Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: All Stop On Conference Realignment Edition

As most of you know by now, the Pac-12 put the kibosh on further conference realignment by deciding it was happy at 12 schools, which gave the Big 12 time to catch it's breath and decide maybe staying together wasn't all bad.  Of course, it does seem like the conference commissioner, Dan Beebe, might be headed for the unemployment line.  Burnt Orange Nation decided to channel Stealers Wheel in celebration.

Now, for the rest of today's news:

• Sources describe Big 12 Commish Beebe's status as "tenuous at best" to Andy Katz.

  The source said no decision has been made on Beebe's status at this point. Another source, however, described Beebe's status as tenuous at best.

• Rich Brooks thinks UK needs to upgrade football facilities.

  "We’ve been known as a basketball school and basketball needs to get what they get and keep getting it, but there is enough money that football brings in that needs to be invested back into the program.

• Courier-Journal reports that Fields making the best of opportunity.

  "I really feel like this is the start of something great," the wide receiver said. "I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season."

  We could use "something great" around here, E.J.

• Ben Kercheval begs the Big 12 to hang around.

  I’ve never been a huge supporter of equal revenue sharing because I don’t think schools and athletic programs are created equal. If Oklahoma goes to a BCS bowl four out of every five years, it makes zero sense to me to give Kansas an equal cut of conference payout.
  
  But, these are difficult times that call for sobering adjustments. It’s no coincidence that the three most powerful and stable conferences in the country — the SEC, the Pac-12 and the Big Ten — share revenue equally.

  There's another reason why UK won't be leaving the SEC.

• Does the passing game hold they key to upsetting the Gators?

  Kentucky's loss to Louisville on Saturday wasn't all bad for the Wildcats; it showed an improvement in the team's passing game which had been near the bottom of the nation's rankings.

  Courtesy of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

• So is Mike Miller of Beyond The Arc, or Mike DeCourcy of SI right about Pitt?

  The Panthers have won at least 25 games in seven of Dixon’s eight seasons and have finished lower than fifth in the Big East once. And they’ve done it by recruiting just two 5-star players in that span. Plenty of 4- and 3-star players, but most elite programs fill their rosters with burger guys.
  
  Would a move from the Big East change all that? Mike DeCourcy posed that very question ...

• Saturday Down South has your Week 4 upset watch.

  Heading into week four, there are a few teams that should be on upset watch. While any team can be viewed as being on possible upset watch any given week, there are three teams that could produce upsets this weekend.

• Review of today's Leach Report and a link to the podcast.

  Tom spoke with John Pennington of MrSEC.com and VaughtsViews.com's Larry Vaught.

• Saturday Down South doesn't think realignment will end well.

  When you think about it economically, what’s happening here is not unusual. In most markets, a period of increased competition is often followed by a period of contraction when the struggling firms either go bankrupt or merge into the more successful firms. College football is unusual in that the "firms" are politically fixed entities that can’t simply merge or go bankrupt. Instead, as we’ve seen throughout the NCAA’s history, there is a simply a greater and greater subdivision. The NCAA once had two divisions, then three, then four (for football), and now we may be seeing the emergence of a fifth division.

• KSR says that Rick Minter is out for revenge.

  He won’t come out and say it himself, but Rick Minter is out for revenge this weekend when his defense goes up against Charlie Weis’ offense at Florida. Minter wouldn’t comment after practice today but starting linebacker Ronnie Sneed said his defensive coordinator "wants it bad" against the man who fired him at Notre Dame.