CFB AM: Rex Ryan mocks Bret Bielema for sticking foot in mouth
Here we thought this last week couldn't have gotten much worse for Arkansas coach Bret Bielema.
First, he catches heat for wading into the never-ending schedule debate that will follow Ohio State and the Big Ten around all year, just like last season. Then he goes and loses to Toledo at home in Week 2 and is forced to eat his words about scheduling.
And NOW comes a shot from Rex Ryan.
Of all people, Ryan mocked Bielema at a press conference this week when he was asked if he wished the New England Patriots played in a different division than his Buffalo Bills.
"Yeah, probably," Ryan said after hemming and hawing. "Play somebody else. Not gonna mention names. I'm not gonna pull the Arkansas coach."
#Bills coach Rex Ryan with a solid shot at Bret Bielema. pic.twitter.com/dfqZCvVjlx
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) September 16, 2015
Sigh. This from a guy who still keeps a photo of feet on his desk after his foot fetish became public knowledge.
Arkansas has Texas Tech this week and an opportunity to finally get Bielema off the chopping block.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
OK, Kyle Flood is actually in trouble. A few weeks back when news came out that the Rutgers had coach had contacted a faculty member to inquire about the status of a player -- which is against university policy and is reportedly clearly stated in Flood's contract -- I didn't think much more than a reprimand and an apology would come from it. But then it came out that Flood circumvented Rutgers' academic support system multiple times, if not knowingly breaking rules then at least negligently, followed by a string of off-field problems with multiple football players (the latest being domestic violence allegations against receiver Leonte Carroo saying he slammed a woman onto concrete, to which he pleaded not guilty). Add it all up and you start to think, "What the hell's going on with the leadership over there?" The university apparently feels the same way, as Flood has been suspended for the next three games and fined $50,000. We'll see if this is the end of it, or if this keeps rolling downhill and ends up in Rutgers looking for a new coach this offseason.
Can Oklahoma win the Big 12? Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel discussed that on The Audible this week and concluded, yes, the Sooners can if the defense that showed up in the second half against Tennessee last week is indeed something close to the real OU defense. A legitimate Oklahoma contender would be welcomed in the Big 12 race, where it's been reduced to Baylor against TCU while everyone else rebuilds. Speaking of the Sooners, they play Tulsa this weekend (noon ET, Saturday on FS1) in what will be a really fun early game. Tulsa is super explosive on offense and will provide another test for the OU defense.
Remember: Someone is always watching Twitter. SMU defensive coordinator Van Malone tweeted a picture of a regular report he gets on what prospective SMU recruits are tweeting, using it as a message to remind players that there's always an eye in the sky on social media. How many of you are reading this and immediately deleting tweets or retweets today?
We have a team of people who monitor what recruits are putting on social media. Watch what you tweet and retweet. pic.twitter.com/MNjrwSbuEd
— SMU Coach Van Malone (@SMUCoachMalone) September 16, 2015
Couple reads for your workday. Enjoyed this Bryan Fischer feature on BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, who's quickly become a rising star and has an opportunity this weekend at UCLA to create some serious buzz around the Cougars; Jim Mora even compared him to Johnny Manziel. Ray Glier dives into the genius behind Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson. Cool story here by Brandon Marcello on Auburn and an unlucky cigar. FOX Sports colleague Reid Forgrave wrote a great piece on a Division II school that has faced unfathomable tragedy.
LASTLY
* Playboy ranked its top 10 party schools, which is dominated by the Big Ten and ACC. Ohio (the MAC school, not State) is No. 1, with Iowa, Illinois and Syracuse in the top seven. No LSU, no Ole Miss, no Georgia, no Arizona State, no USC, among others you might expect. I'm sorry, I just can't take this seriously when four of the top seven schools are snowed in throughout the winter. Does "sit inside and drink because there's nothing else to do" earn you an automatic berth into Playboy's top 10? Whatever.
* An LSU cornerback said he's looking forward to Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson throwing the Tigers some interceptions this weekend.
* An Alabama Senator used a recent government session not to discuss budgets or taxes or anything else that might be useful, but rather to fight against the concept of pre-noon kickoff times for college football games. Bless this man.
Have a great Thursday, everyone. Clemson-Louisville kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET in a game the Cardinals badly need to win. Enjoy.
Teddy Mitrosilis works in social content development at FOX Sports Digital. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at tmitrosilis@gmail.com.
