SI.com: Andy Staples

Andy Staples: ACC out to shed its reputation as a weak conference

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:04:24 EDT

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- SEC football stinks.

Andy Staples: How commissioner John Swofford brought stability to the ACC

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:43:00 EDT

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. -- The man who started and finished the most chaotic reorganization in the history of major college sports lounged for just a moment in a squishy chair on Tuesday. But for his sport coat, John Swofford looked every bit like most of the vacationers who frequent this secluded beachside resort. Even though he's working this week, he wore the ruddy-cheeked smile of a man who left his cares at home.

Andy Staples: Analyzing last 10 years of committee decisions had playoff been in place

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:23:43 EDT

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops hasn't made a lot of sound arguments this offseason. He chose the "if it was good enough for me when I played, it's good enough for them" gambit when answering a question about paying players -- which only makes sense if he's now willing to reduce his $4.9 million salary to the inflation-adjusted version of what Hayden Fry made to coach him. Stoops also suggested last week that the SEC isn't as dominant as its national titles, NFL draft choices, television viewership and other raw data suggest because SEC teams 11-14 aren't as good as Big 12 teams seven through 10.

Andy Staples: Alabama, Texas A&M headline post-spring Top 25

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:26 EDT

Though many of these teams were in similar spots when I wrote the Way-Too-Early Top 25 in January, I didn't notice how nerdy the rankings had become until putting together this post-spring edition. But that's OK. As any A Song of Ice And Fire reader-turned-Game of Thrones viewer will attest, nerds are very cool these days.

Andy Staples: How 2013 NFL draft prospects were rated as recruits

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:00:52 EDT

We marvel every year at how many players slip through the cracks in recruiting only to wind up as first-round NFL draft picks. Often, it's because college coaches and recruiting services simply projected poorly. But in the case of a few likely first-rounders this year, the coaches and recruitniks never stood a chance.

Andy Staples: Overrated/underrated: Predicting pro success based on college years

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:30:09 EDT

Fellow college football scribe Stewart Mandel enjoys bequeathing thankless tasks to me. Four years ago, he gave me the college football power rankings. If I printed out all the hatemail, it probably would stretch from here to the moon. I'm expecting even more now that I've taken over the annual task of explaining to draftniks why college performance trumps running around in one's underwear.

Andy Staples: Nation's athletic directors tired of being shut out of NCAA process

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:01:20 EDT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- As outgoing North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp explained in Chapel Hill on Friday how ill-equipped most collegiate CEOs are to handle the issues surrounding major collegiate athletics, several dozen Division I athletic directors gathered at a beachside hotel probably nodded in agreement. The ADs came to Santa Monica not for the pier, but to discuss the major issues facing college athletics without anyone from the NCAA around. Besides, several athletic directors said, few people at NCAA headquarters seem to care what the ADs think these days.

Andy Staples: Cam Cameron shaping LSU's offense with lessons from unlikely sources

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:48:04 EDT

BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Associated Press story filed on Sept. 20, 1975 with the CARBONDALE, Ill., dateline explained the who, what, when, why and where. But it left out the truly magical moment. Dave Vandercook, a freshman kicker at Indiana State, lined up for a 55-yard field goal with a few seconds remaining and Southern Illinois leading by one. Vandercook missed. But Southern Illinois got flagged for jumping offsides. So Vandercook lined up again for a 50-yarder. He made it.

Andy Staples: Marcus Lattimore's career appeared over, but he's still chasing his NFL dream

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:12:14 EDT

He was done.

Andy Staples: Fueled by balanced offense, Baylor eyeing a Big 12 title

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:57:42 EDT

WACO, Texas -- Baylor coach Art Briles knows what you think, and he'd prefer you go right on thinking it. Pass-happy offense run by a pass-happy former high school coach in a pass-happy league. Praise the lord and pass (and pass and pass and pass) the 70-63.