10 college football teams that had concerning starts to the season

The opening week of the college football season gave us some surprising results. Highly-ranked teams looked like they couldn’t justify the hype. Five Top 25 teams fell during the opening weekend, with one going down to an unranked opponents and several others coming dangerously close. That doesn’t include some unranked teams who had hopes of making noise but were ultimately cast aside quite quickly.

Here are ten teams that had very foreboding starts to the 2018 season that could be a sign of trouble ahead.

10) Kansas

Look, nobody in the world was expecting the Jayhawks to be any good this season. The likelihood was always that they’d assume their traditional position of Big 12 doormat and would be fortunate to win two or three games. On the evidence, they’ll be lucky to win one. They lost in overtime to FCS Nicholls State on Saturday at home, and that’s the easiest game on their schedule all season. This isn’t Appalachian State — with all due respect to the Colonels, they went 8-4 last season. They were still good enough to beat Kansas, and that should send a chill down the spine of under-pressure Jayhawks coach David Beaty.

(more…)

Tom Izzo, Mark Dantonio named in report about MSU sexual assault cover-ups

A lengthy investigation from Paula Lavigne of ESPN’s Outside the Lines uncovered a pattern of “widespread denial, inaction and information suppression” with sexual assault complaints at Michigan State. The investigation showed that there have been incidents involving MSU’s basketball and football programs, and there have been indications that Tom Izzo and Mark Dantonio were less than diligent in addressing serious allegations against their coaches and players.

According to public records obtained by OTL, at least 16 Michigan State football players have been accused of sexual assault or violence against women since Mark Dantonio took over the program in 2007. Despite that, Dantonio claimed back in June that allegations of that nature against his players were “new ground for us” after he decided to kick several players off the team who had been charged with sexual assault.

(more…)

Michigan State AD Mark Hollis resigning in wake of Larry Nassar scandal

The fallout from the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal has continued at Michigan State, as athletic director Mark Hollis is the latest university official who is stepping down in the wake of Nassar’s sentencing this week.

Hollis, an MSU alum who has been the athletic director since 2008, said in a press conference Friday that he will step down. He said the decision was his alone and that he was not pressured by the university.

Hollis: "Michigan State is a great institution. And its greatest strength is the people who call themselves Spartans." Says "my heart breaks" hearing what Nassar victims said.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018

Hollis: "Our campus and beyond have been attacked by evil."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018

Hollis says he and his wife Nancy may help process of MSU healing. Says he was not asked to retired, nor was pressured "in any way" to retire. "This is a choice Nancy and I made. And we're gonna move forward with our lives and see what's around the corner."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018

Hollis says he made a statement to FBI and MSU Police that he did not know about Larry Nassar situation until 2016 @IndyStarSports article.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) January 26, 2018

The announcement comes just two days after Michigan State president Lou Anna K. Simon also announced her resignation.

The NCAA announced on Tuesday that it is launching an investigation into Michigan State’s handling of the Nassar allegations. The school had been presented with allegations of sexual misconduct by Nassar, a physician at the school who was treating athletes, and did not respond to them adequately.

Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison by a judge on Wednesday.

Mark Dantonio finds out Michigan State is huge underdog to Ohio State (Video)

The Michigan State Spartans landed a huge victory last week, defeating Penn State by a score of 27-24 in what was an absolutely thrilling game. On the opposite end of that spectrum, the Ohio State Buckeyes were on the savage end of a 55-24 beatdown at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes

Despite that, Ohio State (7-2) opened the week as 14.5-point favorites over Michigan State (7-2).

During his weekly press conference, Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio was informed of the massive spread — the reporter actually told him it was +16 — and promptly responded with a chuckle.

Failing to take the bait after his initial laugh, Dantonio focused on the job that must be done leading up to the game and stated that the rest will simply have to take care of itself.

Michigan State is a *big* underdog this week at Ohio State.

Thoughts, @MSU_Football coach @DantonioMark? pic.twitter.com/GrTmcxJcbu

— Michigan St. on BTN (@MichiganStOnBTN) November 7, 2017

It’s likely Ohio State was given such favorable odds because they’ll be playing at home, but it’s ultimately chalkboard material for Michigan State. And if the Spartans do come away with a victory this weekend, they’ll have the inside track to an appearance in the Big Ten championship.

They probably wouldn’t hate costing these oddsmakers some money, either.

Michigan State players found out from Saquon Barkley that Ohio State had lost

Michigan State’s players found out about Ohio State’s loss Saturday in an unlikely way.

Two Spartans linebackers said after the team’s 27-24 win over Penn State that they found out from Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley that the Buckeyes lost to Iowa.

“I think we were midway through the fourth quarter and I was covering Saquon Barkley down the field and he actually, after the play, was like, ‘You know Ohio State’s losing. They’re down big. We’re playing for a championship right now,’” linebacker Chris Frey said. “I kind of just laughed. I didn’t know they had lost at that point but I knew they were down big.”

Entering the game, Ohio State was the only undefeated team left in the Big Ten East. Whoever won the Penn State-Michigan State game would have been tied with the Buckeyes for the division lead with one loss. That ended up being Michigan State, whose next game is at Ohio State to determine the division leader. Amazingly, the Buckeyes still have a good shot to win the division, though the Spartans and Wolverines will have a lot to say about it.

Michigan State recruit Donovan Winter allegedly stole girlfriend’s father’s gun

Three-star defensive end recruit Donovan Winter was expected to sign a letter of intent with Michigan State on Wednesday, but an issue arose earlier in the week that prevented it. Winter was arrested, and now we know why.

According to a police affidavit obtained by Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel, Winter was charged with armed burglary and theft of a firearm. An officer responded to the home of a woman named Rebecca Thurmond, who said Winter is her daughter’s boyfriend and that she wanted him to be cited for trespassing. Winter had already left the property at that point, and Thurmond said her daughter informed her that the 18-year-old claimed to have stolen her husband’s — the girl’s father’s — firearm.

“While conversing with Thurmond about her legal options, Thurmond’s daughter advised that while Winter was on scene, he told her that he stole her father’s gun,” the officer wrote. “I had [the daughter] provide a written sworn statement, and went to the garage with father, Kenneth Thurmond, where he kept the gun, to confirm it was stolen. Kenneth confirmed that the gun was stolen from where he last had it in his garage. Kenneth also advised that a box of .22 ammunition was stolen as well, but the case the gun was in, was still there.”

Officers searched for and located Winter and found that he was, indeed, in possession of the stolen firearm. He was held in Seminole County jail on $2,000 bond and ordered to have a GPS device placed on him.

Since he never signed with the school, Michigan State is not permitted to comment on Winter’s situation. However, a report claims the Spartans no longer plan to offer him a scholarship. Winter also had offers from Kentucky, Michigan, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Michigan State recruit Donovan Winter couldn’t sign after being arrested

High school football players across the nation signed their letters of intent on Wednesday, but one Michigan State recruit was unable to take part in the excitement for a very troubling reason — he was in jail.

Donovan Winter, a three-star defensive end from Bishop Moore Catholic (Fla.) High School, was arrested on Monday night and charged with burglary and larceny of a firearm. Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Winter was still being held in jail as of Wednesday morning on $2,000 bond. Jail records showed that Winter had also been ordered to have a GPS device placed on him prior to his release.

Bishop Moore head coach Matt Hedrick told Hays that Winter would not be signing with Michigan State on Wednesday and that the reason why is a “long story.” Winter is no longer a student at Bishop Moore, though the school would not offer further comment on his situation.

Winter led Bishop Moore with 57 tackles this season and had 24 tackles for loss and nine sacks. It’s unclear if the legal trouble will result in his scholarship offer being pulled.

We’ve heard some troubling stories already this year leading up to National Signing Day, but Winter’s has to be at the top of the list.

H/T The Spun