Morning Playbook - John L Smith losing it, Arkansas bowl hopes fading
Is Arkansas head coach John L Smith just completely off his rocker? Is the pressure of real world issues catching up to the interim Arkansas head coach? Or after a disappointing 1-3 start has Smith just checked out on this season knowing he likely was not coming back to coach the Razorbacks in 2013 and beyond anyway?
Yesterday John L Smith forgot what state he was in while pleading with fans to not give up on his players just days after losing their third straight home game, this time to Rutgers. We took a closer look at this latest JLS Moment yesterday, and with eight games to play we wonder if Smith will be able to stay on board the sinking Razorback ship for the remainder of the entire season.
Keep in mind, Arkansas still has games to play at Texas A&M, at South Carolina and at home against LSU. Bowl prospects are in serious danger in Fayetteville.
The Auburn student assistant coach who died prior to last weekend's game against LSU battled a long battle with an enlarged heart. [The Huntsville Times]
Oklahoma State hopes to have freshman quarterback Wes Lunt back at practice this week, and Mike Gundy is not ruling him out for this weekend's game against Texas. [AP, via FOX Sports]
Minnesota is off to a surprising 4-0 start but may have to head in to Big Ten play without their starting quarterback, MarQueis Gray, this week against Iowa. [Star Tribune]
Louisiana Tech is fully capable of putting together 11 or 12 wins this season, but those chances took a hit with news of the loss of leading rusher Tevin King for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. [Twitter]
BYU and Middle Tennessee state will play a home-and-home series starting in Provo in 2013. [BYU Athletics]
For those planning ahead, Fresno State will host Rutgers in 2013, open the 2014 season at USC and host Nebraska two weeks later. [Mountain West Conference]
Western Kentucky safety Jonathan Dowling suspended for one game. [AP, via Yahoo! Sports]
Wisconsin running back Montee Ball's status against Nebraska remains unknown. [FOX Sports Wisconsin]
How bad are offenses in the Big Ten? Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez leads the conference in passing efficiency. Taylor. Martinez. [AP, via New York Times]
NCAA president Mark Emmert hopes the Penn State case is an isolated situation. Uh, yeah. I think we all hope for that. [ESPN.com]
Washington State and Oregon will play this weekend in Seattle, but Cougars quarterback Connor Holliday said he would prefer to play the game at home. [AP, via Daily Bulletin]
Six cities will be considered for the host site of college football's new national championship game. [ESPN.com]
Arizona will take on No. 18 Oregon State this weekend wearing those much anticipated copper helmets. [No 2-Minute Warning]
For the FCS fans out there, North Dakota State is your nearly-unanimous number one. [NCAA]
North Carolina will be wearing these patriotic helmets this week for Military Appreciation Day.
Western Michigan will wear new alternate uniforms this weekend against Toledo. [Football Scoop]
Photo of the Day
This is Alabama head coach during last weekend's home game against Florida Atlantic. Alabama was up 40-0 at this point of the game, when Saban blew a gasket in the direction of one of the refs.
(HT Reddit)
Video of the Day
It's time once again to take a look at some of the top plays around college football from week four. Here is the latest from No 2-Minute Warning.
Unfortunately one top play missed the editing process, so be sure to catch a glimpse of this sweet interception by Mississippi State's Johnathan Banks.
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