College Football

Four Iowa State football players and three from Iowa have been charged in the state's investigation into sports wagering, which alleges that several placed bets on games in which they played.

According to criminal complaints filed Thursday in district courts for Story County and Johnson County, the players face the charge of tampering with records, an aggravated misdemeanor, for concealing their identity in electronic wagering activities. The group includes Iowa State starting running back Jirehl Brock and three others with starting experience — offensive tackle Jake Remsburg, defensive tackle Isaiah Lee and tight end DeShawn Hanika. All four athletes charged on Thursday have not been practing.

Iowa wide receiver Jack Johnson was also charged, as well as former Iowa players Arland Bruce IV and Reggie Bracy, who transferred to Oklahoma State and Troy, respectively. Iowa student manager Owen O'Brien also faces the charge.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine ranging from $855 to $8,540. According to the NCAA's updated guidelines on gambling, athletes who wager on their own sports or others at their school can face permanent loss of eligibility. Another group of Iowa State and Iowa athletes was charged earlier this month in the state's investigation, including ISU projected starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers.

As Stanford and California await a decision from the ACC about possible membership, the Mountain West Conference remains on standby, ready to respond however those dominos fall.

After the collapse of the Pac-12 last week, the MWC has found itself in a position of strength and stands as a potential landing spot for the remaining four Pac-12 schools: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington [State]. How quickly the trickle-down effect reaches the MWC will be determined mostly by forces out of its control.

"It is about what's happening with the ACC or whoever [Cal and Stanford] are talking to," MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez told ESPN on Thursday.

With only 16 days left until college football returns, let’s remember Peyton Manning from Tennessee who wore #16.

University of Tennessee from 1994-1997

• 1997 Maxwell Award
• 1997 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
• 1997 Davey O'Brien Award
• 1997 William V. Campbell Trophy
• 1997 SEC Player of the Year
• 1997 Consensus All-American
• 1997 First-team All-SEC
• 1996 Second-team All-SEC
• University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame
• Tennessee Volunteers No. 16 retired

With only 17 days left until college football returns, let’s remember Charlie Ward from Florida State who wore #17.

Florida State University from 1989-1993

• 1993 National Champion
• 1993 Heisman Trophy
• 1993 Maxwell Award
• 1993 Walter Camp Award
• 1993 Johnny Unitas Award
• 1993 Davey O'Brien Award
• 1993 Sullivan Award
• 1993 Chic Harley Award
• 1993 Consensus All-American
• 1993 ACC Offensive Player of the Year
• 2× ACC Player of the Year (1992, 1993)
• 2× ACC Athlete of the Year (1993, 1994)
• 1993 Sporting News Player of the Year
• 1992 Florida Sports Hall of Fame
• Florida State Seminoles Jersey No. 17 honored

With only 18 days left until college football returns, let’s remember Archie Manning from Ole Miss who wore #18.

University of Mississippi from 1968-1970

• 1969 SEC Player of the Year
• 1969 First-team All-American
• 1969 First-team All-SEC
• 1969 Maxwell Camp Memorial Trophy
• Ole Miss Rebels jersey No. 18 retired
• 1969 Mississippi Sportsman of the Year
• 1969 finished fourth in Heisman voting
• 1970 finished third in Heisman voting
• 1989 inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

Sources cautioned that the two scheduled discussions are in the embryonic stages — one call slated with the ACC athletic directors and a separate call with the league's presidents that will play out on Monday and Tuesday. With the Pac-12 down to just four schools after the defection of five universities on Friday, the four remaining schools — including Cal and Stanford - are scrambling to find places to land. Both have elite academic reputations and Stanford consistently has the country's best top-to-bottom athletic department, but the reverberations of realignment have left them at a crossroads. There will be headwinds to a move for Cal and Stanford to the ACC, as sources on Monday cautioned about the complexities involved.

"It's complicated," an ACC source said. "There's a significant travel expense. I think it's going to be all over the board with both the ADs and the presidents in what they may want to do. [Cal and Stanford] would likely have to take a reduced share. Eventually, though, they're going to want to become a full share."

The potential additions of Cal and Stanford do not project to be financial game-changers, per sources. And while the addition of the academic prestige of schools like Cal and Stanford would certainly excite some ACC presidents, the fiscal upside appears limited.

"There's no windfall for the current members," the ACC source said, indicating that it's hard to envision any scenarios where it would be significantly additive for the current schools. As the Pac-12 crumbled last week, there were talks and ideas exchanged between as many as seven Pac-12 schools and the ACC for potentially merging, adding schools or doing something with scheduling. There were formal talks, per sources. But none appeared to be ultimately grained in reality for fiscal reasons.

With only 19 days left until college football returns, let’s remember Eric Dickerson from SMU who wore #19.

Southern Methodist University from (1979-1982)

• 1982 Consensus All-American
• 1981 Second-team All-American
• 2× First-team All-SWC (1981, 1982)
• 2× SWC Offensive Player of the Year (1981, 1982)
• 1982 Third-place in Heisman voting
• SMU Mustangs Jersey No. 19 honored
• 2020 inducted into College Football Hall of Fame

University of Washington president Ana Mari Cauce said Saturday that the program's departure from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten alongside Oregon was "not just about dollars and cents" but rooted in myriad factors, one being that the proposed TV rights deal between the Pac-12 and Apple did not provide the long-term stability the school was seeking.

"When you have a deal that people are saying that one of the best aspects are that you can get out of it in two years, that tells you a lot," Cauce said in a conference call with news media. "This was about national visibility for our players, being on linear TV so they can be seen, so they could have the national exposure. It was about stability. It was about having a future that we could count on and built towards.”

Cauce went on to say that the TV deal the Pac-12 presidents had been discussing a few days before was not the same one that was on the table at the end, and that the opportunities and stabilities provided by the Big Ten were "simply unmatched."

"I have to say this was heart-wrenching," Cauce said. "For more than a year, all of us worked really, really hard to find a viable path forward that would keep us together."

With only 20 days left until college football returns, let’s remember Earl Campbell from Texas who wore #20.

University of Texas from 1974-1977

• 1977 Heisman Trophy
• 1977 Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy
• 2× First-team All-American (1975, 1977)
• Texas Longhorns No. 20 retired
• Texas Sports Hall of Fame
• Houston Sports Hall of Fame