by Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan)
Playoff Talk
And now it's official — college football will have a playoff in 2014. The four-team, seeded playoff model was approved by the Presidential Oversight Committee on Tuesday, and despite making Harvey Perlman look like this, the Big Ten hesitantly agreed with the model.
There is still a lot to be ironed out — particularly who will serve on the selection committee and what the criteria for selecting teams will be — and those details could make or break whether the new system becomes a success or failure. However, the general consensus is this is a great thing for college football. NCAA President Mark Emmert seems to agree, presenting this statement:
I commend the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee on its leadership to move to a playoff model. I remain confident that as the details of the new format are determined in the coming weeks, presidents will continue to keep student-athlete well-being, both in the classroom and on the field, front of mind.
NU Volleyball Schedule Released
Northwestern volleyball released its 2012 season schedule on Tuesday, and from the looks of things, the Wildcats will have an uphill battle. According to the release, 12 or NU's 22 opponents made the NCAA Tournament last year, 10 of them won at least one match and three advanced to quarterfinals.
Here's a statement from coach Keylor Chan:
"The 'Cats took a big step in the process last season. We were a young team in 2011 and we welcome back most of the key contributors from that team this year. We started to understand what it takes to win at a high level and I know that we can build on that feeling moving forward. I'm excited to start every season and this year is shaping up to be one of the most exciting that we've had."
Despite finishing 16-15 (7-13, Big Ten) last year, NU showed promise, including a 3-1 upset win over No. 2 Nebraska.
Matt Alviti
Lake the Posts has a cool Q&A withe the parents of 2013 quarterback commit Matt Alviti, a four-star who is ranked the No. 12 quarterback in the country by Scout and picked NU over Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska and Notre Dame, among others.
Check it out here.
Jeremy Ebert
Thanks to Jonathan Hodges at Hail to Purple for finding this. ESPNBoston is doing a "Bubble Watch" of all the players trying to make the active roster for the New England Patriots and wrote about former Wildcat receiver Jeremy Ebert this week, giving him a 15 percent chance of making the roster.
Ebert was slowed by a leg injury in camp his main competitors were listed as Donte' Stallworth, Julian Edelman and Britt Davis. There were some positives:
With veteran receiver Wes Welker facing an uncertain future in New England, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Ebert was a productive pass-catcher in college and is the lone recent draft pick at a position loaded with veterans... Keeping Ebert around would give the team a young receiver to develop for the future.
But also some negatives:
"...Ebert still faces long odds to make the roster at a jam-packed position. Due to obligations at Northwestern, Ebert was unable to practice with the Patriots until the end of organized team activities."