Hi, Otto, we've talked several times about this. The disparity has been, as you said, "amplified" considerably for factors beyond simply the BCS payouts that are, in context, relatively small parts of the athletic budgets for each school. The BCS "branding" contributes to this disparity, too, but it has always existed. The difference is that it is heightened by the economic climate and schools that have relied heavily on subsidy may face some harsh political realities soon.

Astute observation, Jimmy. I do think he gets more right than he gets wrong, and that as we get closer to the draft, his lists get more accurate as teams make evaluations and the players do their pro days. My guess is Joe goes 5th round but I think he will make a team and be a contributor as a nickle back and special teams demon. But that's just a guess. I'm no Mel Kiper Jr. LOL

Yes, olemisscowboy, things could be worse. You could be from Mississi....oh, sorry.

I don't have a problem with SEC teams scheduling I-AA teams. In a 12-game schedule, I think one every now and then is fine. Two is outrageous, though. I also believe the BCS conference teams should stop being so greedy and should go on the road more against non-BCS teams. I think every game should be returned. It could be a 2-for-1, 3-for-1, heck, even a 5-for-1, but I think the "buy" mentality is ultimately unhealthy for the game and it would be great if we saw some of the major teams going on the road to places we don't normally see them. Also, if you are going to schedule a I-AA, schedule the worst one you can find! Your fans won't know the difference between Appalachian State and Charleston Southern, but there is a BIG difference on the field, hahahaha.

RC ... Troy, FIU = Memphis, UAB Charleston Southern = Southeastern Louisiana. Are you saying Northern Arizona = Florida State? Stop defending the indefensible and instead just repeat after me: "Ole Miss' non-conference schedule is an embarrassment to the school and the Southeastern Conference. There is no excuse for it, under any circumstances. The school should have to pay its fans to watch these garbage games instead of ripping them off and insulting them by asking them to buy tickets." You will feel better.

Captain Reduntant: It's April 11. Didn't you get the memo? :)

Cartman, I agree the weak nonconference schedule probably won't hurt Ole Miss. Probably not going to the BCS and probably will be bowl eligible no matter what with at least seven wins, probably 2-3 more.

LSU all-time schedule and scores: http://www.jhowell.net/cf/scores/LouisianaState.htm. So RebFan, when does that home-and-home with Southern Miss start?

whodareb -- fact or not that Ole Miss scheduled two I-AA teams? Who cares how they got on there? It's pathetic. Tell your AD to pick up the phone and call that school in Hattiesburg, or stop defending the indefensible. BTW, I'm pretty sure no other SEC school has ever scheduled two I-AA opponents in the same season except ... Ole Miss, who also did it in 1996. Joe Smith -- "week" schedule? I take it you graduated from Ole Miss with honors?

DC -- it is my understanding that FSU wants to continue bringing some of its home games to "neutral" sites. The adminsitration sees those games as opportunities to expand the fan base and to reach alumni around the state. I expect they will return to Jax but I don't think it will be an every-year thing.

Thanks for the thoughts, Kilroy. I am always available to discuss coverage (or anything else college sports) and you know where to find me ... To your point, this year we've written more on FSU basketball than Florida, especially as it became apparent FSU was better than Florida (something virtually no one being objective back in November would have predicted). Andrew Carter has done a fabulous job covering the team, often providing information, analysis and interviews available nowhere else. As to placement on the Web site ... FSU story was up as soon as it was in and ready. ... UF was featured during a small window when UF and Miami readers might've wanted to find out more about the game. Yes, thankfully, people still come to newspapers for that. :) I am all for more coverage of all our schools. Trust me, we're planning more coverage of our colleges than ever before. Which, really, was the point of David's column. While some papers are scaling back in diffuclt times -- even pulling beat writers out of Tallahasee -- our plan is to do more with our major college teams than ever before. I don't expect people to like or agree with all we do, but I think we offer some of the best coverage of Florida State sports available. Also understand that, unlike newsprint where it is difficlt to track what people actually read, the Web gives us instant information. I don't say this to be flippant in any way, but I have been stunned at the low numbers in comparison to other things on our site considering this is the best FSU team in a decade. When you say things we write or how we place them fuel the perceptions about us, then I have to counter that some of those page-view counts might fuel perceptions about interest in FSU. This is important because things that have a track record of drawing readers will be featured prominently. As to my columns, I was a columnist long before I joined the Sentinel so I'm not trying to "be Bianchi." Mike is a great columnist. I've got my own voice and my own take on things. In my columns I'm going to call it like I see it, regardless of school. People are free to agree or disagree. And lastly, thanks for reading. Your points are well taken and appreciated, as always.

Kilroy, FSU basketball preview, including column by Bianchi praising FSU basketball, was the centerpiece throughout the day, until it was changed to FSU football (letter from Miles Brand, breaking news) in the late afternoon. It was changed back to FSU basketball briefly. Then switched to the breaking news on the UF-Miami basketball game while we waited on the FSU game to be played. As soon as the FSU game was final and Carter filed a story within minutes of the final horn, FSU became the centerpiece again where it remains as of 5:55 p.m. Saturday. Andrew updated the story just for FSU readers with notes and quotes that we were unable to get into the newspaper because of the late start and our deadlines. That is a a significant amount of time for a non-Magic basketball story to be featured so prominently on our Web site.

Kilroy, what ae you talking about. FSU is the centerpiece on the front page of sports, right now, as well as for most of the day.

I think FSU probably gets the wins back, but it may come at a high price.

Hi Kilroy -- you sort of made my point for me. You guys act like FSU was hammered. It got incredibly light penalties that, on the field (or court or whatever) are going to have very little if any impact on the program going forward. FSU got those light penalties because it cooperated and self-reported. If it had not done so and the NCAA had gotten this case, the penalties could have been devastating. The way I figure it, Bowden's chance at record may have been gone anyway because his team could have been decimated scholars-ship wise. FSU got penalized in a tangible way without program-destroying penalties.

Actually, Mike, Alan is correct. Steve Spurrier was hired at Florida after violations that occurred when Hall was coach. Hall became coach after the violations under Pell. Florida received significant sanctions but was not given the NCAA 'death penalty' as a repeat violator, which the NCAA could have done. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068987/index.htm

Actually, Marc, it is fact that FSU agreed with the findings in the NCAA report. How those facts came to be agreed upon is not relevant to my point. What do you think the penalty should be? I vote for 15 scholarships in football spread over three years, with a cap of 80 total at any time in the four-year probationary window (comparable to New Mexico's punishment in a similar case). If FSU offers that up, then Coach Bowden can have his wins back.

Thanks, Chris. The Bulls do indeed have a couple of good opponents. A couple even come to Tampa. But that still leaves a lot of room for buffet-munching from the dessert tray. Let's play a guessing game. Let's see if we can predict USF's fill-in opponents on upcoming schedules. 2011 Schedule Sept. 3 -- CHERRY STRUDEL Sept. 10 BALL STATE Sept. 17 -- CHOCOLATE BEAR CLAW Oct. 1 at Notre Dame Nov. 26 MIAMI 2012 Schedule Sept. 8 -- CREAM CHEESE DANISH Sept. 15 -- JELLY DOUGHNUT Sept. 22 at Ball State Sept. 29 FLORIDA STATE Nov. 24 at Miami Ok, I'm just kidding. But let's seriously take a guess. Who would be the absolutely worst, weakest, embarrassing opponent USF could schedule? Worse even than Stony Brook or Charleston Southern or Wofford? In other words, who does Jim Leavitt have on speed dial? And no, you can't say UCF.

Thanks to those of you who called. And yes, for print, we need names. That's just the way it is for print, unlike the message boards. Our story is with the rest of the stories on the NCAA case here on the Web site.

Kilroy, to answer your question -- yes, the Gator beat "hack" as you call him, Jeremy Fowler, is restricted to watching road games on TV or listening to the radio. He did so on important games such as Kentucky and Tennessee, among others, as well as tonight's game at Mississippi State. Jeremy has not made a Gators basketball trip in 2009. In the past we have only attended a couple of road games per team each season. In year's past we did employ freelancers for many road games, but to be honest, given our deadlines and the late starts for many of the games, they cannot provide you what Andrew is able to provide. At least Andrew knows the team inside and out and can approach coverage from a FSU perspective. A freelancer I hire also would be unable to provide Andrew's insight on this blog during and after the game. Andrew will be attending the ACC Tournament and any NCAA Tournament games the Seminoles play.

The winning percentages are interesting and, on the whole, a fairly good indicator of competitiveness, but they are not the be-all, end-all the MWC would like them to be. Remember they chose criteria that would put them in the most favorable position. You have to look closer at those records. Who did they play? C-USA and Sun Belt have horrible records, but how many of those games took place on opponents' home fields? How many were buy games with little chance of victory? How many of the MWC games were much more reasonable, vs. mid-level BCS teams as opposed to SEC heavyweights on the road with SEC officials? The real dividing line is scheduling equity -- not BCS labels. The MWC because it has decent attendance and stronger financial position is better able to schedule more equitably with a reasonable opportunity for success. Just like the BCS leagues (four of which have LOSING records vs. the other BBCS leagues). The MWC is able to get return games vs. BCS league teams, something that rarely if ever happens for the WAC, MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt.

This isn't college basketball and there are not empty stadiums in the regional finals and final four, anyway. Do you mean those games would be half-empty like the Orange Bowl last year?

Memphis would be one of the top teams in any conference, and should be ranked no lower than fifth. People who bash their schedule haven't done their research. Memphis has one of the best SOS, both rating just out of conference and combined OOC/conference, of the top 10 teams. C-USA is not as strong at the bottom as the big six but Memphis plays an elite schedule and recruits elite players. The Tigers are, and historically have been over the last 40 years, one of the better basketball programs in America.

Henry: We have written about your topic -- from all perspetives -- many times. The Sentinel's Iliana Limon had a multiple-story package on the BCS future just a couple of weeks ago that looked at its structure, how it was created, the chances that the autobids might change, the possibilities for an antitrust lawsuit, etc. More are planned. Also, the Associated Press poll is not part of the BCS formula, and yes, the AP voluntarily withdrew.

Bianchi has his own blog, www.orlandosentinel.com/openmike