Conversation once again turned toward football’s new rules on the Double-A Zone last week. Most bloggers are unhappy with the rules that shorten college football games and they hope that the Football Rules Committee will re-evaluate those decisions at the end of the season.

A number of bloggers seemed uninterested that scoring is down less than a point through the first weeks of the 2006 season. They would prefer to see fewer commercials and more plays in the broadcast of college football games.

There was also passionate conversation about the waiver the NCAA provided for Clemson University student-athlete Ramon McElrathbey, who is raising his 11-year-old brother.

The Double-A Zone also garnered discussion on the parity of college football. After Division II teams upset five Division I Football Championship Subdivision teams on the second Saturday of the season, research showed that the success wasn’t unprecedented. Bloggers were somewhat surprised to find that Football Championship Subdivision teams have defeated non-Division I opponents only 71.5 percent of the time since 2000.

NCAA President Myles Brand has shared thoughts during the past two weeks on his weekly podcast, "Mondays With Myles." Two weeks ago, President Brand reflected on the five-year anniversary of September 11 and discussed his memories of the historic day. Last week, he discussed why he set 80 percent as a goal for the Graduation Success Rate in Division I programs.

Middle Tennessee State University softball student-athlete Shelby Stiner shared her September blog with the Double-A Zone and discussed her return to the Murfreesboro campus. Adelphi University cross country student-athlete Matt Dispensa shared how he balances early morning practices with a full day of classes.

The NCAA’s official blog can be found at www.doubleazone.com. To find out how to submit a guest post or a note for Morning Coffee, contact Josh Centor (jcentor@ncaa.org).