Category: College Football (Page 162 of 296)

      Jahvid is the Best Heisman candidate nobody is talking about

      September 19, 2009 /

      While unranked Minnesota did its best to try and knock off No. 8 California at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, the Golden Gophers eventually fell victim to a 35-21 defeat and another dazzling performance by Bears running back Jahvid Best.

      While players like Florida’s Tim Tebow, Texas’ Colt McCoy and before he was injured, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford are receiving more Heisman attention, Best remains the one candidate that nobody seems to be talking about, yet could emerge out of nowhere to win the award in 2009.

      Best was outstanding in Cal’s win on Saturday, racking up 131 yards and five touchdowns on 26 carries. While Minnesota did a great job bottling Best up in the second half (he only rushed for 17 yards in the second half, compared to the 114 yards he produced first), his two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Bears.

      What’s most impressive about Best is his patience. He allows running lanes to appear and once they do, he uses his quickness and explosion to get up field and into open space. And once he does reach open field, he’s virtually impossible to catch unless defenders take the right angles.

      Another thing that’s so impressive about Best is that even when he’s bottled up, he still finds ways to gain positive yards. There were several times throughout the game on Saturday where he could have been held for no gain, yet he fell forward for two or three yards to set his team up in a positive situation for the next play. He’s fun to watch and he’s going to give Tebow and McCoy a run for their money in this year’s Heisman race.

      I can’t talk about this game without mentioning how impressive Minnesota receiver Eric Decker is. He was the Gophers’ offense today, hauling in eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. His touchdown grab early in the second quarter when he leaped in the air and managed to get one foot down knowing that he would take a hit (and he took a massive hit) was incredible. When he left the game due to an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter, Minnesota QB Adam Weber was completely lost.

      If Decker can stay healthy, he’s the type of receiver that pro teams love to place in the slot. He fits that Brandon Stokley, Brian Finneran mold to a T.

      College Football

      Boise State rolls past ‘first real test’ Fresno

      September 19, 2009 /

      Unranked Fresno State was supposed to give No. 10 Boise State its first real test of the 2009 season when the two WAC teams met at Bulldog Stadium on Friday night. But despite a monster night from Fresno running back Ryan Matthews, the Bulldogs couldn’t slow down the Bronco offense as Boise rolled to a 51-34 victory.

      This was a closer contest then the final score indicates, although once Jeremy Avery scored on a 67-yard swing pass from Kellen Moore to give Boise a two touchdown advantage early in the fourth, the game started to get away from Fresno.

      Still, what an incredible performance by Matthews. The junior tailback rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries and virtually kept Fresno in the game by himself with touchdown runs of 69, 60 and 68 yards. He showed incredible explosion, quickness and vision throughout the night and will no doubt keep Fresno in most ball games. The Bulldogs must get better production out of their quarterback position, however, because Ryan Colburn (14 of 29, 187 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) struggled.

      It’s impressive how Chris Peterson always has his team ready to play. Just when you think Boise will be challenged, they put up 51 points on the road and remind everyone how good they are. The Broncos have a clear path to another undefeated season.

      Be sure to check out our college football picks and predictions for Week 3.

      College Football

      College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 3

      September 19, 2009 /

      Tennessee (1-1) at No. 1 Florida (2-0), 3:30PM ET
      Don’t think for a second that Urban Meyer won’t be extra motivated for this game after Lane Kiffin accused him of violating NCAA recruiting rules back in February. Kiffin better hope that his power running game will help keep this one close, because Florida’s defense is going to terrorize quarterback Jonathan Crompton if Tennessee becomes too one-dimensional. Crompton made several poor decisions last week in UT’s loss to UCLA, a game in which he threw three interceptions. If he turns the ball over against the Gators, this game will be out of reach by halftime. Of course, if Monte Kiffin’s defense can generate some pressure on Tim Tebow, the Vols could make things interesting. But so far, Kiffin hasn’t gotten much production out of his front four and it has forced him to blitz in order to get pressure. Tebow will recognize that and pick UT’s defense apart. This one could get ugly.
      Odds: Florida -30
      Prediction: Florida 41, Tennessee 10.

      Texas Tech (2-0) at No. 2 Texas (2-0), 8:00PM ET
      Mack Brown still has nightmares of Michael Crabtree scoring the winning touchdown in last year’s thriller in Lubbock. But Crabtree and Graham Harrell have both moved on and although Raiders quarterback Taylor Potts (861 yards, 9 TDs) is off to a great start this year, it’s hard to imagine that Tech will pull off the upset this year. Colt McCoy won’t allow Texas to lose at home and the Longhorn back seven is too good to let Potts to beat them for four quarters.
      Odds: Texas -17.5
      Prediction: Texas 52, Texas Tech 28.

      No. 23 Georgia at Arkansas, 7:45PM ET
      The last time these two teams met was back in October of 2005 when the Dawgs barely edged the Razorbacks 23-20 in Athens. Bobby Petrino’s team is fresh coming off a bye week (which followed an easy 48-10 victory over FCS foe Missouri State), while Georgia fought tooth and nail for their 41-37 win over South Carolina. Petrino admitted that the Razorbacks have been game planning for this matchup since August and he even held senior Michael Smith to only four carries in the win over Missouri State so that the running back would be fresh for this week’s matchup vs. UGA. The Dawgs have given up 61 points in their first two outings and considering Arkansas’s offense is starting to come together under Petrino, I see the Razorbacks securing a nice home win.
      Odds: Arkansas -1
      Prediction: Arkansas 31, Georgia 28.

      West Virginia at Auburn, 7:45PM ET
      The Tigers will be seeking a measure of revenge after the Mountaineers soundly beat them in Morgantown last year. Although both teams have started off the season on the right foot, West Virginia could have a hard time corralling Auburn running backs Brandon Tate and Onterio McCalebb. The duo has combined to rush for over 530 yards in two games and will provide a challenge that the Mountaineers’ run-defense didn’t receive in their first two games. As long as the Auburn defense can contain Noel Devine and senior quarterback Jarrett Brown, they should be able to get their revenge on West Virginia and start the ’09 season 3-0.
      Odds: Auburn -7
      Prediction: Auburn 38, West Virginia 24.

      College Football

      Aaron Corp to start for USC?

      September 18, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, backup quarterback Aaron Corp looks like he’ll make his first career start against Washington unless freshman Matt Barkley can recover from a bruised right shoulder.

      Unless Barkley makes an improbable recovery from a bone bruise, Corp is on track to be under center when the Trojans open Pacific 10 Conference play on Saturday at Washington.

      Corp, who had entered training camp No. 1 on the depth chart, had a pass intercepted for the third consecutive practice. But he continued to show that he was no longer limited by the cracked fibula that he suffered on Aug. 10, an injury that opened the door for Barkley to start the first two games.

      Barkley was supposed to take part in a throwing session on Thursday but didn’t. I can’t imagine that Carroll would start a freshman quarterback on the road in USC’s Pac-10 opener – especially considering Corp is the backup.

      If it weren’t for the cracked fibula that he suffered in summer practice, Corp would have likely been the starter for the Trojans at the start of the season. But now that Barkley has a win at Columbus on his resume, it’s going to be hard for Corp to unseat Barkley when the freshman is healthy.

      That said, Corp is certainly good enough to stir up a quarterback controversy if he plays well this Saturday. Corp is smart, instinctive and a very accurate passer. Even though he’s had trouble with interceptions this week in practice, he usually doesn’t make many mistakes either. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays this weekend.

      College Football

      Ohio State loses starting left tackle for 3-4 weeks

      September 17, 2009 /

      Ohio State will be without their most experienced offensive linemen for the next three to four weeks as starting left tackle Jim Cordle nurses an ankle injury.

      From SI.com:

      Coach Jim Tressel disclosed the injury on Thursday. He said Cordle, a fifth-year senior who has started the last three seasons, had complained of pain in his ankle and it got steadily worse. Tests on Wednesday showed the severity of the injury. Tressel was unsure if Cordle was injured in the Buckeyes’ 18-15 loss to No. 3 Southern California on Saturday night.

      In his place in Saturday’s game against Toledo, the Buckeyes would most likely play J.B. Shugarts or Mike Adams, or could move others around on the front wall.

      Considering Cordle was in a walking boot on Sunday, this news isn’t surprising. Sophomore J.B. Shugarts has gotten most of the reps this week, although Mike Adams could see some time at left tackle too.

      Over the span that Cordle is expected to be out, the Buckeyes will face Toledo, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Outside of maybe the Illini, none of those four teams have a solid pass rush, but it’ll still be interesting to see whether or not OSU’s running game will struggle without Cordle.

      At least the Buckeyes can build some experienced depth behind Cordle while he’s out.

      College Football

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