Category: College Football (Page 238 of 296)

      Couch Potato Alert: 9/5

      September 5, 2008 /

      U.S. Open semifinals and finals
      The men’s semifinals start at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday and the women’s final takes place at 8:00 PM ET that evening. The men’s final will take place on Sunday, starting at 4:00 PM. All matches will be broadcast on CBS. Here’s the TV schedule and Christopher Glotfelty’s preview of the matches.

      San Diego State at Notre Dame
      Both programs are reeling, hanging on for dear life, and just trying to find players to line up on the field. The Irish are on a roll, sort of, coming into this year’s opener with a modest two-game winning streak from last season. SDSU is coming off an embarrassing home-opening loss to Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, which was their second home loss to the Mustangs in three seasons. This contest will played on Saturday in front of a nationally-televised audience on NBC at 3:30 PM ET.

      Miami at Florida
      This prime-time matchup used to be circled on the calendar of all college football fans as a must-see game with the winner gaining the advantage in the battle for the top recruits from the state of Florida. But times have changed; the Canes are coming off a 5-7 season, and just trying to get the program back on its feet. Oddly enough, Miami has a 12-8 all-time record at “The Swamp.” Tune in Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN for another chapter in this in-state rivalry. [Official Smack Talk Thread]

      Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers
      Less than a week ago, the Dodgers seemed to be free falling in the NL West pennant race. They lost 9-3 in the opener of a three-game series in Arizona, and things didn’t look good with the Diamondbacks starting Dan Haren and Brandon Webb that weekend. But the Dodgers turned their season around by scoring 13 runs against the Arizona’s top two pitchers and were able to win both games. The rematch is set for this weekend at Dodger Stadium, with Friday night’s game on ESPN and Saturday’s contest on Fox’s regional baseball telecast.

      Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns
      You could call this encounter “The Battle of the Media Darlings.” With five prime-time games this season, the Browns are trying to prove that their 10-6 record last season was no fluke. They play host to the Cowboys, who seem to be everyone’s fashionable Super Bowl pick. And if you’ve been watching “Hard Knocks” on HBO, you know that the Boys’ roster depth has taken a big with several pre-season injuries. Dallas fans shouldn’t be concerned, however, as every one of their 13 Pro Bowlers will be in uniform on Sunday. Check your local Fox listings to see if they are televising this game at 4:00 PM ET. [Anthony Stalter’s preview of the game.]

      College Football, Couch Potato Alert, General Sports, MLB, NFL, Television

      Vanderbilt 2-0 for only second time since 1989

      September 5, 2008 /

      They didn’t score a touchdown until the second half but Vanderbilt reached pay dirt three times in the final two quarters to stun No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 in Nashville Thursday night.

      It was over when… Jared Hawkins powered his way to two straight first downs to allow the Commodores to run out the clock.
      Gameball goes to… Vanderbilt. The offense, defense and special teams all contributed to help the Dores claim their first home win over a ranked team since 1992.
      Stat of the game… 2-0 The Commodores are off to a 2-0 start for only the second time since 1989. Big deal? It is when you haven’t had a winning record since 1982.

      They couldn’t get their offense going in the first half against SC, but Vandy was the more physical team throughout and eventually started to move the ball effectively. Senior wide out Sean Walker is fun to watch and he had a nice 29-yard run on an end-around to set up the Commodores’ go-ahead touchdown.

      And good for Vandy. Too long they’ve been the whipping program for powerhouses in the SEC. Starting 2-0 might not be a big deal for most college football programs, but it’s given the Commodores a lot of confidence to start the season.

      College Football

      The official Miami-Florida smack talk thread

      September 3, 2008 /

      Florida Gators

      Throw out the records, polls and rankings, because Miami vs. Florida is one of the most heated rivalries in all of college football. The two teams will square off again this Saturday at 8:00pm ET on ESPN.

      Last week the Gators (1-0) rolled over Hawaii 56-10 as Heisman candidate Tim Tebow completed 9 of 14 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing nine times for 37 yards. The Canes (1-0) throttled Charleston Southern 52-7 amassing 416 total yards, including 224 on the ground.

      Miami has dominated the recent meetings between the two schools, winning the last six contests. On a whole, the Hurricanes also have five national championships to the Gators’ two, even though Florida has become the more dominant program the past couple years.

      The smack talk from the players is already flying. Florida receiver Louis Murphy had this to say about the “U”:

      “If I’m right, the ‘U’ stands for the University of Miami,” said Murphy. “Well, we’re the University of Florida. We’re the ‘U.’ I don’t refer to them as the ‘U.’ I refer to them as Miami. If the ‘U’ is for university and winning and championships, we’re the ‘U.’ They are Miami, and that’s what I call them.”

      Even Tebow got into the chatter with this to say in reference to watching a Miami game while on recruiting trip a few years ago:

      “I am huge into the college environment and excitement, and you look around, and there were 30,000 empty seats,” Tebow said. “Then you come to Florida and you see this environment. … Wow, what a difference.”

      Below is a complete list of Miami and Florida blogs and information sites to get you primed for the matchup.

      Top Miami Hurricanes Sites

      All Canes Blog.com
      Miami Hurricanes Official Website
      Miami Hurricanes Rivals.com Page
      Inside The U.com

      Top Florida Gators Sites

      Alligator Army
      Florida Gators Official Website
      GatorBait.net
      Gator Envy

      Oddsmakers have made the Gators a 21.5-point favorite, which is a huge spread given this is such a big rivalry and that Florida hasn’t beaten Miami in their last six meetings. But obviously with the Gators transforming into a powerhouse over the years while Miami has struggled, as well having the more talented roster, oddsmakers probably figure Urban Meyer will try to bury his instate rivals to gain an edge on the recruiting front. These two schools are always battling each other for top recruits every year, so both could use the outcome of this game to get an edge.

      College Football, Television

      Week 2 College Football Primer

      September 3, 2008 /

      Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 2.

      Top 25 Action:
      None. Nobody in the top 25 plays each other this weekend, which must have the television networks really, really excited.

      Chris Keep your eye on:
      Ohio (0-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (1-0)
      The Buckeyes should have no problem with instate rival Ohio this weekend, but it’ll be interesting to see if head coach Jim Tressel plays injured running back and Heisman hopeful Chris Wells. With a trip to Southern Cal on the docket, there’s no reason to play Wells this week against a cupcake like Ohio. (Although I’ll be the first to note that the MAC deserves more attention than what it gets. See the “Upset Watch” section for proof.) A running back-by-committee of David Herron, Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine should be more than enough for OSU to roll the Bobcats, so there should be no reason for “Beanie” to even dress.

      Upset Watch:
      No. 8 West Virginia (1-0) at East Carolina (0-1)
      While it’s true that I wouldn’t even have mentioned this game had it not been for the Pirates knocking off VA Tech last week, East Carolina has proven that it can hang with top programs. ECU will be looking for its third straight win over a ranked opponent, although West Virginia has won seven straight over the Pirates coming into this contest. Oddsmakers clearly feel that ECU can hang with the Mountaineers given that WVU is only an 8-point favorite.

      Dan LeFevourCentral Michigan (1-0) at No. 2 Georgia (1-0)
      Yes, outside of the MAC last year the Chippewas got smacked by Kansas (52-7) and Purdue (45-22). But as Bowling Green proved by beating PITT last week, the MAC has some talented teams and CMU is currently the class of the conference. They have a Hesiman candidate at quarterback in Dan LeFevour and a playmaker at running back in Ontario Sneed. There’s no doubt Georgia has better and deeper talent and it’s tough for any team to win between the hedges (let alone a MAC team), but could UGA overlook little ol’ CMU with a trip to South Carolina on the schedule next week? Obviously oddsmakers don’t think so as they’ve made the Dawgs a 24-point favorite.

      Other notable games:
      Miami (FL) at No. 5 Florida – Saturday, Sept 6, 8:00pm ET
      No. 15 BYU at Washington – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:00pm ET
      Mississippi at No. 20 Wake Forest – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:300pm ET

      College Football

      USC leapfrogs over Georgia, Ohio State in latest AP college football polls

      September 2, 2008 /

      USC TrojansIn yet another example of how ridiculous college football polls are early in the season, the latest AP rankings have established USC as the top rated team in the nation. The previously No. 1 ranked Georgia is now No. 2, while Ohio State moves from No. 2 to No. 3.

      The Top 5:

      1. USC
      2. Georgia
      3. Ohio State
      4. Oklahoma
      5. Florida

      For the rest of the AP Top 25 poll, click here.

      So what, because Georgia only beat Georgia Southern 45-21, USC is now the better team because they crushed Virginia 52-7? And Ohio State’s 43-0 romp over Youngstown State wasn’t enough for them to keep the top spot?

      At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the AP needs to hold off on doing these polls until after every team has played at least four games. Because there’s no way the AP can suggest that USC is a better team this week than they were last week just because they beat a better opponent than Georgia did. (And I say that regardless of whether or not the Trojans really are better than the Bulldogs.)

      College Football

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