Category: College Football (Page 156 of 296)

      What’s wrong with BYU’s offense?

      October 3, 2009 /

      Despite turning the ball over three times, No. 20 BYU defeated Utah State 35-17 on Friday night to improve to 4-1 on the season. A 48-yard touchdown reception by Luke Ashworth from Max Hall broke a 7-7 tie in the second quarter, then Manase Tonga scored on a three-yard touchdown to give BYU a 21-7 halftime lead. The Cougars never looked back.

      Junior running back Harvey Unga rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries to lead BYU, but BYU’s offense struggled on a whole.

      The Cougars were held under 300 yards for the second straight game and Hall continues to struggle under center. He’s now thrown two or more interceptions in four of his last five games and has 10 interceptions to 11 touchdowns on the season.

      Thanks to Unga’s second straight 100-yard rushing game, BYU was able to overcome Hall’s issues moving the ball in the passing game. But what happens when the Cougars have to play TCU in a couple of weeks? The Horned Frogs have one of the fastest defenses in the nation and BYU isn’t going to be able to turn the ball over three times against TCU and survive.

      The good thing for Hall and head coach Bronco Mendenhall is that the Cougars have UNLV and San Diego State over the next two weeks to figure things out. But the Mountain West Conference is going to come down to that October 24 matchup with TCU, so BYU needs to iron out its issues soon.

      College Football

      Should Oregon reinstate Blount?

      October 2, 2009 /

      Remember LeGarrette Blount?

      Of course you do – he’s the Oregon running back that was viewed as a potential Heisman candidate before he decked Boise State’s Byron Hout in the face following the Ducks’ 19-8 loss to the Broncos in the opening week of the season. He was subsequently suspend for the rest of the season by head coach Chip Kelly, although not it appears that Oregon could allow him to be reinstated as long as he meets certain conditions.

      Per ESPN:

      Kelly said he set down academic, behavior and football-related “ladders” that Blount must achieve for possible reinstatement, which would not come before Oregon’s Nov. 7 game against Stanford.

      “There’s a distinct possibility he’ll never play football here again,” Kelly said. “But the ball is in LeGarrette’s court.”

      Blount hasn’t endeared himself to many within the Oregon program with his actions over the last two years. But I happen to think that this was a good move by Kelly.

      If Blount has nothing to work for, what’s from stopping him from continuing to get into more trouble? Kelly is giving him the opportunity to play football again as long as he succeeds in the classroom (positive), doesn’t misbehave (positive) and puts in hard work at practice (positive). If he screws up again, then he’s done for the rest of the season, just as he was before. But if he succeeds, then he proves to himself that hard work and good behavior can get him what he wants in life.

      Granted, some may look at this as Kelly going back on the suspension in order to get his star player back onto the field now that Oregon has rattled off three straight wins. But Kelly said the earliest Blount could return is November 7, which means the running back would miss the next four games (including USC on October 31) no matter what. I hardly view this as a sign that Kelly’s only mission is to get Blount back in uniform.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Blount can meet Kelly’s requirements and turn a negative situation into a positive one.

      College Football

      Bradford officially ruled out against Miami

      October 2, 2009 /

      Oklahoma head coach said Friday that freshman Landry Jones will start at quarterback for the Sooners this Saturday against Miami. Sam Bradford, who suffered a shoulder injury against BYU in the opening week of the season, was making progress throughout the week but Stoops didn’t feel as though Bradford was ready yet.

      From Tulsa World:

      “Sam has made daily progress, but we don’t feel like he’s quite where he needs to be yet,” Stoops said in a press release. “Our team has a lot of confidence in Landry’s ability and we’re looking forward to going into the game with him at quarterback. Our approach will be the same that it has been in the last two games.”

      “No one’s gonna play if they’re not healthy and ready to go,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said on Tuesday. “. . . A guy coming off an injury, if there are throws he can’t make, you either take those throws out or you say, ‘Look, if you can’t make the throws, the guy doesn’t play.'”

      In a Wednesday report by CBS Sportsline columnist Dennis Dodd, Bradford’s father, Kent Bradford, said he didn’t see the harm in his son waiting another two weeks before returning to the starting lineup. That would put Bradford in the center of the storm for the Oct. 17 showdown with No. 2-ranked Texas.

      This is absolutely the right move. If there’s any doubt about whether or not Bradford is ready to play, then he’s not ready to play and I applaud Stoops for not rushing him back onto the field.

      Jones has more than enough weapons around him to succeed and Oklahoma’s defense has been fantastic this year. As long as the young QB doesn’t try to force the action by trying to make things happen in the passing game, he should be fine.

      College Football

      2009 College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 5

      October 1, 2009 /

      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.

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      College Football

      Sam Bradford to return this week?

      September 30, 2009 /

      The Oklahoman reports that Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford split snaps with the first team in practice this week with redshirt freshman Landry Jones and might be ready to play Saturday against Miami.

      Stoops still isn’t ready to announce whether Bradford will play Saturday at Miami, but said Bradford hasn’t had any setbacks in his recovery and wasn’t particularly sore Tuesday morning after throwing during Monday’s practice.

      “That’s positive in that everything to this point that he has done he has handled in a positive way and he has made daily progress,” Stoops said. “That part is encouraging. But it’s just too early to determine his status for Saturday. I’m not able to give the answer yet, until we see what Sam’s capable of throughout the week. Is he able to make all the throws? Is he able to do it without too much soreness? How does he react the next day?

      If Bradford plays on Saturday, it would signal a remarkable turnaround from where he was at a few weeks ago. Some were suggesting that his season was over and now he has a chance to play this week.

      Hopefully Oklahoma isn’t rushing Bradford back onto the field too soon. I doubt Stoops would put the success of the team over the health of his player (or at least, I hope he wouldn’t), but if Bradford continues to progress throughout the week then there might be no reason for him to sit out.

      Even though VA Tech shredded them on the ground last week, Miami has an aggressive front seven – one that could cause problems for Bradford if he’s rusty upon his return. It’ll be interesting to see how he progresses throughout the week and whether or not he’ll play against the Canes on Saturday.

      College Football

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