5. A lot of that is due to the Private School nature of the ACC. And also Stadium size.
• It's kind of a shame that Louisville always plays 4 of the ACC attendance bottom feeders every season (Virginia, Syracuse. Boston College, Wake Forest)
• I think NC State is really moving FB-wise. As shown in many metrics.
• Just imagine UNC, Duke and NC State battling for fans at their 12-mile apart stadiums on about one third of the Saturdays.

Average Attendance.............. Percentage of Stadium Capacity

ACC
1. Clemson
81916.20 100.51%

2. Florida State
75718.80 95.24%

3. Virginia Tech
62447.40 95.15%

4. NC State
55782.20 96.84%

5. Miami
54234.00 83.74%

6. North Carolina
51226.20 81.31%

7. Louisville
51036.00 92.79%

8. Georgia Tech
48538.20 88.25%

9. Pitt
44315.40 67.66%

10. Virginia
41642.20 67.71%

11. Syracuse
35512.00 72.09%

12. Boston College
33112.40 74.41%

13. Wake Forest
27438.00 87.10%

14. Duke
27294.40 68.23%

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At the ACC Media the CJ Writer asked Jaylon Smith and Jonathan Greenard to name their
"Players that will make a name for themselves this year". Their responses were:

Smith - Emonee Spence - Found this interesting because BP was really high on this guy prior to his freshmen year. He go hurt early his freshmen year, redshirted and has not been heard from since. He will be a Junior eligibility wise this season. And with Smith, Dawkins and Fitzpatrick as the starters and some other talented guys behind them, just getting on the field will be an accomplishment in and of itself.

Greenard - Anthony Johnson - Found this one interesting as well. Redshirt Freshmen from the Miami area. There was talk last season when Alexander got injured the Coaches seriously considered pulling his redshirt. Big corner with a good head on his shoulders.

Now I am going to make my picks:

Offense - Colin Wilson - With LJ gone I expect much more of the running game to be shouldered by the Running Backs. I realize he was playing against Kent State & Murray State but I thought CW showed the skills and instincs of a good running back.

Defense - This was a tough one. I am going to go with CJ Avery. I think the move from Safety to Will LB will fit his skill set well.

Would like to hear your picks.

According to ESPN, UofL ranks 18th in this category which is hard to follow and understand IMO.

UofL has had 94 first round draft choices from 2009 to 2018. Not bad. The teams who ranked higher yet had fewer first round draft choices are:

#3 Duke - 88 first round draft choices
#4 UofK - 93 first round draft choices
#6 Syracuse - 78 first round draft choices
#12 UConn - 78 first round draft choices
#14 Washington - 75 first round draft choices
#16 Tennessee - 66 first round draft choices
#17 Georgia - 86 first round draft choices

That's 7 programs ESPN ranked higher in spite of having fewer first round draft choices.

Bias? You betcha!

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/23866176/which-schools-produce-most-draft-talent

Early this year Lamar was encouraged by some pro scouts to be a wide receiver in the NFL. Now he is the most talked about quarterback draftee in the NFL on the talk shows.

Agau began his college career at Louisville in 2013, but transferred to Georgetown — where he earned his degree, but also missed extensive time with injuries. Last season he played at Southern Methodist University, and now is back to Louisville to complete his fourth year of college play.

“He’s had a wild ride, to say the least,” says Mack. “But in Akoy, we felt like if we can get him healthy enough to get through a season, he can help us.”

Especially in the hard knocks world of basketball under the basket.

“He’s a much better player than he was as a freshman, like most guys that are in their later years in college — and he’s in his very, very late years,” says Mack. “He’s seen so many different styles of play and gone up against so many different types of players that I think he’s versatile and adaptable enough to come back here where it all started for him.”

An inspirational comeback story?

“He’s only been here a week, so I’m not going to crown him our leader in a week’s time,” says Mack, with a chuckle. “There’s some guys that have put in an awful lot of hard work since we got here at the end of March — that are about the right things, that are doing the things we want for them to become better players and for us to become a better team.”

Affairs, sexual harassment, settlements, just a culture of crap.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...the-inside-story-of-papa-johns-toxic-culture/

...since the football team has had such lowly expectations in the preseason media. There is no hype at all. No expectation of reloading. To be picked under BC is the ultimate disrespect.

Never thought in year 5 for Petrino 2.0 the team would be looked at so poorly. I really hope they're all wrong because a 5th place or worse season will not be tolerated by a whole lot of people.

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https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews/nebraska-cornhuskers-2018-college-football-today-preview

https://www.collegefootballtoday.org/collegefbnews

A solid read here ... it sounds like Geron is settling in well, and could see significant playing time as early as this year, depending on health of other guys on the O-Line in Washington.

Going to the linked article, you can see pics, some of Geron's tweets, and video of his U of L highlights ... but I can copy and paste the text of the piece below. The Skins seem pretty excited about what they have in Geron. Here's hoping he can have the pro career of another former Louisville Cardinal and Redskin great Joe Jacoby.

https://www.redskins.com/news/seven-things-we-ve-learned-about-geron-christian-sr

As players take their final breaks before training camp, Redskins.com will look back at the new faces from this offseason and what we've learned about them, football and otherwise, so far.

Today we’ll focus on offensive lineman Geron Christian Sr.

1. He is the newest draft class member of the Washington Redskins.

The Ocala, Fla., native was selected by Washington in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but didn't officially sign with the organization until June 14. He was the final rookie among the eight draft choices to have signed a contract, and is set up with an ideal situation in getting to learn from Trent Williams about how to be successful at the tackle position in today's NFL.

2. He's a valuable addition to one of the league's best offensive lines.

Like a majority of the Redskins 2018 draft class, the Louisville product serves as a player that is meant to fill a hole, which was noticeable last season. While he may not be an every day starter in his rookie season, his talent level makes him an excellent fill-in option if the Redskins' offensive line piles up injuries once again.

“We will keep him at the swing tackle,” said Redskins head coach Jay Gruden in April. “You know, what we went through at tackle last year was catastrophic with all the injuries and still a lot of these guys are recovering from their injuries. Trent is recovering still, Morgan [Moses] is still recovering, Ty [Nsekhe] is still recovering, we have T.J. [Clemmings] still recovering. So we need depth at tackle."

The "swing tackle" that Gruden refers to is Christian's ability to play multiple positions on the line, as he has experience in both the tackle, center and guard position. His talent can be used down the road so he can become one of the main staples of the Redskins' offense, just like Trent Williams and Brandon Scherff are now.

It's so important for an offense to have continuous depth at the tackle position because of its direct correlation to the play of a quarterback, which for Christian starts during training camp.

"To me, it’s so much better to get an opportunity and go out on the field and actually practice than stand there with a helmet in your hand and watch, so you can make the mistakes, you can correct yourself," Gruden said. "It might be your set, it might be too vertical, whatever it might be, so everything has been a teaching point for him. Every play is something to learn from – running play, pass play, pass protection – and I think he’s going to become better faster because of that because of these opportunities.”

3. He's in the early stages of parenthood.

The rookie has a lot more on his plate than just adjusting to life as an NFL player.

At just 21 years old, Christian is a new father, after having a baby in the past year. He also told the voice of the Redskins, Larry Michael, that he is experiencing the Washington, D.C., area for the first time in his life. These adjustments for the Louisville product certainly don't receive as much public attention as his play on the field, but have a much greater importance.

Christian and his newest addition to his family got to spend some quality time together in Florida back in April before he was selected by the Redskins later that month.

4. Offensive Line Coach Bill Callahan likes his pass protection ability.

It's really not much of a surprise that Christian has been praised for giving Alex Smith and Colt McCoy plenty of time in the pocket in his first few months with the Redskins -- this is typically the primary role for a starting tackle, regardless of lining up on the right or left side.

The more important thing to note is that the rookie has been mostly practicing with the first team so far. While this is mainly due to Williams and the rest of the offensive line still recovering from injury, Callahan's trust in the Louisville product this early in the NFL calendar gives the rookie a great chance to have his name called more than his initial expectation.

Once the Redskins begin training camp, where Williams has stated he'll be in the best football shape of his career, it will be interesting to see where Callahan uses the No. 74-overall pick in practice.

"He’s learning. He’s got thrown into the fire and he’s handled it really well," Callahan said during minicamp."It’s a learning curve right now for a rookie, so he’s got to make that progress in the next couple of weeks in the summer and carry it over into training camp. Hopefully we’ve got something there.”

5. He's about as durable as they come.

For an offensive line that is looking to stay healthy this season, it's very encouraging to know that Christian started in all 39 games that he appeared in during his three seasons at Louisville.

In a high-flying offense headlined by 2016 Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, the 6-foot-5, 302-pound offensive lineman certainly wasn't taking a nice stroll every time the UL offense made its way onto the field. In addition, protecting a dynamic player like Jackson, who can break out of the pocket at any given time with his blistering speed, makes the task of slowing down defensive lineman even more challenging.

While he certainly isn't working with a quarterback that has the speed like the Baltimore Ravens first-round draft choice, Alex Smith has proven he can get out of the pocket well, as he rushed for just over 350 yards last season.

"This is all new to him," Callahan said. "The more reps he gets and the more looks that he can filter through, it’s just going to benefit him better.”

6. He isn't the only person in his family to have NFL experience.

Christian is the second player in his family to be selected in the draft, as his brother Gerald was labeled as "Mr. Irrelevant" after being selected No. 256 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Gerald was a starting tight end for Louisville, as the program started to gain national attention around his junior season (the school went 12-1 and won the Russell Athletic Bowl), where the former four-star product caught 28 passes for 426 yards and scored four touchdowns.

7. He is ready to actually play football again.

After making a trip to the Taxslayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., against Mississippi State and going through the tolling draft process, Christian couldn't be more excited to arrive at the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center in Richmond, Va., for training camp. The current six-week break may sound like a nice benefit, but it's a challenging task for many players to remain in football shape as they must put in the work on their own time.

“Really just busy, same as before and just trying to train and spend time with family," Christian said after being selected by the Redskins.

"Been a long time, really. Now finally football type of training and stuff. But it feels real good to be back on the field.”

2018 All-ACC Preseason Football Team Announced
Boston College Running Back AJ Dillon Selected Preseason Player of the Year

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Three-time defending conference champion Clemson leads all schools with eight selections on the 2018 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Football Team announced Tuesday. Boston College sophomore running back AJ Dillon received the nod as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

The preseason player of the year and all-conference team was selected by a vote of 148 media members that were credentialed for last week’s ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte.

Dillon’s 1,589 yards rushing last season were the second-most by any freshman in ACC history. The New London, Connecticut, native ranked second nationally among all freshmen in rushing yards in 2017 and seventh among all players. Dillon set the Boston College freshman rushing record while posting the fourth-highest single-season total in school history.

Dillon received 45 votes in this year’s ACC Preseason Player of the Year balloting to edge Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins by three votes. NC State quarterback Ryan Finley placed third with 37 votes, and Florida State running back Cam Akers followed with 13.

Hyatt led all players with 130 votes. Ferrell and Wilkins picked up 122 votes each, while Lawrence and Florida State placekicker Ricky Aguayo each received 119. Dillon was named on 112 ballots.

The Tigers’ entire defensive front line – ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, along with tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence – was voted to the All-ACC preseason squad, along with Clemson linebacker Kendall Joseph. The Tigers are represented on the offensive side by tackle Mitch Hyatt, center Justin Falcinelli and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.

Boston College has four preseason All-ACC selections, followed by defending Coastal Division champion Miami with three and NC State, Wake Forest, Florida State and Duke with two each.

Eleven of the league’s 14 football programs placed at least one player on the 2018 All-ACC Preseason Team.

Others topping the century mark include Boston College tight end Tommy Sweeney (106), Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris (103), Miami safety Jaquan Johnson (103) and NC State’s Finley (102).

Other members of the All-ACC Preseason Team are running back Cam Akers (Florida State), wide receivers Jaylen Smith (Louisville) and Kelvin Harmon (NC State), all-purpose back Greg Dortch (Wake Forest), offensive tackle Chris Lindstrom (Boston College) and offensive guards Parker Braun (Georgia Tech) and Phil Haynes (Wake Forest).

Defensive selections include linebacker Shaquille Quarterman (Miami), cornerbacks Mark Gilbert (Duke) and Michael Jackson (Miami), and safety Lukas Denis (Boston College).

Punter Sterling Hofrichter (Syracuse) and kick returner Anthony Ratliff-Williams round out the special team corps.

Clemson’s Hyatt, Falcinelli, Ferrell, Wilkins and Lawrence, Boston College’s Dillon, Duke’s Giles-Harris and Gilbert, Louisville’s Smith and North Carolina’s Ratliff-Williams were each voted to the All-ACC First Team at the end of last season.

Dillon ranked second among ACC rushers with 1,589 yards in 2017, and Florida State’s Akers rushed for 1,024 yards. NC State’s Finley completed 65.1 percent of his passes (312 of 479) while throwing for 3,518 yards and 17 touchdowns. Louisville’s Smith ranked among ACC leaders with 60 receptions for 980 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing three games due to a wrist injury.

2018 All-ACC Preseason Football Team
(Total votes in parenthesis)

Offense
WR – Jaylen Smith, Louisville (90)
WR – Kelvin Harmon, NC State (71)
WR – Hunter Renfrow, Clemson (62)
TE – Tommy Sweeney, Boston College (106)
AP – Greg Dortch, Wake Forest (64)
OT – Mitch Hyatt, Clemson (130)
OT – Chris Lindstrom, Boston College (72)
OG – Parker Braun, Georgia Tech (83)
OG – Phil Haynes, Wake Forest (65)
C – Justin Falcinelli, Clemson (56)
QB – Ryan Finley, NC State (102)
RB – AJ Dillon, Boston College (112)
RB – Cam Akers, Florida State (94)

Defense
DE – Clelin Ferrell, Clemson (122)
DE – Austin Bryant, Clemson (80)
DT – Christian Wilkins, Clemson (122)
DT – Dexter Lawrence, Clemson (119)
LB – Joe Giles-Harris, Duke (103)
LB – Shaquille Quarterman, Miami (98)
LB – Kendall Joseph, Clemson (84)
CB – Mark Gilbert, Duke (79)
CB – Michael Jackson, Miami (68)
S – Jaquan Johnson, Miami (103)
S – Lukas Denis, Boston College (64)

Special Teams
PK – Ricky Aguayo, Florida State (119)
P – Sterling Hofrichter, Syracuse (33)
SP – Anthony Ratliff-Williams, North Carolina (97)

ACC Player of the Year
AJ Dillon, RB, Boston College – 45
Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson – 42
Ryan Finley, QB, NC State – 37
Cam Akers, RB, Florida State – 13
Greg Dortch, WR, Wake Forest – 3
Joe Giles-Harris, LB, Duke – 2
TaQuon Marshall, QB, Georgia Tech – 2
Zach Allen, DE, Boston College – 1
Eric Dungey, QB, Syracuse – 1
Olamide Zaccheaus, HB, Virginia – 1
Jaylen Smith, WR, Louisville – 1

Cards picked 5th in the Atlantic Division behind both NC St. and Wake Forest. Not surprising and hopefully motivating.

His former company has now taken the extraordinary step of trying to make it less vulnerable to a takeover attempt by implementing what's called a "poison pill". The common stock has gyrated wildly the last couple weeks for obvious reasons, but this news has trashed it by another 8-9%--hitting Pizza Guy in the wallet today by about $40 million more. Anyone regretting this guy's loss as a big U of L donor is sweating over nothing. He's probably getting a yacht or helicopter repo'd as we speak.

This is good news for me because I shorted the stock a week or so back when it jumped in price on news of his exit. That company's got issues at this point that run far deeper than whether the Papa's in the house. A poison pill is a senior management attempt to entrench itself in power and control when it thinks someone else might try to take it over. Management will argue the merits (like discouraging Pizza Guy's return), but it's not shareholder friendly as evidenced by today's stock action. In addition to killing Snotter, what's left of Papa John's management is killing all of its shareholders.

How can this be when Pizza Guy was the problem? Answer: Pizza Guy wasn't their only problem. And how could he be? He recruited most of the clowns--heard that word before?--who worked alongside him in his inner circle. Most of them probably deserved to be in senior management at Papa John's as much as he did. Trying to protect themselves at the mercy of shareholders is evidence of that.

So don't shed any tears for the company that bears Pizza Guy's name even though they're trying to distance themselves from him as much as possible. Don't tell me that Snotter left in his wake a bunch of innocents at Papa Johns. And don't tell me that he and Postel did the same thing at U of L, or that Grissom's exit will complete our own repairs. That's the delusion of someone trying to quickly--and erroneously--get past a problem. These are large organizations that weren't managed at the detail level by one or two corrupt, incompetent people.

IOW, don't drink the Kool-Aid that Neeli's trying to serve you...