Spring Football: Auburn

We’ll be looking to review spring football for each of WVU’s opponents this season (probably not Villanova), and we’re going to start with Auburn, who actually wrapped up spring football before spring sprung, with their A-Day game this past Saturday. Ah, to live in a warm climate.

The three biggest storylines for the Tigers this year seem to be:

• New coordinators on both sides of the ball. Paul Rhoads brings a ball-hawking style from Pitt. Remember when Pitt held WVU to one touchdown last season? That was Paul Rhoads. Meanwhile, Tony Franklin is installing a version of the no-huddle spread. Franklin worked under Hal Mumme at Kentucky and mentored Tim Couch and the “Round Mound of Touchdown” Jared Lorenzen and was most recently at Troy as offensive coordinator. Troy had a terrific dual-threat QB by the name of Omar Haugabook.
• There seems to be a quarterback battle with sophomore Kodi Burns, a true dual-threat competing with JUCO transfer Chris Todd. Both were impressive on A-Day.
• Will the defense be stout enough? This seems to happen in every spring game though, the defense plays in base formations, and the fans and media go crazy and lament over their defense for the entire offseason. Auburn has always had terrific defenses and with Rhoads I am sure that will continue. At least most of the Auburn fans seem to admit the Tigers were playing pretty vanilla on both sides of the ball.

Some more analysis from the Auburn blogosphere from Pigskin Pathos

Other WVU opponents spring game plans:

• East Carolina, April 12
• Colorado, April 19
• Marshall, April 26
• Rutgers, April 19
• Syracuse, April 19
• Connecticut, April 19
• Cincinnati, April 26
• Louisville, April 18
• Pitt, April 19
• South Florida, April 12

NCAA Throws Wet Blanket on the Gridiron Bash

I don’t know why I keep writing about this, but it’s fascinating. Just weeks before the Gridiron Bash was scheduled to go live on campuses across the country, an NCAA rules interpretation has doomed the event.

I thought the Gridiron Bash was an excellent idea and if it increased exposure to spring football, I was all for it. I was less than thrilled with the choice of Dwight Yoakam to perform at the particular event at WVU, but all in all I thought the Bash was a fantastic idea.

Now the NCAA says you can’t allow the “student-athletes” to be used to promote the concert, and you can’t allow the “student-athletes” to get free admission to the concert.

The real meaning of the rules interpretation is “someone came up with a better idea than anything the NCAA has put out in 20 years, and somebody was going to cash in and we’re not getting our share.”

The Gridiron Bash issued a press release that said the Bash would return in time for fall, but rest assured if it does it will be only after the NCAA has negotiated with the promoters to receive their cut of the revenues. The NCAA, much like the federal government, defers to the almighty dollar.

Now that the NCAA has thrown the wet blanket on the Gridiron Bash, they can use their resources for more important things. Like making sure your beverage at the Final Four is in a paper cup with a Dasani logo. Or making sure, God forbid, nobody buys a basketball player a cheeseburger.