Category: College Football (Page 188 of 296)

      VA Tech saves ACC from more bowl embarrassment

      January 2, 2009 /

      Darren EvansEntering the Virginia Tech-Cincinnati Orange Bowl matchup Thursday night, the ACC hadn’t earned a BCS victory since 1999 and some media outlets were even suggesting that the conference champion should lose its automatic BCS bid. Making matters worse, the conference was just 3-6 in non-BCS bowl games this year, further adding to the embarrassment.

      But Frank Beamer’s Hokies put an end to the ACC’s drought with their convincing 20-7 win over the Big East Champion Bearcats. Tech held Brian Kelly’s dynamic offense to just 239 passing yards and picked off Cincy quarterback Tony Pike four times.

      Offensively, Hokie frosh running back Darren Evans did most of the damage, rushing for 153 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor added 47 rushing yards and a score. As a team, Tech rushed for 259 yards, which was their third 250-yard rushing game of the year.

      Maybe this win will breathe some life into the ACC, which certainly has some talented programs, but inconsistency seems to be the conference’s major drawback.

      VA Tech always has one of the more talented defenses, but poor quarterback play doomed them for most of the year. Georgia Tech’s triple option was impossible to stop at times, but LSU’s 38-3 rout in the Chick-fil-A Bowl proved that the Jackets still have a long way to go to compete for a national title. Boston College, NC State and Maryland have some great young talent, but once again, inconsistency doomed those three programs throughout the year.

      With players like Evans, Taylor, Da’Rel Scott and Russell Wilson, the ACC will feature some of the best young talent in college football heading into 2009. So hopefully the ACC can turn their BCS misfortunes around and produce a legit title contender next year, instead of being the conference that’s best known for its underachieving.

      College Football

      Pete Carroll, you cocky S.O.B.

      January 2, 2009 /

      Behind quarterback Mark Sanchez’s four touchdown passes, the USC Trojans crushed the Penn State Nittany Lions 38-24 in Thursday’s Rose Bowl game.

      Following the win, USC head coach Pete Carroll had this to say:

      Pete Carroll“With all due respect, those are two great programs, I don’t think anybody can beat the Trojans,” USC coach Pete Carroll said. “I just think we can beat anyone we played. That’s happened a lot to us late in the season. This is a terrific finishing program. There are so many things we can do. We’re just hard to beat right now.

      “I just wish we could keep playing. Unfortunately, we don’t get to. Maybe someday there will be a chance, but not now.”

      You didn’t get the chance because you lost to an unranked Oregon State team, Pete. And while I agree with your hinted suggestion that their should be a playoff format, with the way the current system is set up, the Rose Bowl is exactly the game USC should have been playing in – not the national championship.

      While the title would suggest otherwise, I actually don’t think Carroll’s, “I don’t think anybody can beat the Trojans,” comments were that bad, although I still don’t think he should have made them. Tell your team that nobody can beat them – not the national media. The politicking for this year is over, Pete.

      As for the game, it essentially played out like I thought it would. USC’s defense was too fast for the PSU, although I thought the Lions would keep the game close after the first quarter. The key was Sanchez not turning the ball over. Several times throughout the course of the year, Sanchez killed scoring drives for the Trojans with costly interceptions. But he kept the ball moving last night and easily played his best game of the year.

      College Football

      Iowa’s Shonn Greene declares for NFL Draft

      January 1, 2009 /

      Thanks in large part to Shonn Greene’s three touchdowns, the Iowa Hawkeyes dominated South Carolina 31-10 in Thursday’s Outback Bowl. The win will be the last one for Greene in a Hawkeye uniform, because the 2008 Doak Walker Award winner has decided to forgo his senior season at Iowa and enter the NFL draft.

      Built ideally at 5’11/235, Greene took home the Doak Walker Award in 2008 and eclipsed 100 rushing yards in every game as a junior to set the school’s single-season record with 1,850 on 307 carries. Having started for one season at Iowa, Greene has fresh legs and late first-round pick potential for next April’s draft. Springs workouts will be key for Greene because he is not known as a burner. He also has very little experience as a pass catcher.

      NFL teams would be wise not to judge Grenne mostly on his 40-time because this kid can flat out play. He’s a strong runner and depending on his draft status, he’ll likely be a steal for a team come April. He would have definitely been one of the leading candidates to win the Heisman had he returned for his senior season.

      College Football

      Rose Bowl better than title game? Ha!

      January 1, 2009 /

      Pete CarrollSo I’m watching Air Force play Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl on New Year’s Eve and one of the ESPN announcers says (I’m paraphrasing), “Everyone wants to focus on the national championship game, but the best bowl this year is in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl is best matchup on the bowl schedule this year.”

      No way. No…way…

      The announcer went on to talk about how USC was the top ranked program in the nation at one point this year and how Penn State was ranked in the top five, so the matchup is outstanding. Okay, I get that. The matchup does look outstanding, but it won’t be better than the title game.

      I’ll be the first one to eat my words if I’m wrong, but I say USC waxes Penn State in the Rose Bowl this evening. The Trojans have one of the fastest and most talented defenses in the entire nation and while Joe Pa’s spread offense has been explosive, PSU hasn’t faced a defense like USC’s and I fail to see how this game remains close when the Trojans are playing in their own backyard.

      The only way I see this game being tight is if USC comes out flat like it has a penchant for doing, or if Mark Sanchez starts turning the ball over – which he has a penchant for doing. In fact, if Penn State hangs with USC, I’ll dedicate an entire post about how underrated the Lions were all season and how wrong I was about the Trojans.

      The Florida-Oklahoma title game matchup has everything. How will the Sooners’ dynamic offense fare against the Gators’ stifling defense? Will 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford outperform 2007 winner Tim Tebow? Can Bob Stoops’ team perform better this year than they have in past bowls? Will Urban Meyer win his second national championship in three years?

      The Rose Bowl looks great on paper, but it’s a stretch to say that it’ll be more entertaining than the title game. (And the ESPN announcer hasn’t been the only one who suggested that it would be better than the title game because several media members throughout the week have been sharing that sentiment.)

      Outside of USC and Penn State fans, does anybody else believe the Rose Bowl should be more exciting than the national title game? Am I missing something here?

      College Football

      Top 10 sports stories we didn’t get to see in ’08

      January 1, 2009 /

      Fox Sports put together a good list of the top sports stories that didn’t happen in 2008.

      The 10th-seeded Wildcats should have toppled Kansas in the Midwest Regional Final. Down by two points, Davidson had the final possession. It was a good three-point shooting team. All the Wildcats had to do was get somebody free to knock down the decisive trey. With one more bucket, they would have furthered the legend of March Madness.

      Alas, Davidson guard Jason Richards took the last shot and clanked it. The Jayhawks escaped, 59-57, then went on to win the national title. Had Davidson done the right thing, North Carolina coach Roy Williams would not have attended the championship game as a KU fan. That was uncomfortable for everybody.

      “You dream about that type of stuff when you’re a little kid, having the opportunity to win the game, take your team to the Final Four,” Richards said of his last shot. But this dream didn’t come true. “I had a great look,” he said. “Maybe you could say we could have gotten a better shot. At that point, it seemed like the best shot for us. My team had confidence in me. Unfortunately, I just missed the shot and fell short.”

      Click here to see the rest of the list.

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