The best-kept secret in college football – or what was supposed to be, at least – was going to be revealed last Saturday. Then Facebook got in the way.

The secret was Notre Dame’s starting quarterback job, which went to sophomore Demetrius Jones. Three quarterbacks competed for the job and head coach Charlie Weis guarded the new starter like it was his ATM pin number. Weis responded with a sly smirk on his face as reporters pestered him for the starter, maintaining his best Phil Hellmuth impersonation.

Jones’ friends, however, wrote congratulatory notes on his Facebook wall. Paired with his high school coach saying Jones will start, the news leaked and the Facebook profile was used in stories around the country.

In college football, online sites like Facebook and MySpace allow reporters – or better said, bloggers – to stay informed.

It’s important to note that because of restrictions on viewing profiles outside of a given network, the information about these Facebook profiles come from second-hand sources. Screenshots are often taken and posted online, although the cynic can answer that one who is computer savvy – which most bloggers are – can recreate a Facebook profile.

Regardless, these profiles have been used as evidence in respected publications.

Even Syracuse’s opponent this weekend, Iowa, has run into its own Facebook problems. Hawkeyes receivers Dominique Douglas and Anthony Bowman allegedly used a stolen credit card for online shopping. Then someone went lurking around Facebook, and it was discovered that Douglas and Bowman had photos with backup quarterback Arvell Nelson-who was also fighting legal problems-that included the players flashing a few hundred dollars with liquor in hand.

Naturally, this created intrigue for Iowa reporters. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported 20 underage Iowa football players having Facebook photos involving alcohol-everything from holding a bottle to shotgunning beer. The Des Moines Register went on to name five starters under age 21 holding alcoholic beverages – and that was only among the starters with available Facebook profiles.

‘It’s a sign of the times first and foremost,’ Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said yesterday. ‘Coaching is no different than being a parent. You can’t take it for granted.’

Ferentz labeled the situation as players who exercised poor judgment. He said the irony is the football team has had two presentations in almost the past year – one last August and one in May – with social Web sites as the topic.

Yet if you picked up the student directory, selected a random student and went to the Facebook profile, it wouldn’t be a shock if that student had photos featuring activities that aren’t rare for college students.

Essentially, the players on the football team are just that – college students.

The difference is there are no blogs devoted to history classes, and those who visit message boards multiple times a day don’t discuss chemistry 101. Instead, they care about a football program’s bowl history and team chemistry.

Legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant said it best: ‘It’s hard to rally around a math class.’

The rules are different depending on sports, too. The curiosity isn’t as prevalent for volleyball and rowing as it is for football and basketball.

There are thousands of people who care about the quarterback and the point guard. If photos of players standing on the sideline draws excitement, it can explain why the obsession transcends to something substantive – like a provocative photo. That’s simply the double – edged sword of playing major college athletics: You get the adoration when things go well and the humiliation when they don’t.

Syracuse football players know this well, too. Defensive tackle Art Jones said the team has been informed of the dangers of posting too much information.

‘You just gotta be smart about it, Facebook and MySpace,’ Jones said. ‘I’m on it, but I don’t put pictures of me. We have meetings where they talk about the issues and be smart about it.’

‘It’s just another reminder that what they do is very public,’ Ferentz said. ‘Like it or not, that’s part of the responsibility of being an athlete, and they need to keep it in mind.’

Even something as arbitrary as one of those chain-letter questionnaires you filled out in middle school can gain attention. Take Michigan defensive lineman Marques Slocum who had one on Facebook in August. All it took was one curious onlooker for the interview to become news.

Slocum didn’t exactly endear himself to fans with his answers. Here is an example, according to the popular college football blog EveryDayShouldBeSaturday.com:

Q: Do you own any pets, and if so what do you have?

A: i got a (expletive) lion now come (expletive) wit me

Unfortunately for Slocum and Michigan, none of the questions asked how to contain Appalachian State. Although if that was a question, Slocum could have answered with his response to the question of his most memorable past:

‘(expletive) i couldnt tell u cuz i dont know’

But this is simply the reality of being in the public eye. It’s not fair, although neither is Louisville playing Murray State. One solution could be players exercising more caution. At the same time, they’re 20 year olds living under a wide-reaching microscope.

The lesson also goes to the coaches and athletic departments that try building barriers around the athletes and create an image of invincibility. The intentions are noble – they want to ensure privacy. Instead, they breed curiosity. They can build a wall around their players, their practices and their programs, but they might be surprised by checking their players’ Facebook walls.

Zach Berman is the sports columnist for The Daily Orange, where his columns appear every Wednesday and other select days throughout the semester. E-mail him at zberman@syr.edu.

Published on September 4, 2007 at 12:00 pm