Corn Flakes: Preview Friday And Why Alabama Will Win Always

Let's start with this.....

Five Star DE Da'Shawn Hand Picks Alabama - Roll 'Bama Roll

Another fine player chooses The Process.

And in recruiting, Alabama keeps rolling.

I don't pay much attention to recruiting, but Hand has been heralded as the next Javedeon Clowney. He chose 'Bama over Michigan and cited academics as one of the reasons. Never mind that doesn't make much sense, and be assured that it's not the only reason. We're going to see this continue to happen as long as the Big Ten has the reputation it has.. AND I believe because Alabama is one of the very few schools that's completely dispensed with the idea of "student athletes".

Don't get me wrong. I'm not accusing Alabama of any wrongdoing. Fans of other conferences want to use this "they're paying their players" reasoning, and until it's proven, it's complete BS.

Also don't get me wrong about the purpose of college sports. We shouldn't be paying players. They're compensated with a mostly free college education, and if you think that's worthless, try putting kids through college. It is outrageously expensive. We could make up the difference between full attendance and their scholarship with a stipend, but most schools aren't in favor of that unfortunately. College football pays for all the other sports as well. If you want to toss all those opportunities just because you think college football players are being exploited - go root for a NFL team. Or start up a minor league professional football league of your own.

I'm a member of the FWAA - the Football Writer's Association of America. I get all kinds of stuff because of it, press releases in the email, pins, media guides (from the schools that still ship them out, typically Notre Dame and Oklahoma), and notebooks touting players to name a few.

Award voting is coming up, and this week I received six emails from Alabama about their players. I received a couple from Texas Tech, but that's about it. Everyone else, pretty much nothing. Nebraska typically doesn't do this stuff because they're more about the "student athlete", as is every other school in the Big Ten. I received a press release from Nebraska about celebrating their academic All-Americans this week, and that's fine. That's how they should be doing it.

But Nebraska and other schools could drop the pretense that college football isn't about money and winning. They could be doing more to market their college football teams as should other Big Ten schools. Drop the idea that you shouldn't market your players because of some outdated concept of football being a team sport and that one player isn't above others.

Nick Saban may very well be the best college coach in history, but that's not the only reason Alabama beats everyone else in recruiting. They're better at marketing. Everyone else needs to get better, or keep losing when this game is all about winning.

Big Ten

Indiana vs. Wisconsin: The History - The Crimson Quarry
Indiana doesn't have a whole lot of history to brag about against Wisconsin. Which means this is the point in the week where we remind everyone of that one time we beat Wisconsin in Madison by scoring 32 points in the first quarter.

Notebook: Gary Andersen worried about Indiana passing game - Bucky's 5th Quarter
The more film Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen watches, the greater the challenge he sees for the Badgers' defensive backs this weekend. Andersen also gave his endorsement of Wisconsin's punting game Thursday, and ruled center Dallas Lewallen out.

Week 12 preview: Indiana vs. Wisconsin - Bucky's 5th Quarter

The Badgers have a surprisingly big road test against a rival next week Could Indiana go all Admiral Akbar on us?

Ohio State-Illinois: Taking a closer look at Nathan Scheelhaase - Land-Grant Holy Land

Getting ready for the Illinois game, we took a closer look at their signal caller, one of the most improved players in the conference.

Purdue At Penn State 2013: A Q&A With Black Shoe Diaries - Hammer and Rails

Devon Edwards of Black Shoe Diaries talks Penn State-Purdue.

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men: Purdue Edition - Black Shoe Diaries
With the Boilermakers traveling to Happy Valley Saturday, I went to the folks at Hammer and Rails for an inside look at Purdue football.

National

Baylor vs. Texas Tech Preview / Prediction / Poll Thread - Our Daily Bears
Football time has come again, almost as if it was a weekly thing at this point! I'm excited. Saturday, Baylor takes on Texas Tech in Jerryworld in Arlington. Let's go ON THE RECORD.

Oklahoma State offense struggling to find previous form - Burnt Orange Nation
The high-flying offense of the last several years has given way to an Oklahoma State group that is having trouble producing the same big yardage this season.

2013 Game X: Iowa State vs Oklahoma Preview - Wide Right & Natty Lite
Iowa State travels to Normal, OK to face the Oklahoma Sooners in what will be like every other game in Norman in Iowa State's history: a blowout.

USC vs. Stanford: It All Comes Down To The Trenches - Conquest Chronicles
The Trojans are rolling with confidence, playing well on all three sides of the ball and still have plenty of injury concerns to fight up and down the roster heading into Saturday's tilt. Much...

The Prediction - Washington at UCLA - UW Dawg Pound
Washington travels to Pasadena for a Friday night tilt vs. UCLA. The Huskies are 2.5 road dogs in this one, meaning the betters think the UW is slightly better but home field advantage wins out for the Bruins. What do your UWDP writers think?

Oppo Notes: Washington Offensive Preview - Bruins Nation
A look at the Washington Huskies offense before they square off against UCLA in a Pac-12 matchup on Friday night.

Oppo Notes: Previewing the Huskie D - Bruins Nation
We take a look at Justin Wilcox's improved defense on the eve of the eclipse.

Auburn vs. Georgia 2013 preview: Tigers' balance and stopping the run - College and Magnolia
Just how unbalanced is the Auburn offense, and will it be forced to put the ball in the air when facing the Georgia defense?

Auburn vs. Georgia 2013 preview: Q-and-A with Dawg Sports - College and Magnolia

It's time for another meeting of the South's oldest rivals.

Roundtable predictions: Georgia at Auburn - Dawg Sports
Um, the Dawgsports staff gives you their predictions of the final score for Georgia's game at Auburn

Manziel Has Another Big Season to Lead No. 10 A&M - NYTimes.com
The encore to Johnny Football's Heisman Trophy-winning freshman season is nearing an end.

Opponent Blogger Q&A: Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - Tomahawk Nation
Jared E. Smith of Syracuse blog TNIAAM answers TN's questions about the 2013 Orange.

Jameis Winston TMZ story: Thoughts and questions - Tomahawk Nation
After talking with several sources, here are some thoughts and remaining questions on the Jameis Winston TMZ situation.

Nebraska

College football F/+ picks: Week 12 - Football Study Hall

Football Outsiders picks and projections for Week 12 of the 2013 college football season.

Here Michigan State has a 74.3% chance of winning.

HuskerMath's Week 12 picks and expected wins - Football Study Hall

Expected win totals and actual wins should start merging after this week...

Paul Dalen was 81.1% for his picks last week. Maybe we should start paying more attention. He has Nebraska at a 39% chance of winning.

Thursday practice: Husker injury checkup : Latest Husker News
Husker coach Bo Pelini confirmed Mike Moudy is "doubtful" for Saturday's game. The junior offensive guard injured his shoulder, and joins senior tackle Jeremiah Sirles (MCL sprain) as unlikely participants against the Spartans.

Huskers Will Honor Academic All-Americans - Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site
Nebraska is celebrating a milestone this weekend, one made possible by the countless hours Husker student-athletes put in on the field and in the classroom.

Heisman winner Rodgers receives pardon for holdup - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: Forty-three years after he and two other men held up a gas station following a night of drinking, 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers was granted a pardon from the state of Nebraska on Thursday ''I feel like the weight for that particular incident is off my shoulders,'' Rodgers said after he walked out of his Board of Pardons hearing. The board voted 3-0 to pardon the 62-year-old Rodgers, who has spent his post-football life as an entrepreneur and pitchman in Omaha.

Upon Further Review 2013: Defense vs Nebraska | mgoblog
FORMATION NOTES: Michigan abandoned the two-high look for most of this game in favor of seven or seven and a half man fronts depending on whether Nebraska was in standard or three-wide personnel. Against 2TEs and a back: (4-3-under-one-high) Against three wide they would often go with a straight up 4-3 under on plausible run downs.