Month: September 2008 (Page 22 of 61)

      This just in: Chase Daniel is freaking good

      September 20, 2008 /

      Chase DanielMissouri quarterback Chase Daniel completed a school-best 20 passes in a row to help the Tigers crush Buffalo 42-21 on Saturday. Daniel finished 36 of 43 for a career-high 439 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 5 Missouri stay undefeated.

      It was over when… Chase Daniel hit Chase Coffman on a 4-yard TD pass to put the Tigers up 40-21 in the fourth.
      Gameball goes to… Daniel, who threw for two touchdowns and a career-high 439 yards.
      Stat of the game… 20. Daniel set a Big 12 record with 20 straight completions.

      After getting harassed last year by Okalahoma, voters are waiting to see how Daniel will fare against better defenses. Missouri is off next week, but Daniel will get his first big test two weeks from now when the Tigers travel to Nebraska. Two weeks after that, Missouri plays the Longhorns in Texas, so he could essentially win or lose the Heisman next month.

      I know outside of Illinois in the opener, Daniel hasn’t faced a team with a quality secondary, but he looks phenomenal.

      College Football

      Why isn’t MSU’s Javon Ringer getting more Heisman love?

      September 20, 2008 /

      Javon RingerRunning back Javon Ringer carried Michigan State to a 23-7 victory over Notre Dame in East Lansing on Saturday. And he did it almost single-handedly, rushing for 201 yards on a whopping 39 carries and also scored two touchdowns.

      Ringer’s 200-yard day was his second in as many weeks after rushing for 282 yards in a 17-0 win over Florida Atlantic last Saturday. So far on the season, he has totaled 699 yards on 143 carries and 11 touchdowns.

      So why aren’t we hearing his name mentioned more for the Heisman? Entering this week (as in, before his 201-yard effort against Notre Dame) only Navy’s Shun White and Connecticut’s Donald Brown had more rushing yards than Ringer. And no back had as many touchdowns. Yet oddsmakers currently have Ringer has a 20/1 long shot to win college football’s most prestigious award.

      Playing for Michigan State doesn’t help, but Ringer deserves more attention than he’s getting. And as previously noted, he has been the backbone of the Spartans’ offense and often carries them to victories. While he doesn’t have the size of OSU’s Beanie Wells, Ringer has a thick lower half and runs hard between the tackles. And anyone who has watched him over the past couple weeks and throughout his career knows how explosive he can be. He also benefits from his small stature, because defenders lose him behind MSU’s big offensive line.

      It’ll be interesting to see how Ringer fares later in the season against better Big Ten defenses like Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State. If he can continue to turn out 150-plus yard games, he’ll definitely turn some voters’ heads. (If he hasn’t already.)

      College Football

      NFL News & Notes: Willis McGahee to play, not start

      September 20, 2008 /

      Willis McGahee– The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Ravens running back Willis McGahee will play in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, but won’t start or be the feature back. The Ravens will likely go with a running back-by-committee approach with McGahee and rookie Ray Rice sharing carries.

      – Rotoworld (via Chargers’ beat writer Kevin Acee on NFL Network) is reporting that Darren Sproles is likely to see more carries than LaDainian Tomlinson, who is batting a toe/foot injury. LT didn’t run last week against the Broncos, so it’s probably a wise move to limit his workload.

      – The Cleveland Browns’ official website notes that receivers Braylon Edwards (shoulder) and Donte’ Stallworth (quads) are both listed as questionable this weekend against Baltimore. That certainly doesn’t bode well for a Browns’ offense that has struggled mightily in the team’s two losses this season.

      – The Green Bay Packers official website is reporting that RB Ryan Grant has been upgraded to probable for the team’s Sunday night matchup with the Cowboys. Grant didn’t fare too well against a brutal Detroit front seven last week and he’ll need to step up to help take the pressure off of QB Aaron Rodgers.

      Fantasy Football, General Sports, NFL

      College Football Recap: NC State upsets No. 15 East Carolina 30-24 in OT

      September 20, 2008 /

      No. 15 East Carolina escaped disaster last week, edging out unranked Tulane 28-24 when QB Patrick Pinkney threw a 24-yard touchdown pass with under two minutes remaining in the game. But the Cinderella Pirates couldn’t pull off a similar feat this week as the NC State Wolfpack stunned ECU 30-24 in overtime on Saturday.

      Dekota MarshallPinkney wasn’t as sharp Saturday as he was in leading the Pirates to a 3-0 record to start the season. He threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted once and also fumbled on ECU’s only possession in overtime when Wolfpack defensive end Shea McKeen came from the backside and sacked an unsuspecting Pinkney. The fumble eventually led to Andre Brown’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown.

      It was a gritty win by NC State, who was led by freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, who was 21 of 31 passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s five-yard touchdown pass to George Bryan with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth forced overtime.

      The Pirates’ dramatic early-season wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia must seem like a decade ago after suffering this loss. ECU’s schedule doesn’t give them a chance for redemption either, so their thin BCS title aspirations are now dashed. Still, the Pirates provided college football fans with plenty of excitement and if he continues to play as well as he has, Pinkney might have a future in the NFL (possibly as a receiver if teams won’t look at him as a quarterback).

      College Football

      The Terrelle Pryor era begins at Ohio State

      September 20, 2008 /

      Terrelle PryorAfter last week’s embarassing loss at USC, Jim Tressel made the correct call and started Terrelle Pryor today against Troy. Pryor played most of the game and turned in an excellent performance with four touchdown passes as Ohio State defeated Troy 28-10. Pryor showed off his athletic ability with some nice runs, but he was even more impressive with his arm.

      Look for Pryor to be the starting QB for the rest of the season and for the rest of his career at Ohio State. Ohio State fans will wonder all year whether the USC game would have been more competitive with Terrelle Pryor playing the whole game. Given the sluggish play of the Buckeyes so far, that’s the last thing Buckeye fans need to think about. Pryor gave them a nice spark, but the rest of the team needs to step it up, particularly the defense. They’ll need to play much better against Penn State and Wisconsin in order to win the Big Ten.

      If Pryor continues to develop and Chris Wells gets healthy, the Buckeyes have an opportunity to salvage their season with a run at the Big Ten title. Who knows – if USC stumbles, we might see a rematch this season in the Rose Bowl. If not, Pryor and Ohio State will get another crack at USC next season in Columbus.

      College Football

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