North Carolina outlasted Washington, 86-83, in Charlotte, but most of the talk after the game was how the officials determined the amount of time remaining on the last play of the game.

Washington’s Venoy Overton heaved a half-court shot (with his off hand, no less) and the ball hit John Henson’s hand before it went out of bounds. The replay clearly showed it hit the floor out of bounds with 1.2 seconds remaining, yet when Washington’s coaching staff asked the refs to check the time, they said it was fine and play proceeded with 0.5 seconds remaining. Washington didn’t have much time to get a good look and ended up taking a contested two-pointer that wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game even if it had gone in.

The NCAA director of men’s officials, John Adams, told CBS after the game that the officials acted correctly since there’s a lag time between when the ball hits, when the official blows his whistle and when the scorekeeper stops the clock.

Fine. But there’s an elephant in the room — why didn’t the officials bother to go to the video? They don’t have to check the video, but if the Washington coaching staff did indeed ask about the time, then the officials should have double-checked. With the Sweet Sixteen on the line, why not take a minute and make sure you got it right?

Who knows, had Washington had an extra 0.7 seconds, maybe they would have had time to get a better shot.

Under the direction of Mike Stoops, Arizona has won some very big games. The Wildcats knocked off a top 10 team three years in a row from 2005-07, with UCLA, California and Oregon all being their victims. This past year, Arizona even knocked off the Pac 10′s Goliath in USC.

But those wins all came late in the season, when Arizona had already piled up a handful of losses. One thing the Wildcats — who seem to perennially be thought of as a sleeper team — have not done, is capitalize on any preseason hype with a big-time early-season win.

They have the chance to do that tonight, though, when they play host to No. 9 Iowa. A win moves the Wildcats to 3-0 and gives them some serious national respect. It would also be a huge victory for the Pac 10, which is trying to assert itself as a top conference, even with a lethargic, and penalized, USC.

Can Stoops and Arizona pull it off? Click through for that prediction, and more from today’s games.

Last week I was a Dayne Crist eye injury away from going 5-0, so clearly there was something strange in the air. Let’s see if I can’t repeat — or beat — that this week.

No. 12 Arkansas at Georgia, noon: This is the first real test of the season for Ryan Mallett and the Razorbacks’ offense, and I’d expect that to show, at least early on. The problem for Georgia will be staying on the field offensively, as again they’re without A.J. Green, who is still serving an NCAA suspension. That means freshman Aaron Murray is going to have to find a way to get it done in the passing game without him, which he was unable to do consistently a week ago. I’d expect the Razorbacks to load up the line of scrimmage and force Murray to beat them. At least if they’re smart, because I don’t think he can out-gun Mallett, even with a defensive advantage. Pick: Arkansas 23-17.

No. 8 Nebraska at Washington, 3:30 p.m.: The good news for Washington is that it’s at home, and Steve Sarkisian has already proven he can pull off a big upset in his own building. The bad news is Nebraska has faced Western Kentucky and Idaho so far, and gets South Dakota State next week. I’d venture a guess that the Cornhuskers have spent a little bit of time over the past few weeks working in a gameplan to stop Jake Locker. Ndamukong Suh might be gone, but the Huskers still have one of the more dominant defenses in the country. Add that to the fact Locker still doesn’t have the weapons necessary to beat a team like that, and really hasn’t looked all that sharp to begin with (which hasn’t stopped Todd McShay from camping out outside of his apartment, however), and I think it might be a tough day for the Huskies. Pick: Nebraska 20-14.

No. 10 Florida at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m.: There’s a rule when you write a college football picks column/blog/diary/manifesto that you have to pick the Florida/Tennessee game. It’s unwritten, but it’s still there. So even in a year where Tennessee looks light years away from competing in the SEC again, and Florida’s offense is actually tougher to watch than its perp walk, I’m forced to pick a winner. The key to this game is whether or not John Brantley can get over the Neyland Stadium crowd. Tennessee is far less talented, but will come out strong (kind of like it did against Oregon, but I’d expect even more passion in a huge rivalry). The Gators defense should be enough to stomp out any emotional fires in the early going, but that’s if Brantley can at least manage the game during that time. If he struggles and turns the ball over, we could have a ballgame on our hands. If he takes care of it, Florida should roll. I’ll go with some combination of both (if that’s even possible). Pick: Florida 24-13.

Notre Dame at Michigan State, 8 p.m.: Since I’m from the Midwest, I’ve got to give the region some love this weekend. If history tells us anything, this will be one heck of a game, and it probably won’t be decided until the final whistle. I live about an hour and a half away from East Lansing, and I have no clue what to expect from Michigan State. I have multiple friends who are either going to school there or have graduated from there that don’t know either. That’s what happens when a team opens with Western Michigan and Florida Atlantic (in an away game, in Detroit). The Spartans look to still be a little soft defensively, especially in coverage. Offensively, their run game has been great, and the pass game has been pretty vanilla. Notre Dame, meanwhile, is just happy it doesn’t have to see Denard Robinson for another year. And offensively, looks alright when Crist can see out of both of his eyes. It’s tough to predict the unpredictable (which this game often is), but I’ll go with what I think I know, and that’s Notre Dame is a better overall team. Pick: Notre Dame 34-30.

No. 9 Iowa at No. 24 Arizona, 10:30 p.m.: This is easily the game of the night (at least on paper). As I mentioned earlier, Arizona has a chance to put itself into the national conversation, while Iowa can solidify itself as a serious title contender with a tough road win. The Hawkeyes have looked sharp to start this season, and that starts with their quarterback, Ricky Stanzi. He earned a reputation a year ago for orchestrating late comebacks, but a lot of that was necessary because of the 15 interceptions he threw. If he’s over that, Arizona is in trouble, and so is the rest of the Big Ten. Arizona has a solid signal-caller of its own in Nick Foles, but he’s going to be dealing with a very good Iowa defensive front all night, led by Adrian Clayborn. I think that defensive front makes the difference in a very tight game. Pick: Iowa 23-20.

Washington quarterback Jake Locker has decided to return for his senior season reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

“After a great deal of careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to return to Washington and play my senior year,” Locker said in a statement. “I am very excited about this team’s opportunities and potential for the upcoming season and I am looking forward to being a part of it.”

Draft guru Mel Kiper had Locker fifth on his Big Board last week and Rob Rang had him third in his most-recent mock draft.

Locker completed 230 of 395 passes for 2,800 yards in his just-completed junior season, throwing for 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in coach Steve Sarkisian’s pro-style offense.

Depending on where he wound have been selected, Locker just passed up $36-72 million. But as long as he stays healthy and has another solid season, the money will be waiting for him in the pros in 2011. You only get one shot to play college football.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/12/14/jake-locker-returning-to-washington-for-senior-season/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/01/2009-college-football-picks-predictions-week-5/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/10/01/2009-college-football-picks-predictions-week-5/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:25:46 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=25545

No. 4 LSU at No. 18 Georgia, 3:30PM ET
Last year, Georgia rolled into Tiger Stadium and laid a 52-38 beat down on LSU as they forced three turnovers and running back Knowshon Moreno (now a Denver Bronco) racked up 163 yards on 21 carries. After an ugly 24-10 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening week of the season, the Bulldogs have rattled off three straight wins and will now face a Tiger team that struggled a bit offensively last week in a narrow 30-26 win over Mississippi State. LSU was outgained 374-263 and only rushed for 30 yards in the victory. The Tigers usually feast on pro-style offenses, so UGA quarterback Joe Cox can’t force throws in attempt to make something happen down field. That said, the Tigers haven’t been tested yet and needed a goal line stand to pull off the win last week. Georgia, on the other hand, has already faced a ranked OK State team and beaten competitive SEC foes South Carolina and Arkansas. The Bulldogs are more battle tested and will overcome a stiff Tiger defense.
Odds: Georgia –3.
Prediction: Georgia 24, LSU 20.

No. 7 USC at No. 24 California, 8:00PM ET
Don’t everyone break your legs jumping off the Cal bandwagon after Oregon smacked the Golden Bears 42-3 last week. Heisman candidate Jahvid Best rushed for only 55 yards in the loss and will face another tough challenge this week against a USC defense that held him to only 30 yards last season. The Trojans have the sixth best defense in the nation and the fifth best scoring defense. They have limited opponents to only 59.5 rushing yards per game and only 95 YPC threw the air. That said, Cal has played USC close over the years and the Trojans have kept things rather conservative offensively with freshman Matt Barkley under center. I see this game being close, although I don’t know if Kevin Riley can beat USC through the air if the Trojans’ front seven takes away Best.
Odds: USC –4.5.
Prediction: USC 20, Cal 17.

Washington at Notre Dame, 3:30PM ET
A week after upsetting USC at home, Washington crashed back to earth last Saturday in a 34-14 loss at Stanford. The Huskies will have issues controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but quarterback Jake Locker could have some success once he rolls out of the pocket and throws on the move. I don’t foresee Washington pulling off an upset, but considering ND quarterback Jimmy Clausen is dealing with a turf toe injury, running back Armando Allen’s ankle isn’t 100% and receiver Michael Floyd is out for the year, the Huskies should keep things close in South Bend.
Odds: Notre Dame –13.
Prediction: Notre Dame 27, Washington 20.

Wisconsin at Minnesota, 12:00PM ET
The Golden Gophers are in a bit of a transition with new coordinators taking over on both sides of the ball, but they’ve steadily improved each week and I think this is the year they finally take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Wisconsin’s front four has struggled a bit this season and while Minnesota’s running game hasn’t been great, the Gophers did tally 166 yards on the ground last week in a win over Northwestern. This is the first time the Badgers will go on the road this year and they could struggle playing at the new digs of TCF Bank Stadium. I like the combination of quarterback Adam Weber and receiver Eric Decker to pull off a victory this week for the Gophers.
Odds: Minnesota –3.
Prediction: Minnesota 30, Wisconsin 24.

Season Totals:
Straight up: 5-3
Against the Spread: 2-6

To use a tried, true and albeit, tired phrase, there are three things we can count on in life: Death, taxes and Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans will be knocked off by an inferior opponent at some point during the season.

In 2006, the Oregon State Beavers were the unranked team to knock off USC. In 2007, it was Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Tree Logos. Last year, it was Oregon State again who provided the upset and on Saturday, it was Steve Sarkisian’s Washington Huskies (a team that didn’t win a game last year, mind you) that shocked the college football world by beating USC 16-13 in Seattle.

For the second year in a row, USC beat Ohio State and then lost to its very next opponent. The Trojans jumped out to a 10-0 lead against the Huskies, but Washington answered with 10 of their own before halftime before eventually pulling the upset off thanks to Erik Folk’s game-winning 22-yard field goal with only three seconds remaining.

The Trojans were playing without starting freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who sat out the entire week of practice with an injured shoulder. Redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp made his first career start and while he wasn’t bad (he completed 13 of 22 passes for 110 yards and a pick), he couldn’t come up with the big play throughout the game. Joe McKnight rushed for 100 yards on 11 carries as USC racked up 250 rushing yards, but the Trojans lost two fumbles and when you combine those with Corp’s second half interception, turnovers killed Carroll’s team today.

But let’s give credit where credit is due. Sarkisian has completely turned around the mindset of the Washington program and now has the Huskies believing that they can win on any given Saturday. Junior quarterback Jake Locker is a fine player and can make things happen with both his arm and his legs.

Sarkisian has made Washington relevant again, while Carroll is left scratching his head for the fourth year in a row. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Carroll sticks with Corp or goes with former Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain assuming Barkley can’t go next week against Washington State.

USC has never been more primed for the taking in the Pac-10. The big matchup in the conference will be October 3 when the Trojans travel to Berkley to face Cal.

1. Washington vs. BYU, Sept. 6: Granted, Washington lost every game this season, but they clearly had a shot to beat BYU in September. The Huskies’ quarterback Jake Locker scored a touchdown with two seconds left to bring his team within one. After diving into the end zone, Locker threw his hands — and the ball — into the air in, what appeared to be, a natural reaction of pure excitement. The ref, however, ruled the ball-flipping and jumping up and down to be “excessive celebration.” As a result, kicker Ryan Perkins was placed an extra 15 yards back, his game-tying extra point was blocked and the Huskies lost.

2. 2008 World Series, Game 3: An error by the first base umpire in Game 3 of the Fall Classic nearly gave the Tampa Bay Rays a series-turning win over the Phillies. It was the top of seventh, Rays at bat. Carl Crawford led off and tapped a well-placed bunt up the first-base line. The Phillies near-46-year-old Jamie Moyer dashed down the line, dove to field the ball and, in one graceful motion, tossed it to Ryan Howard at first, who snatched out of the air bare-handed with his foot on the bag. It looked as though Howard — with ball in hand — stood on the base awaiting Crawford’s arrival. The umpire thought otherwise. Safe! The Rays scored two subsequent runs to come back within one, but the Phillies managed to hang on to their lead for the win and, well, you know the rest.

3. Georgetown vs. Villanova, Feb. 11: Like Holmes’ catch, this one was all about the line. With the score tied at 53 apiece and only a second left on the clock, Georgetown’s Jonathan Wallace sped up the floor, dodging Villanova defenders. Still 70-something feet from the basket, Wallace heard the ref blow the whistle and, thinking there was no way a foul would be called in such a tight situation, Wallace assumed he stepped out of bounds. And when you assume you … I won’t go there. In short, the ref did the unthinkable and called a foul on ‘Nova’s Corey Stokes, gave Wallace two freebies at the line and handed Georgetown a 55-53 win.

4. Heat vs. Clippers, Nov. 29: Sometimes a bad call is any call. With Miami trailing 97-96 and the clock reading 7.6 seconds, Los Angeles’ Baron Davis inbounded the ball after a Miami score. With none of his teammates open, he heaved the ball down court, hoping a Clipper would miraculously take control. Dwayne Wade got it instead. As he grabbed the ball out of mid-air and was falling onto the scorers’ table, Wade threw the ball toward the three lone Heat players near the basket. The ref thought Wade had stepped out of bounds but, after reviewing the play, the steal was upheld. Unfortunately, the breakaway play was cut off, and the Heat was forced to inbounds, which resulted in the Clippers fouling and, ultimately, the Heat losing.

5. Broncos vs. Chargers, Sept. 14: Here you go, Ravens fans. If you thought your call was bad, think about how the Chargers felt on this one. With less than two minutes remaining, the Broncos lined up on the Chargers 1-yard line with the chance to tie the game. As Jay Cutler dropped back, the ball slipped out of his hands and into those of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins. As soon as the ball touched the ground, referee Ed Hochuli quickly — too quickly — blew his whistle. Hochuli ruled an incomplete pass, though the replay clearly showed it was a fumble. So, Denver regrouped, scored a touchdown, followed with a two-point conversion and won 39-38. Hochuli later apologized for his error.

You’ll never get a Charger fan to say this but I still feel bad for Hochuli. That guy has been a great ref throughout his career but he’ll always be remembered for this one mistake. Albeit it was a massive mistake, but still…

Two years ago, then-Atlanta Falcons coach Jim Mora sealed his fate in Atlanta by saying in a radio interview that he’d bolt the Falcons (as Bobby Petrino would do a year later) if Mora had the opportunity to become the head coach at the University of Washington, his alma mater.
Mora was later fired by the Falcons, apparently due in part to his surprisingly candid display of disloyalty to his employer.

And so he landed as an assistant coach with the Seahawks. With head coach Mike Holmgren deciding to make 2008 his final year with the team, the Seahawks entered into an agreement earlier this year that will make Mora the head coach after Holmgren goes. (An exception to the Rooney Rule permits such arrangements, even though we think that such arrangements circumvent the spirit of the rule.)

But now the Washington job is open, and rumors are flying that Mora is getting the job, according to Profootballtalk.com.

Granted, these rumors are coming from the ultra-hit and miss Profootballtalk.com, but considering this shady S.O.B. played at Washington and showed interest in the job before, I wouldn’t doubt the rumors are true.

At least this time Mora is on a team that has no shot for the playoffs. When he talked about the Washington job while still coaching in Atlanta, the Falcons were still in the postseason hunt, only to crash and burn because of the distraction he created.