College Football Blitz: Joe Mixon apologizes, Shane Beamer fined
By John Buhler
Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon apologizes. Former Virginia Tech Hokies coach Shane Beamer fined via Wakeyleaks. All that in College Football Blitz.
Outside of the occasional minor bowl game, not a ton of news is happening in the days leading up to Christmas 2016 in the college football world. A week ago, the video of Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon’s domestic violence surfaced on a Friday end-of-the-day news drop.
The video was graphic, but we all knew that. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said earlier in the week that Mixon would have been suspended had this incident happened in 2016. Winning is apparently more important in Norman, Oklahoma than anything.
Oh, yeah. Mixon apologized on Friday afternoon for the incident that happened two years ago. Here is where we’ll being the College Football Blitz.
Joe Mixon apologizes for this disturbing video from two years ago
A week after the disturbing video of Mixon slugging a female surfaced on the internet, the Oklahoma running back took to the podium to apologize for the incident in the week leading up the Sooners’ New Year’s Six bowl game against the Auburn Tigers.
Mixon seemed very remorseful for the incident, but there is no way that Oklahoma will be better from seeing its star running back speak on the issue. The university had already failed him by trying to cover up the incident from two years ago.
Oklahoma should have tried to get Mixon help and to a new team, but had to accept that once he struck that woman that his Sooner career was over. A lesser player would not have been given this type of preferential treatment. Mixon looks inconsequentially better, Oklahoma still looks bad, and Stoops looks worse.
Final Thought: Trying to get this distraction out of the way before the holidays and a week or so before the Allstate Sugar Bowl isn’t going to help the Sooners’ chances against Auburn. Oklahoma was the better team by a considerable margin this season. The Mixon video drop makes Auburn now an overwhelming favorite to win a New Year’s Six bowl to improve to 9-4.
Shane Beamer fined for his role in the Wakeyleaks scandal
The Wakeyleaks scandal involving former Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coach turned radio personality giving other ACC football teams clandestine information about the Wake Forest program has been an eyesore of a scandal nobody needed to happen.
Initially, the University of Louisville was hit hard by accusations of their role in Wakeyleaks. Now former Virginia Tech Hokies coach Shane Beamer has been fined five figures for his role in the scandal.
Beamer is the son of former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, who retired at the end of the 2015 NCAA season. After his dad’s retirement, Beamer left Blacksburg to join Kirby Smart’s staff at the University of Georgia as the Bulldogs’ tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.
Final Thought: Maybe Beamer’s exit from Virginia Tech had something to do with his role in Wakeyleaks? He could have stayed on Justin Fuente’s staff in 2016. Long-time defensive coordinator Bud Foster retained his gig for Fuente. Beamer’s involvement in Wakeyleaks has the Virginia Tech program and now the Georgia program on notice. Not great publicity for a special teams coordinator.
Old Dominion Monarchs win first ever bowl game in the Bahamas Bowl
It’s not all bad news in the college football world on Friday, Dec. 23. A solid former FCS school turned Conference USA member in the Old Dominion Monarchs won their first ever bowl game on Friday.
Old Dominion defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles 24-20 in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl. The Monarchs improved to 10-3 on the year and have successfully transition to the Division I level as a football program.
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Final Thought: This means that Old Dominion can get some solid in-state players in the Commonwealth to play their college ball in Norfolk for the Monarchs. With Virginia looking like a major rebuilding project for Bronco Mendenhall in Charlottesville and whatever may come with Wakeyleaks up in Virginia Tech, Old Dominion can tell high school football players that they can play in and win bowl games with the Monarchs.