LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard will return to the Tigers for his senior season, which is really good news for Les Miles' team after several players have already declared for April's NFL draft.With teammates Rueben Randle, Morris Claiborne and Michael Brockers reportedly going to the NFL, the Tigers' 2011 roster has been hit hard with star players departing the program.This is a smart decision for Shepard, who could certainly use another year under coach Miles ...

It's unbelievable what Alabama has done the past few years, but it's the unbelievable players that make it happen. William Vlachos is one of those and this is a tribute to him.  Over the next few weeks, I will be publishing articles focusing on specific graduating seniors who have exhausted their eligibility and have contributed greatly to the team, honoring what they accomplished on and off the field.  Tonight's star has been around a while. ...

After a dud national title game, why not look ahead to next year's slate of Bowl Championship Series games? The 2012-13 college football season should have plenty of excitement, and it could be the first time a non-SEC team hoists the crystal ball since Vince Young and the Longhorns in 2006. The BCS is a flawed system; everybody agrees on that point. A plus-one format would be great for the game, but the bowl format is ...

The Irish are coming off a rather disappointing season at 8-5, but that is because the expectations are always sky high in South Bend.Season three under Brian Kelly looks opportunistic for the Irish to finally crash the BCS party, that is if they can avoid stubbing their toes in September.Going from their opener in Ireland against Navy all the way to Los Angeles when they go up against the USC Trojans, I break down every game and ...

After A.J. Green’s Pro Bowl rookie season, standards will be high for the 2012 draft class at wide receiver. However, some of the top wideouts in the draft face as many questions as answers. These three look like the surest bets to land in Round 1, but the teams that select them may not be getting the best value for their picks:   Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State The one real star in this year’s class, ...

While most of the 7,048 people that watched Old Dominion beat Towson 75-38 may not have realized the significance of the outcome, they witnessed history Saturday night. Behind poor shooting and 21 turnovers, the Tigers lost their 35th consecutive game which now puts them atop the list of the longest losing streaks in NCAA Division I history.To find the last game in which Towson won, one would need to go back 374 ...

One of the things that makes college football great is the constant state of flux the top teams are in. A team can't cruise on a franchise player for long, or sign a world-class free agent like in professional sports, and that puts a ton of weight on coaches keeping the talent level high.That’s why one of the most important talents of a college head coach is the ability to recruit. These five coaches are ...

At tipoff of the ACC regular-season opener, I post the breaking news that Quinn Cook would be the starting PG for the Duke Blue Devils.  The move wasn’t shocking as Duke Nation could see the writing on the wall.  In Duke’s loss to Temple, one of the biggest problem areas was the point guard position.Saturday’s game was supposed to be one where Duke would continue to tweak the offense in hopes of finding the perfect recipe ...

To say that this season left a bitter taste in fans’ mouths would depend on whom you ask. Young or optimistic fans would whole-heartedly agree.This was a season that at the beginning of October looked like the Orange were destined for their first BCS trip and a return to the top of the Big East.Ask fans who weathered the Greg Robinson era, and this season was a sure improvement over anything Robinson put on the ...

Go ahead college football fans, I’m ready for it.There is going to be a ton of backlash because I didn’t pick your team's stadium. Look, the atmosphere of any intense college football fanbase is greater than almost any sporting event you can go to, but I had to narrow it down to five.I’m sure Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Notre Dame and every other school whose passion for their team runs deep will tell me that I’m ...