CFB Week 2 (9/4-9/6) News and Picks

[RJ Esq]

PSU Football: Defense continues to adjust on line
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
By Ron Musselman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<!-- end story_image_box_size_1 --> Penn State's defensive line had a wealth of talent and was regarded as one of the best in the Big Ten in late July.
But that was before projected starting tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor were kicked off the team for their involvement in off-the-field incidents.
<hr color="#606060" size="3"> <center>Next up</center>
• Game: Penn State (1-0) vs. Oregon State (0-1), 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pa.
• TV: WTAE.
<hr color="#606060" size="3">
And then backup tackle Devon Still sustained his second season-ending injury in as many years when his left ankle was broken in preseason practice.
In three weeks, the Nittany Lions' depth had taken a big hit.
Defensive line coach Larry Johnson came up with a solution. He decided to give Josh Gaines, a three-year starter at end, an opportunity on the inside.
Gaines played tackle for a handful of plays in the opener Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Redshirt sophomore Aaron Maybin spelled Gaines at end. Maybin had five stops, two sacks and two tackles for losses.
With Maybin and redshirt junior Jerome Hayes lined up at opposite ends, the Lions gained two speed rushers on the outside.
That could be critical Saturday against Oregon State. Penn State will need to apply plenty of pressure against Beavers quarterback Lyle Moevao, who completed 34 of 54 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-28 loss to Stanford last week. His two second-half interceptions proved costly.
"Oregon State has great receivers," Gaines said. "The quarterback looks pretty good. Bringing in Aaron [Maybin] and letting him go on third downs, you saw what he did [Saturday]. He's in the quarterback's face every day. Bringing him in and letting him go free gives us a great look."
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, however, expects the Beavers to run a more balanced attack.
"As I've said, I don't think Oregon State's going to come up here and try to throw the ball 50 times," he said yesterday in his weekly conference call. "I would be surprised. I think we got to be ready to stop a couple of running plays."
Either way, the defensive line will play a key role in the outcome.
Junior defensive end Maurice Evans said Gaines' unselfishness to experiment inside makes the team stronger.
"That just shows how much depth we have at defensive line and how versatile we can be moving ends inside," Evans said. "That just proves that we have a lot of guys who can get it done and are willing to do whatever it takes."
Penn State used several different combinations against Coastal Carolina, with Evans and Gaines starting at end, and redshirt sophomores Ollie Ogbu and Abe Koroma at tackle.
Maybin and redshirt junior Jerome Hayes saw plenty of action at end, along with redshirt freshmen Eric Latimore and Kevion Latham. Junior Jared Odrick split time with Ogbu and Koroma at tackle and redshirt sophomore Tom McEowen, redshirt freshman Chima Okoli and true freshman Jack Crawford also got some work.
"Overall we did a decent job inside, but we got to be better," Paterno said. "[Maybin] played all right. Maybin's got a long ways to go. We got better players than him playing right now. Maybin, some day, will be good, but Gaines and Evans [and] Hayes, I thought those kids played really well."
<hr style="clear: both; width: 160px; size: 3px; margin-top: 1.5em;" align="center"> NOTES -- Sophomore Stefen Wisniewski from Central Catholic High School started at right guard Saturday. But he also has been getting reps at center and could end up replacing fifth-year senior A.Q. Shipley at that position next season. "Yeah, I think that's definitely a possibility," Wisniewski said yesterday. "They haven't said anything about that. I don't think they're thinking that far ahead yet. But I'm definitely going to keep working at center and at guard and be able to play both." ... Paterno offered words of praise for starting quarterback Daryll Clark and backup Pat Devlin. "I patted [Pat] on the back after the game and said, 'Nice going, Pat,' you had a good day," Paterno said. "Keep concentrating. I said the same thing to Clark now. 'You got that one behind you, maybe you can relax a little bit more and stay focused.' "

 

[RJ Esq]

Weekly Stock Report: California knows how to party

By Matt Hinton

Teams, coaches, trends and where they stand.
↑ UP: The Golden State. It was a banner weekend for Cali, and no cupcakes allowed. California schools went up in a five different games against BCS competition, three of them as underdogs, two of them on cross-country road trips, and came out the other side 5-0. There was nothing surprising at all about USC's lopsided blowout at Virginia or Cal's narrower win over Michigan State, but Stanford opened up the weekend with an impressive upset of Oregon State, Fresno State and UCLA closed it with unexpected takedowns of Rutgers and Tennessee on Labor Day, and the Golden State emerged from week one without a scratch.
Well, almost without a scratch: the only D-I loser from California was San Diego State, but at least the Aztecs' otherwise shameful defeat came at the hands of another SoCal school, I-AA Cal Poly. So even when it lost, California won.
↔ HOLDING: Funky Offensive Overhauls. Paul Johnson's option transplant was an instant hit at Georgia Tech; whatever it was, exactly, that Rich Rodriguez was trying to install at Michigan drew pans almost across the board. The Woldwide Leader's Heather Dinich even compared the two:

Yes, Paul Johnson's offense will work. Here's the difference between PJ and RichRod. One can't seem to figure out how to use "his offense" with the players he inherited and the other, Johnson, knows how to adapt and win football games with what he has. If the Yellow Jackets have to throw it to win, so be it. If the triple option is the best option, they'll run with it.​

Funny, I'd say the difference between one "offense" and the other after the first game is that one was operating against embarrassingly overmatched Jacksonville State while the other was throwing out a slew of freshmen against Utah. Johnson walked right into a tailor-made option quarterback in Josh Nesbitt; Rodriguez inherited nothing of the kind.
Tony Franklin didn't help settle the trend either way at Auburn, where the Tigers were somehow worse in the passing game against UL-Monroe than they'd ever been with Brandon Cox and Al Borges. Alternating quarterbacks Chris Todd and Kodi Burns were wobbly (85 yards passing between them), and AU was as effective as ever running the ball, with 321 yards spread among five different ballcarriers. So there's your early verdict: push. The jury is asking for more time to deliberate.
↓ DOWN: That Wack Punt Formation. Utah was comfortably in command of Michigan, when they lined up like this to kick the ball away to the moribund Wolverine offense . . .

. . . and all hell nearly broke loose. The ensuing block by the Wolverines led directly to the first of two touchdowns that nearly made a game of what had to that point been a one-sided rout. It's not like the Utes missed assignments here: the man who blocked the punt for Michigan was himself blocked by one of the upbacks, as you can see, but they set up so close to the punter that a halfway decent vertical and outstretched arm is all he needed to swat the thing down. Tennessee and Virginia Tech also had crucial punts blocked and returned for touchdowns out of more traditional sets, but at least they didn't invite rushers into the punter's face in the process. This formation will never, ever make sense.
↓ DOWN: Coaches On the Hot Seat. After three years of disappointment, stagnation and outright futility, Tyrone Willingham, Greg Robinson and Dave Wannstedt all needed to put together a winning season to save their job, and Robinson and Wannstedt, at least, had good opportunities to get off on the right foot against Northwestern and Bowling Green, respectively. Instead, Syracuse and Pitt both lost by double digits, and if they're not putting their house on the market and e-mailing resumés for NFL coordinator spots already, at least one of them will be after they hook up in a career-ending match on Sept. 27.
Across the country, Willingham wasn't expected to win at Oregon, but Washington was supposed to show some competitive fire. The Ducks went through three different quarterbacks -- the most effective of which, Jeremiah Masoli, wasn't even in the picture for the job in the preseason -- ran for 256 yards and planted the Huskies in a 34-point laugher. U-Dub's only hope, quarterback Jake Locker, put up an abysmal 73.8 passer rating and finished the game on the bench, icing down whatever optimism still existed for a team now facing consecutive dates with BYU, Oklahoma and possibly resurgent Stanford, where Willingham can only reminisce about the good times.

 

[RJ Esq]

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="col0">LSU-Troy postponed following Hurricane Gustav

</td><td class="col1">Story Highlights

• The Tigers' game versus the Trojans will be played Nov. 15
• Gustav caused damage at Tiger Stadium, including broken glass and torn awnings
• LSU's team met at the on-campus training center Tuesday afternoon and practiced

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</td></tr></tbody></table>BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- LSU has postponed its football game against Troy after Hurricane Gustav rolled through Louisiana this week.
A person with direct knowledge of athletic scheduling at LSU told The Associated Press the Tigers' game versus the Trojans will be played Nov. 15. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not been formally notified yet.
LSU has scheduled a press conference for 3 p.m. EDT.
LSU's football team met at the Tigers' on-campus training center Tuesday afternoon, then went ahead with practice.
Gustav caused some damage at Tiger Stadium, including broken glass and torn awnings over club seats. Debris littered the stands and playing field.

 

[RJ Esq]

Us v. Them: Texas Tech Offense and the Nevada Defense

from Double-T Nation by Seth C

<center>

v.

</center>
<center>The Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-0, 0-0) v. The Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0, 0-0)</center>
WHEN TEXAS TECH HAS THE BALL:

<center> <table border="1" width="90%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#cc0000"> <td>Statistical Leaders</td> <td>Texas Tech</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Passing</td> <td>Graham Harrell: 43 Comp., 58 Att., 536 Yds., 2 TD, 1 Int.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rushing</td> <td>Baron Batch: 5 Att., 41 Yds., 1 TD
Shannon Woods: 13 Att., 37 Yds., 2 TD
Aaron Crawford: 3 Att., 11 Yds., 1 TD</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Receiving</td> <td>Eric Morris: 9 Rec., 164 Yds., 0 TD
Detron Lewis: 9 Rec., 163 Yds., 0 TD
Michael Crabtree: 9 Rec., 73 Yds., 1 TD
Tramain Swindall: 5 Rec., 45 Yds., 0 TD
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center>
<center> <table border="1" width="90%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#191970"> <td>Statistical Leaders</td> <td>Nevada</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tackles</td> <td>Dontay Moch: 8
Uche Anyanwu: 6
Jerome Johnson: 6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sacks</td> <td>Dontay Moch: 2.0
Joshua Mauga: 1.5
Kevin Basped: 1.0
Daryll HIll: 1.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Interceptions</td> <td>Brandon Marshall: 1
Kevin Grimes: 1</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center>
Texas Tech Passing Offense v. Nevada Passing Defense: Take all of this with a grain of salt, but the truth of the matter is that it's hard to determien how well a team is going to perform from one opponent to the next, especially early in the season. Statistically speaking, last week Grambling did a pretty good job of getting the ball down the field (9.0 yards per attempt), but just couldn't run to save their lives which probably detracted from their overall effectiveness in the passing game (really, it probably would have suited Grambling better to just abandon the run last week, that that's another story). In any event, last year, Nevada was 86th in the nation in passing efficiency defense (135.52) and 76th in pass defense (240.77). To top it off, the Wolf Pack defense only returns strong safety Uche Anyanwu in the secondary. I'm not sold that Nevada can effectively stop the pass and I'm betting that they can't against Texas Tech.
I don't think that any of us were surprised to see Detron Lewis perform so well for the Red Raiders and the mention last week that EWU was doing an effective job of shutting down the outside receivers (Michael Crabtree and Ed Britton) that the inside receivers had great success (Eric Morris and Detron Lewis). I'm not sure what Nevada will do, but in order for teams to not play the same way EWU did, D. Lewis is going to need to score some touchdowns. Make teams over-compensate on the inside and now Crabtree and Britton can shine. I was pleasantly surprised to see Tramain Swindall so involved in the offense and seeing that he played so well, I would expect the same this week. We've already discussed how Harrell was especially effective last week, but the interception that eventually led to an EWU touchdown and a couple of other bad decisions must stop, especially on the road. We don't want this getting away from Texas Tech.
Advantage: Texas Tech.
Texas Tech Rushing Offense v. Nevada Rushing Defense: Nevada does return all of their linebacker corp (I think) and Mundrae Clifton, but the rest of the Wolf Pack defensive line is new. Just as a reminder, the Wolf Pack were 78th in rushing defense (174.23 yards per game) last year and 73rd in tackles for loss. The Nevada defense showed great promise last week by only allowing Grambling 5 yards rushing for the day. I'm sure the truth is somewhere inbetween, Nevada isn't probably going to allow only 5 yards a game for the rest of the year, and I'm sure Nevada fans are hoping that it's less than the 175 yards a game last year. Dontay Moch seems to be "The Man" on the defensive line, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 8 overall. If I were going to watch anyone on the defensive line, it would be Mr. Moch.
Just as the Nevada defense improved over last year's numbers, so did the Texas Tech rushing game. I was pleasantly surprised with the 103 yards rushing and although I didn't seem the game, I thought the mix of Woods and Batch worked really well, although Batch did break a run for 26 yards. I'm not sure if Woods' 2.8 average for the game was based more or less on the fact that EWU was gearing up to stop Woods or if he just wasn't effective. I'll err on the side of the former and give Woods the benefit of the doubt, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Batch start to take away carries from Woods if he's ineffective.
I'm not sold that Texas Tech has solved their offensive rushing woes, nor am I satisfied that Nevada has figured out their defensive rushing deficiencies. I think Nevada will have some success stopping the run, but I get the feeling that Leach is really going to want to air it out this week due to Nevada's traditional inability to stop the pass.
Advantage: Nevada

 

[RJ Esq]

What I Learned In Summer School: by Greg Davis

from Burnt Orange Nation by GhostofBigRoy
In his August 12 interview, Greg Davis mentioned that he spent the summer looking at offenses from around the country in an attempt to diversify his own. The USC Trojans were one of those teams. I emailed Conquest Chronicles to get input about what Davis might have learned and they were kind enough to direct me to Art from Trojanfootballanalysis.com. Even if you aren't a USC fan, this site is a great way to improve your knowledge of X's and O's and impress your co-workers around the water cooler. Maybe even that college football fan dream girl you might meet some day.
1. Greg Davis specifically mentioned looking at the two back sets USC runs. What did he see in this formation?
USC lines up in the I Formation anywhere from 25 to 40% per game mostly in 21 personnel. It just depends upon the game plan and strength of the opponent (DL vs. LB's vs. DB's, etc.). The QB is of course under center in this alignment. The fullback lines up in the straight I and also is offset weak or strong to the tight end. WR's are either split, or in twins to one side or the other usually to the field and not the boundary.
2. Davis also mentioned looking at the motion sets. What did he see USC doing when they put players in motion?
This changes every week and is a game plan thing as well. All types of motion are used including WR's across to form twins, TE's flexed out to make it effectively a 3WR I formation look, TE trade motion, as well as FB or TB motioning out to WR to make it a one back set with 21 personnel. Slot receivers motion in to threaten crack blocks and either do this or continue across the formation for part of the shallow cross pass package. USC runs a lot of straight play action passes out of the I formation (e.g. 7 man protection) and 3 receivers deep. Sometimes one of the deep threats is the wheel route by either the FB or the TB. USC also likes to run bootleg and naked plays out of the I formation and run flood route concepts.
3. So we talked about the formations and motion. What type of running plays does USC like to use?
From the I formation the USC running game is the typical mix of iso lead draw, power off tackle, toss sweep plays, zone runs, and some misdirection stuff mixed in. USC actually is more of a one back team in 11 personnel since 2006 and mostly runs inside zone and outside zone in terms of overall alignment tendency. 2006 had far fewer I formation plays than in the past since 3 FB's went down to injury. The percentage went back to normal in 2007 and we have to wait and see in 2008. Short yardage situations will use 2TE and 3TE I formation jumbo plays near the goal line.
4. What about pass plays?
It all depends but the real key in my opinion out of the I formation for USC is the fullback. David Kirtman, Brandon Hancock, and now Stanley Havili have all been dependable backs on the option route and flat route / check down concepts. That keeps the chains moving a couple times per game. Goal line also presents the possibility of the play action power pass to the FB. Other pass plays mentioned above, including stuff off play action, bootlegs, etc. is mainly dependent upon opponent secondary schemes (Cover 1, Cover 2, Cover 3, Cover 4, etc.).
5. How does that compare to the rest of college football?
Most teams that are I formation teams like Ohio State run about 70-80% out of the I formation and the pass concepts are pretty simple (almost always play action related with 3 WR's downfield). I watched UCLA run 85% out of the I formation in one game last season and could not believe it. USC passes some games 50% out of the I formation and probably averages 60/40 run pass overall which makes it relatively confusing to defend. Sometimes they will put 5 into the pattern out of the I formation (some combination of 3 deep and 2 under).
6. Any insight on what the above might mean to Texas?
I have not watched Texas in a year or so but if the QB is still operating out of shotgun most of the time with 11 personnel I don't think it makes a lot of sense to do a ton of stuff out of the I formation. The QB has to go under center in the I formation and it changes the type of run plays. Out of shotgun you get the inside zone / zone read option stuff, speed option, delays, some guard or tackle pull stuff, and hand off to slot receivers coming in motion. If you go under center the QB has to learn different footwork for the run plays, how to pivot and open differently, how to mesh with the RB on hand offs, etc. at different points. It is hard to do both.
Maybe the coaches will pick and choose a few things to give the defense a different look to prepare for but I think it is tough to combine a shotgun run team with I formation concepts. Limited practice time usually pushes teams one direction or the other for base offense. I formation works best with the FB who can run the dive play effectively, block on iso lead draws, or seal the back side on zone runs, pass protect, and ideally also catch swing passes, etc. Otherwise I formation winds up signalling either run or basic play action pass concepts.
Analysis
I took a deeper look at the offensive identity of the football team last week. As I indicated in that post, Greg Davis expects to remain with the base shotgun spread offense used for the last several years. An I formation look seems likely 15-20% of the time, similar to last season. Conceivably, it could increase because of better health among the fullbacks. Remember that last year Antwaan Cobb and Luke Tiemann were both injured.
Ultimately, though, I see three major insights emerging from this conversation:
1. Fullbacks on the field and out of the backfield. Art mentions that USC uses their fullbacks extensively in the passing game. With a talented fullback in Cody Johnson, the Longhorns could turn to the I formation in an attempt to get him in the game more often. However, Cody Johnson hasn't been on the field enough to know whether he has the attributes that Art considers necessary for an I formation fullback, particularly in pass catching. If the Florida Atlantic game is any indication, the offensive staff seems intent on getting him onto the field, listing him atop the fullback depth chart and using him extensively. His running skill set probably fits the spread triple option or the I formation much more than running the zone read.
2. Shotgun and I formation don't always mix. Just like Mack Brown is keeping Cosby and Shipley in return roles despite more explosive options, practice time limits switching between your base offense and a fundamentally different look. There are only so many reps in a season, limiting the diversity in formations the coaches can implement. I think Art captured that well in his comments. I agree with him: the I formation will be a change of pace look for the Longhorns, but may be used extensively against teams that struggle in run defense. The positive is that Texas doesn't have to abandon zone blocking principles when operating out of the I formation. Art mentions as well the necessity for changing the quarterback's footwork when under center. Colt McCoy ran a pro style offense in high school, most likely spending significant time under center. Even though McCoy is entering his fourth season in the program, that footwork would likely return quickly.
3. Play action passing. Art mentions that running bootlegs and play action passes are dependent on the coverage schemes, but they also represent a major tactical advantage against defensive responses to the I formation. Spread offenses necessarily spread out defenses and, vice versa, I formation offenses bunch defenses. Offenses can then exploit the boundaries, particularly using play action bootlegs that become even more dangerous with running quarterbacks like Colt McCoy and John Chiles. Spread offenses don't hold the exclusive license on operating in space, the difference is in how the offenses create space. I formation looks do so by misdirection and play action, which is the fundamental type of football that Mack Brown really likes.

 

[RJ Esq]

Georgia Tech at B.C.: Landing the first blow in the ACC free-for-all

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

The wrapping finally came off for Georgia Tech partisans last week, when Paul Johnson unveiled his vaunted flexbone in all its quirky, prolific splendor. It was a total success against Jacksonville State, and accordingly most of the build-up to the Jackets' trip to Boston will focus in some fashion on how the triple option will hold up against an experienced front seven that finished second in the country last year against the run. Less publicized than Tech's offense, though just as interesting, is what Boston College's post-Matt Ryan offensive scheme will look like for the first time against a competent defense. Last year, first-year coordinator Steve Logan rode Ryan's right arm into the ground, calling on him to throw 650 times, almost 47 attempts per game; Ryan threw at least 40 passes in 12 of 14 games, and never handed off 40 times. By contrast, in his first start, Chris Crane threw 18 passes and gave it to Eagle running backs (or kept it himself) 47 times.
Surely Logan isn't gameplanning for a 3:1 runass ratio for the rest of the season, but to what extent was the more ground-oriented attack purely a product of playing overmatched Kent State, as opposed to a philosophical shift to emphasize the offense's strengths, which no longer reside at quarterback? As with most answers, it's probably somewhere in the middle: B.C. may not be able to run the ball well enough against one of the ACC's better defenses to consistently choose its passing downs, but it's not going to say to hell with the between-the-tackles stuff and ask Crane to make the overwhelming majority of the plays through the air, either, as it did with Ryan last year. There's nothing more banal than saying, "They strive for balance," but if Crane's attempts start adding up into Ryan territory, it's a good bet that things aren't going according script.

On the other side, the Eagles are probably in as good a position to corral Tech as any defense in the conference, mostly because of their mountainous tackles, B.J. Raji and Ron Brace, who conservatively tip the scales at 650 between them and won't be blown off the ball against an endless string of fullback dives. B.C. isn't the fastest defense, but if Raji and Brace take away Johnson's bread and butter up the gut, All-ACC types Brian Toal and Mark Herzlich can zero in on Josh Nesbitt coming down the line. Last time he saw a Boston College defense, Johnson's Midshipmen rolled up 322 yards on the ground in a last-second loss in the '06 Car Car Bowl. If Tech comes anywhere near that against this defense, go ahead and pencil in the Jackets as the Coastal Division favorite.

 

[RJ Esq]

Life on the Margins: A silver lining for Pitt?

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Obsessing over the statistical anomalies and minutiae of close and closer-than-they-looked games that could have gone the other way. Be careful before you judge these teams by the final score alone . . .

Pittsburgh has been thoroughly vilified since Saturday, having forfeited the groundswell of optimism and expectation that followed from the Panthers' strong (by Big East standards) recruiting and season-ending upset over West Virginia last December by losing to middling Bowling Green. The sense of disappointment seems almost as strong here as the deflationary backlash against Clemson, with the added assumption that Dave Wannstedt is a dead coach walking without some immediate remedy.
On a play-by-play basis, though, Pitt wasn't terrible Saturday, and on the whole moved the ball far more effectively than the Falcons, who in fact were held 150 yards below their 2007 average in total offense. But the Panthers didn't finish on their opportunities -- six possessions ended in Bowling Green territory with no points: they punted, fumbled (twice), failed to convert on fourth down, missed a field goal and threw an interception, respectively, all from inside the BG 40-yard line.
The Panther defense was OK -- again, Bowling Green came nowhere near its usual offensive output -- but despite going three-and-out or worse nine times, BG took full advantage of all of its sporadic success, scoring 17 points on the only three possessions that went further than 20 yards and walking in for an easy 11-yard touchdown "drive" that sealed the game following the second Panther fumble in as many possessions in the fourth quarter. If it can hang onto the ball there and start converting near-misses into points, Pitt still has a chance to come out alright.
Mississippi State, which spent much of 2007 just scraping by in games it was ostensibly outplayed in the box score, found itself on the other side of the coin Saturday, against another set of Bulldogs with little to no offense to speak of.

MSU went on a pair of 80-plus-yard touchdown drives in the first half and moved the ball fairly regularly on other drives, but turnovers were an absolute killer: three different possessions -- one each in the first, second and third quarters -- ended with a Wesley Carroll interception in La Tech territory.
To Tech's credit, it did a lot of little things right on special teams. It didn't move the ball very well (Georgia Tech refugee Taylor Bennett was predictably scattershot, completing fewer than 40 percent of his passes), but Brad Oestriecher nailed 48 and 49-yard field goals, Chris Keagle dropped five punts inside the MSU 20 and Phillip Livas made maybe the play of the game, a 49-yard punt return to the MSU 13 at the end of the second quarter that set up a short Tech touchdown to get on the board going into the locker room. When it got the ball back with a five-point lead and almost the entire fourth quarter still to play, Tech went on a seven-minute, 47-yard drive, ending in an Oestriecher field goal that pushed the lead to eight. Mississippi State, meanwhile, averaged a miserable 31 yards per punt even without having one blocked. The Bulldogs still look pretty tough on defense, but they won't go anywhere in the SEC with a defense/run-first sort of identity unless they shore up that field position battle in the kicking game.

 

[horses]

No silver lining for Pitt; they lost to a MAC school at home.

No silver lining for SDSU; they lost to a high school team at home.

(I know, I know...SLO is a good div II tm)

 

[RJ Esq]

Return of Roper

Posted by John Hunt, The Oregonian September 03, 2008 18:21PM

Categories: Football

Thomas Boyd/The OregonianQuarterback Justin Roper, throwing during a scrimmage last month, returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to start Saturday against Utah State.
Oregon quarterback Justin Roper, who sustained a concussion during the Ducks' 44-10 win over Washington on Saturday night, returned to practice Wednesday, saying he's "about 100 percent.''
"I wasn't dizzy or anything,'' Roper said after practice. "I can remember most of the plays now. I look back at the film and I'm like, oh yeah I do remember that. So I kind of remember most of them. In the second half I only remembered about three or four (from the first half). Now I can remember all of them.''
Roper is expected to start Saturday when the Ducks play Utah State at Autzen Stadium. Backups Jeremiah Masoli and Chris Harper also probably will play.

 

[RJ Esq]

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[Yanks27Sox9]

ruhroe... :seeya:

i'm against one of your leans again this week. gimme that one, and sweep the board on your current 4 plays. deal?
:shake:

 

[RJ Esq]

Ralph Friedgen Stands Up For, Sits Starting QB

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Maryland, ACC

The good news for Maryland from this past weekend was that they were one of the few ACC schools to start out 1-0. The bad news was that it was a seven-point victory against Delaware (though if you squint, you could pretend it's Michigan. Then again...). The worse news was that it was a 14-7 victory, and let's face it- QB wasn't exactly a position of strength for the Terrapins even if it looked like there were so many options.

Which is why it looks like presumptive starter Jordan Steffy, thumb injury and all, is getting a quick hook, possibly in favor of Chris Turner (known to your favorite hacky commentator as "he sure looks like Napoleon Dynamite") or Mama's Boy Josh Portis. Still, don't think that Ralph Friedgen doesn't have a place in his lardened heart for Steffy. Peep the bulletproof Gundy game: "You want to boo me, boo me. Don't boo the kid, Would I like him to make some better decisions or make some better passes? Sure. But this kid to me is the epitome of what we want in this football program." You hear that, Maryland fans- epitome! 14 points against Delaware! In sum, the total number of capable starting QBs in the entire state of Maryland holds steady at zero- unless the guy who's starting at Navy has a cannon he's just not able to show off in the option.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">8:35 AM (1 hour ago)
With GameDay's help, he will be crushed by friendliness

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

The Doc does not "Facebook," or "MySpace," or participate in any other verb of the sort, which for his age and education bracket is akin to saying, "I'm a little skeptical about this odd, circular object on which you've placed the apple basket, Grok. That's why the sun sent gnomes in tiny chariots pulled by winged ocelots to fashion our shoulders from the reeds." As much as I'm online already, another place to click around feeling jealous at how many hot girls other people seem to know intimately is too deep into the wormhole for me.
But Barrett Caldwell is on Facebook, as he first informed GameDay fans with an on-set sign when the show came to Clemson two years ago that said, "Facebook Me: Barrett Caldwell." It allegedly drew about 1,000 friend requests, or whatever the kids are calling them. Now, Caldwell's training for the Coast Guard and sans Internet for a month (does that count as torture? Only in South Park, I guess), so his friend James Southwick decided, "Why not bury him crewcut-deep in shallow attention from complete strangers?" Accordingly, when GameDay went to Atlanta, Southwick un-retired the sign you see above in an effort to leave his friend's inbox bursting at the seams when he emerges from his quasi-seclusion.
Southwick passed it along to SI on Campus, which is doing its part. So in the name of harmless nuisances among friends, the Doc will follow suit: hit him up.
P.S. -- Corso was wrong about Alabama, by the way: it didn't have to throw a pass on offense. Or even run a play, after the first quarter.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">7:35 AM (2 hours ago)
Better Know a Beat Writer: So Corey Clark's telling us Florida State has a chance

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton
Beat writers: you need them. I need them. They’re up early, out late, on the ground, on the phones day after day to satisfy the incessant demand for every possible scrap of minutiae. In newspapers’ Age of Tumult, they’re the one piece of the sports operation that remains completely indispensable as long as fans care about their teams.

Today: the Doc sits down with Florida State beat writer Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat over Duck confit on wild rice with lingonberry jus to discuss the Seminoles’ resiliency in the chaotic ACC, Bobby Bowden’s non-future and fluid tropological economies whose currency comprises units of metaphor, synecdoche, and metonymy:
Doc: Expectations seemed the lowest they’ve been at FSU in 30 years, but then Virginia Tech and Clemson go down in ugly losses, and the ACC seems wide open. Is the ACC championship still a realistic goal, or have the Noles completely lost that edge? Do they need that edge?
CC: After what transpired this weekend, the ACC Championship is definitely a realistic goal for FSU. I think the key game will be -- and I can't believe I'm saying this -- the home game against Wake Forest in Week 3. There will be 11 players still suspended from last year's academic scandal, so the Seminoles will be shorthanded against a team they've lost to the last two seasons. If they can somehow win that game, and that's not a huge "if" because it's not like Wake is loaded with NFL talent, then the schedule sets up really nicely for them.
And it definitely helps that the ACC looks to be very, very weak this season. I know it's only one weekend, but good lord the conference sure did look bad on Saturday.As far as any edge, yeah that was lost a while ago. FSU doesn't walk on a field with a swagger anymore. And truthfully, why would they? They're 17-17 over their last 34 games. That kind of record will dull any edge a program might have. But in this conference, I don't know that an edge or a swagger is needed. They just need to beat the teams they should beat.
Doc: Two I-AA games? At the place that pioneered the college football version of “Murderer’s Row”? Are they that desperate to pad the win total these days, or what?
CC: Well the thinking behind the Western Carolina and Chattanooga games was pretty simple -- FSU will have all of those players suspended for the first two games, including at least five starters. So they needed a couple of creampuffs early on. And they found them apparently -- I saw Chattanooga held Oklahoma to like 57 points last weekend. So that should bode pretty well for the FSU offense in Week 2.
I really do think it was a good idea for this particular team, with the suspensions and so many inexperienced guys being forced to play early, that they open up with these kind of games instead of those tortuous Labor Day games they've had the last four years. And I'm sure FSU fans will be excited to actually see some touchdowns in Week 1 instead of those ugly slugfests they've had to watch against Miami and Clemson in recent years.
And to answer the second part of that question -- yes, they are THAT desperate for wins around here.

Doc: Quarterback: Christian Ponder will start Saturday, but as close as the race supposedly was, does it make much difference?
CC: I think it’s a good thing. Ponder and D’Vontrey Richardson are MUCH more mobile than Drew Weatherford (above), and with FSU's young offensive line they don't need a statue standing back there just begging to be sacked. You need a QB that can make plays with his feet and can avoid pressure. So yes, I think it makes a difference who starts at QB.
And let me add this -- for the first time in a long time, this offense has an FSU-caliber WR corps. Preston Parker and Greg Carr are both known commodities, but newcomers like Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Taiwan Easterling and Jarmon Fortson are all really talented playmakers. Surrency has been the star of the preseason actually and should make a huge impact.
Doc: What’s the biggest difference you see in the program up close between its current malaise and the old killers that dominated year after year? Is it talent, or something else?
CC: It's the talent. Back in the 1990s, FSU had NFL players all over its roster. Not just NFL players, but first-round picks. The Seminoles haven't had a first-round pick on offense since Alex Barron in 2002. They haven't had a first-round skill player since Javon Walker in 2001. I just think that's the biggest difference.
With that in mind though, I also think the coaching had a lot to do with it. The previous offensive staff swung and missed on many, MANY recruits. Jimbo Fisher has a much better track record at evaluating and developing talent. So look for FSU to start to bring in big-time playmakers like it did in the 1990s.

I think malaise is a very good word -- a very apt description of the FSU program from 2002-2006. But I really think this new offensive staff has been a great bolt of energy for this team. Obviously, after another 7-6 season there aren't any streets being named after Jimbo Fisher quite yet, but I think things are headed in the right direction. He has already proven to be a terrific recruiter and I think the offense will be much improved this season.
Doc: Joe Paterno seems to be getting a little push at Penn State. Anything similar behind the scenes in Tallahassee (as Jimbo Fisher’s coach-in-waiting status might suggest), or is Bowden still as untouchable as he seems?
CC: Well, Bowden is in no danger of being fired. That simply won't happen. The administration pretty much lost that card when they erected the statue outside the stadium and then named the field after him. And truthfully, for what he's done for this program, he should be able to go out on his own terms. But then again, at some point he has to actually go out, too. He can't coach forever, even though it might appear that's exactly what he's trying to do. I think another 7-6 season could really put some serious pressure (internally and externally) on Bowden to retire, but who knows if he would? He's always joked that after you retire there's only one big event left in your life and it's not something to look forward to. So we'll see what he decides to do. But make no mistake, it will be his decision.
Quick hits:
Most frustrating cliché: "It is what it is."
Question you'd ask at a bar, after a shot or two (or six): I would ask Jimbo Fisher how bad the situation really was here when he arrived in 2007.
Personal athletic prowess, on a scale of 1-10: I'll break this down. On a scale for sportswriters, I would say my athletic prowess is a 9 (we're not a very athletic bunch). For regular people, I would say about a 6.5.
Admit a bias (you know you want to): I will admit that almost all beat writers want the team they cover to win. Not because they're fans, but because a good team generates so much more reader interest.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">7:03 AM (2 hours ago)
New clock rules contributing to shorter games?

from Fanblogs.com by Kevin Donahue
One of the stated objectives of the new 40-second play clock was to add consistency to the clock rules without causing a reduction in the number of plays.

"It is our hope that the 40-25 clock will add a consistent pace of play," he said. "NFL studies show when they made this change it also added four plays per game. The live ball carrier out of bounds happens on average about 12 times a game. A couple of those are in the last two minutes where there will be no change and the handful of plays lost through this should be replaced by the 40-25 pace of play. It should be a push."​

While its too early to draw conclusions, we can say that -- after one week -- the new clock rules have contributed to an overall decline in the number of plays per game.

As for the average number of plays, it was 134.7 in Week 1, down from 143.4 in 2007. That's 8.7 plays. In 2006, the average was 127.5, down 13.2 plays from 2005.​

Not surprisingly, the length of games has also dropped, even -- as Da Wiz points out -- with an OT game for UCLA-UT and a rain delay at OU.

Here is the data through Monday's games:

G Plays/G Time/G
2005 717 140.7 3:21
2006 792 127.5 3:07
2007 792 143.4 3:23
2008 73 134.7 3:10
​

As you can see, the length of games is down considerably year-over-year. This is something we will be watching to see if this is a blip or a trend.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">6:35 AM (3 hours ago)
Thursday Headlinin': Nittany Lions fight on, get their light on

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

• Rival message boards certain to handle misdemeanor with boys-will-be-boys restraint. The Doc is shocked -- shocked! -- that Penn State players A.J. Wallace, Andrew Quarless, Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma would be anywhere in the vicinity of a soireé that included a "small amount" of the demon weed, much less host such lawlessness in their on-campus apartment. Nevertheless, a little routine blazin' leaves all four Lions facing "drug charges," another link in the chain of much more serious and extremely high profile legal problems for PSU over the last two years.
Evans is the star of the group, an All-Big Ten sack master who'll be missed if suspended, but for Quarless (right), especially, already teetering on the brink after a DUI arrest in March, his days as a Lion are probably over -- although if Joe Paterno is consistent in his attitude toward, say, his players' breaking fellow students' faces, he'll say something like, "It was a little chronic. They're kids, they toke sometimes. Didn't you ever roll a fatty when you were a kid? Come on." Which is true this time, actually. Except in court.
On the bright side, quarterback Darryl Clark was awarded a fifth year of eligibility, meaning he can return in 2009 -- and, if ex-blue chip Pat Devlin doesn't overtake him by then, that Devlin's hype will likely go completely unfulfilled in the No. 2 role.
• Join the club, coach. Vol fans are angry with Phil Fulmer after Tennessee's loss at UCLA Monday, and an incensed Fulmer completely sympathizes with them after watching the game film:

When Tennessee's flight home from Los Angeles landed Tuesday night, Phillip Fulmer was still steaming.​

Watching mistake after mistake during a late-night film session in the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center didn't help. Neither did more viewings and staff meetings Wednesday morning.
Even after practice Wednesday night, Tennessee's head coach was still smarting from the Vols' 27-24 upset loss Monday night in overtime at UCLA.
"Fact is, I probably fed off (the team) a little bit today because youth bounces back better than we do," Fulmer said. "They've had class and other things. I've had nothing but that film that I've sulked over for two days. I'm . . . really, really mad - I told them - really, really mad over some of the things that happened."
Specific citations included dropped passes, bad QB-center exchanges, missed assignments and the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown against a Fulmer team in his career -- as much time as they spend on special teams in practice, "For some crap like that to happen to us, it makes you mad." But he's not blaming the kids!

Also turns out Jonathan Crompton suffered a concussion midway through the fourth quarter -- and immediately led the team on a pair of tense drives to first go ahead and then tie to get to overtime after struggling for most of the night. Hmmmm . . . walk-ons are already being assembled into the "Crompton Assault Team" when Jon gets back to practice.
• The game must go on, if we're all still alive by then. Given the over-the-top buildup (I say that as someone who grew up facing annual scares in hurricane country and fled Katrina), it's hard to imagine Gustav was worse to Baton Rouge than expected, but Les Miles said the capital -- and therefore his team -- took a tougher hit than it did in the Katrina-Rita tag team assault in 2005, and this Saturday's game with Troy will be moved to Nov. 15. It's possible power in the city won't be 100 percent by Saturday, and debris-strewn Tiger Stadium suffered some minor damage, including flying awnings and benches that left some seats with untenably sharp edges.
Quickly . . .
• Chris Turner didn't have to wait long: after considering transferring when he lost Maryland's QB derby to Jordan Steffy, Turner will be back under center at Middle Tennessee. . . . After being discovered passed out with an epic blood-alchol level in the summer, running back Kevin Grady will be back for Michigan against Miami of Ohio -- though only as a fourth or fifth-stringer. . . . Oregon QB Justin Roper returned to practice and felt 100 percent after suffering a concussion against Washington. . . . Rey Maualuga's broken finger is a little worse than expected. That's what happens when you refuse to wear a cast in games. . . . A misleading headline in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: LeSean McCoy didn't actually sell out his offensive coordinator. But the Panthers have lost linebacker Adam Gunn for the season with a broken vertebrae. . . . The Gerhart brothers go head to head in Stanford's game with Arizona State Saturday. . . . Let's just cool it with the 'Smelley' puns in South Carolina, can we? . . . And this is kind of mean. Funny -- and generally inaccurate, as far as Austin goes -- but so, so mean.






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">1:34 AM (8 hours ago)
Shorter Games, Fewer Plays

from The Wiz of Odds by Jay Christensen

The Football Rules Committee appears to have gotten its wish with a reduction in the average length of games, but the 40-25 play clock instituted for the 2008 season has also cut dramatically into the number of plays.
Marty Couvillon of cfbstats.com has compiled data for Week 1 games — 73 in all involving Division I-A teams — and found that the average length of a game was 3 hours 10 minutes, a 13-minute reduction from 2007. In 2006, when the controversial 3-2-5-e rule was enacted, the length of a game was 3:07, a 14-minute reduction from 2005.

As for the average number of plays, it was 134.7 in Week 1, down from 143.4 in 2007. That's 8.7 plays. In 2006, the average was 127.5, down 13.2 plays from 2005.
Michael Clark, the coach at Bridgewater (Va.) College who was chairman of the rules committee when it approved the 40-25 clock, said in February that the change was not expected to impact the number of plays.
"It is our hope that the 40-25 clock will add a consistent pace of play," he said. "NFL studies show when they made this change it also added four plays per game. The live ball carrier out of bounds happens on average about 12 times a game. A couple of those are in the last two minutes where there will be no change and the handful of plays lost through this should be replaced by the 40-25 pace of play. It should be a push."
Although the data sample remains small, it's pointing toward shorter games and fewer plays in 2008. If anything, the average length of games was pushed upward by a 1:12 rain delay at Oklahoma and an overtime game at UCLA.
Here is the data through Monday's games:

G Plays/G Time/G
2005 717 140.7 3:21
2006 792 127.5 3:07
2007 792 143.4 3:23
2008 73 134.7 3:10
The longest games of Week 1:
Chattanooga-Oklahoma: 4:09
Eastern Washington-Texas Tech: 3:40
Illinois-Missouri: 3:39
Tennessee-UCLA: 3:39
Oregon State-Stanford: 3:39
The shortest games of Week 1:
James Madison-Duke: 2:35
South Carolina State-Central Florida: 2:36
Texas Christian-New Mexico: 2:44
Boston College-Kent State: 2:44
Eastern Kentucky-Cincinnati: 2:46






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:36 AM (6 minutes ago)
On the road again, Beavers have some catching up to do

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Make no mistake: for Penn State, however statistically impressive it was in last week's 66-10 rout over geographically redundant/nonexistent Coastal Carolina, this is in every realistic sense the opener. Whatever the box score says about quarterback Daryll Clark or the trio of young backs vying for carries behind him or the middle of the defense, a one-time strength that's been dramatically thinned by injures and suspensions, those questions weren't remotely answered by pounding the poor Chanticleers. If anything, after the most recent raid on campus, the Lions have more to worry about, with starters Maurice Evans (aka "Big Ten sack leader Maurice Evans"), Abe Karoma, A.J. Wallace and oft-cited Andrew Quarless facing eminent discipline that could keep them off the field Saturday.
But those remain possible issues, unknowns, whereas Oregon State is already well acquainted with its very real warts after last week's pantsing at Stanford. The Beavers put together back-to-back nine and ten-win seasons mainly by being strong on both lines: workhorse Yvenson Bernard carried 25 times per game last year, almost all between the tackles, and the defense led the nation against the run, allowing a ridiculously low 2.1 yards per carry. So to describe allowing Stanford -- an offense that hadn't averaged more than three yards per carry since 2002 -- to run for 218 on 5.1 per carry as "disappointing" would be a vast understatement, especially when you add that Tavita Pritchard (10 of 17 for 91 yards) did nothing to back OSU off the line with his arm.

The Beavers lacked physicality on offense, too, and without a feature back or injured All-Pac Ten guard Jeremy Perry, generally abandoned straight ahead runs last week in an effort to get the ball in the hands of the diminutive Rodgers Bros., James and Jacquizz, in space. James is a devil on speed sweeps, which he took for almost 600 yards last year and for 49 on five carries against the Cardinal, but that's a once-every-other-possession option, at best, and ought to reach "too predictable" status any game now. In the meantime, Jacquizz was bottled up in his first collegiate game, 235-pound thumper Ryan McCants barely touched the ball, and Lyle Moevao wound up passing 54 times. For a lot of yards, yes, but also a pair of killer interceptions, one returned for a decisive touchdown, because Lyle Moevao isn't a 50-pass-per-game kind of guy, and I doubt OSU ever wants him to be again.
But if they couldn't establish anything on the ground in front of a lackluster crowd in Palo Alto, beneath the heathen multitudes in Happy Valley is no place for redemption. At least if Moevao is forced to throw, it won't be too often, because OSU's not going to have the ball: Penn State's offensive line remains intact and healthy, and if the Beavers' debut was any indication, should have one of its biggest days of the year on the ground. Daryll Clark's arm need not be tested yet.
- - -

Penn State 32, Oregon State 19






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[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">10:29 AM (13 minutes ago)
Us v. Them: The Nevada Offense v. The Texas Tech Defense

from Double-T Nation by Seth C

<center>

v.

</center>
<center>The Texas Tech Red Raiders (1-0, 0-0) v. The Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0, 0-0)</center>
WHEN NEVADA HAS THE BALL:

<center> <table border="1" width="75%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#191970"> <td>Statistical Leaders</td> <td>Nevada</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Passing</td> <td>Colin Kaepernick: 10 Comp., 12 Att., 122 Yds., 0 TD, 1 Int.
Nick Graziano: 7 Comp., 12 Att., 75 Yds., 0 TD, 0 Int.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rushing</td> <td>Vai Taua: 12 Att., 103 Yds., 2 TD
Brandon Fragger: 9 Att., 83 Yds., 1 TD
Luke Lippincott: 9 Att., 70 Yds., 1 TD
Colin Kaepernick: 6 Att., 63 Yds., 3 TD</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Receiving</td> <td>Mike McCoy: 6 Rec., 67 Yds., 0 TD
Marko Mitchell: 4 Rec., 49 Yds., 0 TD
Chris Wellington: 3 Rec., 42 Yds., 0 TD</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center>
<center> <table border="1" width="75%"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#cc0000"> <td>Statistical Leaders</td> <td>Texas Tech</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Tackles</td> <td>Jamar Wall: 9
Marlon Williams: 7
Brent Nickerson: 6
Brian Duncan: 6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sacks</td> <td>Marlon Williams: 1.0
Brandon Williams: 1.0
McKinner Dixon: 1.0</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Interceptions</td> <td>Daniel Charbonnet: 1
Rajon Henley: 1
Brian Duncan: 1</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </center>
Nevada Passing Offense v. Texas Tech Passing Defense: Colin Kaepernick was okay passing the ball last week, but he really didn't need to pass too much against Grambling State. Historically, Kaepernick has been really efficient, finishing last year with an 8.8 yards per attempt average (this is a great number) and had 6 touchdowns to every interception last year. Kaepernick's biggest deficiency is that he's not very efficient, completing on 53% of his passes last year, which is somewhat surprising Nevada's success running the ball, you would think that the offense would open up a little more. Mike McCoy is Nevada's leading receiver from last year and has stepped up this year as well. Both McCoy (6'0"/190) and Marko Mitchell (6'3"/210) are decent sized receivers, perhaps another reason why the Texas Tech coaching staff wanted size opposite Jamar Wall. Nevada didn't utilize their tight ends last wee, as Virgil Green caught 2 passes for 6 yards, but I think it's safe to say that the Wolf Pack tight ends are used more for blocking than as pass-catchers.
The Texas Tech secondary took somewhat of a hit last week, giving up over 300 yards seems downright awful, but EWU was exposing the soft part of the defense, utilizing short passes and taking advantage of matchups. I'm not sure that we'll see the same on Saturday, but at the very least, this team should be better prepared for a short passing game. The Nichols-Davis touchdown last week was on Wall and Charbonnet and I think they both know they can't afford to let any receiver get behind them, this was, perhaps, the secondary's biggest letdown of the game. Other than that, I thought the group had a pretty nice effort. Wall (9), Nickerson (6), Charbonnet (5) and McBath (5) were all in the top 10 in tackles, and as a team there were only 8 assisted tackles for the entire game, which means that who ever was making tackles was not letting EWU gain any additional yardage.
I think the secondary has more than enough players to keep pace with Nevada, just play it smart.
Advantage: Texas Tech
Nevada Rushing Offense v. Texas Tech Rushing Defense: This is where this game is won or lost, right? If Texas Tech can have some success stopping Nevada's running game then there's a game to be won, but if this is UT or OSU version 2008, then it's going to be a long day. As I was reviewing Nevada's stats from last week, I couldn't help but think that the way the coaching staff split the Nevada carries is similar to how Texas Tech likes to distribute passes. Five guys saw 6 or more carries, with Taua leading the way with 12, but there was a pretty even distribution of rushing attempts. In comparison to last year, it was the Luke Lippincott and Colin Kaepernick show, where they accounted for over 65% of the rushing attempts. Nevada does return almost all of their offensive line, so there's probably not any issues with continuity, these guys are pretty good.
Opportunity. That's right, this game is an opportunity for the Texas Tech defense. This is one of those games where you tell the guys that as long as you do your job, stay at home, contain, etc., then everything will be fine. You do your job and the guy next to you does his job then everything will be fine. As I've stated this week, I didn't get to see the game, so I can't say how the defensive line looked, although only giving up 23 yards rushing isn't bad, but Marlon Williams (7), Brian Duncan (6) and Bront Bird (5) were making quite a few tackles. The defensive line was relatively quiet, but I think that we can look at this as the defensive line was successful in allowing their linebackers make plays. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Sesay, who failed to show up in the boxscore and less of Sandy Riley, especially if he's going to continue to make awful penalties. It was good to see both Brandon Williams, Marlon Williams, and McKinner Dixon each register a sack on Saturday. I think it's just a matter of time before Daniel Howard makes an impact on a game.
Nevada is going to have success, but (I'm going to keep telling myself this until it becomes true) this is not last year's defense, it will bend, but it won't break.
Advantage: Nevada






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[RJ Esq]

Adding:

NW -6' (-110)

Look at BAR's thread and others about the situational play here. NW lost to Duke in Week 3 last year and gave Duke it's only win of the year. In that game, NW was without Sutton but still managed to outplay and outgain Duke badly.

Was concerned about the weather but now looks like light rain and wind for game time. Should be fine.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">1:36 PM (1 hour ago)
Smarting from Week One, the Wannabe Wagerer asks Dr. Lou

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Doug Gillett
Hey Jenny Slater's Doug Gillett offers betting advice without bias, malice, or credibility. Or, you know, money.

My debut last week as Dr. Saturday’s picks columnist didn’t go so hot, as flameouts by UTEP, Florida Atlantic, and Clemson left me at 2-3 against the spread. Clearly I’m unqualified to do this, but I know of someone who isn’t, and that’s former Notre Dame coach and current ESPN analyst Lou Holtz.
Lou’s already doing a regular segment, “Ask Dr. Lou” on various iterations of College Football Live, College GameDay Final, etc., in which he dispenses advice to prominent players and coaches at the same rate he used to put headlocks on referees. Last week, Tim Tebow asked the good doctor how to win a national championship, and the trenchant response included the advice, "Be significant," and "Be a good friend." Someone with that depth of insight should be money at something as obvious as picking games against the spread. Thus I’m handing over the keys to the picks column, for this week at least. So if you end up with your kneecaps busted by Monday, don’t blame me. Blame Dr. Lou.
Dear Dr. Lou,
Sometimes I feel like I’m over the hill. Goin’ on 43 years at the same damn school out in the Middle of Nowhere, PA, I just get this feeling like maybe it’s time to hang it up. I don’t have the time or the energy to be doing a blog or sending text messages out to these punk kids every five minutes. Got any advice for how an old dog like me can rekindle his love for the game by covering –16.5 against Oregon State?
I Want Brains
Happy Valley
Dear Brains,
You know, that sounds a lot like a problem ol’ Lou had when he was coaching the University of South Carolina. We wanted to inject some excitement into the program, and when I asked about playing a Pac-10 team, someone suggested we try to get Oregon State on the schedule. Boy, I’ll tell you what, every time I talked about getting the ’Cocks and the Beavers together and going at it, all the fellas in the room just laughed and laughed, we were like kids again! I never did find out what was so funny, and we never did get Oregon State on the schedule, but just being able to make big plans and share a laugh like that got us as fired up as we ever thought we could be. So lemme tell you something, young man, if you just mention that the Beavers are coming into Beaver Stadium, you'll already be on the right track. You’ll cover that –16.5 and give those Beavers the what-for, just as long as you remember the point is to have fun!
Dear Dr. Lou,
My big problem is that I can’t find it in me to say no to anyone. Whether they’re asking me to look after their dog while they’re out of town or to let them score on my defense, I just feel obligated to do it for some reason! And it gets to the point where I’m completely overextending myself. Do you have any tips on how I can be more assertive — and can I change in time to keep Georgia from beating me by more than 23.5 on Saturday?
Pushover in Mount Pleasant
Dear Pushover,
My advice is to start small and work your way up. Say you’re watching the game, the phone rings, your wife asks you to get it, just say, “No, honey, I’m watchin’ the game!” One of your neighbors asks if you can give her a ride to the DeSoto dealer to pick up her car, you don’t need to give her some convoluted explanation, just tell her you’re busy! Pretty soon you’ll be saying no to all kinds of people, whether it’s other moms from your kid’s soccer team or your rivals in the Mid-American Conference. But Georgia . . . I don’t know if you’re ready for that yet. Probably better just to give ’em the 23 points and work on your assertiveness some other time.

Dear Dr. Lou, My team dropped 70 points on Idaho last week, which was awesome, but now I’m feeling a little overwhelmed -- it’s been years since we had an offense, and I’m not sure I know how to deal with it yet. How do I know when I'm ready to love again, or to cover –22.5 against Toledo?
Stoops to Conquer
Tucson
Dear Stoops,
Son, I know love can be cruel sometimes, in college football just as much as anyplace else, but how are you ever going to learn to trust someone if you don’t put yourself out there? Why, I remember when I first met the great silent-film actress Claire McDowell back in aught-six -- she did nothing but stomp on my heart the whole time we were together, and she finally left me for that charlatan Charles Hill Mailes, but if I’d never gotten back on that horse I’d have never met my current wife, Beth, the love of my life and vehicle through which I passed my superlative coaching genes. So I guess what I’m telling you is, it's never too late to rekindle the spark: go out there, throw caution to the wind, and take the Wildcats over the –22.5 spread. If you don't, you're always going to look back and wonder what might have been!
Dear Dr. Lou,
Once upon a time, I was a well-respected coach at a fairly prominent BCS-conference program, but a screw-up here and a little white lie there and I found myself dumped at a school in Orlando that’s only been in Division I-A for 12 years. Any advice on how I could punch my résumé up a little to be better positioned the next time a good gig comes around? Maybe say that I beat a 14-point spread against South Florida?
Knight Rider
Orlando
Dear Knight,
Whoa, lemme tell you something, buddy, you’ve got to be very careful about that résumé, ’cuz if you put something on there that stretches the truth even a little bit, someone’s gonna call you on it. When I first applied to be a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, I told them I’d been a four-year letterman at Kent State, and they told me, “Son, unless you know something we don’t, it’s 1871 and college football has only been in existence for two years.” Boy, was my face red! It took a lot of explaining to get out of that one. And if you go around telling people you came within two TDs of the No. 17 team in the country, they’re going to find out eventually that you didn’t. ’Cuz trust me, you won’t make that spread.
Now for our closing thought of the week: behind every successful person stands an NCAA probe, threatening probation. See you next week.






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[RJ Esq]

Beanie Out for OU

from Buckeye Commentary by Massey
As you no doubt know, Beanie will sit out the Ohio game. This is, without question, the right decision. There is virtually zero upside to Wells playing this Saturday and the downside is palpable.

So, with that decision made, let's turn to the most natural follow up: who should see the lion share of the carries against the Bobcats? Tressel has stated that Mo Wells will start, which in my mind is simply ceremonial.

If it were up to me, Saine would get the most carries/receptions. Until proven otherwise, he is the most talented backup and can cause the most problems for opposing defenses. I just do not see Mo Wells or Heron making an impact against USC in a week.

Let us know what you think by voting in the poll top right.

 

[RJ Esq]

'Dangerous' Bearcats glad just to be considered

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Oklahoma has lost exactly two games in Norman since its breakthrough season in 2000: one to huge underdog Oklahoma State in 2001, and one to huge underdog TCU in 2005. So there is some precedent, and therefore minor hope, Saturday for huge underdog Cincinnati. You know, the last time we saw Oklahoma against the Big East, it was getting trucked (beer-trucked, that is). But even though I'm relatively high on the Bearcats, and their coach, Brian Kelly, off arguably the best season in school history in Kelly's first year, the venue here doesn't matter much. Not that Cincy is destined to fall without a reasonable fight, like completely helpless Chattanooga in Norman last week; if nothing else, the Bearcats can clamp down with All-Big East, NFL-bound corners Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith, who are good enough to anchor the Bearcat secondary in the same way Mike Jenkins and Trae Williams did on the corners last year for South Florida's run. It returns every significant member of last year's somewhat prolific receiving corps, and got a virtually flawless performance from prodigal starting quarterback Dustin Grutza last week after basically an entire year behind Ben Mauk (who, by the way, will get you off the field yet, Grutza). Eastern Kentucky gained all of eight first downs and didn't score until well into the third quarter, with the game well in hand for UC. The wayward pregame skydiver had a better night than the Colonels.

All together now: this is not Eastern Kentucky. Cincinnati may be as good as the Texas Tech outfit that upset OU in Lubbock last year, and better than the Sooner-felling Colorado team that outlasted them in Boulder, but within the bounds of predictable reality, the best Cincinnati can hope for against Oklahoma, I think, is a relatively mistake-free game, a couple of big plays to sustain momentum through the first half and a competitive score for long enough to lure a few curiosity-seekers who saw it go by on the scrolling ticker. With Oklahoma still breaking in new corners and outside linebackers, and Kelly pulling the strings in his stock-in-trade, the short, screen-heavy, flat-attacking, spread passing game, a little worry is in order for the first two, two-and-a-half quarters.
But the Bearcats don't have the push on the offensive line to mount sustained, clock-killing drives, and don't have the bulk or depth defensively to avoid getting worn down by Oklahoma's mountainous offensive line -- Cincy's front four defensively is outweighed by OU's front five on the other side by about 60 pounds per man. Once the inevitable holes start to open for DeMarco Murrayand Chris Brown -- if they're not there right away -- Sam Bradford will have the opening to deliver a dagger, and for the final 15 minutes, anyway, the rout will be on.
- - -

Oklahoma 41, Cincinnati 17

 

[CapTwo]

I think ive talked myself into a USF play as well....

would you be comfortable laying the -7 for 1H as well?

i know you may not be 1H/2H wager type of guy but i think i really like this one

 

[Throwback420]

love these threads hell of info

 

[RJ Esq]

Cap: I like USF 1H too.

Throwback: Thanks, man.

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

Friday Headlinin' stares at the Vandy-Carolina Rorschact test

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

• Either we're bad, and you're less bad, or we're terrible. All you need to do to get the sense of disappointment in South Carolina's second straight loss to Vanderbilt is check out the Gamecock homepage at The State, which dutifully chronicles Carolina's second half nightmare, late-cracking defense and unprecedentedly lame effort from Steve Spurrier's offense. Contrary to the headline, there is some precedent for a Spurrier offense looking that bad: last year, against Vanderbilt. Well, and most of last week, too, before N.C. State decided to take the rest of the night off. Looks like that breakthrough season will have to wait another year. In Nashville, they're hearing the glass breaking. Just like they did when the Commodores beat Tennessee in 2005, and Georgia in 2006, and South Carolina in 2007 . . .
• Everything's more lucrative in Texas. Can Texas support its own cable network? Well hell, the Big Ten can do it, and the Longhorns can take out that whole damn pansy conference with one hoof tied behind their back, I tell you what!

Texas officials and the Longhorns' multimedia rights-holder, Lexington, Ky.-based IMG College, are looking into the first-of-its-kind concept, which would fill a statewide cable television channel and various Internet outlets with UT football, basketball and other sports programming. A decision is expected by early December, and the new sports channel could be launched as early as next August.​

"We sort of said, 'OK … where could we go with rights beyond what we're doing?' " says Chris Plonsky, Texas' women's athletics director and liaison to IMG. "It wasn't real difficult to watch what the Big Ten did and say, 'Is there a way we could maybe emulate that, not from a conference perspective but from a school perspective?'
"Everybody's looking at what's the next way to deliver content."
Will this affect anyone's ability to watch Longhorn football? No? Then y'all just go right on ahead.
Seriously: if you don't think this will sell across Texas, just check out how El Paso is buzzing about the Longhorns' first visit since the Great Depression.
• And heeeere coooome the lawyers! Ben Mauk continues his quest to get back on a football field, even if it takes the rest of his life. He took his case for a sixth year to court after being denied last month, and after a very special hearing denied him again on Wednesday, Mauk is suing again. If a judge in Mauk's hometown -- where he broke national passing records in high school and might be something of a folk hero -- issues a permanent injunction, it's possible Mauk could still play for Cincinnati this year. If that doesn't happen, his wrath will reverberate through the ages.

In the meantime, The Oklahoman preps for the Sooners game with Cincinnati by going deep with Mauk's replacement, Bearcat quarterback Dustin Garza. But what happened to Dustin Grutza?
Quickly . . .
• Penn State suspended three of the players involved in the piddling weed bust earlier this week, starters Maurice Evans, Abe Koroma and Andrew Quarless, but the fourth player who lives in the apartment, A.J. Wallace, will play against Oregon State. . . . The show will go on at N.C. State, come hell or high water, literally. . . . Beanie Wells' bum toe will keep him sidelined against Ohio U. . . . Three guesses which MAC team is on guard against overconfidence against a Big Ten team Saturday. . . . It's tough being Blake Ayles. Plus USC coaches parsed the game film and awarded offensive tackle Charles Brown with 16 knockdowns against Virginia. . . . Auburn freshman Eric Smith already has a big name to fll. . . . Mark Richt is going virtual with MarkRicht.com, a "thinly veiled recruiting tool." (which is also how he describes Nick Saban, actually) . . . And Bo Pelini will be here all week.

 

[RJ Esq]

Tanner, Robinson Out for UTEP

from Burnt Orange Nation by GhostofBigRoy
Tanner, Robinson Out for UTEP

Starting guard Charlie Tanner will miss this weekend's game against UTEP with the left ankle injury he sustained against FAU. Linebacker Keenan Robinson is out as well with a hamstring injury.

 

[RJ Esq]

Friday Morning Quarterback: Underdog weekend, in every way

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

If there's a week to wash your car, work on the house, go to your daughter's piano recital or anything else that might, you know, save your marriage, this is the week. Miami and Florida, for god's sake, is passing for the "game of the week," which doesn't even work if you've been asleep during Miami's decline the last two years: these programs haven't co-existed at roughly equal levels since about 1994, and they haven't played as equals in much longer than that. The three games they've played this decade, Miami won by an average of 16 points during the brief Pax Zookana. The roles have reversed since the 2004 Peach Bowl, but it's an even less compelling matchup on the field; basic probability says ABC will probably get a more interesting game than Clemson-Alabama last week, but it will be lucky to get much better than that. Yes, this is a week for the subtle storylines, mostly about upstarts trying to justify their optimism against some of their toughest competition of the season: BYU at Washington, East Carolina against West Virginia, Stanford at Arizona State, even Cincinnati at Oklahoma, where the Bearcats hope they'll at least look like a top 25 team, whatever the result. That's compelling in its own right, but, you know, if you want to begin reading up on light and angles to maximize the HD experience for Ohio State at USC next week, that's perfectly understandable.
Onwards...
Finally, We’ll Learn About...
Last week's eye-popping numbers aside, Paul Johnson's flexbone makes its debut against an actual defense at Boston College, one that finished second in the country last year against the run and might be getting better along the front seven with the return of '07 injury/academic casualties Brian Toal and B.J. Raji. Another big game against a more formidable test than Jacksonville State cold vault the Jackets to the front lines of the ACC's war of attrition, and maybe into the polls, as well.
Most to Gain:
There was nothing to write home about on the field last year -- by the end, in fact, the 48-0 rout by Virginia in the Orange Bowl finale, it was a complete disaster -- but Randy Shannon cleaned up in recruiting, and Miami can put itself right back in the national consciousness with a strong game at Florida Saturday night. The Canes don't have to win, but a strong game by an outfit this young and athletic will strike fear again in the hearts of the rest of the ACC, just like it was always supposed to.
Speaking of which, Miami is also the only ACC team with a chance to do something good in a nationally relevant non-conference game until the in-state rivalries at Thanksgiving. The conference could use a strong effort against an elite SEC power as much as the Canes could themselves.
Most to Lose:
A home date with San Diego State may not tell us much about how Notre Dame might finish the season, but it can tell us at least that ND will not relive last year's catastrophic folly of youth and hubris. Accusing eyes will be on the Irish to make sure they dispatch the hapless Aztecs -- losers last week to I-AA Cal-Poly -- as expected, and any hint of residue from last fall will bring heaps of doubt and scorn. The Irish need a comfortable win, preferably a blowout, to put all that to bed as they move into the thicker weeds next week against Michigan.
And if Wake Forest doesn't take care of Ole Miss, the ACC backlash will get really, really ugly.
...And All the Children Learned to Multiply by Seven...
In the miserable realm of blowouts and other morbid curiosities.
Inevitable Massacre of the Week.
Utah State at Oregon. The Ducks lost their probable starting quarterback a week before the season and shuffled three different guys into the lineup against Washington, the most prominent of whom left with a concussion, and still ran up 44 points on the Huskies without seeming to break much of a sweat. Utah State, meanwhile was soundly beaten by almost equally hapless UNLV. The Aggies will be lucky to score at all in Autzen, and if they do get on the board, I'll be surprised if it's enough to crack the 36-point spread.
Florida International Line Watch.
After last week’s 30-point loss at Kansas, Florida International has fallen to cruel defeat in 24 of it last 25 games, and has been favored by more than one point only twice in it's four-year history in I-A football. This week, the Panthers are 27-point underdogs at Iowa, where the Hawkeyes are just 2-6 against the spread as a home favorite the last two years.
Lame Game of the Week.
Akron at Syracuse. The Orange opened as a 5.5-point favorite over Akron, but -- perhaps buoyed by the Zips' confidence going into the Carrier Dome –– our nation's finest degenerates bet the line down to just 4.5 as of this morning, with another day to go yet for the last-minute crowd to review the 484 yards the 'Cuse defense allowed last week at Northwestern. This is exactly what they expected when they hired Greg Robinson, I'm sure.
Weird Line of the Week.
This is a homer's lament -- and as a believer in jinxes, one I'm reluctant to bring up and bound to regret -- but Auburn as a 17.5-point favorite over Southern Miss seems excessive, especially given an Over/Under of just 43, meaning the projected final score is roughly 30-13 in AU's favor. The Golden Eagles bashed UL-Lafayette for well over 600 yards and 52 points last week their first time out in Larry Fedora's offense, with outstanding games from SEC-worthy stars Damion Fletcher and DeAndre Brown, and as much difference as there is between UL-Lafayette and Auburn, 13 points against the Tigers seems rather, shall we say, conservative. Thirty points from a Chris Todd-led offense against a non-cupcake defense also seems pretty generous. As a USM alum, I'm not expecting an upset -- heaven forbid the hubris -- but I do think the Eagles can score enough to keep it within two touchdowns, hopefully within single digits.

Upwards...
We Can Rebuild. We Have The Technology.
Bouncing back.
• Florida Atlantic. UAB is a balm for the ailing Owls before they resume the 'murder' portion of their schedule next week at Michigan State.
• Memphis. Vegas is overvaluing Rice at +3.5 off a blowout of rock bottom SMU -- Tigers might be two touchdowns better at home.
• Michigan. Problems are even bigger than we think if there are any glitches against Miami of Ohio. Wolverines have never lost to the MAC.
• Michigan State. Eastern Michigan=much-needed cupcake after falling short at Cal.
• Pittsburgh. You're tempted to take UTEP-routing Buffalo over the much-maligned Panthers. Do not do this. Not even to cover.
• Texas A&M. After Arkansas State, New Mexico on the road is a tempting underdog (+2.5), but the Lobos were even worse against TCU.
• Western Michigan. Back in the saddle over Northern Illinois.
The Smart Money
Best Bets.
• Alabama will beat Tulane easily but fail to cover the 30-point spread and look far more ordinary than it did in the Georgia Dome.
• BYU, like Boise State last September, will find Washington a much tougher challenge than almost anyone expects. The Huskies have proven feisty early on the last couple of years and played well against ambitious mid-majors.
• After a close call with Temple last year, UConn will derail the slowly building Temple bandwagon by holding the Owls under 14 points and win easily in Philadelphia.
• East Carolina will play West Virginia within a touchdown in the first half, and lose by about seventeen.
• Boston College will hold Georgia Tech below 200 yards rushing and force Josh Nesbitt into mistakes in the passing game, tarnishing the flexbone's reputation until at least midseason.
• And Michigan will look much smoother on offense against Miami of Ohio, and Rich Rodriguez will be blamed for starting Nick Sheridan over Steven Threet against Utah.

 

[RJ Esq]

Week 2 Picks: Let's Score Some Points

from Old School Nasty by nixforsix
For the second year in a row the opening week was less that kind to me. An unspectacular 2-3 which included Wisconsin giving up a TD with 38 seconds left to blow it. Then of course was the debacle that was my Clemson/bama prediction. Apparently I need to get less info from the autigers.com board which may be a little biased. That still doesn't explain Rob Spence pulling a 2003 Nallsminger vs. UGA offense in which he decided to not give the ball to either of his splendid running backs. This week I hope to get things back to my typical early season success. Because without the typical flurry of September wins, my late October and November collapse will be even more costly. The kinks should be worked out of several offenses and it's time for the dominant teams to put some big numbers up on the board.

GEORGIA vs Central Michigan over 56.5

In the Chippewas 14 games last year, 12 of those contests featured over 57 or more total points. Including BCS games of 7-52 at Kansas, 14-70 @ Clemson, and two games against Purdue 22-45 and 48-51. Georgia seems quite the candidate to put up a large number offensively. I could also see the Dawgs giving up a couple of 4th quarter scores when the 3rd team secondary is in against Dan Lefevour.

NOTRE DAME -21.5 San Diego State

There is some caution with this being the season opener for the Irish. Then there's less caution when you realize that the Aztecs lost at home last week to Cal Poly 27-29. I don't get this line at all, are there that many people who hate the Irish enough to put money against them just for the hell of it? I'm assuming that Notre Dame wants to win big and hopefully pick up some votes in the polls.

Cal -13.5 WASHINGTON STATE

Last week Cal hung on for a 7 point victory in a shootout at home over Michigan State. Washington State got waxed 13-39 at home by the visiting Mike Gundy 41 year olds. I think Cal should torch a miserable Cougar defense and Washington didn't show anything last week to imply they could attack Cal's defense. I'd say the Bears by 21.

Texas -26.5 UTEP

In case you missed it, UTEP lost by 25 at Buffalo last week. I guess UTEP is getting some points for it being a home game. But I'm guessing there are going to be a ton of Longhorn fans in the stadium. I'm the Miner want to protect their home turf, but at some point you sell your ticket for $150 to the crazed Texas fan right? So without much talent, and not much of a home field advantage, what does UTEP have to offer? This basically comes down to how much Texas' coaches care about winning big. And I've learned in recent years that Mack Brown has no problem destroying teams.

AUBURN vs. Southern Miss over 45.5

This one seems like an absolute lock to me. Larry Fedora debuted as Southern Miss' new coach last week in a 51-21 victory against U-La-La. The Golden Eagles gained 633 total yards and managed to give up 394 (263 rushing). In Auburn's "disappointing" offensive opener last week they gained 406 yards (321 rushing).

So you have a coaching staff and players who have heard all week how "miserable" their offensive performance was after an offseason of anticipation going against a less than capable Southern Miss defense. There is also a very slim chance that Auburn pitches back to back shutout efforts. I think 42-17 seems about right.

Last week: 2-3
Season: 2-3

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">2:40 PM (19 minutes ago)
Off to a great start, but Cardinal encore will tell us more

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

It may not make lot of sense on its face, but I got the feeling that last week's win at Oregon State was a much bigger deal for the Jim Harbaugh administration's turnaround at Stanford than last year's shocker over USC. Beating the Trojans was a classic fluke -- Stanford was outgained by 230 yards in that game, benefitted from a slew of turnovers by an injured quarterback, and still went on to lose five of its last seven over the rest of the year -- but beating Oregon State is more attainable, the kind of game the Cardinal can and must take on a regular basis to climb into the middle class. The Beavers were a building block; USC was like throwing a brick at the head of the guy already on the roof, and laughing as you walked away. Or, it could be Oregon State is just really terrible, or that last week was just a slightly less spectacular fluke. It certainly didn't look like a fluke: contrary to every other Cardinal outfit in recent memory, Stanford was actually strong on both lines, running and against the run, and may have found a legitimate playmaker on offense in running back Toby Gerhart. As far as realistic goals (a winning record, a bowl game) go, it was the program's most encouraging win in years.
On that front, Arizona State is a particularly useful gauge: the Devils have absolutely crushed Stanford two years in a row, 38-3 in 2006 and 41-3 last year, and combining ASU's potentially prolific passing game with the weakest aspect of Stanford's game in the opener, the secondary, that might be too substantial a gap to close in one year -- if Lyle Moevao can throw for 400 yards, Rudy Carpenter could be primed for a huge game, sans the turnovers that sunk OSU.

Still, the burning question here is, how for real is Stanford? How close it gets (or doesn't get) to closing that gap will be a good signpost for where the Cardinal goes from here, and whether it's actually ready to move up a notch in the conference hierarchy. Like, maybe they'll score some points this time?
- - -

Arizona State 36, Stanford 24






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[RJ Esq]

<table class="card"><tbody class="card-tbody"><tr></tr><tr><td class="ct c">
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</td><td class="cc c">2:19 PM (40 minutes ago)
Lord, I Was Born A Gamblin' Man: Week Two Picks

from Rakes Of Mallow by CW
Last Week: 9-2 (Damn you, Wannstedt!)
Overall Record: 9-2 (1-0 on Lead Pipe Locks)
Miami (OH) (+14.5) over MICHIGAN - I don't think the Wolverines are going to fall to their first MAC opponent ever, but that half point is just sitting there, laid out on a bearskin rug in lingerie. The RedHawks stumbled as favorites at home against Vanderbilt last week, but the Commodores (now 2-0 following their win against South Carolina Thursday night, which I also picked correctly, by the by) seem somewhat legitimate and there's no reason to think Miami (OH) won't be a little more relaxed and come out slinging in the Big House. Michigan's offense is not good enough to put a lot of distance between themselves and anyone, and the RedHawks are competent enough to keep it close.
Georgia Tech (+7) over BOSTON COLLEGE - Just like Michigan, the Boston College offense doesn't seem explosive enough to slam down the accelerate and take the Jackets out of Paul Johnson's offense. The triple option worked just fine against I-AA Jackson State, but this is the true test for Tech's new coach. The Jackets are down a couple of starting linebackers, but I don't think it's going to take a big effort on defense to contain the Eagles' attack.

​

via www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com



Cincinnati (+22) over OKLAHOMA - I don't think the Bearcats are going to be able to prevail in Norman, but do you know the last time they were blown out? You'd have to go all the way back to the third week of 2006, where they lost to Ohio State 37-7. They're still without Ben Mauk (who is going to at least get a Law & Order, and at the very least, a Raising The Bar out of his legal battles with the NCAA), but this just seems like a big line for an untested Oklahoma team to cover at home. The Bearcats have two lockdown corners that will allow them to focus on the run, and while the offense is a bit of a question mark, you can say the same for the Sooner defense (although congrats on that great performance versus Chattanooga!). Brian Kelly covers.
Oregon State (+15.5) over PENN STATE - (I didn't realize I was taking all road dogs until I started going through this. Yikes.) I was going to take the Beavers before Penn State lost a few key players to suspension, but now I feel even better about their chances playing in a stadium named after them. While the new Nittany Lion, post-Morelli spread worked wonders against Coastal Carolina, it might be a little tougher against their visitors from the PAC-10. Oregon State dropped their opener at Stanford despite outgaining the Cardinal pretty dramatically, giving up the game on silly turnover after silly turnover. I might take the over here as well, unless the storms raging up the east coast get to central PA a little early.
NOTRE DAME (-22) over San Diego State - Words cannot describe how bad the Aztecs were before they lost most of their defensive line to injuries in week one, so I don't know how to describe them now. If the Irish can't blow them out of the Stadium, have no hope for Michigan, Michigan State or anyone the rest of the season. And yes, I find it odd I'm picking a team to cover a 22-point spread that scored 22 points or more only three times last season. But seriously, San Diego State.

​

Ole Miss (+8) over WAKE FOREST - I'm going to ride Houston Nutt, Jevan Snead and the Rebs until everyone realizes they're going to be a tough out this season. While I don't doubt Jim Grobe's team improves to 2-0 at home, I imagine it will be via the dramatic, last-second win instead of the thorough domination they are capable of applying to opponents.
EAST CAROLINA (+7.5) over West Virginia - The Pirates got absolutely smoked in Morgantown last season, but I'm telling you, the Mountaineers are going to suffer a drop off this season without Reynaud, Schmitt and Dingle. Relying on Pat White to throw is an exciting wrinkle against Villanova, but Skip Holtz will be ready, and unless there's some Devine intervention, I stay it stays close. I know they needed a late field goal block to beat the Hokies last Saturday, but East Carolina outgained Beamer Ball by over a hundred yards and seven first downs. Plus, if the Pirates win this, they realistically only have a road game at Southern Mississippi between them and potential BCS busting (unless you're wary of a road trip to NC State).

​

California (-13) over WASHINGTON STATE - Until further notice, bet against the Cougars. It's too early in the season for Cal's meltdown, and they seemed to find some answers in the backfield as the game went along against Michigan State. I'm not super confident in this pick, but Wazzu was deplorable against Oklahoma State on offense, gaining less than 200 yards while giving up 39 points.
FLORIDA (-22.5) over Miami (FL) - There's always that chance that the next game for the Hurricanes will be the one where they put it all together and begin their journey back to the top of the mountain, I just find it hard to believe it'll be this one. They're starting one of two freshman quarterbacks in the Swamp, at night, against the Tebow when he gets Weapon 1A, Percy Harvin, back. Harvin will want to stretch out those legs after missing the Hawaii game, and I doubt the 'Cane defense will be able to stop him.
Texas Tech (-10.5) over NEVADA - I love the Wolf Pack and I love the Pistol formation, but Mike Leach's crew of scallywags worked out most of their kinks last week. Graham Harrell's shoulder is nice and loosened up, and while I don't doubt the hosts won't do their share of scoring, I see a late touchdown or two making sure the final margin is comfortable enough for the cover.
Stanford (+14.5) over ARIZONA STATE - Here's a little secret for you: Arizona State really isn't that good. They took care of business against Northern Arizona (leading 30-0 before giving up a few meaningless late scores), but their victories last season were usually the result of smoke, mirrors and a big play or two broken late, but only when they weren't getting toasted by Oregon, Southern Cal and Texas down the stretch. On the other side, Jim Harbaugh's crew was decent on the road last season (close wins at Arizona and Southern Cal), and looked like a team with the toughness to turn this into a low-scoring, ugly affair in their opening victory over the Beavers. It's hard to cover a two touchdown spread in that sort of situation, which I'm hoping the Sun Devils cannot do.
Texas (-27) over UTEP - Whether you look at UTEP's performance at Buffalo or Texas' home whupping of a respectable Florida Atlantic team, I don't think you could have put this line high enough for me not to take the favorites. Consider this your lead pipe lock of the week.






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[RJ Esq]

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Virginia quarterback charged again

<!--EndNoIndex-->[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular] By Doug Doughty
[/FONT] 981-3125<!--BeginNoIndex-->
Virginia football

Virginia stories

• Cavs' Jobe doubtful
• London back as foe in Charlottesville
• Green not awed by USC's speed
• Trojans storm Virginia

Doug Doughty's Virginia Insider

• Just how bad was Virginia's loss?

Time lapse

• Time lapse of Scott Stadium

Game photo gallery

• See photos from the USC-Virginia game

Sports TimesCast

• Hokies switch directions at QB

<!--EndNoIndex-->The status of Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich was in question Thursday after he was charged with violating terms of his probation.
According to court records, he was charged Thursday and is due in Charlottesville General District Court on Sept. 26.
The Cavalier Daily, UVa's student newspaper, cited an anonymous source Thursday in a Web site post in which it reported that Lalich had refused a blood test.
Lalich was charged with underage possession of alcohol on July 13 and appeared in Charlottesville General District Court on July 21, when he was placed on probation for one year.
Lalich started at quarterback in the Cavaliers' opening game against Southern California and has been listed No. 1 on the depth chart for UVa's game Saturday with visiting Richmond.
Virginia officials were familiarizing themselves with the details of Lalich's case and offered no comment Thursday night.

 

[Aztec4Life]

Do it RJ...pull the trigger on Cal!

:36_1_36:

 

[RJ Esq]

Haha. I might. Seems to be very popular. Price is still good too.

 

[RJ Esq]

Peter Lalich Is Bad At Probation

from The FanHouse - NCAAfootball
Filed under: Virginia, ACC, NCAA FB Police Blotter

"I gotta take a whiz test to my P.O./I know I failed 'cause I smoke major weed, bro."- Luniz

I don't know how it feels to be either Marc Verica or Scott Deke right now, wondering what the heck the guys in front of them have to do in order for them to get their shot. And it's likely you may not care, since those are currently UVA's other options at QB, following the tradition of guys like Christian Olsen, Kevin McCabe, David Rivers, etc. of holding down the fort as a backup until the next better thing comes along- Peter Lalich, a sophomore has this on lock for the near future. Provided he doesn't screw it all up. And he just might, judging not from his not-as-bad-as-it-seemed performance against USC, but from "what part of don't drink or smoke while you're on probation don't you understand?"

According to court papers, Lalich, who was recently cited for underage alcohol possession (in his bloodstream) admitted that he was on that Master P "Pass Da Green" tip while under court orders to not do that. At all. This puts Al Groh in a sticky icky icky situation, seeing as how Jameel Sewell (the guy UVA built their offense around for the next four years circa 2007) is out due to not being all that nice with the book learnin', and neither Verica nor Deke have any important in-game experience. Moreover, the decision to even start Lalich was met with enough criticism as is considering he only had a constructive summer in Hold Steady terms. Can't tell what this will mean for the probably-closer-than-you-think Richmond game this Saturday, but at the very least we should probably stop with the Pistol Pete nickname and maybe tab this beanpole Randall "Pink" Floyd- he may play ball this fall, but he ain't signing nothing. Catch him and his loser friends at the Aerosmith concert.

 

[RJ Esq]

 

[RJ Esq]

A Sunshine showdown, but not quite a fair fight

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

In one sense, I think Miami's lucky to have a big game early, a chance to come out on national, prime time television, the natural habitat for the Hurricanes, and try to get some of that elusive "swagger" back against a first rate rival. If they're competitive, it can only raise the bar, especially in the wide open ACC, and the 'Canes need to have something higher to shoot for than "bowl game," which most of the preseason forecasts seemed to regard as their ceiling. They need a coming out party. But let's be honest: by "game of the week" standards, this is not exactly the heavyweight fight it looked like two years ago. When its the focal point of the weekend, though, sometimes the hype and anticipation can distort reality. I talked today to a Florida who said, incredibly, "I'm beginning to get a little worried about Miami," until I reminded him that he was talking about a quarterback duel between the Tebow Child and Robert Marve. Miami still looks the part -- the 'U', the size, the speed and all that -- but it's still rolling out a dozen freshmen on the two-deep, eight of them on defense, and a quarterback who's never taken a snap in a real college game against probably the best individual player, best overall offense and maybe the best all-around team in the country. On the road, in a madhouse of a stadium where Urban Meyer's teams are 20-1. A 45-point win over Charleston Southern is impressive in its way, but come on.

That said, I do expect Miami to make a little noise and keep it within reach into the second half, mainly by landing body blows. The Cane offensive line is massive, averaging over 320 pounds from tackle to tackle with a couple sophomores, Orlando Franklin and Joel Figueroa, tipping in over 330, plenty of muscle to try to establish a consistent running game with Javarris James and Graig Cooper and bleed the clock down. Marve is in the worst possible environment to be taking his first snaps; the worst thing that can happen for Miami is to fall behind early, put its young quarterback in a position where he must make a play but makes a mistake instead, and everything snowballs from there. If UM can't make first downs and keep Tebow off the field -- big problems for the offense the last two years -- it could get ugly quickly.
But Florida matches or beats Miami for raw talent across the board, and easily bests the Canes in experience and big play ability on offense -- not that anybody necessarily compares to Percy Harvin, shaved heel be damned, but Miami doesn't have anyone who even comes close to the category at this nascent stage of their careers. The Canes can take a step forward here, but only if they keep their heads up when it becomes obvious they can't keep up on the scoreboard.
- - -

Florida 37, Miami 19

 

[RJ Esq]

15 Alternate Alabama SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Covers



When the news broke that the Alabama Crimson Tide (and standout RB Glen Coffee) would once again grace the cover of a prestigious magazine, Tide fans got excited. Well, the Gump got really fucking excited.

Because news like this = satire gold.

Let's begin.

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[JumpOnBoard]

talk me into USF dude...even w/out Mike Ford...do it.


and GL.

 

[RJ Esq]

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</td><td class="cc c">8:43 AM (7 minutes ago)
Week Two Live Blog: ¡Viva los underdogs!

from Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports by Matt Hinton

Is this a great slate of games? On paper, no, it's not: no games between ranked opponents, no games featuring ranked teams that are supposed to finish within a touchdown on the scoreboard. GameDay is uncharacteristically trashing the slate as we speak.But paper, as we know, is made to burn. Well, it's not made to burn, but of course it does, quite easily, and never so readily as on a weekend like this one. So somewhere among Cincinnati-Oklahoma, Oregon State-Penn State, West Virginia-East Carolina, Stanford-Arizona State, maybe even Florida-Miami, there are some surprises. And if you're in one of the parts of the country that's getting the Raycom'd Georgia Tech-Boston College clash, the game with the most direct implications on its face, count your regionally syndicated blessings today.
And if it really is as rough as it looks, there's always the live blog to spice things up. See, this is why we're here for you.
What: Weekend live blog. Comments welcomed, all games in play.
When: 11:45 a.m. Eastern, give or take, and running throughout the day.
Why: If you're enjoying the game you're watching, discover how much joy exists in spreading the love. If you're not enjoying it, discover how much joy exists in making fun of struggling youths in a public forum.
Who: You, sucker! Bestow upon us your wisdom and other sublimities. It's a good time.






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[RJ Esq]

Adding:

UGA/CMU over 58'

Over has hit in 6 out of 7 of CMU's last road games. UGA makes a statement win and CMU puts up 14-21 in a valiant effort.