LOBOS MUST GET UP FOR WISCONSIN
The Big Ten Network wants New Mexico and the host Badgers to kick off at 10 a.m. MT on Sept. 8 in Madison.
The New Mexico Lobos will have to get up pretty early in the morning of Sept. 8 if they expect to pull a monster upset in Madison, Wis.
The Lobos football game against the Wisconsin Badgers has been scheduled for a 10 a.m. MT kickoff, it was announced Thursday. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
The Badgers went 13-1 last season, winning the Big Ten West Division and defeating Miami in the Orange Bowl. Preseason rankings for 2018 have Wisconsin consistently in the top 10, often the top five, nationally.
New Mexico is coming off a 3-9 season. The Lobos were ranked No. 110 among the nation’s 129 NCAA Football Subdivision teams in the Orlando Sentinel’s preseason rankings.
NEW MEXICO STATE: The New Mexico State Aggies were announced on Friday as the Orlando Sentinel’s No. 87 team in its preseason countdown. The Aggies are coming off
a 7-6 season topped off by a victory over Utah State in the Arizona Bowl.
Last year, the Sentinel ranked NMSU No. 118.
SEC: In Destin, Fla., the Southeastern Conference has relaxed two rules regarding intraleague transfers, clearing the way for former Mississippi receiver Van Jefferson to play at Florida this fall and opening the door for Alabama offensive lineman Brandon Kennedy to be eligible for a rival school this season.
Jefferson, a fourth-year junior, caught 42 passes for 456 yards and a touchdown in 2017 for Ole Miss. He had 999 yards receiving in two seasons before transferring to Florida this offseason. He still has to gain clearance from the NCAA, but that seems like a formality after six other former Ole Miss players were cleared to play this season after transferring, including Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson. The Rebels are halfway through a two-year postseason ban.
The SEC also passed a rule that allows players who have received their degrees from SEC schools to transfer within the conference and play right away, without the need for a waiver. Previously, the SEC required grad transfers to sit out a season if they switched to another SEC school. NCAA rules allow athletes who have graduated to transfer without sitting out a season, but the SEC rule trumped the NCAA bylaw.
Backup center Kennedy is looking for move within the conference, with Tennessee or Auburn reportedly likely destinations, and play this season as a graduate transfer.
BIG 12: At the spring meetings in Irving, Texas, the league announced revenue of nearly $365 million for the 2017-18 academic year. That is the 12th consecutive increase for the league. UTAH: South Florida athletic director Mark Harlan has been hired as the Utes’ new AD to replace Chris Hill, who officially retired on Friday after 31 years in the job.