Category: College Football (Page 221 of 296)

Ohio State crushes MSU, sets up huge game vs. Penn State

Beanie WellsComing into this weekend’s slate of games, the Ohio State Buckeyes were prime targets for the media as a team that could get caught looking ahead. With a date against No. 3 Penn State coming up next week, it would have been easy for OSU to get caught with their pants down and allow an upcoming Michigan State program to come away with an upset, right?

Wrong.

The Buckeyes absolutely crushed the Spartans 45-7 in East Lansing on Saturday, proving their focus is unwavering right now. Freshman sensation Terrelle Pryor needed to attempt just 11 passes to beat MSU, while Heisman Trophy candidate Beanie Wells finally shook off the lingering affects of a foot injury to rush for 140 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.

This win does a couple things for Ohio State. One, it shows that Jim Tressel’s team isn’t overlooking anyone and is competing on a week to week basis. Two, it sets the Buckeyes up to make a leap back into the top 10, which is something they’ve been attempting to do since they were steamrolled by USC in mid-September. And finally, it sets up the game of the year in the Big 10 next week, as Penn State cruised over Michigan 46-17 after some first half struggles and remain undefeated on the season.

Next week’s game should be a thriller. Penn State’s offense has been nearly unstoppable this year, but OSU’s defense is playing about as well as any team in the nation right now.

“Jekyll and Hyde” Maryland strikes for another upset

Chris TurnerOver the past couple years, the most two-faced program in college football has to be the Maryland Terps. One week they’re losing to Middle Tennessee State and the next they’re beating a ranked California team. Then another week they get crushed 31-0 at Virginia, only to bounce back and rout the No. 21 team.

That No. 21 team in the nation was (emphasis on was) the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, who laid an egg in College Park on Saturday, falling to a near flawless Maryland team, 26-0. Terps’ QB Chris Turner was impressive in the victory, completing 28 of 41 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown, while junior wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey hauled in 11 catches for 101 yards and a score.

Getting back to Maryland’s inconsistencies – they have to be the most perplexing team in the ACC. They obviously have enough talent to compete and they continue to be incredibly tough to beat at home, but for some reason they can never get over the hump. Whether the blame falls on the coaches for not getting their team focused week in and week out or the players just aren’t executing, the bottom line is that the Terps are good enough to be ranked every year, yet continue to underachieve on so many levels.

Clemson situation is one fine mess

Clemson TigersThe final seconds hadn’t even run off the clock in the Tigers’ 21-17 defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech, and already Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips could be seen screaming at his coaches down on the sidelines.

Phillips was the one who fired helped Tommy Bowden make his decision to resign earlier this week and replaced him with Dabo Swinney. The move looked like it would pay off when Clemson took a 17-14 lead deep into the fourth quarter, but a late GA Tech touchdown sent Tiger fans home with yet another defeat.

The scene on the sidelines at the end of the game paints an ugly picture for Clemson’s current situation. There’s no doubt Bowden had to be replaced (his own brother said so after it happened), but Phillips and the rest of the big wigs in the program need to realize that change won’t happen overnight.

Although he got way to cute with his play calling on Saturday, Swinney did a nice job rallying the troops in the wake of Bowden’s firing. Given what was said by a couple of the players in the media this week, it appears that the locker room had been divided. But given the circumstances, Swinney kept things in order and deserves a chance to turn the Tigers’ misfortunes around this season.

Or at the very least, deserves the respect of not being lashed at on national television by an AD who should be nowhere near the sidelines at the end of a game. (Although to be fair, nobody knows at this point why Phillips was yelling at his coaches. Maybe he was upset that the concession stand ran out of Diet Coke?)

Couch Potato Alert: 10/17

Ohio State vs. Michigan State
Ohio State cannot afford to look past the Spartans this week in anticipation of their game against Penn State on October 25th. The Buckeyes will be back in the national title chase if they win their next two games, and who would have predicted that after their loss to Southern Cal? Michigan State has the ultimate workhorse Javon Ringer, an Ohio native that leads the nation in rushing with 1,112 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. He has quietly become a viable Heisman Trophy candidate. Regional coverage will begin Saturday at 3:30 PM ET on the ABC/ESPN family of networks.

Missouri vs. Texas
Texas is No. 1 in the polls during the regular season for the first time since 1984. But coach Mack Brown can remind his players that the 1984 squad went on to lose four of their last five games to finish 7-4-1 and out of the national title hunt. History is working against Missouri, as the Tigers are 0-10 lifetime vs. No.1 teams, and are winless in Austin since 1896. That’s right…1896. This game pits Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel trying to re-establish himself in the Heisman race against Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy, who some believe is the Heisman front-runner. National coverage will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET on ABC.

Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Baseball fans have been lulled to sleep this post-season by uninspiring play, with no series going one game beyond the required number. And with nine outs remaining, Tampa’s bullpen fell apart and blew a seven-run lead in an 8-7 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game Five. We now have a series to watch. The never give-up Red Sox could force a Game Seven if struggling post-season ace Josh Beckett can muster a victory against James Shields in Tampa Bay. Game Six will begin Saturday at 8 PM ET and if necessary Game Seven will begin Sunday at 8 PM ET. Both games can be seen on TBS.

Mountain West loses in BYU’s crushing defeat

TCU Horned FrogsTCU absolutely hammered No. 9 BYU Thursday night, 32-7 in what was a route from the very beginning. And as Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake City Tribune writes, even though TCU’s victory provided a major upset, the Mountain West loses out on a whole with BYU falling from the rankings.

We’ll know more when the first BCS standings of the season are published Sunday, but BYU obviously is the big loser at the moment – and so, potentially, is the Mountain West. The winner might be Boise State. It could become a case where the MWC schools – with Utah hosting both the Frogs and Cougars next month – knock each other out and push Boise State into the one BCS slot promised to an outsider that finishes in the top 12.

Clearly, BYU did not even belong on the same field with TCU. The Frogs confused, rattled and frustrated the Cougars. Quarterback Andy Dalton picked on BYU’s cornerbacks with sideline patterns, a direct snap to receiver Jeremy Kerley worked nearly every time, and TCU sustained long drives.

That was a complete smack down, but the Cougars had their opportunities. Multiple times BYU drove into the red zone only to come away with one touchdown. Max Hall threw two interceptions in TCU territory and fumbled once more. On a night where the Horned Frogs played their best game of the season, BYU couldn’t afford to make any mistakes and that’s exactly what happened.

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