Apparently, cheating has gotten bigger than ever
For some of us that have covered the SEC in various states, we’ve heard the stories for years about amounts being paid.
Many scoff at the notion of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every athletic director tries to dismiss it as being silly and nobody admits their school does it.
But now word is starting to leak out on the day Ole Miss goes before the NCAA Infractions Committee, which is little more than a kangaroo court with it’s head in the sand.
Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com wrote Monday that the numbers are becoming staggering and now we have proof.
SBNation with Mississippi State linebacker Leo Lewis and the numbers are startling.
After going through the song and dance with the investigator with Lewis’ attorney clarifying things is when it got interesting.
Then Lewis started talking. About money. About free hotels, free rides to visit college campuses, hundred-dollar handshakes, free apparel, and even more money, bags of cash he says he received from multiple SEC programs totaling over $21,000 during the final week before National Signing Day in February 2015.
Apparently that is the tip of the iceberg as Lewis admitted he received $11,000 from Mississippi State.
Within the piece, Lewis’ mother Tina Henderson told a former Ole Miss assistant that LSU had offered $650,000 for the services of her son.
Dodds did some checking and apparently there is more than just smoke to the story:
And there is reason to believe $650,000 is close to the truth. I checked with the story’s author, Steven Godfrey, and he said confirmed the figure wasn’t a typo on his part or the person transcribing the testimony.
More than that, there is anecdotal and factual evidence of sizable six-figure payouts.
The father of former Texas A&M wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones said he was offered $600,000 for the services of his son. That shocking information came from the fine reporting by authors Armen Keteyian and Jeff Benedict in their 2013 book “The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big Time Football.” One SEC and one ACC school, the father said, offered to double the offer the other school made for Seals-Jones.
The Ole Miss investigation, which started in 2012, has reached out there are allegations that may come out against many other SEC schools.
There is an entire group of former Ole Miss law students — now lawyers — that have been compiling information on other schools in and out of the SEC.
I’ve been told they are just waiting on the NCAA decision to come down and the documentation is real with proof.
And Dodd nailed it solidly by asking what a top quarterback is worth if linebackers are going for $650,000.
It’s scary to think that might be the going rate for any 18-year-old, who thanks to the sugar daddies, would have no problem changing a hundred but can’t change his own oil.
Too much, too often for the too young, it would seem. Nothing seems to have changed from the “glory days” of cheating in the 1980s except the zeroes at the end of the offer.
This is not to disparage LSU, Ole Miss or any other school that may have been named in the NCAA’s investigation. This is all about the Benjamins. It’s stunning a booster/school would go to such lengths.
While everyone wants to focus on wins and losses while the season is going on, we may have a bigger story brewing.
Much bigger.
Arkansas-Texas A&M an early kickoff in Arlington
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ SEC opener against Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, September 23, will kick off at 11 a.m. on ESPN, the league office announced on Monday.
The showdown marks the fourth time in five seasons that Arkansas has opened SEC action with Texas A&M. That hasn’t been the greatest thing for the Razorbacks as they will be looking for their first win over the Aggies since 2011.
The Razorbacks will enter the game with a 1-1 record due to having a bye this week.
Arkansas has won its last three games after a bye, defeating Florida (2016), Auburn (2015) and LSU (2014).
Revising take on Hogs’ season after just two weeks
As I said in my preseason prediction column, like Congress I reserve the right to revise and extend any prediction made in August.
Didn’t think it would be less than two full weeks into September when it happened.
There are some things happening around the SEC that have made revisions necessary and it’s not just with Arkansas.
Looking at those first:
Texas A&M has more problems than a one-legged man in a tail-kicking contest
Thank goodness they are next on the Razorbacks’ schedule with an off week to get ready. They were in the fourth quarter tied with Nicholls on Saturday night before pulling away at the end.
The Aggies are struggling at quarterback and in the area of self-confidence. They will get another chance to warm up before the gathering in Arlington, hosting Louisiana at 11 a.m. Saturday.
If they get back on track in that game, well, it’s going to be game on in Jerry’s World. Otherwise, it’s going to be an interesting one.
I had this as a Hog win in August, but I’m moving it into the toss-up category.
Ole Miss, Mississippi State timing bad for Hogs
Both teams have offenses that are light years ahead of TCU. They eat up yardage in chunks and Arkansas doesn’t have a single receiver that would get into the six-man rotation at receiver for the Rebels.
I’m also not sure they have a cornerback that can guard any of those receivers, either.
The good news is their defense isn’t good, but I don’t think the Hogs can score with them and the timing is bad … a road trip to Oxford after back-to-back games against Alabama and Auburn.
I’m putting Ole Miss in the Likely Loss category to join Mississippi State and South Carolina, which shoves the overall record to 5-6.
Mississippi State just looks like a team that can challenge Auburn and LSU to jump into the spot behind Alabama in the West (and nobody is going to cause the Tide any trouble this year).
South Carolina is just a better team than Arkansas right now and I’m not sure Missouri isn’t, either, but that one is too far away to change from a Likely Win.
Early bye week is going to be a problem
Having a bye week after the second game is a problem that nobody is going to notice until we get midway through October … or the Ole Miss game.
Bielema’s teams have hit a midseason wall. Last year they collapsed against Auburn after the sixth week, although they were struggling for two weeks before that, losing to Alabama and hanging on to down Ole Miss.
This year they’ll get the Rebels after two very physical run-heavy opponents in Alabama and Auburn that will likely just beat the Hogs into submission.
In 2015, Arkansas was 2-4 going into the bye week, then caught new fire and finished strong.
That team had more players than this one.
The bottom line now
Arkansas will beat New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina and, maybe, Missouri.
That means they almost have to win at Texas A&M in two weeks to have a shot at a bowl game. With attrition through injuries, etc., it’s rare for a team to keep all of its players at the same level through the season.
It’s impossible for a team to get up for every game.
I think they get a win against either Texas A&M or Ole Miss.
And finish 5-6.
Which will create some interesting times.
Things I think I know: Week two
I still believe Alabama is the best team in college football after two weeks, but Oklahoma definitely made a push for the top spot after it’s win in Columbus.
Here are a few other random musings following week two.
- Arkansas is getting a new kicker. As our former producer Josh Smith would say during his weekly game notes segment, “pack your bags.”
- Austin Allen has nobody he can trust on offense. No receivers. No linemen. No tight ends. That is an awful place to be for any quarterback, but some of these issues will be resolved by season’s end.
- Bielema is feeling some heat for the first time. If they don’t come out like a house of fire against Texas A&M, this thing is not going to go back in the right direction at Arkansas.
- Auburn’s offense is still a mess. Jared Stidham spent more time on his back then a … well never mind. You know how the saying goes. I think Gus letting go of the offensive controls was the wrong move. Geniuses should never delegate, just do the work yourself. Gus is the only one that knows exactly what he wants to do.
- Baker Mayfield driving the flag into the 50 yard line in Buckeye land was great. This sport needs more sizzle like that. It’s not unsporting if you win the game. It’s bragging and there is nothing wrong with that.
A few more quick hitters.
- Lamar Jackson is still incredible.
- Kentucky is still terrible at football.
- LSU is the second best team in the west.
- Texas A&M still has major problems.
- Brian Kelly is an incredibly petty, small man.
- Losing 87 yards on one play is pretty awesome when it’s not a team you care about.
- Georgia is a real threat to Alabama.
- Vanderbilt is going to upset someone this year.
- It turns out, week three is the PERFECT time for the Razorbacks to have their bye week after all.
VIDEO: Top plays from the SEC in Week 2
SEC Network highlights some of the best moments from around the conference.
