Category: College Football (Page 221 of 296)

      “Jekyll and Hyde” Maryland strikes for another upset

      October 18, 2008 /

      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.

      College Football

      Clemson situation is one fine mess

      October 18, 2008 /

      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?)

      College Football

      Couch Potato Alert: 10/17

      October 17, 2008 /

      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.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, College Football, Couch Potato Alert, MLB, Television

      Mountain West loses in BYU’s crushing defeat

      October 17, 2008 /

      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.

      College Football

      Best and Worst of College Football’s First Half

      October 16, 2008 /

      Rivals.com put together its best and worst moments from the first half of college football.

      Colt McCoy5 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE’VE LEARNED
      1. THE BIG 12 IS THE NATION’S BEST CONFERENCE. Yeah, yeah, defense wins championships. But the offenses in this conference would cause a video game to short-circuit. Never before has one conference had so much firepower. As we turn the corner on the halfway mark, the Big 12 has four teams –Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State – ranked in the top 10. And Missouri and Kansas are in the top 20.

      5 THINGS WE’RE STILL WAITING TO LEARN
      2. IS NOTRE DAME BACK? The Irish are 4-2. But, honestly, who have they beaten? Even if the Fighting Irish march on to finish 9-3, we won’t know how good this program is until next fall.

      5 BEST MOVES
      3. OHIO STATE HANDS ITS OFFENSE TO TERRELLE PRYOR. It took some guts to hand the starting quarterback job to a true freshman, particularly since incumbent starter Todd Boeckman had directed the Buckeyes to a BCS Championship Game appearance. But Ohio State has looked like an entirely different team with Pryor at the helm.

      5 WORST MOVES
      1. AUBURN SWITCHING TO THE SPREAD OFFENSE. Auburn has the type of championship-caliber defense that could have made the Tigers a top-10 team as long as their offense was merely competent. Switching to the spread when you don’t have players suited to that offense assured Auburn would waste all the talent it had assembled on the other side of the ball.

      5 HOTTEST SEATS
      2. TYRONE WILLINGHAM, WASHINGTON. It’s not if but when he will be asked to turn in his keys. When he leaves, Willingham can know he has left the place better than he found it.

      Do yourself and click on the link to check out the entire article because it’s great.

      And speaking of the disaster that is Willingham and Washington, the Huskies are 42-point underdogs at home this Saturday against USC. Forty-two point underdogs…at home…and the Trojans are probably a lock to cover…seriously.

      College Football

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