ESPN is reporting that more than 20 Florida State University football players will not be playing in their bowl game on December 31st--the earlier mentioned Gaylord Hotels Motor City Bowl--for their involvement in "an academic cheating scandal involving an Internet-based course." More details:

"The school's investigation found that a tutor gave students answers while they were taking tests and filled in answers on quizzes and typed papers for students."

So what did the students actually do, then? This isn't the SAT, where you get 400 points for writing your name, so that doesn't count. What makes this situation truly alarming:

1. This is Florida State, not Harvard. How hard can the classes be?
2. Football players take all the easy classes anyway.
3. It's an internet course. Seriously. Isn't it easy enough to just use the book while you're taking the test or something?

The more I think about it, the more I feel like these guys just cheated on my second grade math test--and still failed.

UPDATE: Florida State will be playing without 36 players and will have to forfeit games for using ineligible players. Bobby Bowden, their coach, is still supposed to return next year, but an academic adviser has resigned and a student tutor has been fired.