Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, May 29, 2015

The SEC?s hissy fit over satellite camps is making it look a bit absurd, says Nick Baumgardner of Mive.com.

"If we're going to compete for the championship and everybody is going to play in the playoff system and everybody is going to compete for that, we need to get our rules in alignment so we're all on a level playing field, whether they're transfer rules, whether they're satellite camp rules," Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters this week in Florida. "It's a disadvantage not to be able to do something in one league and be able to do it in another."

As Baumgardner points out, we didn't recall the outcry down south a year ago when the SEC gave the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the Pac-12 the middle finger by explaining how they're keeping eight-game league schedules-allow other leagues move to a nine-game conference menus. By staying at eight, the SEC can schedule another cupcake in the non-conference.

Bravo for pointing this out, Baumgardner.

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Randy Edsall told me earlier this spring he was in the market for fifth-year transfers to help his roster. Well, he landed a quarterback from Oklahoma State.

The Baltimore Sun says getting Daxx Garman not only gives expected senior starter Caleb Rowe some competition as he returns from missing the last seven games in 2014 as well as team drills this spring while recovering from his second knee surgery. It also gives Edsall another viable option either as a starter or the top reserve.

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Jerry Kill has done a lot of good things at Minnesota. But, he has yet to beat Wisconsin (11-game skid) or win a bowl (O-for-last-7) in streaks that preceded his arrival. That stuff motivates Gopher DC Tracy Claeys.

"Obviously we're excited about where we've been," said Claeys, the team's defensive coordinator and associate head coach. "Last year we accomplished some things that hadn't been done in over 40 years. At the same time, we all agree, we think we can do better.

"I know one thing: me personally, I'm not going to relax until that that Axe comes back."

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Penn State fans will enjoy watching former coach Bill O?Brien on HBO?s Hard Knocks, as the Houston Texans will be the featured team.

Pennlive.com notes that whether O'Brien welcomes the HBO cameras or not, it remains to be seen, but it's worth noting that he did allow similar access to an ESPN crew prior to the 2013 season at Penn State.

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The bar has been set on how many wins Rutgers is expected to net this season.

Dan Duggan of NJ.com says the over/under for Rutgers' regular-season win total has been set at five by the 5Dimes Sportsbook. The Scarlet Knights, who need to win at least six games to become bowl eligible, were widely predicted to finish in the Big Ten basement last season, but they went 7-5 (3-5 in the Big Ten) during the regular season and won a bowl game.

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Jim Harbaugh said this: ?We?re not the biggest guy on the block, Michigan State is the biggest guy.?

Harbaugh is correct. Gotta like the honesty. But he also said Michigan has plans to do everything it can to reclaim its status "on the block."

"Rightfully so, rightfully so," he said. "They've done a tremendous job, and we respect the job that they've done. But we want that. We want it. And we ask for your help in doing that. We want Detroit players at the University of Michigan. We've got a great history of Detroit players (at Michigan), and not just for football, we want them to get an education. We want to educate your players and we want them to succeed.

"Not just with football, but as great people."

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Now hear this: Detroit has bid to host the 2019 national title game.

"We're confident, I think based on our track record and history of hosting successful, major events," DSC executive director Dave Beachnau said earlier this week. "The Super Bowl was held in a similar time of year, and we won't hide the fact that it'll be cold and it'll be in January, so we won't really have to answer that question.

"I think (the city provides) uniqueness, sort of like it did with the Super Bowl, and there are some assets that we can showcase in and around Ford Field."

Detroit joins the Bay Area (Santa Clara), Charlotte, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio as the cities submitting bids to host the 2019 playoffs.

Also on Wednesday, Atlanta, the Bay Area, Houston and South Florida bid for the 2018 playoffs, while, the Bay Area, Charlotte, Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans and San Antonio bid for the 2020 playoffs.

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Tom Crean?s club no longer is an underdog. Now, big things will be expected next season from Indiana.

"We didn't believe the expectations last year, and we can't believe the expectations this year. It's the same mentality," associate head coach Tim Buckley told IndyStar.com. "We believed in ourselves, and we felt like we could be a good basketball team. Now, we can't believe that we're too good."
IU certainly has the talent on hand to meet the big expectations.

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Illinois will pay lawyers $425 per hour to look at allegations some athletes made recently about the school.

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Will Wisconsin be a disappointment in Paul Chryst?s debut? In this video, a Campus Insider analyst thinks so. Of course, I think he?s wrong.

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About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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