Oregon State will open their 2016 football season Thursday evening Sept. 1 in Minneapolis, MN, against Minnesota.

We now know when, with today’s tv schedule announcement that the Beavers and Gophers will kickoff at TFC Bank Stadium just after 8 PM CDT, which will be a 6 PM PDT tv start time. The game will be on the B1G Ten network.

This makes 2 known kickoff times, for the first 2 games, with the home opener 9 days later against Idaho State set for 2 PM PDT.

The evening start is favorable, as lingering midwest heat and humidity will be relenting at that point, and for those making the trip, its late enough in the day to allow easier travel logistics.

For those not making the trip, its about as good a start time as possible, coming on a work night, as its late enough to allow time to get home (avoiding the dreaded 4 PM PDT start), and also not so late as to make it a late night, with the game likely ending by around 9:30 PM.

And given the disastrous outcomes of several 9 AM PDT starts for midwest and eastern time zone games Oregon State (and sometimes other Pac-12 teams), it should afford a better chance to be competitive for the win.

Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com

Look, we’ve got three months of no IU athletics, so let’s take this time to preview the Hoosiers’ opponents for this upcoming football season. Each week until the season, we’ll be going through the opponents one by one and looking at whatever we find interesting and/or hilarious about them. And as always, the kick was good. This week: Ball State.

Game 2: Ball State Cardinals

Last year’s record: 3-9

2015 Final F/+ Ranking: 110

Head Coach: Mike Neu

Where: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN

When: September 10, time TBD

1. Not these guys again

The first ever game I went to at Memorial Stadium was in 2012 against Ball State. It was a night game, so after a long afternoon on the tailgate fields, I was pretty hyped up to see a 2-0 Hoosier squad take on their in-state opponents. After a neck-and-neck first half, Indiana’s offense went blank in the third quarter while the Doug Mallory defense let the Cardinals take a 38-25 lead. I was convinced the Hoosiers were done.

Then, into the game came true freshman and third-string QB Nate Sudfeld. He showed the flashes of greatness that night that eventually led to him being an NFL Draft pick, leading the Hoosiers on a fourth-quarter comeback and giving the team a 39-38 lead after a Shane Wynn touchdown with 49 seconds left. Unfortunately, this fantastic comeback was all for naught a few minutes later, when the Cardinals hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired to get the victory.

The 2012 game was the third loss in a row for Indiana against Ball State, and the two have not played since. In 2011, Indiana opened Kevin Wilson’s tenure in Lucas Oil Stadium against Ball State, a game in which the Cardinals won 27-20. When the two faced off in 2008, a brutal career-ending injury to Ball State WR Dante Love overshadowed the game itself, but the Cardinals, who were led by Brady Hoke at the time, still easily defeated the Hoosiers. Thus, it’s been almost 9 years since IU has beaten the Cardinals. And while the series has mostly been inactive, it’s been long enough.

2. A brand Neu coach

Pete Lembo had a moderately successful tenure at Ball State, going 33-29 and reaching two bowl games. However, the team had dropped off in the past two seasons, and the Cardinals finished 3-9 last year. Rather than stay in Muncie, Lembo took an assistant job with Maryland. On the surface, going from a MAC head coach job to an assistant for a 3-9 B1G team seems like a step back, but Lembo was on the hot seat, and the Under Armour money in College Park will make sure that he’s well compensated for his new role.

To replace Lembo, Ball State brought in a guy with familiarity to the school and the area. Mike Neu, an Indy native and Ball State alum, takes over the job after two years as QB coach for the New Orleans Saints. Based on experience and connections alone, it was a well thought-out hire. Being an alum and Hoosier native will help, and his connections to Drew Brees – who still is a big deal in certain parts of Indiana – shouldn’t hurt either. Neu’s previous head coaching experience was in Arena Football a decade ago, where we was moderately successful. But this job is definitely a rebuild, and in a competitive conference like the MAC, it may take him a few years to find his footing.

3. Let’s hear from our readers

We asked you guys what you thought of Ball State. One reader tweeted “Jason Whitlock,” who I totally forgot went to Ball State and makes me want the Hoosiers to win this game even more, but that tweet has since been deleted.

Let’s hear what else you said:

@crimsonquarry Whatever you do, don’t call them the Scarlet Cardinals or something; you’ll never hear the end of it. #goldenpanthers

— Carey D. York (@careyyork) June 10, 2016

Okay, so I got some FIU fans mad online last time because I called their team the Golden Panthers instead of the Panthers. But I will not be correcting that article. I will never log off.

@crimsonquarry their 3 decent bars (D-Lux, Dill St, Cleos) were put out of business bc students flocked to the new Brothers.

— IU Bonko (@ElBonko) June 10, 2016

I’ve never been to Muncie so I can’t verify this. But the Brothers in Bloomington, at least, is fine. $2 beers from a huge draft selection on Thursday nights is pretty good, and the second floor deck is great in the summer. I watched a lot of World Cup there in 2014. Not a bad place to catch up with friends or watch a game.

@crimsonquarry they suck but have our number

— Mitch Meyer (@mymanmitch23) June 11, 2016

Yep. This sums up Ball State football.

The CQ Summer Preview Series will run every week, focusing on a different 2016 Indiana Football opponent each time. Next up: Wake Forest

Disclaimer: Before you proceed, just remember that none of the links are vetted and you may be reading something written by a 13-year-old, a so-called sports journalist or Clay Travis (is there really any difference between those options?). Some stories are from those unreliable, pesky pay sites, too. Read at your own peril.

The Baylor scandal is not good for the Big 12: And in other news, water is wet.

Does the NCAA get involved with the mess at Baylor? There might be a situation similar to USC with a reduction of scholarships and a bowl ban.

Some BU board members want Briles back: Yes, you read that correctly.

Baylor has launched a task force to clean up their athletic program: They probably should have done that 10 years ago when their basketball coach covered up a murder. Oh, wait…..

One Baylor fan started a blog: This poor deluded Baylor fan thinks the Bears need someone to fight for them because they have been mistreated.

The Bears need to let recruits out of their LOIs: Baylor needs to step up and do the right thing. One parent is has contacted Baylor but is still waiting for an answer.

Baylor and Art Briles want to quickly settle a federal lawsuit: One of the women has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming Baylor was indifferent to her complaints when she reported the sexual assault.

One Baylor alumni group wants accountability: The alumni group, the Baylor Line Foundation, wants answers.

I’m sick of Bear Nation and I’ve started a petition to kick Baylor out of the Big 12: My petition is my own and does not reflect the opinions of Burnt Orange Nation authors or editors or the mother ship, SB Nation. Please feel free to sign if you feel the same way. The petition will be delivered to the Big 12 Associate Commissioner.

Oregon finally lands some commits. OT John Vakawas the first to announce, then DT/DE Rutger Reitmaiercommitted on his unofficial visit, and then OT Alex Forsyth’s announcement day came with him deciding on the Ducks. Here I have compiled more headlines from the last few weeks. Although the news here isn’t as big as the commitments, it is still important to know.

KJ Hamler 4* WR: Oregon offered the speedy wide receiver about three weeks ago. They are joining the likes of Michigan State, Penn State, and Illinois by offering Hamler. Hamler used to attend St Mary’s high school in Michigan, but has decided to transfer to powerhouse IMG Academy. I’ve been hearing Hamler definitely wants to visit Oregon and his decision will most likely come down to the Ducks and the Spartans. He is one guy to keep an eye on, but I don’t think he will commit anytime soon.

Donovan Johnson 3* CB: Shortly after Hamler’s offer, Oregon goes back into Michigan and offers Cass Technical CB Donovan Johnson. Johnson may only be ranked as a 3* recruit, but he earned his way to compete in the Elite Finals, which are held in Oregon. Hopefully he’ll have time to check out Oregon while he is in attendence. The 13th ranked recruit in Michigan has been linked to Penn State and Virginia Tech but look for Oregon to make a big push for the speedy corner.

Jonathan McCollister 3* TE: The Bishop Moore Catholic (FL) tight-end announced he will be committing at the end of June. The last time I talked to McCollister he told me this about Oregon: “I love the offense and how fast they run it.” McCollister is versatile athlete because he can play both tight-end and defensive end. Coach Osborne has been recruiting him, so I’m inferring tight-end is where Oregon wants him.

Justin Marshall 3* WR: The next offer goes out to Salem, Georgia. Justin Marshall received the offer from Coach Lubbick over Twitter and it was surprising. It “came out of the blue, ” Marshall also told me, “I like how Oregon is a pro team,” because there isn’t a professional team football in Oregon, so the Ducks football team is treated like a professional team. Marshall attends the same high school as another Oregon target, ILB De’Morreal Burnam. Marshall said he wants to make a summer commitment, but he still wants to take all five official visits. One of those visits will be to Oregon, but there is still a long time to wait for Marshall’s final decision.

Major Tennison 3* TE: Oregon is looking to add some tight-ends in the 2017 class. So far they don’t have any, but they have offered a lot. Tennison is a tight-end from the Lone Star State, but he is already committed to the Longhorns. This offer was interesting, because I hadn’t heard them ever being linked. I wouldn’t think Tennison is interested, but anything is possible.

Elliot Baker 4* OT: Oregon brought on Baker for an unofficial visit about two weeks back. He is one of the top Juco recruits in the country with offers from Alabama, Georgia, and Auburn. After the visit, Baker said Oregon was “up there” with Alabama and Georgia, but just a few days later, Baker committed to the Crimson Tide. Baker was visiting Alabama when he committed to them, which, quite honestly, wasn’t a surprise to anyone.

Martin Andrus 4* DT: The Los Angeles Senior (CA) product narrowed down his list to 10 teams. Oregon was on this list, as well as Arizona, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Washington State. As of right now, it looks like a three team race between Oregon, USC, and UCLA with USC potentially having the slight lead. Andrus is a top 15 defensive tackle and would be a huge pickup for the Ducks.

Tyjon Lindsey 5* WR: The Centennial WR announced he will be committing on August 22nd. Oregon is among his top nine and also Auburn, Nebraska, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, USC, and Alabama are too. Ohio State seems to be the trendy pick for Lindsey now more than ever because his former high school QB, Tate Martell, and close friend committed to the Buckeyes. I wouldn’t count out the Ducks, but its getting harder to see him in Eugene.

Jalen Harris 3* DE: The next offer goes out to Jalen Harris of Desert Ridge (AZ). I caught up with Harris after the offer and he told me, “It was a surprise,” Harris said “But I knew I put in the work”. Oregon is a “winning program and a top school in the nation”, it’s a “great offer, great program, and a great coaching staff who know what they’re doing.” Harris would be a great fit in the new defensive scheme, because it’s the same one he currently plays in. He definitely wants to try to visit Oregon (and Oregon State) this summer, but has no solid plans as of now.

David Morris 3* S: You might recognize the name because the Sherwood (OR) product was on my A Few Recruits I Would Offer Next article. Morris was offered just after the Northwest Best’s showcase, where he got to work with Oregon’s defensive back coach John Neal. Morris is now committed to the Beavers, but I believe he will heavily consider the offer.

Hunter Echols 4* DE: The UCLA commit received an offer from Oregon about a week ago. Oregon coaches visited Echols during the winter time and didn’t offer then. Echols is still looking around at schools and he will be at the Irish Invasion next weekend. He also has offers from Michigan and Nebraska. Even though he is committed to UCLA I believe Echols will look more into Oregon’s program and eventually either solidify his UCLA commitment or back-off of it.

My-King Johnson unranked DE: Johnson was offered by the Ducks late last week. He boasts other offers from Arizona, Arizona State, and Nevada. Johnson is from Tempe, Arizona which is where ASU is located. The Tempe product is undiscovered, but this Oregon offer will put him on the map. If I had to make a prediction for Johnson, I would say ASU. It is early and Oregon has time to make up ground.

Ambry Thomas 4* CB: The next offer goes out to Ambry Thomas. The Detroit Martin Luther King (MI) product has other offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and Notre Dame. Right now Michigan is the favorite with Michigan State trailing them, so I don’t really see Thomas looking at Oregon too hard. You never know though.

Tua Tagovailoa 4* QB: FINALLY! We could say this offer came a year late or that Oregon missed their chance, but better late than never right? The Alabama commit reportedly received the offer late last week. Tagovailoa is from St. Louis (HI), the same high school as Marcus Mariota, and is the number two dual-threat QB in the nation. Alabama has two QB commits, Mac Jones being the other, and I have put in a crystal ball for Oregon. The crystal ball prediction was a gut feeling and I logically thought out the situation. He is a better schematic fit at Oregon, he would be the only QB commit of the 2017 class, and he could wait a year and learn the offense better while he sits behind Dakota Prukop. It makes more sense for Tagovailoa to flip his commitment to Oregon, but he can’t wait too long because Oregon is still going to offer other QBs.

Moses Robinson-Carr 3* TE: Late Saturday night, Robinson-Carr announced his top five schools. The schools were as followed: Oregon, Oregon State, Tennessee, UCLA, and USC. Robinson-Carr reigns for Antelope Valley High School (CA) and plays both tight-end and defensive-end. He visited Oregon back in April and said it was a “nice visit”. There is no timetable for his commitment, but I’ll keep ATQ up to date once that day comes.

A lot of ears perked up when it was announced that the Colorado Buffaloes would be taking quarterback Sefo Liufau to Pac-12 Media Days. Not only is Liufau going to the only QB to attend, but it was not too long ago that it was thought that he would miss a big majority of the 2016 season, leaving the Buffs with Jordan Gehrke and Steven Montez to battle it out for the starting job after Davis Webb chose California.

However, good news may be on the way. CU’s sports media department recently told Buffzone that “We’re taking Sefo because we plan on him being cleared to practice by camp.”

This is the first time that we have heard any guesses on Liufau’s availability and if the staff has known this for a while then it certainly adds some nuance to the way everything went down with Davis Webb. Having him available healthy and ready to go for the start of the season will be a huge boost in the Buffaloes quest to reach a bowl game and this news is a great start.

The commitments just kept rolling in this past weekend.

Derek Kerstetter, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive tackle from Reagan HS (San Antonio, TX) announced his commitment via his Twitter account.

Go Pokes pic.twitter.com/UZ8lSGrO8q

— Derek Kerstetter (@derekk40) June 12, 2016

Kerstetter got plenty of love from the coaching staff, as well.

Pistols Firing from San Antonio, TX! Welcome to the FAMILY. #okstate #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/AAPidePNYD

— Mike Gundy (@CoachGundy) June 12, 2016

PISTOLS firing from San Antonio!
Welcome to the Family! #oline #pride #magnificent17 #BeACowboy pic.twitter.com/tMSaM798qU

— Greg Adkins (@CoachAdkinsOSU) June 12, 2016

So, here’s what we know about Kerstetter. He’s a three-star tackle with offers from the likes of Texas Tech, Houston, Illinois and Minnesota.

The Cowboys could be looking at Kerstetter for either tackle or guard. His film shows him lining up on the edge and inside. He looks to possess both good pass protection and run blocking skills.

Kerstetter is the first offensive line commitment for the 2017 class after an o-line heavy 2016 class. His addition pushes Oklahoma State’s 2017 class to 12th in the nation according to 247Sports.

Check out Kerstetter’s hudl highlights.

The No. 3 prospect in the country, Houston Episcopal defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, wasn’t the only highly-ranked prospect to release a Sunday list that includes the Texas Longhorns, as Crosby wide receiver Mannie Netherly has Texas among his top six schools:

Netherly is a 6’2, 183-pounder who finished second in the 5A 400m at the state track meet last month and spent some time around the Texas football offices and hanging with quarterback commit Sam Ehlinger during his time in Austin:

Pledged to Texas A&M from late last November until early May, the Crosby star re-opened his recruitment during the aftermath of Aggies wide receiver coach Aaron Moorehead subtweeting five-star quarterback Tate Martell following his decommitment.

But it appears that Moorehead and Netherly have patched things up at least a little bit, as the Aggies made Netherly’s final six schools and hosted him on a visit to College Station over the weekend.

A recent headline on 247Sports about Netherly touts Texas as “on top” for Netherly, but LSU currently holds a commanding lead in his 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions. However, the last three predictions have gone Texas, Alabama, Texas A&M, so this seems like a fluid situation with the four schools mentioned so far all in serious contention. If Netherly were to release an ordered list, Auburn and Florida would likely make up the final two spots.

Netherly is a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 224 player overall, the No. 29 wide receiver, and the No. 35 player in the state of Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

It was a hot, busy weekend on Grounds for Virginia athletics. The basketball class of 2020 moved in and the football program hosted both camp and official visitors.

The football players also returned for the start of offseason strength training.

Here were the top stories from the recruiting side of things.

Hits

• Jamari Peacock: The 6’1, 220 pound running back from Yulee, Florida, picked UVA over an impressive list of suitors. There hasn’t been an official announcement from Peacock yet, but he is expected to announce later this year.
• Zachariah Burton: The two-way athlete from Delaware committed to UVA just three weeks after receiving an offer. His older brother, Frank, is a defensive end for Ball State.

Misses

• Luiji Vilain: The four-star stud defensive end from Episcopal in Alexandria committed to Michigan on Sunday. Regarded as one of the top two or three prospects in the Commonwealth for 2017, he would have been a perfect fit at DE under Mike London’s 4-3 scheme. At only 240 pounds, he would have most likely needed to move to OLB or bulk up significantly under Mendenhall.
• Cole Bentley: A late offer from Louisville upended Bentley’s recruitment, as he went from Virginia lean to Louisville commit over the weekend. Bentley is a potentially underrated offensive lineman but is one of the top prospects in Kentucky.
• Chris Lykes: On the hardwood side of things, one of the top hoops targets for Tony Bennett’s staff ended his recruitment early and committed to Miami. The 5’7 (yes, that’s correct, five foot seven) point guard from Gonzaga in D.C. is one of the top 50 prospects nationwide and would have brought a unique skill set to the Cavaliers’ roster.

New offers

Emil Ekiyor: A 6’2, 349 pound offensive guard from Indiana, Ekiyor is one of the top offensive lineman in the class of 2018. (Making him a 350-pound high school sophomore. Goodness.) He tweeted news of his offer from UVA this morning.

Michigan also offered over the weekend, and Ekiyor already holds offers from Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Tennessee—basically name a Power Five program and Ekiyor is on their board.

Condolences

PK Kier is a three-star running back from Winchester, Virginia, currently committed to JMU but getting the full-court press from UVA. Kier was scheduled to visit Grounds over the weekend, but on Friday tweeted that his three-year-old cousin, Brayden, passed away from cancer.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but the pain is infinitely greater for a life so young. Our condolences and best wishes to PK and his family.