Author: Paul Costanzo (Page 12 of 21)

      Week 10 is all about the little guys … and a couple of big ones

      November 6, 2010 /
      FORT WORTH, TX - OCTOBER 16: Head coach Gary Patterson of the TCU Horned Frogs takes to the field with offensive guard Josh Vernon and tackle Zach Roth against the BYU Cougars at Amon G. Carter Stadium on October 16, 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

      Today is a big day for TCU and Utah, as they get to prove themselves to a national audience in a huge game between top five teams.

      Oh. Wait. This game is somehow not on any kind of normal television. I keep hearing CBS College Sports Network, which does nothing for me because I have a digital basic package. I figured Versus was going to bail me out, but nope. Versus is showing us the very important and very sought after Princeton vs. Penn game. I’d rather watch those two schools square off in quiz bowl. OK, that’s a lie. I don’t want to see that either.

      Luckily for TCU and Utah, there’s a lot of hype around the game, meaning the winner will get some preferential treatment in the polls just by the final score. Not to mention the fact that TCU is being listed at No. 3 (its BCS ranking) and Boise at No. 4, while the Broncos are actually No. 3 in the coaches poll and TCU is No. 4. A win by the Horned Frogs just may push them past Boise, if for no other reason than the coaches might have just figured they already were. Don’t you love the BCS? Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Auburn jumps Boise State in latest coaches poll

      October 31, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Cameron Newton of the Auburn Tigers celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the LSU Tigers with Byron Isom at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I figured it was only a matter of time before Auburn jumped Boise State in the human polls. I just thought it would come after a win a little bigger than at Ole Miss — a team that is now 3-5 and lost at home to Jacksonville State.

      But the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches poll is out, and there are the Tigers, 23 points ahead of Boise at No. 2.

      I get it, Auburn has better credentials to this point in the season than Boise State does. It plays a tougher schedule, and is deserving of the No. 2 spot in the polls. (Side note: Saw Oregon for the second time live last night, and my god, the Ducks are good. I mean, I was impressed with the way they blitzed UCLA, but they made USC look slow last night. That’s crazy.)

      What I don’t get is the timing. If you had Boise State No. 2 in your poll last week, what did the two teams do this week that made you change your mind? The Broncos were a little sloppy, and obviously not fully on their game on Tuesday, and still blew Louisiana Tech. To me, that’s the measure of a really good team, one that can still win handily while not at its best. Auburn, meanwhile, looked pretty slick in a 20-point win of its own against Ole Miss. Impressive, for sure, but not so impressive that you would think, “Wow, this is the performance that pushes Auburn to No. 2!”

      Of course, I don’t know how important this jump really is. Boise needed Auburn and/or Oregon to lose anyway, and now that just becomes more evident. The Tigers and Ducks will still be Nos. 1 and 2 in the BCS standings when they’re released tonight, and the Broncos will continue to have to root against other teams for their own self interest.

      A couple other notes from the poll: Missouri falls to No. 14 and Michigan State to No. 15 after some tough losses Saturday. Florida State fell from No. 15 to No. 24 after its loss Thursday. Of course, in the spirit of this always sane poll, that’s one spot in front of NC State, the team it just lost to. Which has the same record.

      College Football, External Sports

      Michigan State (and probably Missouri) come crashing back to earth

      October 30, 2010 /
      IOWA CITY, IA - OCTOBER 23- Quarterback Ricky Stanzi of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes warms up before action against the Wisconsin Badgers at Kinnick Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Iowa City, Iowa. Wisconsin won 31-30 over Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

      Michigan State’s run at a dream season is over, and it was ended awfully abruptly by Iowa. The Spartans fell 37-6 to the Hawkeyes in a game that wasn’t even that close. If that’s even possible.

      The perfect analogy for this game came in the first quarter, when Iowa ran an interception back for a touchdown. There was a Michigan State fan with her head down, banging on the wall, and possibly crying. It was a moment she was probably expecting at some point this season, because she realized that she’s a Michigan State fan, but it’s still incredibly hard to take when your team has started 8-0.

      The Spartans were legit, don’t get me wrong. They beat up Michigan and Wisconsin. Sure, they had to squeak by Notre Dame (which just lost to Tulsa. Eek.) and Northwestern, but that happens during the course of the season. The big thing for the Spartans was that they were winning, and that’s all that mattered to a fanbase and program that doesn’t have a recent history of doing that. They can still come up with an amazing season, with three winnable games to close out the season. An 11-1 season could maybe still get them to a BCS bowl, which is huge.

      Meanwhile, Missouri is looking at its first defeat of the season, as well in Nebraska. So that’s two of three unbeatens who have gone down already this week. Isn’t college football fun?

      College Football, External Sports

      Notre Dame’s Crist out, probably for a long, long time

      October 30, 2010 /
      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 23: Dayne Crist of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rushes against the Navy Midshipmen at New Meadowlands Stadium on October 23, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      Dayne Crist tore his ACL on Halloween a year ago, playing mop-up duty against Washington State. Now, 364 days later, the Notre Dame quarterback has suffered another devastating knee injury.

      Crist ruptured his pattellar tendon in today’s game against Tulsa, according to NBC. If that’s accurate, it likely means Crist’s season is over, and the Irish will have to finish out the season with true freshman Tommy Rees taking the snaps. Rees took over after Crist was hurt today, and looked very solid early on in leading three touchdown drives and throwing two TD passes (the other came on a hook and ladder play). But he also threw an interception at the end of the half which was returned for a touchdown which brought Tulsa to within two points.

      Crist was 174-of-292 for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He had also thrown seven interceptions, and his 59.6% completion percentage has been pointed to by many as a big reason the Irish haven’t yet gotten Brian Kelly’s high-octane spread offense into full gear.

      It’s a huge setback for Crist and the Irish, who are in danger of not being bowl eligible this season with games remaining against Utah and USC.

      College Football, External Sports

      Jacory Harris out of game after brutal hit

      October 30, 2010 /

      Jacory Harris threw into double coverage again. Weird. His punishment: getting absolutely lit up by a pass rusher.

      That hit had all sorts of pain incorporated in it. First, there was the helmet to the chest with about 250 pounds of force behind it. Then there’s the getting lifted off the ground with his feet above his head and landing on his spine … with about 250 pounds of force coming down on top of it.

      Harris left the game, which Miami is losing, and isn’t expected to come back. The injury was undisclosed, but I’m going to go ahead and diagnose him with a severe case of jacked-up-edness.

      College Football, External Sports

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