OUT OF THE TUNNEL: WE ARE UNDERWAY! (NCAA)

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

The aftershocks from the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season will continue and run well beyond the return of the league next summer. 

For the past two weeks the biggest headlines have been the dozens of players that are opting out of their contracts that end in either February 2021 or February 2022 for what the CFL says: “To attempt to secure employment in the NFL or other employment.”

There have been only a few players that have been able to sign NFL contracts and join the on-going training camps which are already underway as we edge ever closer to the beginning of the NFL season on September 10.

Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley is one of the few players that has inked a deal. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers this weekend. The same can be said of Ottawa Redblacks punter Richie Leone and Roughriders linebacker Deon Lacy who have secured try-out opportunities in the NFL.

Other than that, there haven’t been many other football opportunities out there for players opting out of their CFL contracts.

This is because NFL training camps reduced their roster sizes and eliminated pre-season games in an effort to secure some sort of regular season schedule in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now there may be more opportunities available this week when the final cuts are made across the NFL on September 6, but those will be few and far between. 

The key wording in the CFL statement that allows players out of their current contract is the other employment part. There is no longer a CFL contract hanging over their heads and they can begin to pursue other occupations that will help them and their families through this difficult time. For many of them, these jobs will be their next career and will allow them to step away from football.

We will say this a lot over the next 10 or more months leading up to a potential return to the field in 2021; this will be a drastically different CFL than the one we last saw on the field at the end of 2019.

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But there is football being played and it started this weekend!

The NCAA kicked off a revamped 2020 with a pair of FCS (the former NCAA D1AA) teams facing off. The Central Arkansas Bears knocked off the Austin Peay Colonels 24-17. The game was everything lower level of college football usually gives us: great individual efforts, horrific mistakes and wonderfully dumb decisions and plays.

The season will be played with almost half of the NCAA FBS (the former D1A) division not playing football. This includes the Big Ten, Pac Ten, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, independents UMass, UConn, New Mexico State and Old Dominion from the Conference USA.

Those currently trying to forge out a season in the fall are the ACC (including Notre Dame), SEC, Big 12, American Athletic Conference, Conference USA (minus Old Dominion), Sun Belt and independents Liberty, BYU and Army.

What is very interesting is that of the conferences and teams that have decided to play, there hasn’t been much pushback from them hitting the field. Those who are not playing got the biggest pushback. The loudest outcry is from the Big Ten.

A handful of players from the University of Nebraska have filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten seeking damages from the cancellation of the fall season. This has a slight whiff of a frivolous lawsuit and probably won’t get very far.

A fire is beginning to rage due to the Big Ten coaches meeting to see if there is a possibility of playing in the fall.

This goes against the member universities voting for the cancellation of the season, though there have been rumblings that there never was a vote. Because of this players, parents and football staff have really railed against this decision.

So who knows if the Big Ten will be playing anytime soon? But there is an effort to get it back.

It will be so amazing to watch college football being played this fall. Saying that, some will feel some guilt watching due to pandemic concerns. 

Coming back has exposed the large stench of all the inherent problems the NCAA has with its high level sports programs and when you throw in the high number of positive Covid tests across American college campuses, it will be squeamish for some to watch.

If you can get past the guilt, it should be an interesting and fun season to pay attention to and it looks like TSN will be televising games this fall. Now a full schedule hasn’t been released and we don’t think there will be one because of how perilous of a situation this season is in. The ACC has already pushed their schedule back a week because of a rash of positive tests.

What we do know is there is a triple-header this Saturday on TSN2! So let’s preview those games and we hope to give you a preview of any game televised in Canada (TSN or major American networks, we will avoid CBS Sports Network because we don’t know who has access to it).

Eastern Kentucky Colonels (FCS Ohio Valley Conference) at Marshall Thundering Herd (Conference USA) 
11:00am (CST) Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia

Marshall is coming off an 8-5 year including a loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl in 2019. They will play a ten game schedule including a full CUSA conference slate. Eastern Kentucky is a mid-pack OVC team and with the cancellation of their conference schedule, they will compete in an eight game non-conference schedule including games against Marshall and West Virginia

Top players to watch:
Marshall – Brenden Knox (RB)
EKU – Alonzo Booth (RB)

Most notable CFLers:
Marshall – Raheem Cato (QB), John Grace (CFL Most outstanding defensive player in 2005)
EKU – Marcus Adams (DL), Steve Bird (WR)

Southern Methodist University Mustangs (AAC) at Texas State Bobcats (Sun Belt)
2:30pm (CST) TSU Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas

SMU (the real SMU, sorry Saint Mary’s) had a revival in 2019 going 10-3 but ended in a loss to Florida Atlantic in the Boca Raton Bowl. They have one of the top quarterbacks in the conference’s top passer from 2019, Shane Buechele. The Mustangs have a full American Athletic Conference schedule on tap as well as non-conference games against Texas State and TCU.

Texas State has been a team that has had a hard time finding their way in the FBS after being one of the top D1AA teams for decades. The Bobcats have never played in a bowl game and have finished over .500 twice during that time. Texas State also has a full conference schedule as well as games against SMU, BYU and Boston College.

Texas State has a Canadian on their roster in sophomore defensive lineman Samuel Obiang from Ottawa.

Top players to watch:
SMU – Shane Buechele (QB)
Texas State – Brady McBride (QB)

Most notable CFLers:
SMU – Taylor Reed, Ja’Gared Davis, Emanuel Tolbert, John Lagrone
Texas State – Spergon Wynn, Will Heyward

Arkansas State Red Wolves (Sun Belt) at Memphis Tigers (AAC)
6:00pm (CST) Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee

The Memphis Tigers are looking to build upon a fantastic 2019 where they went 12-2, winning the AAC title game but then lost in a shootout to Penn State in the Cotton Bowl. They return most of their dynamic offence and and experienced defence. They will play a full conference schedule as well as games against Arkansas State and UTSA.

Arkansas State will battle for the Sun Belt west division title with that success placed mainly on the arm of quarterback Logan Bonner. The Red Wolves have to replace most of their receiving core but will have all five of their offensive linemen back in 2020. They will play a full Sun Belt schedule as well as games against Memphis and Kansas State.

Top players to watch:
Memphis – Kenneth Gainwell (RB)
Arkansas State – Logan Bonner (QB)

Most notable CFLers:
Memphis – Marcus Ball, Mac Cody, Glenn Rogers Jr., Eric Taylor
Arkansas State – Cleo Lemon, Joe Hollimon, Calvin Harrel, Ron Meeks

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)