MASOLI-IPPI

Maybe ...
Joe Schad cites "a source" to report that Jeremiah Masoli is "expected to be admitted to one of three graduate programs at the University of Mississippi." That's a key difference from expected to enroll or expected to apply -- this would be the real deal. But there's no way to tell how good the source is, and it's still someone anonymous talking about an expectation. Masoli could get reduced tuition per the report, which also says he might visit this weekend.

Maybe not (yet)
Houston Nutt texts The Commercial Appeal to say that nothing is done -- yet.

"No (campus) visit has been set (for Masoli)," Nutt wrote in a text. "He may not even consider (being a) walk-on. I don’t know."

So it depends on the source for Schad and how much Nutt might know and might not be willing or able to say. Or text. (Am I the only one, despite loving all this technology, that sees the absurdity of Nutt responding to a tweeted report via text message?)

Mr. College Football reminds us to consider before you criticize
Some key points about the "Should Ole Miss take Masoli despite all the issues?" debate.

We can all sit on our moral high horse and say that it shouldn’t be done no way, no how. But what do you do if you’re in the toughest football conference in America and this guy can help you win? And let’s not kid ourselves. Houston Nutt is not going to get fired for dealing with the Jeremiah Masolis of the world.

If he gets fired it will be because he didn’t win enough games, period.

Barnhart is right about this, of course. Jeremiah Masoli likely isn't going to get Houston Nutt fired unless he loses a critical game. So the incentive to not bring Masoli in isn't just small; it's nonexistent from a football perspective. Sure, Nutt doesn't want to destroy Ole Miss' reputation, so there's that disincentive. But when you wonder why a football coach would take a chance on a player like Masoli, it's because of the demands of the job -- and the fans who make those demands.

OTHER NEWS

'Now watch this drive'
To prove that Steve Spurrier can be on the golf course and fiery about his football team at the same time, he did both Wednesday.

"Sometimes I’m asked, ticket sales are not quite where we hoped they would be. Well, I say, ‘Our fans remember the UConn game. And I remember the UConn game. And we weren’t very good,’" Spurrier said Wednesday following his annual media golf outing.

"And don’t tell us to forget it, because we’re not going to forget it. We’re going to try our best to never, ever have a performance like that again."

Of course, Spurrier has issued similar declarations in the past -- the team is not as good as that late season slide or this one. But the competitiveness appears to be there, which is the reason that some of the "how many years can he still hang on?" questions seem to be fading.

Then again, Paul Finebaum still has a few offseason columns to write, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Spurrier losing another quarterback
This would the third of the offseason, after Reid McCollum and Aramis Hillary. South Carolina still has at least three quarterbacks on the roster, not that it matters. If Stephen Garcia and Connor Shaw are injured, the season is over with or without the lost signal-callers.

Donte Rumph finally qualifies
The third time, it seems, was the charm.

We're No. 1!
And it's proven by numbers and stuff.

Roll Bama Roll looks at the 'Draft Day Hangover'
It's not a myth, kleph finds -- but he also points out a few reasons that that shouldn't be a surprise and that Alabama might not need to worry as much as you might think.

The Kentucky game is my favorite
But the 2001 edition of Arkansas in 7OT was also pretty good.

Tim Tebow: Holdout
He's one of two first-round draft picks unable to reach a deal with the Broncos. This seems to be the exception rather than the rule this year for several reasons, but these things tend to get worked out over time.