Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Alamo Bowl

Oklahoma State vs. Arizona

  
   Oklahoma State looks to cap a memorable year with a school-record 11th victory in San Antonio's Alamo Bowl on Wednesday night when it squares off against an Arizona team hoping to salvage a win from a disappointing final two months of the season.

   The 16th-ranked Cowboys (10-2) were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 South this season, but ended up tying for the division title and setting a school record with 10 regular-season wins.  They are making a school-record fifth straight bowl appearance. 

    The Wildcats seemed like they might be headed to a BCS bowl earlier this year, climbing as high as ninth in the rankings, but four straight losses to close the regular season quickly ended those hopes. Arizona is still appearing in a third consecutive bowl game, matching the school's previous best string from 1992-94.

   Oklahoma State leads the FBS in total offense at 537.6 yards per game, ranks third in scoring at 44.9 points and boasts three skill position players named to the all-Big 12 first team.

   Justin Blackmon is the conference's player of the year, the Biletnikoff Award winner and a first-team All-American after leading the nation with 151.4 receiving yards per game and 18 touchdown catches. He needs eight yards against Arizona to break the NCAA sophomore receiving yards record of 1,672, set by Pittsburgh's Larry Fitzgerald in 2003. Blackmon has tied an NCAA record with 11 straight games of 100 yards receiving with a TD.

   Brandon Weeden was second in the country in yards passing per game (336.4) and fifth in touchdown passes (32). He has also thrown for 4,037 yards.

   Blackmon was joined on the All-American first team by running back Kendall Hunter. The senior is seventh in the nation with 126.3 rushing yards per game and ran for 16 TDs.  He did all this while rushing for 1,516 yards.

   Since the start of November, the Wildcats have allowed an average of 456.0 yards, 20th-worst in the FBS, and an average of 36.0 points, 27th-worst.  This is after a 7-1 start, where they were 10th nationally in points and yards allowed.

  
   While the Wildcats' defense needs to tighten up, the offense heads into the bowl playing some of its best football.

   Nick Foles has passed for 1,063 yards with nine touchdowns to just one interception in his last three games. He threw for 2,911 and 19 touchdowns the entire season.  The junior leads the Pac-10 in passing with an average of 291.1 yards and his favorite target, first-team all-conference selection Juron Criner, led the league with 73 receptions and 1,186 yards.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 49, Arizona 41

Texas Bowl

Illinois vs. Baylor

   Baylor clinched its first winning season since 1995 and earned a bowl bid for the first time since losing 10-3 to Washington State in the 1994 Alamo Bowl.

   Averaging 32.6 points and ranked 12th nationally in total yards per game (478.5), Baylor has the potential to present another challenge for the Illini, who give up an average of 24 ppg, but have had Michigan score 67 on them and Minnesota score 38. 

   Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III ranks seventh in the country averaging 315.5 yards of total offense and has thrown for nearly 3,200 yards and 21 touchdowns.

  
   Senior Jay Finley's 1,155 yards rank second on Baylor's single-season rushing list. He ran for 250 yards on 26 caries in a 47-42 home win over Kansas State on Oct. 23.  Kendall Wright's 66 receptions for a career-high 825 yards lead a group of four Bears receivers with at least 40 catches.
   
   Mikel Leshoure led all Big Ten running backs with 1,513 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.  Leshoure ranks eighth in the country with 126.1 rushing yards per game.

   Nathan Scheelhaase has thrown for 1,583 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first collegiate season.  He has shown why he was one of the country's best dual-threat quarterback recruits, as he has rushed for 815 yards and four touchdowns.

   A.J. Jenkins is Scheelhaase's favorite target, having caught 50 balls for 694 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prediction: Baylor 35, Illinois 21

Military Bowl

East Carolina vs. Maryland

   This game makes for an interesting case as Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen will no longer be the coach of the Terps after the game.  After winning ACC Coach of the Year in 2010, the Maryland Athletic Department decided to buy out Friedgen.

   Maryland (8-4) is back in a bowl game for the first time since beating Nevada 42-35 in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl in Boise.  Maryland's return to the postseason came after the Terps dropped their last seven games of 2009 and finished 2-10.
   
   The Pirates are centered around a passing game that is among the best in the nation, averaging 319.3 yards with 37 touchdowns.

   Dominique Davis shattered team records with 36 TD passes, 3,699 yards and 358 completions -- 99 more than the previous mark. The junior, in his first season at East Carolina, connected on 64.9 percent of his throws and had 14 interceptions.

   Davis threw 18 TDs and four picks while posting a 145.2 rating over the last five games.
Receivers Dwayne Harris and Lance Lewis are Davis' top targets. Harris has a Conference USA-high 93 receptions along with 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Lewis' 78 catches are third in the league, and he has a team-best 13 TD receptions and 979 yards.
   
   While East Carolina's offensive power is clear, the defense has had major problems. The unit is the worst in the country, allowing averages of 43.4 points and 478.8 yards -- 220.8 rushing.  The Pirates have given up 54.8 points per game over the last five contests.

   Terps freshman Danny O'Brien is coming off a stellar performance in the season finale, going 33 of 47 for 417 yards and throwing four touchdowns to Torrey Smith. O'Brien has thrown for 2,257 yards, 21 scoring passes and six interceptions.

   Torrey Smith is tied for the ACC lead with 12 TD catches and has 1,045 receiving yards.

Prediction:  East Carolina 49, Maryland 40

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Insight.com Bowl

Missouri vs. Iowa

   This matchup features teams going in different directions.  Iowa started the season ranked ninth and started the season 7-2, including a demolishing of then- fifth-ranked Michigan State.  But the Hawkeyes struggled down the stretch, losing their last three and struggling to defeat Indiana.  The Tigers, on the other hand, are on a three-game winning streak, one in which they have scored 35 points or more twice.

   Not only has Iowa had its problems on the field, but it has ended the season with some major off the field problems as well.  All-time leading receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was arrested on drug charges and therefore suspended by Coach Kirk Ferentz,  Then Adam Robinson, the team's leading rusher who had rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns was also suspended, he for failing to "comply with team expectations and policies."  The two backup running backs also left the team, leaving true freshman Marcus Coker as the starter.

   Luckily for Iowa, they still have quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who threw for 2,804 yards and 25 touchdowns, while throwing a career-low four interceptions.  With Johnson-Koulianos out, he will rely on St. Louis-native Marvin McNutt, who led the team with 51 grabs for 798 yards and eight touchdowns.  Coker rushed for 403 yards and two touchdowns in limited duty.

   But it'd not only the offense that the Tigers need to worry about.  The Iowa defense is quite stout itself being led by yet another St. Louis-native, defensive end Adrian Clayborn.  Clayborn has 51 tackles, including seven for loss and three and a half sacks.  The defensive backfield is also quite talented, led by Tyler Sash and Shaun Prater also were named first-team all-Big Ten. Sash was third on the Hawkeyes with 73 tackles and Prater tied for the team lead with four interceptions.

   Up to this year, Missouri had been known for its explosive offense.  Well this year, the Tigers have their best defense in years and it is paying off for them.  They are giving up only 15 ppg, which is fifth in the nation.  Linebackers Andrew Gachkar and Zaviar Gooden lead the team with 81 and 79, tackles, respectively, while six players have two interceptions and four more with one.  The team has forced 27 turnovers on the year.

   But that's not to say the Tiger offense hasn't been explosive.  The team is averaging 30 points per game and has become a more balanced offense this year.  While Blaine Gabbert has thrown for over 2,700 yards and 15 touchdowns, four Tigers, including Gabbert have rushed for 239 yards or more.  The team is led by De'Vion Moore who has run for 485 yards and eight touchdowns.

   After losing starters Danario Alexander and Jared Perry, everyone wondered who would step up to be the next in a recent run of great receivers.  Four receivers have 32 catches or more.  T.J. Moe leads the squad with 77 catches for 893 yards and six touchdowns.  Michael Egnew continues the line of recent Mackey Award finalists/winners and All-American tight ends after catching 83 balls for 698 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Missouri 34, Iowa 21

Champs Sports Bowl

NC State vs. West Virginia

   West Virginia ranks second in the FBS in scoring defense at 12.8 points, second in rush defense at 85.1 yards and third in total defense at 251.3 yards. The squad ended the regular season playing some of its best football, allowing four touchdowns over the last four games.

   The Mountaineers also have a skilled quarterback in Geno Smith, who was second in the Big East with 2,567 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, both second most in school history behind Marc Bulger's 3,607 yards and 31 TDs in 1998.  Smith threw for a career-best 352 yards in the finale. He has one interception in his last five games.  The running game is led by Noel Devine, who has had a rough senior season, rushing for only 886 yards and six touchdowns, far fewer than what was expected after last season's nearly 1,500 yard and 14 touchdown season.

  
   That defense will look to stop a North Carolina State offense that was second in the ACC with 32.6 points per game. The unit revolves around Russell Wilson, who led the conference with 3,288 passing yards and 26 touchdowns.

   Wilson, who finished two points shy of Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor for All-ACC first-team honors, had eight 300-yard passing games and attempted 60 passes in the regular-season finale. The junior is also a dangerous runner, rolling up 394 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

Prediction: N.C. State 31, West Virginia 27

Monday, December 27, 2010

Independence Bowl

Georgia Tech vs. Air Force

   If you like running attacks, this is the game for you.  Georgia Tech and Air Force are the nations No. 1 and 2 teams in terms of rushing, with the Jackets rushing for 327 ypg, while the Falcons rush for 318. The teams combined for 299 pass attempts.

   The Yellow Jackets, however, could be without their most versatile threat. Quarterback Joshua Nesbitt broke his arm against Virginia Tech on Nov. 4 and it's uncertain if he'll be ready to play. Sophomore Tevin Washington has filled in, but he hasn't been as productive.In nine games, Nesbitt, a first-team All-ACC selection last year when the Yellow Jackets won the conference, is second on the team with 737 rushing yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns. He's also passed for 674 yards and seven scores.  Washington, meanwhile, rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 292 and two scores.

   Luckily for Georgia Tech, running back Anthony Allen has stepped up his game as of late, averaging over 138 ypg the last four games.  He has rushed for 1,225 yards and six scores on the season.  Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Yellow Jackets will be without leading receiver Stephen Hill, who was one of four players declared academically ineligible. Hill had 15 receptions for 291 yards and three touchdowns.

   Unlike Georgia Tech, Air Force seems to be peaking at the right time. The Falcons have won three in a row by a combined score of 125-65. They closed the regular season with a 35-20 victory at UNLV on Nov. 18.

   Air Force is led in rushing by junior Asher Clark, who ran for 1,001 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Tim Jefferson has a team-high 15 rushing touchdowns and 769 yards on the ground.

   The Falcons also could have another threat if Jared Tew is be cleared to play. He suffered a broken fibula against San Diego State on Oct. 16 after rushing for 540 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Little Caesar's Bowl

Florida International vs. Toledo

The Rockets return to postseason play for the first time in five years in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl against FIU, which will be making the first bowl appearance in its history.

Toledo, who had lost 16 games over the previous two seasons, improved dramatically this year under second-year coach Tim Beckman. They finished second in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference, and three of their losses were to teams also playing in bowls -- Boise State, Northern Illinois and Arizona.

While reaching this bowl is a great reward for Toledo, it's a remarkable achievement for FIU, which is in just its ninth season of play at any level and sixth year in the FBS. The Golden Panthers' six wins this season comprise one-fifth of their 30 victories all-time.

The Golden Panthers averaged 38.0 points while winning four of their final five games. Their offense is led by  running backs Darriet Perry (707 yards and 14 TDs in 2010) and Darrian Mallary (669 yards, two TDs). Quarterback Wesley Carroll, completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 2,483 yards with 15 TDs.

Toledo lost starting quarterback Austin Dantin to a shoulder injury during an Oct. 30 victory over Eastern Michigan, but replacement Terrance Owens doesn't seem to have missed a beat. A redshirt freshman, Owens has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. Owens will look to get the ball to sophomore wideout Eric Page, who had 94 receptions for 1,081 yards and eight TDs this season. The explosive Page also scored three touchdowns on kickoff returns.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii vs. Tulsa

   If you like offense, this is the bowl for you.  Both of these teams feature one of the top offense in the nation, with Hawaii ranking eighth nationally at 497 yards per game, while Tulsa is fifth at 504 yards per game.

   Hawaii is back ladies and gentlemen.  After a rough two years, the Warriors are back on the national stage and going for their third 11-win season in five years.  The resurgence is led by quarterback Bryant Moniz who, like former Warrior qb's Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan, loves to sling the ball around.  Moniz has thrown for 4,629 yards and 36 touchdowns, while completing two-third of his passes.  Greg Salas has caught 106 passes for 1,675 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Kealoha Pilares has 88 catches for 1,306 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns.  While their main source of offense is through the air, their running game has been somewhat potent as well.  Alex Green has run for 1,168 yards and 17 touchdowns. 

   G.J. Kinne has been masterful running the spread offense and was named the Conference USA offensive player of the year. He threw for 3,307 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 557 yards and seven scores. Kinne is fourth in the FBS in total offense at 322.0 yards per game, helping Tulsa rank fifth in total offense with 503.5 yards, 15th in rushing (219.3) and 16th in passing (284.2).  Tulsa has four players with at least 333 rushing yards. One of them is the multi-threat Damaris Johnson, who may be the team's most dangerous player aside from Kinne.  Johnson, a wide receiver, was the C-USA special teams player of the year and is the all-time FBS leader with 3,308 kickoff return yards. He is averaging 27.4 yards on kickoff returns and 12.5 on punt returns, scoring one touchdown in each fashion.  He's also rushed for 462 yards and 9.2 per carry while adding team highs of 53 receptions and 771 yards. Johnson is averaging 191.8 yards of offense.
   
   Safety Mana Silva tied for the FBS lead with eight interceptions, helping Hawaii to a nation-best 23 INTs, and is the school's all-time leader with 14. Linebackers Corey Paredes and Aaron Brown combined for seven, with Brown running two of his three INTs back for touchdowns.

   Tulsa registered 19 picks, six each by defensive backs Dexter McCoil and Marco Nelson. The Golden Hurricane, though, rank 84th in scoring defense at 29.9 points per game and 107th in total defense with an average of 442.6 yards allowed.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Las Vegas Bowl

Boise State vs. Utah

   Three weeks ago, Boise State was playing for a chance to go to the National Championship game.  Today, they're playing in the Las Vegas Bowl against Utah, who themselves thought they could crash the BCS party in as late as October.  Two missed field goals dropped the Broncos from number three in the polls into playing in the December 22nd bowl.

   Even in their loss to Nevada, the Broncos offense seemed too good to be true.  Kellen Moore is completing 71 percent of his passes, while throwing for 3,506 yards, 33 touchdowns and a mere five interceptions.  Doug Martin has rushed for 1,113 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Backup Jeremy Avery, despite rushing 100 fewer times, has also rushed for 11 touchdowns.  Moore has two studs to throw the ball to, in Titus Young and Austin Pettis.  Young, an All-American, has caught 65 passes for 1,151 yards and nine touchdowns.  Pettis, meanwhile, has caught 59 balls for 804 yards and nine touchdowns.  Their nearly 47 ppg is second in the nation.

   Utah will be playing with their backup quarterback, Terrence Cain, who will be filling in for Jordan Wynn, who is out after having shoulder surgery.  Luckily for the Utes, Cain has a 9-1 record as a starter.  With this, Utah will probably have to rely on it's tandem of running backs, Eddie Wide (683 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Matt Asiata (673 yards, eight touchdowns).  That's not necessarily a good thing, because they are going up against a Boise State team that allows 103 yards per game, sixth in the nation.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Beef O'Brady's Bowl Preview

Southern Miss vs. Louisville

Southern Miss will play in its ninth straight postseason game, while Louisville is making their first bowl since their 2007 Orange Bowl appearance.  The Cardinals improved from 65th to 12th in the FBS with 304.7 yards allowed per game, but will face a Southern Miss offense that ranks 15th in the FBS with 37.6 points and 458.2 yards per game.

Louisville will possibly go with three quarterbacks in the bowl game, as Justin Burke will start, but Adam Froman and Will Stein might also play.  The one good thing for the Cardinal offense is that running back Bilal Powell is going to play.  Coming off of an all-conference selection this season, he has rushed for 1,330 yards and 10 touchdowns.  His 1,330 yards ranked second in the conference behind Uconn's Jordan Todman, who rushed for 1,574 yards this season.

Unlike the Cardinals, Southern Miss relies on its offense to win games.  Seven of 12 games saw them score at least 40 points, while three more saw them score 31 points or more.  Their 38 ppg is good for 15th in the country.  Quarterback Austin Davis has thrown for 3,898 yards and 18 touchdowns, while also rushing for over 400 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns.  Junior Kelvin Bolden has made quite a splash in his collegiate debut, having caught 41 balls for 667 yards and six touchdowns.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Poinsettia Bowl

San Diego State vs. Navy

   At first glance, you would think that this game was kind of an unfair advantage in favor of the Aztecs.  Not only is the game being played in San Diego, but in SDSU's home stadium as well.  But then when it is brought up that there is quite a Navy presence in the area, that theory is thrown out the window.

   Anyway, back to football.  Coach Brady Hoke has led an incredible turnaround of the San Diego State program.  Just last season, the team was 4-8.  The Aztecs are playing in a bowl game for the first time since 1998, which coincidentally was the last time they had a winning record.  The offense is led by quarterback Ryan Lindley, who led the Mountain West with 3,554 yards passing and 26 touchdowns, tied with TCU's Andy Dalton for most in the conference.  And Lindley has two targets he loves in Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson.  Brown has 61 catches for 1,187 yards and nine touchdowns, while Sampson has 65 grabs for 1,175 yards and eight scores.  The running game isn't that shabby either, as it's led by Ronnie Hillman, who has over 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

   As what has seemed like it has always been, the triple option is the bread and butter of the Navy offense.  As a team, the Midshipmen have rushed for nearly 3,500 yards and 36 touchdowns, which comes out to 289 rushing yards per game, which ranks fifth nationally.  Quarterback Ricky Dobbs is the catalyst of the offense, having run for 860 yards and 13 touchdowns.  Alexander Teich is second on the team with 825 yards and five touchdowns.  Dobbs has also thrown for 1,380 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Humanitarian Bowl Preview

Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

This game will be an interesting one in the fact that Northern Illinois will be playing with an interim coach because their head coach left to become the coach at Minnesota two days after their loss in the MAC title game to Miami (OH).  How the team will react is to be seen.

After an unblemished 8-0 conference record in the regular season, the Huskies earned their first ranking since 2003 and second overall.  It was very short-lived, however, as they suffered their first loss to a MAC team in the conference championship game.  Soon after their coach, Jerry Kill, left  to take over the head coaching duties in Minnesota.  The Gophers are going to have to stop a vaunted Huskie rushing attack.  Their 265 yards per game rank them seventh in the NCAA and their 38 ppg is 13th.  The running attack is headed by the running back-quarterback tandem of Chad Spann (1,293 yds, 20 TD) and quarterback Chandler Harnish (764 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 2.230 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns and only five interceptions).

While the Bulldogs' statistics don't jump out at you like NIU's, they are a very balanced attack, throwing for 214 yards per game and rushing for 157.  Ryan Colburn has thrown for 2,529 yards and 21 touchdowns, while his backfield mate Robbie Rouse has rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns.  The offense will be tested against a Northern Illinois defense that is giving up 19 points per game.  In their wins, Fresno State is averaging 32.ppg, while scoring only 25 ppg in their four losses.

New Mexico Bowl Preview

BYU vs. UTEP

The New Mexico Bowl features a team from the Mountain West (BYU) and Conference USA (UTEP).  UTEP comes into this bowl as possibly one of the few teams that had a losing record in conference play, after finishing 3-5, en route to a 6-6 record.  After starting the season 5-1, the Miners lost five of their next six games, including three games in which they lost by 10 points of fewer, two of those being by four and three points, respectively.

The Miners don't do anything amazing and are middle of the road in all of the major statistics.  They are 60th in passing yards (220 yd/pg), 69th in rushing yards (150 yds/gm), 70th in scoring offense (26 pts/gm) and 58th in points allowed (25 pts/gm).  The offense is led by quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who has thrown for over 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns.  His favorite target is Kris Adams, who has 44 catches for 917 yards and 11 touchdowns.

BYU is the complete opposite of their opponents.  They started 1-4, before winning five of their next seven to finish 6-6 and third in the Mountain West.  The Cougars are led by their defense and running game.  The defense is ranked 33rd in the country in total defense, after giving up only 339 yards per game.

The offense isn't too shabby either and has been quite stellar on third downs, converting on 45 percent of their opportunities, good enough for 27th in the country.  And all of this is done behind freshman quarterback Jake Heaps.  Heaps has thrown for 2,052 yards and 11 touchdowns in his rookie campaign.  His favorite target is JJ Di Luigi, who is also the team's leading rusher.  He has rushed for 819 yards and seven touchdowns, while hauling in 42 passes for 422 yards.

New Orleans Bowl Preview

Ohio vs. Troy

Despite playing in the MAC, Ohio has got to be one of the hottest teams coming into the bowl season.  Since October 2nd, the Bobcats have won six of their last seven games, their only setback coming in their season finale to Kent State.  This is the second straight bowl appearance for Ohio,which has never won a bowl game (five all-time appearances).

The Bobcats rely on their running game.  Their 169 ypg ranked 39th in the nation.  It is spear-headed by a tandem of Vince Davidson (509 yards, six touchdowns) and Phil Bates (508 yards and three touchdowns).  Three others have rushed for over 200 yards including quarterback Boo Jackson, who is third with 325 yards and leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns. 

The Trojans, on the other hand, are one of the most prolific passing offenses in the country.  Their 290 passing yards per game ranks 12th nationally and combined with their 151 rushing yards per ga,e they rank 24th in total offense with 441 yards per game.  Corey Robinson leads the offensive attack, having thrown for 3,339 yards and 24 touchdowns, while completing 62 percent of his passes.  The great thing about the offense is that they spread it out.  The top four wide receivers have 489 receiving yards or more and three of the four have caught five touchdowns.  Two others have caught three scores.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Cam Newton Reactions

We all know the story about Cam Newton and for most people, it just seems to get more and more interesting as we go along.  The NCAA delivered its opinion on the matter the other day and it could not have opened a bigger door for future violations.

The NCAA cleared Newton to compete without conditions, saying it was Cecil Newton and "an owner of a scouting service" — former Mississippi State player Kenny Rogers — who violated amateurism rules.

The NCAA became involved over the summer in investigating the pay-for-play scheme that was discussed during Newton's recruitment. Two Mississippi State boosters accused Cecil Newton and Rogers of trying to get up to $180,000 for Cam Newton to play for the Bulldogs while the quarterback was being recruited out of junior college last year.

"Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity, which led to his reinstatement," Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, said in a news release.

You have got to be kidding me.  The kid didn't actually know what his dad was doing?   Why would Cecil ask for money from Mississippi State but no other school?  Especially since Cam originally said that he wanted to go to MSU anyway?   That just doesn't seem right does it??  The only problem is that this will open a big can of worms that will allow future players do this and get away with it without any repercussions.

If you remember, in the summer a basketball player from Chicago, Anthony Davis, was accused of taking money from the University of Kentucky to give Coach Calipari an oral commitment.  Now, his dad, Anthony Davis Sr.,or other parents accused of doing the same thing have nothing to worry about because it can be claimed that the parent knew about the taking of the money and the player had no knowledge of it.  But how believable is all of this??

Pay for play has been going on for years and now it seems as if it will continue to be going on.  Unless this ruling is just one that is temporary until the NCAA is able to look further into the matter, it can be guaranteed that this practice will continue.  Especially since coaches can recruit kids as young as seventh grade, what's to say they won't start then?  If they do, one can only imagine the amount it can grow to until he gives whatever coach a commitment or letter of intent.

But have fun with this NCAA.  Have fun realizing what this has done to the game and that it makes it even more corrupt.  But don't forget, a kid NEVER knows what his parent is doing and is always the innocent one...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Rivalry Week Part 3

USC-Notre Dame

   ND and USC games count for five of the ten most-watched college football games in television history. The teams play for the Jeweled Shillelagh, a trophy that goes home with the winning team each year. Notre Dame currently leads the series 42-33-5. 

   The origin of the series is quite often recounted as a "conversation between wives" of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne and USC athletic director Gywnn Wilson. In fact, many sports writers often cite this popular story as the main reason the two schools decided to play one another. As the story goes, the rivalry began with USC looking for a national rival. USC dispatched Wilson and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Notre Dame was playing Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day.  On that day, Knute Rockne resisted the idea of a home-and-home series with USC because of the travel involved, but Mrs. Wilson was able to persuade Mrs. Rockne that a trip every two years to sunny Southern California was better than one to snowy, hostile Nebraska.  Mrs. Rockne spoke to her husband and on December 4, 1926, USC became an annual fixture on Notre Dame's schedule.

    Notre Dame and USC played their first game in 1926, a 13-12 win for the Irish. Rockne was quoted as saying it was the greatest game he ever saw. The following year, Notre Dame and USC would play a memorable game at Soldier Field in Chicago, a slim 7-6 Irish victory. An estimated 120,000 people were in attendance, a crowd that is considered to be one of the largest attended games in NCAA history.  USC's first win in the series also came during the same year they won their first national title in 1928. From 1928-1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the national title five straight years, with USC winning in 1928, 1931 and 1932, and Notre Dame winning in 1929 and 1930.  During this period, there was some talk of canceling the series, due to the long amount of travel time it took by train from South Bend to Los Angeles.  Rockne argued for the series against the Notre Dame faculty board and its chair, Father Mulcaire, countering that "he saw the day coming when most college teams will be going by air exclusively.

   Both schools combined have produced the most national titles (21), Heisman trophy winners (14), All-Americans, College Football Hall of Famers and future NFL Hall of Famers (21) than any other collegiate series.


Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

  
In 1900, in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) veterinary medicine professor Dr. L.L. Lewis assembled a group of A&M students to participate in the first territorial Track and Field Meet. Held on May 4, 1900, the event included Alva Normal College, Central Normal of Edmond, Kingfisher College and the University of Oklahoma, along with OAMC. The prize of the tournament was a silver cup donated by a local jeweler named Douglas. Surprisingly, A&M won the meet and returned to Stillwater with the traveling trophy.

   In 1901, A&M won again, and a third consecutive win would mean permanent retirement of the Douglas Cup in Stillwater. The meet was held on May 23, 1902, with the Aggies amassing the most points. Oklahoma filed a protest based on the pole vault competition not having been completed due to darkness, however, Oklahoma A&M claimed the Douglas cup.

   The next day the Sooners held their own vault competition and declared themselves the victor. Several weeks later, the Douglas Cup was missing from its place in a glass case at the Oklahoma A&M chemistry lab. Suspecting that OU students had stolen the Cup, a group of A&M students retrieved the Cup from Norman, supposedly burying it under Old Central for safekeeping.

   Ten years later, when excavation was being done for A&M's Gundersen Hall, the trophy was found.

  
   The first Bedlam game was held at Island Park in Guthrie, Oklahoma. It was a cold, and very windy day with the temperatures well below the freezing mark. At one moment in the game when the Oklahoma A&M Aggies were punting, the wind carried the ball backwards behind the kicker. If the Oklahoma A&M squad recovered the ball it would be a touchback and if the University of Oklahoma squad recovered it, it would be a touchdown. The ball kept going backwards and rolled down a hill into the half-frozen creek. Since a touchdown was at stake, members of both teams dove into the icy waters to recover the ball. A member of the OU team came out with the ball and downed it for a touchdown, eventually winning the game 75-0. Thus was the beginning of Bedlam.

   Author Steve Budin, whose father was a New York bookie, has recently publicized the claim that the 1954 Bedlam Game was fixed by mobsters in his book Bets, Drugs, and Rock & Roll. Allegedly, the mobsters threatened and paid off a cook to slip laxatives into a soup eaten by many OU Sooner starting players, causing them to fall violently ill in the days leading up to the game. OU was victorious in the end, but their 14-0 win did not cover the 20-point spread they had in their favor. However, many people involved in the 1954 contest do not recall any incident like the one purported by Bodin to have occurred.

   Oklahoma currently leads the series 81-16-7.

Rivalry Week Part 2

Michigan-Ohio State

   The annual match up between the two Midwest state schools has been held at the end of the regular season since 1935 (with exceptions in 1942, 1986, and 1998). Since 1918, the game's site has alternated between Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has been played in Ohio Stadium since 1922 and Michigan Stadium since 1927. Through 2009, Ohio State and Michigan have decided the Big Ten Conference championship between themselves on 22 different occasions, and have affected the determination of the conference title an additional 26 times. 

   The inaugural meeting between Ohio State and Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1897 resulted in a lopsided victory for Michigan, with the Wolverines posting a 34–0 win over Ohio State's Buckeyes. The first game foretold a long Michigan winning streak, with Michigan winning or tying every match from 1897 to 1912 and thereby compiling a 12–0–2 record before the contest was postponed for several years. The Ohio State Alma Mater "Carmen Ohio" was written on the train ride home to Columbus following the 1902 contest, which saw Ohio State losing to Michigan, 86–0. The lyrics and melody (Spanish Chant) have remained largely unchanged since its conception.

   The 1950 contest, known as the Snow Bowl, is perhaps the most famous game in the rivalry. Eighth-ranked Ohio State was scheduled to host the game on November 25 in Columbus amidst one of the worst blizzards on Ohio record. The Buckeyes, who led the Big Ten, were granted the option to cancel the game against Michigan, which would have, by default, given the Buckeyes the Big Ten title outright and won them a trip to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Ohio State refused, and the game was set to be played. Amid howling snow and wind, in what was probably the most literal example of a "field position" game, the teams exchanged 45 punts, often on first down, in hopes that the other team would fumble the ball near or into their own end zone. Ohio State's Vic Janowicz, who would claim the Heisman Trophy that year, punted 21 times for 685 yards and also kicked a field goal in the first quarter for the Buckeyes' only points. Michigan capitalized on two blocked punts, booting one out of the back of the end zone for a safety and recovering another one in the end zone for a touchdown just before halftime. Despite failing to gain a single first down or complete a single forward pass, Michigan gained a 9–3 victory, securing the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth.

   While Michigan leads the series 57–43–6, OSU has won the last six meetings.

Florida-Florida State

  
The University of Florida has fielded an official varsity football team every season since 1906, with the exception of 1943. Although Florida State College (one of the predecessor institutions of Florida State University) sponsored a varsity football team from 1902 to 1904, the Florida Legislature converted Florida State College into the Florida Female College, the state's new all-women's college in 1905. The college's name was changed to "Florida State College for Women" in 1909, and it remained so until the college became co-educational in 1947, when the modern Florida State football team was established.

   Almost immediately, Florida State's football coach, players and students began calling for the Gators to play the new Florida State football team. The University of Florida, however, was reluctant to treat Florida State as an equal. A proposed bill mandating that Florida play Florida State in football and other sports was proposed in 1955 but was voted down in the Florida Legislature. However, Florida Governor LeRoy Collins asked president J. Wayne Reitz of the University of Florida to schedule a yearly football series between the two state universities, and the two schools' athletic directors eventually negotiated a contract that started the football series in 1958.
   
   In an otherwise unremarkable game coming in to this 8th annual contest between the burgeoning rivals, this game established the rivalry in full due to the controversy that surrounded its outcome. In a tight contest, UF led the Seminoles late in the game, 22-19. FSU had the ball at the Gator 45 yard line with 17 second left in the game. On first down, wide receiver Lane Fenner entered the game in place of FSU's star receiver Ron Sellers. FSU quarterback Gary Pajcic took the snap, Fenner got behind UF defenders, and Pajcic lofted a pass to Fenner in the front corner of the end zone for what appeared to be a game-winning FSU touchdown. However, referee Doug Moseley signaled that Fenner did not have control of the ball before rolling out of bounds and ruled the pass incomplete

   UF ended up holding on for a 22-19 win, but the controversy heated up after the game when photos that apparently showed Fenner making the catch in the endzone were published in state newspapers. Debate over whether or not the play should have been ruled a touchdown continues to this day.

   The Gators lead the overall series 33–19–2, though have only had an 18–17–1 record against the Seminoles since Bobby Bowden became FSU’s head coach in 1976.

Utah-BYU

   The University of Utah (Utah) and Brigham Young University (BYU) have a longstanding athletic rivalry that encompasses several sports. The annual college football game is frequently referred to as the Holy War.  In the 1890s, when BYU was still known as Brigham Young Academy, the two schools started competing athletically.  Both schools were founded by the LDS church, have significant percentages of LDS students and faculty as well as many historical and customary affiliations with Mormonism such as LDS institutes and dry campuses. As much as religion is a common historical foundation for the rivalry, it has also been a source of animosity and many have sought to downplay the aspect of religion. BYU (aka "the Y") is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("LDS or Mormon Church"). The University of Utah (aka "the U") is a public state-owned school. Because this rivalry includes a "church vs. state" dimension, many fans of both schools use it as a forum to vent deeply held feelings and perceptions.

   Utah claims that the football rivalry began in the late 19th century, when Utah played the Brigham Young Academy six times between 1896–1899. BYU does not count these games in their official records, since it was not then known as BYU, but BYA. Furthermore, BYU claims that the first of those football games, a 12–4 Utah victory in April 1896, was in actuality a practice-scrimmage to prepare for the following fall season. But whether or not the game meant anything to the schools at the time, it certainly meant a great deal to the fans. At the end of the match, a fight broke out between fans of the two schools.

Georgia-Georgia Tech

   The two schools are separated by 70 miles (110 km) and have been heated rivals since 1893. 

   The first known hostilities between the two schools trace back to 1891. The University of Georgia's literary magazine declared the school's colors to be "old gold, black, and crimson." Dr. Charles H. Herty, the first UGA football coach, felt that old gold was too similar to yellow and that yellow "symbolized cowardice." Also in 1891, a student vote chose old gold and white as Georgia Tech's school colors. After the 1893 football game against Tech, Herty removed old gold as an official school color. Tech would first use old gold for their uniforms, as a proverbial slap in the face to UGA, in their first unofficial football game against Auburn in 1891. Georgia Tech's school colors would henceforth be old gold and white.

   The game has been played 104 times according to Georgia Tech and only 102 times according to Georgia record books. Georgia discredits two games in 1943 and 1944 (both years in which Georgia Tech won) because many of their players went to fight in World War II, though official college football records include the games.

   The record between the two teams is 60 Georgia wins, 39 Georgia Tech wins, and 5 ties.  


Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Rivalry Week Part 1

The last couple of weeks of the college football season always brings us some of the nation's top rivalries, and that is the case again this year.  There is a minimum of 13 rivalry games this weekend, highlighted by Missouri-Kansas, Texas-Texas A&M, Ohio State-Michigan and .  Here's a look at some, if not all, of them.

Texas-Texas A&M

   This is the first time the teams have met without Texas (5-6, 2-5) ranked in the Top 25 since 1998, when the Longhorns defeated the then-No. 6 Aggies 26-24 on a late field goal.  The Aggies started the season sluggishly, but have won five straight, pushing them into the top 20 in the country. The Longhorns were unable to recover from theirs and need a win to avoid missing a bowl game for the first time since 1997 -- also the last time they had a losing season.

   The football series between the two universities is the third longest running rivalry in all of college football.  Since 1900, the last regular season football game is usually reserved for their matchup. Each school mentions the other in their fight song (Texas with "and it's goodbye to A&M" in Texas Fight and the Aggies singing about Texas for essentially the entire second verse of the Aggie War Hymn).  In the past, mischief has preceded the annual game, such as "kidnapping" each other's mascots.  The Longhorns lead the series 75-36-5.

Auburn-Alabama

   The Iron Bowl is a common name for the college football game between the Auburn University Tigers and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide.  Auburn and Alabama played their first football game in Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 22, 1893.  Disagreement between the schools began immediately as Alabama considered the game to be the final matchup of the 1892 season and Auburn recorded it as the first of 1893.  The series was indeed suspended after the 1907 game when the schools could not come to agreement over the amount of expenses to be paid players, as well as from where officials for the game should be obtained.

   In 1947 the Alabama House of Representatives passed a resolution encouraging the schools to "make possible the inauguration of a full athletic program between the two schools." Ralph B. Draughon, the president of Auburn (then named the Alabama Polytechnic Institute), and Alabama president John Gallalee decided during the winter and spring of 1948 to end the disagreement and renew the series. The games would be played in Birmingham because it had the largest stadium in the state, 44,000-seat Legion Field, and the tickets would be split evenly between the two schools. Alabama won the first game when the series renewed 55–0, the most lopsided victory of the series.

   Auburn desired to make the Iron Bowl a "home-and-home" series, and the schools reached an agreement where Auburn could play their home games for the Iron Bowl in Auburn starting in 1989 (except for the 1991 game, which was played at Legion Field), and Alabama would have a "home" ticket allocation for games in Legion Field.  Since 1893, the Crimson Tide and Tigers have played 74 times. Alabama leads the all-time series, with 40 wins to Auburn's 33, with one tie. The game has been played in four cities: Auburn, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa. Alabama leads the series in Birmingham (34–18–1). Auburn leads the series in Tuscaloosa (6–1–0) and Auburn (7–3–0). The series is tied in Montgomery (2–2–0).

Kansas-Missouri

   The intense rivalry between the two universities can be traced to the open violence involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery elements that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of Missouri throughout the 1850s. These incidents were attempts by Missouri (a slave state) to influence whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state. The term Bleeding Kansas is often used to refer to the pre-war conflict, culminating with the burning and looting of Osceola, Missouri in 1861 by James Lane's Kansas Jayhawkers, which was a contributing factor to the Lawrence Massacre reprisal two years later. The raid on Lawrence was led by William Quantrill, a Kansas citizen who had actually taught school in Lawrence prior to the Civil War. SI.com supervising producer Dan George summed up the rivalry by stating "It's more than the schools -- it's a state thing going back to before the Civil War, when William Quantrill's Confederate guerillas burned Lawrence and murdered nearly 200 people. Neither Missouri nor Kansas folks have forgotten it." Those on the Missouri side are quick to point out that the Jayhawkers were guilty of the same things - crossing into Missouri, leading brutal raids and burning towns, and that Quantrill was part of a group that almost burnt down Columbia due to it being a Union stronghold.

   The 2007 football season brought the origins of the rivalry between the two states back into the spotlight. A t-shirt created by a Missouri alumnus gained national attention with its reference to Quantrill's Raid of 1863. The shirt depicted the burning of Lawrence in 1863 following the raid of William Quantrill and his Bushwhackers against the Jayhawkers of Kansas. The image of Lawrence burning was paired with the word “Scoreboard” and a Mizzou logo. On the back of the shirts, William Quantrill was quoted, saying "Our cause is just, our enemies many." Some Kansas fans interpreted these shirts as supporting slavery. KU supporters returned fire with a shirt depicting abolitionist John Brown with the words, “Kansas: Protecting America from Missouri since 1854.”

    The Missouri-Kansas football series is the second-most-played rivalry in college football history. The teams first matched up in football on October 31, 1891. There have been 9 ties in the 118 games played.  On November 24, 2007, the two teams entered the game both ranked in the top five in the nation: Kansas at #2 and Missouri at #3. On the heels of #1 LSU's loss the day before, Missouri won the game 36-28 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, with a near-record 80,537 people (the second-largest crowd in stadium history) in attendance and the largest TV audience to watch any 2007 regular season game, and therefore became #1 in both the Bowl Championship Series and Associated Press polls.

   Although 55-54-9 for MU is the official series result, there is an ongoing discussion about whether the 1960 games should have been counted as a win for Kansas, making the series 55-54-9 in their favor. The Big 8 forfeited the win to Missouri due to Kansas' ineligible player, Bert Coan. The University of Kansas still considers the game a Kansas win, fueling the controversy. Due to the Kansas win on the field, several other publications have also referenced the series record more to the favor of Kansas.  


Monday, November 15, 2010

Weekend Observations

  • Northwestern continues to be Iowa's kryptonite, winning five of the last six meetings.  Unfortunately, the Wildcats lost QB Dan Persa for the season after he threw the game winning pass.  He ruptured his Achilles and is out for the season.  
  • Wisconsin scored 11 touchdowns against Indiana, the most in Wisconsin history and the second-most by a Big Ten team since World War II.   The Badgers rolled up 83 points, the most Wisconsin has scored in a Big Ten game and tied for the third-most points scored in a Big Ten game. It was the most points scored by any team in a Big Ten game since Ohio State scored 83 against Iowa in 1950.
  • Cameron Gordon's 58-yd fumble return was the first defensive TD of the season for Michigan, whose defense ranked 114th (out of 120 teams) in yardage entering the game. Ryan Kerrigan set Big Ten and school records for career fumbles forced, with 14.
  • The win against Ole Miss snapped Tennessee's six-game losing streak against SEC West opponents.  The Vols have never gone a season without an SEC win and have won at least three conference games every season since 1977.
  • Wake Forest (2-8, 1-6) lost its eighth straight game, its longest slide since dropping its last 10 in 1978.
  • Army became bowl eligible for the first time in 14 years. The Black Knights (6-4) continued their best season since going 10-2 in 1996 -- they were 35-115 over the next 13 years. All three service academies have winning records now, and only twice since 1960 have all three finished above .500: in 1963, Army was 7-3, Air Force 7-4 and Navy 9-2, and in 1996 it was Army at 10-2, Navy at 9-3 and Air Force at 6-5.
  •  The Orange finished the regular season 4-0 on the road in Big East play and are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2004. And with a road win at Akron, Syracuse has five true road wins in a season for the first time since 1992.  At 7-3 (with two regular-season home games left and a possible bowl game), the Orange are guaranteed to have their first winning season since 2001, when they finished 10-3.  Doug Marrone now has more wins in less than two seasons at Syracuse (11) than Greg Robinson had in four seasons (10).
  • Ryan Broyles caught three TDs and now has 32 TD receptions in his career, most in school history.  
  • Washington State snapped a 16-game conference losing streak with a 31-14 win over Oregon State.It was the Cougars' first Pac-10 win since a 16-13 overtime victory against Washington in the 2008 Apple Cup. 
  • South Carolina won for the second time in 19 tries against Florida, snapped an 0-for-12 streak in Gainesville and earned a spot in the league title game for the first time since joining the SEC in 1992. The Gators lost to a division opponent for the first time in 17 games, dropped their third consecutive home game and proved they didn't deserve to play for a championship. It's the program's first three-game losing streak at home since 1989. Marcus Lattimore had the ninth 200-yd rushing game in South Carolina history; 1st since 2000 and 1st in SEC play.
  • Oklahoma State ended a 12-year losing streak to Texas with a 33-16 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma State won four straight road games for the first time since 1985. The Longhorns lost for the fourth time at home this year to equal the total amount of home losses for Texas since 2000. Texas lost four straight home games in the same season for the first time since 1956. Texas needs to win each of its final two games to become bowl eligible. It has not missed a bowl since 1997 and if they don't make a bowl, it will be the first time in the BCS era that a team playing in the title game doesn't make a bowl the following season. 

    Monday, November 8, 2010

    Illinois Preview

    To say that the University of Illinois' Men's Basketball team has been under some major scrutiny since its title game appearance would be putting things nicely.  Bruce Weber has been criticized for not winning an NCAA Tournament game since 2006 or poor recruiting (which has drastically changed in the past two years), fans have been unkind to Coach Weber.  Until this year that is.  Pretty much the entire team returns for the 2010-2011 season and Weber adds a trio of recruits who will see major playing time.

    Backcourt: The leader of the backcourt, and the entire team, is returning first-team All-Big Ten point guard Demetri McCamey.  McCamey led the nation in assists per game, averaging 7.1 dimes per contest.  He will lead what is a very young backcourt, one that features two sophomores, two freshmen and a redshirt freshmen.  Luckily for the Illini, the two sophomores, D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul, both saw extensive action last season.  Richardson was named co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

    Paul can play numerous positions, ranging from the point to apparently the power forward position, Weber said.  He played with one of the lower-level USA Basketball teams this summer and will look to improve on his 7.8 ppg and 3.1 rpg averages from a year ago.  Richardson averaged 10.5 ppg last season.

    Weber's two incoming freshman include a younger brother of one of the 2005 stars as well as a McDonald's All-American.  Crandall Head, Luther's brother, is coming off of a knee injury, but if he is at full strength, and it has been reported he is, he should play a big role for the team.  Jereme Richardson, the McDonald's AA is possibly the biggest recruit Weber has had.  He got his commitment after Richmond played his first game of high school.

    Frontcourt:  As deep as the Illini are in the backcourt, they are just as much so in the frontcourt.  The team returns multiple starters and others who have seen tons of playing time.  Mike Davis returns at one forward after leading the Big Ten in rebounding with 9.2 per contest.  He will be pushed by sophomore Tyler Griffey, who came on strong at the end of last season.  Because of the depth, Bill Cole, a team captain, might see him role reduced.  Mike Tisdale returns at the center position after averaginf 12 ppg and six rpg.  But he will be pushed by freshman Meyers Leonard, a seven-foot blue-chip recruit, who has great handles, hops and runs the floor well for a big man.

    Schedule:  The team is going to be quite tested by the time conference play rolls around.  They start the season in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic, where the potential final four teams could feature the Illini, Texas, Maryland and Pittsburgh.  They also host North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.  They travel to Seattle to play Gonzaga and play Missouri in the Braggin' Rights game in St. Louis.  In mid-January, the Illini have a three-game stretch where they travel to Wisconsin and host Michigan State and Ohio State.  A month later, they have back-to-back games at MSU and OSU

    Sunday, November 7, 2010

    Weekend Observations

    • The Michigan-Illinois game (132 points) is the highest scoring game in FBS this season and the highest scoring game between two Big ten Conference opponents all-time.  Roy Roundtree who finished with a Michigan school record 246 receiving yards.  65 points by Illinois is the most allowed in Michigan school history. Illinois' 65 points is two shy of FBS record for most by losing team (9th-most points scored in school history). Michigan: allowed 40+ pts in back-to-back games for 1st time in school history.
    • Army threw its first interception of the year against Air Force. That means every FBS team has now thrown an interception this year - Army was the last team alive without one.
    • Brandon Weeden threw for a school-record 435 yards and three scores and Oklahoma State set a new school mark for total offense for the second time this season by gaining 725 yards. Baylor has not won at Oklahoma State since 1939. The Cowboys improved to 11-1 against the Bears since 1999. 
    • Damaris Johnson moved into first place in the Conference USA record books for career kickoff return yards. 
    • Kansas scored 35 unanswered points after trailing 45-17 early in the fourth quarter. The 35 points are the second-most scored in the 4th quarter by a team to win in FBS History.  The 35 points in the fourth quarter were the most in Jayhawks history.
    • North Carolina beat Florida State for the second time (2-15-1 all-time).  The win made the Tar Heels bowl eligible. They've qualified for a bowl every year under Butch Davis.  T.J. Yates threw for a school-record 439 yards
    • Boise State extended the FBS' longest active win streak to 22 games and 33 regular-season games.  Kellen Moore threw for a career-high 507 yards and three touchdowns, which gives him a school-record 85 touchdowns.  The team rolled up a school-record 737 total yards
    • Navy beat East Carolina 76-35 on Saturday, setting a school single-game scoring record and most since 1919.  With the win, Navy qualified for a bowl game for the eighth straight season and will play in the Poinsettia Bowl against an opponent from the Mountain West Conference on Dec. 23.  It was the most points scored by either East Carolina or an opponent in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, while Navy's 521 yards rushing were the most by an opponent here and the second-most allowed by the Pirates ever. It was also the second-most points ever allowed by East Carolina, trailing Guilford's 79 points in November 1932.
    • Joe Paterno joined John Gagliardi and the late Eddie Robinson as the only coaches in NCAA history with 400 wins and is the only FBS coach to do so.  Only two other coaches have more wins. Robinson had 408 with FCS school Grambling State, while Gagliardi had 476 entering the weekend with Division III St. John's, Minn
    • Colin Kaepernick had 320 passing yards and five TDs as Nevada beat Idaho for the sixth straight time. Nevada had 844 total yards of offense, a school record. It was the most offense by any FBS school since 2004. Nevada had three players run for over 100 yards.
    • James Aho kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired to lift New Mexico to a 34-31 victory over Wyoming and end a nine-game losing streak on Saturday.  UNM had lost 23 of its last 24 games
    • Texas A&M broke a seven-game losing streak to Oklahoma. Texas A&M won its third straight overall and beat the Sooners for the first time since 2002.  Oklahoma lost on the road for the second time in less than a month. Texas A&M earned its first win over a ranked team since defeating Texas in 2007. 
    • Arkansas beat South Carolina for the fourth time in the last five games between the two schools. Since Bobby Petrino became head coach, Arkansas has thrown for at least 300 yards in 17 of 34 games.  South Carolina had its six-game home winning streak stopped and it was just the Gamecocks' second loss in 15 games in Columbia.  
    • Stanford matched its win total from last season and snapped Arizona's five-game road win streak. Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor ran for four TDs, outscoring Arizona by himself. Taylor hadn't scored more than two TDs in a game in his career. Arizona allowed at least 30 points for the first time this season.  
    • The Longhorns, who played Alabama last season for the national championship, lost for the fifth time in six games and fell below .500 for the first time since losing their 1999 opener. They will have to win their last three games -- home against No. 19 Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic and Texas A&M -- just to match Brown's lowest victory total since going 7-5 at North Carolina in 1995. Also in jeopardy is Brown's string of taking 18 consecutive teams to a bowl.  
    • Ronnie Hillman became the third San Diego State freshman to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, joining Marshall Faulk (1991) and Lionel Hamilton (1994).
    • With two rushing touchdowns Thursday, Josh Nesbitt ties Jonathan Dwyer for the 2nd-most rush TD in Georgia Tech history with 35 for his career. Robert Lavette leads with 45. With Nesbitt's 86 yards rushing Thursday, he passes Woody Dantzler for the most rushing yards by an ACC quarterback. He entered the game needing 42 yards to pass Dantlzer. Nesbitt now has 4 50-yard rushes this season. Since 2004, only Joe Webb (UAB) with 5 in 2009 has more in a single season by a quarterback.

    Friday, November 5, 2010

    Weekend Preview

    Wow talk about a lot of awesome games between ranked teams!

    Big Ten games

    Illinois @ Michigan

    Both teams come in at 5-3, so a win earns them bowl eligibility.  The road game starts a streak of three away games in the Illinois' last four contests.  Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is coming off of a week which saw him be named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week.  He completed 16-of-20 passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 118 yards on 21 carries.

    After starting the season 5-0, the Wolverines have lost their last three contests, with all being Big Ten games.  They'll be looking to get back on the saddle against the Illini and as always, will look for Denard Robinson to lead them.

    Illinois wins if...Scheelhaase plays as well as he has been lately.  He seems to be flourishing as he becomes more comfortable in the college game.  If they stop Robinson, they have a real chance of leaving with a win.

    Michigan wins if...it shuts down the Illinois running game and it goes back to what was working the first five games of the year.

    Northwestern @ Penn State

    Joe Paterno can join John Gagliardi and Eddie Robinson as the only college football coaches to record 400 career victories, and he can become the first man in Division I-A/FBS history to do so.  Who will they choose as their quarterback tho?  Rob Bolden is back from a concussion, but Matt McGloin did well in his first start.  Rumor is both will play.

    Dan Persa, on the other hand, is coming back home.  Growing up a Penn State fan and going to games at Beaver Stadium, he had grown up wanting to play for the Nittany Lions, but was passed up in the recruiting game.  It will be his first start in State College and it comes at a time where the 'Cats are looking to get their mojo back.

    Penn Stats wins if...it doesn;t let the thought of Paterno's 400th win get in the way.  Choosing a quarterback is vital too.  Both are good, but who will take the reigns. 

    Northwestern wins if...Persa is Persa.  He was amazing for most of the Indiana game, but then suffered what seemed like a concussion.  If he is over that and the emotions of his homecoming don't take over, the Wildcats might n Paterno's quest for 400.

    National Games

    TCU @ Utah

    3 vs. 5. Last time the two will face as Mountain West foes. Undefeated. Chances at a National Title.  That's all that's at stake in the game between these bitter rivals.  It's the Mountain West's premier matchup, the first on league history pitting two ranked top-10 teams and one that will go a long way in deciding not only a conference champion but also who will remain a potential BCS buster.  TCU has never won in three trips to Salt Lake City, including a 13-10 loss in 2008 that eventually propelled the Utes to a BCS bowl game -- knocking off Alabama in the Sugar -- and landing the Frogs in the Poinsettia Bowl, where they beat Boise State.

    The Frogs are averaging nearly 41 ppg, while the Utes nearly 46.  TCU has the top-ranked defense in the nation and is giving up just eight points per game.  They've given up 16 points total in the last five games.  They will have to shut down a Utes team that averages 450 yards per game.  Oh yea, their defense is pretty good too.

    TCU wins if...it shuts down the dynamic Utah offense.  Their defense is tops in the nation, but their offense is just as great.  Led by Andy Dalton, the team has been whooping everybody all year.

    Utah wins if...it can score.  They boast a good defense too and if they can stop the Horned Frogs, they might walk away with a win.

    Sunday, October 31, 2010

    NCAA Week 9 Observations

    • Miami starting QB Jacory Harris was knocked out of the game after being hit while throwing an interception in the second quarter.  They got their first win of the season against a team from a BCS conference. They have also beaten Richmond and VMI of the Championship Subdivision and Eastern Michigan.  Virginia's five interceptions matched its total in the first seven games combined.
    • Syracuse has now won 4 true road games in a season for the first time since 1996.  The 6-2 start is their best since 2001, when they finished 10-3 -- the last time they had a winning record.  The Cincinnati loss is  its worst beating at home since a 38-0 loss to West Virginia in 2005.
    • Chandler Harnish found Willie Clark with a 21-yard TD pass with 3:42 to play to lift the Huskies to their six straight victory, their longest winning streak since 2004.
    •  Marcus Lattimore rushed for 184 yards and a TD as South Carolina won for the fifth time in its last 29 games vs. Tennessee. Lattimore has 13 TDs this season, tied for the fifth-most by a freshman in SEC history. His 13 TDs are three shy of the South Carolina single-season record.  The Gamecocks are 5-0 at home this season. Tennessee is 0-5 in the SEC. It's the first time the Volunteers have lost their first five conference games of a season since 1977. 
    • Temple won its 10th straight home game to tie a school record and posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since blanking Connecticut and Xavier during the 1971 season.
    • San Diego State is now eligible for a bowl for the first time since 1998 when the Aztecs played North Carolina in the Las Vegas Bowl. Its six wins this season surpass its win total in any of the last six seasons.
    • The loss by Notre Dame gives the current senior class 26 losses, the most in a four-year span at the school since 1900. Tulsa's win over Notre Dame was the Golden Hurricane's 1st over a BCS-AQ team since beating Iowa in 1996.   It was Notre Dame's first loss to a current member of Conference USA since SMU (then a member of the Southwest Conference) beat the Irish in the 1984 Aloha Bowl.  Tulsa's Damaris Johnson returned a punt 59 yards for TD and is 25 yards shy of becoming Conference USA's all-time leader in kickoff return yards. 
    • Arizona improved to 7-1 this season and will enter November with fewer than two losses for the first time since 1998.  
    • It was the first game between Florida and Georgia with both teams unranked since 1979.  The Gators have won 18 of the last 21 games in the series. The loss snapped Georgia's three-game win streak.  
    •   Baylor ended a 12-game losing streak against Texas and won its first game at Texas since 1991.  Baylor QB Robert Griffin III broke the school record for career passing TDs with 39.  Texas has lost three straight home games in a season for the first time since 1997. 
    • Stanford beat Washington for the third straight time. That hasn't happened since Stanford won 10 straight from 1967-76.  This was Stanford's first road shutout since beating Oregon 17-0 in 1974.  The Cardinal is 7-1 for the first time since 1970 when they started 8-1. Stanford's defense shut out Washington at home for the first time since 1976

      Thursday, October 28, 2010

      College Basketball Preview: America East

      Yup, it's that time of year again!  College basketball season.  Like football, I'll be doing previews.  For basketball, however, I'll be doing conference previews with a small preview of the colleges in that conference.  I'm going to start with the smaller conferences alphabetically and work my way to the big conferences when I get closer to the season.  So here we go...

      Albany:  The Danes will be led by their backcourt in the 2010-2011 season.  Three starters, led by Tim Ambrose and Mike Black, return for a team that hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2007.  The team returns just three upperclassmen (two seniors), so the team will be relatively young.  They will look for many newcomers to make an immediate impact.

      Binghamton: The Bearcats are still trying to remove the shadow of a scandal that took place when former coach Kevin Broadus used some shady methods in recruiting athletes to play at Binghamton.  Greer Wright, who was a first-team all-conference selection, returns after averaging 15 points and six rebounds.  Moussa Camara, who averaged nearly 11 points per game, also returns to take some of the pressure off of Wright.

      Boston University: To say the Terriers will be relatively known until the middle of the season would be an understatement.  Despite returning three starters, the team welcomes 11 newcomers, including three transfers, two of whom (Patrick Hazel and Matt Griffin) might be starters from Day 1.  Boston returns last years' America East scoring leader in John Holland, who will look to become a three-time all-conference first-team selection, as well as just the second 2,000 point scorer in team history; he currently has 1,558 points.

      Hartford: Hartford is hoping that bringing back all five starters will help them improve on last year's 8-22 record.  New coach John Gallagher's motion offense will suit this team greatly, as two of their starters, Joe Zeglinski and Mogan Sabia are tops and third in career three-pointers at Hartford, respectively.

      Maine:  Maine brings back four starters and a boat load of experience from last year's squad that finished third in conference.  The returnees are led by Gerald McLemore, who garnered all-conference first-team honors last season, after knocking down 102 three-pointers.  Sean McNally returns to man the paint after averaging 10 points and seven rebounds per game.

      New Hampshire:  The Wildcats return three senior starters for a team that is looking for its first winning record since 1994-95.  Alvin Abreu comes back after averaging 14 points per game and Tyrone Conley, who averaged 12 points per game, returns to anchor the backcourt.  The frontcourt will be made up of Dane DiLiegro, Ferg Myrick and Brian Benson.

      Stony Brook: In 11 years of Division I basketball, the Seawolves have qualified for a postseason tournament once, in 2010 (NIT). However, last year's regular season champs are hoping to make that step up and go to the NCAA's. The team returns four starters, including sharp-shooter Bryan Dougher.  Tommy Brenton, last year's league rebounding champion, returns to anchor an experienced frontcourt.  The team's lone starter lost from last year, however, was the league's Player of the Year, Muhammad El-Amin.

      UMBC:  The team is coming off of the program's worst season (4-26) and lost three starters and their sixth man from last year's squad.  Point guard Chris De La Rosa will be the team leader after averaging nearly 12 points and five assists per game.  If the team is able to come up with a decent frontcourt, the team has a chance of surprising some teams.

      Vermont:  Last year's conference champs might take a big step back from last year after losing four starters.  One interesting aspect of this year's squad is that 10 of the players are 6'6 or taller.  The Catamounts will look for Evan Fjeld, who shot better that 65 percent, scored nearly 11 points per game and six rebounds per game, to lead this year's squad.  They will look to UMass transfer Matt Glass to provide more of a scoring punch. 

      Sunday, October 24, 2010

      College Football Week 8 Observations

      • Oregon just continues to impress everybody.  The team is averaging 55 points per game, tops in the nation.  In four home games this season, the Ducks are averaging 63 points per game, while giving up 11.  They have outscored their opponents with 33 touchdowns to five, are averaging 649 yards per game to their opponents' 263 and rushing for more than seven yards per carry, compared to 2.8
      • With its win over West Virginia, Syracuse is 5-2 for the first time since 2001. West Virginia's 12-game home winning streak came to an end -- it was its longest home win streak since a 12-game run from 1987-89.  Syracuse threw for 63 yards but ended its eight-game losing streak vs. West Virginia.
      • It seems as if nobody wants to be the top-ranked team in the nation this year.  According to the BCS standings, Oklahoma came into this weekend's game against Missouri as the top team.  But just as Alabama and Ohio State, the top-ranked teams the past two weeks, the Sooners couldn't escape Columbia without a loss.  For the third time in the BCS era, the team that debuts as No. 1 in initial BCS Standings loses that same week. The Sooners were involved in all 3 games. Sunday will mark the 5th time in the BCS era that we will have a new No. 1 in week 2 of the BCS standings. In 1998 (UCLA) and 2005 (USC), the No. 1 team dropped without losing.
      • It was a weekend of firsts for Missouri.  For the first time ever, ESPN College GameDay was in Columbia.  Coach Gary Pinkel won his first game against either Oklahoma or Texas (he had been 0-7 against OU).  The fans helped the school skyrocket to the top of three GameDay lists: most people ever on the Saturday morning (18,000), most people ever on the Friday taping (2,000-3,000) and the most signs the crew had seen.  But this win was more than just a win over the Sooners.  It was one for the past, present and future of Tiger Nation.
      • Kirk Cousins threw for a season-high 331 yards and three touchdowns, and Michigan State rallied to beat Northwestern 35-27 and remain unbeaten on Saturday. Playing out of state for the first time this season, the Spartans scored 28 points in another strong second half.  Coach Mark Dantonio was back on the sideline after working the previous two games from the press box following his mild heart attack last month.
      • Saturday's 49-0 win over Purdue is the largest shut out victory for Ohio State against the Boilermakers. It is the 12th time Ohio State has shut out Purdue, and first time since 1995 when the Buckeyes won 28-0.  Last year in a loss to Purdue, Terrelle Pryor had 221 pass yards, a TD and 2 int. In the FIRST HALF, he had 270 pass yards and 3 TD
      • Alexander Robinson rushed for 119 yards and two scores as Iowa State held on for its first win over Texas.  Texas is 4-3 and would need to win the Big 12 championship game or bowl game to extend its 10-win season streak to 10 straight. 
      • Illinois is within two wins of qualifying for a bowl game and ending their two-year bowl drought.  A bowl might be good enough to save coach Ron Zook's job
      • Navy has won three of the last four vs. Notre Dame after losing its previous 43 vs. the Irish dating back to 1964.  Navy's 18-pt win is its largest over Notre Dame since the Midshipmen won by 21 47 years ago. The largest is 21, a 35-14 win in 1963. That was the last win before a 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame that ended in 2007.
      • Arkansas won in a game that took nearly five hours thanks to two lightning delays. Arkansas back Knile Davis ran for a career-high 176 yards and three TDs.  Houston Nutt failed to beat his old team for the first time in three tries.  The Razorbacks are 9-2 all-time vs. Ole Miss in Fayetteville and continued their best start under Bobby Petrino (5-2).  
      • Cam Newton had 217 yards rushing. It is his 5th game with at least 170 yards rushing, passing Bo Jackson (1985) for the most such games in a season in Auburn history.  Auburn gashed LSU on the ground Saturday, running for 440 yards. That is the most allowed in a single-game in LSU history. The old record was 422 by Mississippi State in 1991.  LSU was 1st in the SEC and 6th in the nation in rush defense, allowing 83.6 YPG.  
      • Taylor Martinez set career highs with 323 passing yards and five TDs and rushed for 112 more yards in the Cornhuskers' shootout win. Martinez entered the game with three passing TDs in six games and matched that total by halftime.  Niles Paul caught nine of Martinez's passes for 131 yards and added a 100-yard kickoff return TD.  A week after being held to 202 total yards in a loss to Texas, the Cornhuskers rolled up 540 yards vs. Oklahoma State and improved to 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in the Big 12.  Nebraska ended a 17-game road losing streak vs. AP top-20 teams.
      • Baylor became bowl eligible for the first time since joining the Big 12, beating Kansas State 47-42 Saturday night.  Baylor hasn't been to a bowl game since 1994, which is tied for the longest active drought among BCSIII's record of 225 yards against Washington St. in 2008) and added two touchdowns.  The loss was the first for Kansas State against Baylor under Bill Snyder (previously 4-0). 
      • John Clay ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns and Montee Ball scored the winner with just over a minute left for Wisconsin. It was the Badgers second straight win over a ranked team, the first time they've done that since 2004 (beat No. 1 Ohio State last week).  Iowa lost for the third time at home in its last 19 games despite Ricky Stanzi's 258-yard, three-TD performance.  The Hawkeyes were first in the nation in scoring defense entering last week's game but have allowed 58 points since.  Wisconsin ended a two-game losing streak to Iowa and evened the all-time series 42-42-2 as they won back the Heartland Trophy.  
      • Stanford is 6-1 for the first time since 1970, marking just the third time since World War II that Stanford has won six of its first seven games.  Washington State dropped to 0-5 in Pac-10 play, its 14th consecutive conference loss and 22nd in its last 23rd such games. 
      •  Utah won its 21st straight home game. That's the third longest active streak in the nation. The Utes ran their record to 7-0 for the third time in the last seven years.  Utah RB Matt Asiata ran for two TDs as the Utes piled up 648 yards of total offense.  Colorado State has lost 12 straight against ranked teams. The Utes have rung up 50 points or more four times in their last five games.  
      • Western Kentucky snapped the nation's longest losing streak on Saturday, beating Louisiana-Lafayette 54-21 on Saturday.  The Hilltoppers, in their second year as a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision, had lost 26 straight games for the longest loss streak among all NCAA divisions. 
      • South Carolina won for the ninth time in its last 11 games in Nashville.  Vandy fell to 1-10 in its last 11 homecoming games. Its last win was 2002 vs. Connecticut. 
      • Mississippi State clinched bowl eligibility. It has not been to a bowl game since 2007.  The Bulldogs have won five straight games in a single season for the first time since 1999 and are 4-0 in nonconference games for the first time since 1990.  UAB fell to 2-15 all-time vs. SEC teams. The Blazers have had four games decided by five points or fewer this season and are 1-3 in those games.  
      • Jerrod Johnson broke Texas A&M's career record for total offense.  With 139 yards passing and 28 rushing, he raised his career total to 8,888 yards, snapping the record of 8,876 Reggie McNeal compiled from 2002-05.  The Jayhawks have been outscored in their last three games 159-24.
      • TCU surrendered its first conference touchdown on the season. 

      Monday, October 18, 2010

      Week 7 College Football Observations

         For seven weeks, we have been waiting for the so called "Upset Saturday."  Well this past Saturday, we all got what we have been waiting for: seven Top 25 teams were knocked off by opponents either ranked lower than them or not ranked at all.  The latter was the case in six of the seven upsets.

      • For the second week in a row, the top-ranked team in the nation lost, this time Ohio State losing to Wisconsin on the Badgers' Homecoming date, 31-18.  Wisconsin hadn't defeated a No. 1 since 1981, when the Badgers knocked off Michigan 21-14. For Ohio State, its national title hopes are in critical condition after a third straight loss as the No. 1 team in the country. The last two came in the 2007 season, to Illinois in the regular season and in the BCS title game to LSU. That season was also the last time No. 1 in the AP poll lost in consecutive weeks.
      •  Florida lost consecutive home games for the first time since 2003 and dropped three in a row for the first time since the Steve Spurrier era. Urban Meyer has accomplished something that former coach Ron Zook never did. Mississippi State won in Gainesville for the first time since 1965. They snapped a 16-game losing streak at Florida Field.  It is the first time since 2004 that the Gators have not been ranked.
      • Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman completed 15 passes in 16 attempts Thursday in the Wildcats' 59-7 romp at Kansas. That 93.8 completion percentage is the best among FBS players this season (min. 15 attempts). Kansas lost 55-7 to Baylor last week and 59-7 to Kansas State tonight. Kansas has been playing football since 1890. Only once before in school history have they have allowed at least 55 points in consecutive games. In 1988 they lost 63-24 to Oklahoma State on November 12 and 55-17 to Missouri on November 19.
      • Missouri has allowed 65 points this season, including a shutout last week and nine points Saturday. That's the Tigers fewest through six games since 1973, when they allowed 49.  It was the first time since 1967 that Missouri had held conference opponents scoreless for six straight quarters.  Missouri is 6-0 for just the third time in the last 50 years and fifth ever.
      • The Texas defense held Nebraska to 202 yards as the Longhorns beat the Huskers for the ninth time in 10 games since joining the Big 12. Nebraska ran for 125 yards. It was averaging over 337 yards a game on the ground entering Saturday, which ranked second in the nation. Texas ran for 209 yards. It averaged less than 130 on the ground entering the game.  Nebraska had not trailed all season.  Counting sacks, QB Garrett Gilbert entered with 19 career rushing yards. He had 51 in the 1st quarter
      • Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English gets his 1st win. He started his career losing 18 straight games before finally winning on Saturday in overtime at Ball State.  The Eagles trailed 28-7 in the second quarter, before scoring 28 unanswered points
      • Colorado State ended a 10-game conference losing streak with a 43-10 victory over UNLV on Saturday.
      • Auburn QB Cam Newton over 100 yards rushing for the 4th time in 7 games this season.  In that same game, Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett left the game with a  concussion
      • Matt Barkley passed for 352 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns, and Southern California roared to a 42-point halftime lead while snapping its first losing streak in nine years with a 48-14 victory against California on Saturday. Cal hasn't won at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a decade. USC hadn't lost back-to-back games since early in 2001, former coach Pete Carroll's first season. The Trojans' dominant performance brightened a gloomy, gray day at the Coliseum, where USC had lost three of its past five games after a 47-1 stretch.

      • Iowa won in Ann Arbor for the first time since 2002 despite allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns.  The Hawkeyes allowed more than seven points for the second time this season. Rich Rodriguez fell to 2-8 against AP top 25 teams as Michigan coach. 
      • SMU ended up losing its 20th consecutive nonconference road game, a streak that began after a win against Navy in 1998.
      • Justin Blackmon had a career-high 207 yards receiving with a touchdown for Oklahoma State, who beat Texas Tech 34-17 on Saturday for its first win in Lubbock since 1944.  Oklahoma State is 6-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Cowboys won their first seven games in 2008 before losing four of their last six. It was the first time the road team has won in this series since 2001 when the Red Raiders won in Stillwater.
      • Ross Jenkins threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Louisiana Tech had 678 yards of offense in a 48-35 win over Idaho on Saturday. The Bulldogs needed their fifth-highest offensive total in school history as the Vandals totaled 526 offensive yards. 
      • Kentucky had its first win over a ranked team since beating then-No. 1 LSU in 2007.  South Carolina's win over Alabama last week was the seventh win at home by a team ranked outside of the top 10 over a conference opponent ranked No. 1. The Gamecocks became the fourth straight such team to lose the following Saturday.
      • T.J. Yates threw for three touchdowns and North Carolina won for the first time since 1981 at Scott Stadium, beating Virginia 44-10 Saturday night.
      •  North Texas is on their fourth starting quarterback of the season, after Chase Baine had to replace Riley Dodge two weeks ago.  Dodge recently had surgery to insert a screw in his broken wrist.
      • The San Diego State Aztecs beat a ranked team for the first time since defeating No. 16 Wyoming 28-24 on Nov. 7, 1996. Since then, they'd lost 25 straight games to ranked opponents. Overall, SDSU is 6-55 against ranked teams dating to 1973.
      • San Jose State was outgained 537-80 by Boise State on the night, the fewest yards in a game for the Spartans since also getting 80 in a 13-12 win Stanford in 1971. The Broncos have the nation's longest active win streak at 20 straight games. They've also won 16 straight road games, 18 straight conference games, and 31 straight regular season games. All of their marks are the longest active streaks in the nation. 
      • Alabama has won 10 straight home games vs. Ole Miss. It's 24-1 overall in Tuscaloosa against the Rebels.  
      • After an upset loss at Hawaii, Nevada remains winless at Hawaii since joining the WAC in 2000, falling to 0-6 and hasn't won at Hawaii since 1948

        Tuesday, September 21, 2010

        College Football Week 3 Observations

        Week Three gave us some very exciting games, as at least 11 games were decided in the closing minute(s) of the game. 

        • Missouri struggled with San Diego State, needing a last-minute Blaine Gabbert -to- T.J. Moe 68-yard touchdown pass to win 27-24.  Gabbert seems to have found his two favorite recovers in Moe and Michael Egnew, who had 14 catches for over 130 yards.

        •  Some believe that Georgia may be playing for Mark Richt's job this year.  If they play as they did against Arkansas in the fourth quarter of last week's game, that may not be the case.  Up 17-7 and 24-10 at one point, the Bulldogs tied the score and Arkansas needed a last minute Ryan Mallett touchdown to eek out the 31-24 win.  And even after that, the game wasn't guaranteed a win, as the Razorbacks needed a sack at midfield to close out the game.  Georgia has struggled without star receiver A.J. Green.
        • Temple is now 3-0 for the first time since 1979, when the Owls finished 10-2. It was the first win for the Owls over a BCS opponent since a 34-24 win over Syracuse on November 13, 2004.
        • North Texas is down to their third-string quarterback after losing the starter of that game for the second week in a row.  Riley Dodge, son of coach Todd Dodge, takes over for the Mean Green, who haven't been too mean as of late.  In his fourth season in Denton, Dodge is 5-34 as head coach.
        • Kansas State's Daniel Thomas is showing the country what the Big 12 already knew: He is one hell of a running back.  Thomas has 552 yards through three games and has helped lead the Wildcats to their first 3-0 start since 2006.
        • With their win over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt snapped a 10-game conference losing streak dating back to 2008. The Commodores have beaten the Rebels four of the past six seasons. 
        • Wisconsin has started 3-0 in every season under Bret Bielema. Wisconsin is 9-1 in its last 10 games against Pac-10 teams.  The Badgers have won 27 straight nonconference regular-season games, the third-longest active streak (behind LSU and USC). Arizona State had 261 kick-return yards (including a 97-yarder and 95-yarder), more than either its rushing or passing total in the game.  Yet Wisconsin needed a last-second blocked PAT to win.
        • Auburn came back from a 17-0 deficit to defeat Clemson in overtime.  It is the Auburn's 14th straight win over Clemson.  The game appeared headed to another OT when Chandler Catanzaro made a 27-yarder after a defensive stand kept Clemson shy of a winning touchdown. After a 5-yard illegal procedure penalty on the kick because center Dalton Freeman double-clutched the ball, the redshirt freshman's second attempt hooked wide left.
        • Ryan Nassib threw a school-record five touchdown passes, and Syracuse pulled away in the second half to beat Maine 38-14 on Saturday night in the Orange's home opener.  Nassib was 19-for-28 for 260 yards.
        • With Dan Conroy lining up for a 46-yard field goal to tie the game in overtime and the play clock running low, holder Aaron Bates took the snap, stood up and waited for Charlie Gantt to come open downfield. The stunning fake worked to perfection, and Gantt's 29-yard touchdown catch gave the Spartans a 34-31 win Saturday night.   The Spartans started 3-0 for the first time since 2007 and earned their third win over the Fighting Irish in four years.  Saturday was the ninth time in the last 11 meetings between Notre Dame and Michigan State that the game was decided by seven points or less and it was the second OT affair since 2005.  The Spartans' 28 victories against Notre Dame are the second most of any Irish opponent (USC has the most with 34). 
        • Nick Foles hit William Wright with a late 4-yard touchdown pass and No. 24 Arizona held its ground in the national spotlight with a momentum-swinging 34-27 win over ninth-ranked Iowa.  Keyed by their stingy defense and special teams, the Wildcats rushed out to a 27-7 halftime lead before having the Wright touchdown pick up the vital win.  Arizona beat a nonconference opponent ranked in the top 10 at home for the first time since 1989. Iowa allowed at least 30 points for the first time since 2007 vs. Purdue, a span of 33 games. Iowa has lost six straight games when playing a regular season game west of the central time zone. The last win came in 1987.  Arizona sacked Ricky Stanzi six times, including three straight times on Iowa's final drive. 
        • North Texas isn't the only school with significant quarterback injuries this weekend.  Houston lost their top two QB's, including Heisman hopeful Case Keenum, in the SAME GAME.  They will now be forced to go to freshmen as their starters.  With the win over Houston, UCLA avoided their first 0-3 start since 1971.  Houston had scored at least 20 points in 29 straight games before Saturday's game.