Author: Paul Costanzo (Page 20 of 21)

      Les Miles very nearly sealed his own fate and other Saturday thoughts

      September 5, 2010 /

      There have been rumblings in Louisiana that Les Miles has worn out his welcome as coach at LSU. Some have written this off as ridiculous — “He won a national title in 2007!” — but Saturday night was a harsh reminder of why the LSU faithful have lost a lot of, um, faith, in Miles.

      The Tigers survived Saturday night in a 30-24 win against half of North Carolina’s team. And it really wasn’t even the good half. Worse still is that LSU very nearly blew a 30-10 lead in the fourth quarter to do it.

      Give a lot of credit to the North Carolina players who know the NCAA rules. They played with a lot of heart down the stretch and were two dropped passes and a probably-missed pass interference call away from winning a game nobody gave them a chance in.

      But the story here is Miles and the Tigers nearly blowing the game. The Tigers failed to put the game away, and star defensive back Patrick Peterson’s postgame quote said a ton. When asked why he wasn’t on the field for a 97-yard touchdown pass that gave North Carolina life, Peterson responded, “I guess he thought we had a comfortable lead.”

      The “he” in that sentence is defensive backs coach Ron Cooper, but how does that decision not go through Miles? If it doesn’t, it should. The head coach doesn’t need to micro-manage his assistants, but he does need to make sure his best players are on the field while the game is still in any kind of doubt. Miles needs to at the very least contend for an SEC title this year, or it could be his last.

      Now some other thoughts on the first Saturday of college football. Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Denard Robinson for Heisman? Not yet, but he’s off an running

      September 4, 2010 /
      ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Denard Robinson #16 of the Michigan Wolverines carries the ball on a 13 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Michigan Stadium on September 19, 2009 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      Denard Robinson just made Michigan fans’ wildest dreams come true. Well, not quite, but he’s definitely going to have the maize and blue clad minions smiling from ear to ear tonight.

      Robinson torched the Connecticut defense today for 198 yards on 29 carries, and was 19-for-22 for 188 yards through the air in Michigan’s 30-10 victory. That second number is huge, because anyone that watched Robinson throw a football in game action last year might faint at the sight of that completion percentage.

      When he arrived on the scene in Ann Arbor a year ago, Robinson excited Michigan fans with his elite speed. His inability to produce in the passing game, however, made him more of a situational player while his classmate, Tate Forcier, handled the bulk of the load. Now that Forcier has fallen out of favor with Rich Rodriguez (true freshman Devin Gardner entered the game for a few plays after Robinson went out with a minor injury in the third quarter), Robinson seems to have a firm grasp on the starting quarterback position in Ann Arbor. His performance today will do nothing but strengthen that.

      So is Robinson a true Heisman Trophy contender? It’s way too early to say — and remember, Michigan started out on fire last year, and many were asking the same question about Forcier. But he’s definitely off to a good start, and I’d expect him to be on most Heisman watch lists on Monday. If he helps lead Michigan back to prominence, don’t be surprised to see him in New York in December.

      College Football, External Sports

      Kenjon Barner is really good at football

      September 4, 2010 /

      Raise your hand if you don’t live in Oregon and know who Kenjon Barner is. OK, now evaluate your life after physically replying to a command you read on a sports blog (I kid, I kid).

      Barner is about to be on everybody’s radar screen, as the Oregon sophomore running back had one heck of a game today against New Mexico. In one half. Barner rushed for 146 yards and scored four times on 17 carries in the first half for the Ducks, and added a 60-yard touchdown reception just for good measure.

      Yes, it’s against New Mexico, but it’s still scary good. Barner’s teammates have been pretty good, too, leading New Mexico 59-0 after 30 minutes of play.

      Some other tidbits at halftime of the mid-afternoon games:

      – Denard Robinson is looking like the quarterback Rich Rodriguez needs to run his offense. Shoelace (he doesn’t tie his shoes, which is repeated ad nauseum here in Michigan) has 131 yards and a touchdown on the ground for the Wolverines in the first half against Connecticut. Perhaps more importantly, he is 8-for-9 passing for 71 yards. Last year, Robinson couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with his passes. Unless said barn was wearing the opponents jersey. Michigan went into the half up 21-10.

      – Brian Kelly’s fast-break offense has shown flashes of brilliance in the first half against Purdue, but has only produced one touchdown and two field goals. Surprisingly, it’s the Irish defense that has been most impressive, holding Purdue to a field goal as Notre Dame led 13-3 at halftime.

      I’ll have more after the games.

      College Football, External Sports

      Game 1 of the post-Tebow era in Florida goes, um, not so well

      September 4, 2010 /
      NEW ORLEANS - JANUARY 01: Tim Tebow #15 of the Florida Gators hugs his head coach Urban Meyer after scoring a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisana Superdome on January 1, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

      Urban Meyer probably has this photo framed in his house. He’s probably going to sit in front of it tonight and weep.

      The 34-12 score in Florida’s opening win against Miami (OH) doesn’t necessarily send up any red flags, but anyone who watched it knows that there could be some serious trouble in Gainesville this fall. The Gators managed 235 yards of total offense against a MAC team that had one win last year. One. In the MAC.

      And that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. The Gators’ offensive numbers were helped tremendously by a 72-yard run from Jeff Demps early in the fourth quarter. It was the kind of play Florida fans expect from the countless number of exceptional athletes the team puts on the field each Saturday. It was also nearly half of the team’s offense. The Gators gained 177 yards in the fourth quarter. I’m not a math major, but I think that means they only had 58 yards in the first three quarters.

      To be fair to new starting quarterback John Brantley, it wasn’t all his fault the offense sputtered (he was 17-for-25 for 113 yards and two touchdowns). The Gators generally looked out of sync, and suffered from a severe case of fumbilitis. They coughed up the ball six times, giving away three of them. You think Nick Saban is going to have his boys tackling the ball when Alabama and Florida meet?

      Sure, it was the first game and I’m assuming the Gators weren’t exactly that fired up to take on the RedHawks. And Meyer was probably only working with about a quarter of the offense. But based on sheer athleticism, you think Florida would have made up for that.

      The defense was stout, as you would expect it to be, and forced four interceptions while holding Miami to 211 yards of offense. But if the offense plays anywhere near this bad against a good team over the next 11 games, I don’t know if the defense can hold up.

      College Football, External Sports

      Mark Herzlich’s amazing comeback about to be completed

      September 4, 2010 /
      CHESTNUT HILL, MA - OCTOBER 18: Mark Herzlich #94 of the Boston College Eagles celebrates after defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies, 28-23 on October 18, 2008 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      Mark Herzlich could not make a tackle this season, and he’ll still have accomplished more than any other player in college football.

      The Boston College senior linebacker has a victory under his belt that cannot be matched by anything on an athletic field: He beat cancer. More specifically, he beat Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone disease that can — and often does — have fatal results.

      Today, he will lead his team onto the field for its game against Weber State — in uniform. I don’t know how much Herzlich will play today, or throughout the season, and I wouldn’t imagine he’ll ever be able to regain his 2008 form, when he was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, but it doesn’t matter.

      The simple fact that he’s beaten cancer makes him an inspiration for all of us. But to get back onto the field as a Division I college football player? That’s unbelievable. Some people never recover from turf toe.

      If you don’t know the full story on Herzlich, do yourself a favor and watch this and this. Then at 1 p.m., log onto ESPN3.com and watch at least the beginning of the game to see Herzlich get back onto the field. And make sure to have a box of tissues near you.

      College Football, External Sports

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑