Category: College Football (Page 256 of 296)

There’s a great article on FOX Sports.com by Jason Whitlock about Charlie Weis’s continued struggles at Notre Dame, and how his experience in the NFL hasn’t transferred over to the college game.

Notre Dame is not the place to learn how to be a college head coach. It didn’t work for Gerry Faust or Bob Davie. It’s not working for Mr. Charlie. As fun as it might sound, you don’t want to lose your virginity to Jenna Jameson. You won’t last long. She’ll get bored and frustrated. And everyone who sees the tape will fall down laughing. Sounds like most Notre Dame games this year, doesn’t it?

I’m stating that Charlie Weis is overpaid. I’m stating that Weis is not the second coming of Bear Bryant. I’m stating that Notre Dame had no business giving him a contract extension, and we all should’ve pointed it out then. I’m stating that if the man was going to run out on his alma mater and head to the NFL after one year, then it would’ve said a whole lot about his lack of ethics. I’m stating that high-ranked recruiting classes won’t single-handedly fix Notre Dame.

The Great Weis Hope needs to fix himself first by toning down the arrogance and acknowledging he has much to learn about what it takes to win consistently in the college game.

Outstanding. Weis has turned Notre Dame into a complete laughing stock this season and he deserves to be called out for some of his decision-making (most notably in the Irish’s loss to Navy two weeks ago) and the lack of player development. Whitlock can be shortsighted with his opinions sometimes, but he hits the nail on the head in this article. I love the way he not only calls out Weis, but also the media for not criticizing the program for handing him that ridiculous 10-year extension three years ago.

Some observations from college football Saturday:

– How can the number one ranked defense in the country not generate one stop in eight minutes with a national championship on the line? People not even watching the game knew Illinois was going to run Juice Williams on that final drive, and Ohio State still couldn’t do anything about it.

– Boy how attractive does that Ohio State-Michigan clash look right about now on a national level? Wisconsin did whatever it wanted against the Wolverine defense Saturday, triggering thoughts of Appalachian State and Oregon for UM fans.

– If you didn’t see highlights of Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray’s performance against Baylor on Saturday, drop everything you’re doing and get to the nearest television set. His 91 yard kickoff return for a touchdown before halftime was utterly amazing.

– How fun is Kansas’s offense to watch? They can score from anywhere on the field. If it somehow comes to fruition, how great of a match up would LSU’s defense vs. Kansas’s offense be?

– Three things you can always count on in life: Death, taxes, and the teams in the Big East are all going to knock each other off at some point during the college football season. Connecticut looked horrible against Cincinnati, who ironically also knocked Rutgers off their pedestal last year.

– How the hell do voters not have Florida higher in the polls? The Gators being ranked No. 15 is a perfect explain of how screwed up these polls are.

– Hawaii’s Colt Brennan is a bad man (he’ll break the NCAA TD mark very soon), but I worry about how his game is going to transfer to the NFL. Although Brennan seems to have ha more pure talent, does anyone remember Timmy Chang? No? Exactly.

– A week after Kansas racked up 76 points on them, Nebraska turns around Saturday and scores 73 in a beat-down of Kansas State. Think Bill Callahan wants to keep his job or what?

– Navy 46, Notre Dame 44. Air Force 41, Notre Dame 24. Payback’s a b****, huh Notre Shame?

– Speaking of Navy, they racked up 35 points in the second quarter of their game against North Texas. Final score, Navy 74, North Texas 62. Did each offense just line up on the 20-yard line and run plays on air or what?

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote in his latest blog entry that the Georgia-Auburn series is the best in the South, if not in the entire world.

This will be my 20th Georgia-Auburn game, and I’ve come to believe this is the best series in the South if not the whole wide world. Alabama-Auburn? Too much hate. The World’s Largest Outdoor Whatever? Too much alcohol. Georgia-Auburn is pure football, home-and-home, with a chill in the air and invariably something on the line.

Best in the world, really? Better than Michigan-Ohio State, Oklahoma-Texas, Navy-Army and USC-Notre Dame? Better than Florida-Georgia, Alabama-Auburn and USC-UCLA? Now to be fair, Bradley never claims that Georgia-Auburn is the best rivalry; he simply states that it’s the best series, which essentially is the same thing in my eyes.

For my money, Michigan-OSU is the most heated rivalry, although it’s been incredibly lopsided since 2001. However, Navy-Army has to be the most respected rivalry in the nation with how much it means to both programs. It’s not about who has the best athletes or the better game plan – it’s about history, tradition and respect between two teams. It’s incredibly fun to watch and up until ’02, the games were usually pretty close throughout.

What’s your favorite college football rivalry?

For everyone who said this past Saturday, “Ah, Navy beating Notre Dame isn’t that big of a deal with how bad the Irish are this year,” needs to check out John Feinstein’s article in the Washington Post.

Notre Dame has every advantage a football power can possibly have: an 80,000-seat stadium; its own TV network; arguably the greatest tradition in college football history (“win one for the Gipper,” Knute Rockne, Touchdown Jesus, the fight song); more money than it knows what to do with; and a great academic reputation.

What does Navy sell to recruits? The chance to play against Notre Dame.

Or maybe it’s the chance to wake up at 6 o’clock every morning; the chance to be screamed at by upperclassmen; the chance to lose your weekend liberty for carrying a book-bag improperly or for being 30 seconds late to class. Not to mention the chance to get shot at when you graduate.

The players Coach Paul Johnson recruits are frequently like Campbell and Singleton: too small for big-time programs like Notre Dame to bother with; tough kids who love a challenge and love proving they can do things that “can’t” be done.

Like beating Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium.

The entire article is an eye-opener and it’s no wonder that Navy cancelled all its classes on Monday to enjoy the win. Like Da Bear said in a recent post, the Midshipmen were out-manned, out-muscled and out-recruited, but not out-smarted. I’ll also add that Navy had more heart and determination and Feinstein’s article puts that all into perspective.

Some observations from college football Saturday:

– Not to take anything away from Jake Long, Matt Ryan or Glen Dorsey, but Darren McFadden is the best player in college football. To me, he’s the only sure thing right now in next April’s NFL draft. He’s Adrian Peterson, only bigger, more durable and possibly even faster. Check out this stat line from Arkansas’ 48-36 victory: 35 carries, 323 yards, one rushing touchdown. He was also 1 for 1 passing for 23 yards and a touchdown. The guy is amazing.

– Oregon is flat out fun to watch. Even though he missed most of the fourth quarter due to a knee injury, Dennis Dixon looked fantastic in the Ducks’ 35-23 victory over No. 4 Arizona State. I’m still not sold on him being a productive pro quarterback due to the system he runs at Oregon, but nevertheless, he’s exciting when he gets outside on an option run.

– Les Miles should go out and buy a lotto ticket with the string of luck he and LSU has had this year. That’s not to say that they don’t deserve the wins they’ve totaled to this point, but boy, if it weren’t for last second touchdowns (touchdowns, not field goals) in victories over Florida and Alabama, the Tigers are sitting at 6-3 right now and nowhere near a title appearance. Although hey, with how nasty the SEC is, every week is a tough week.

– Even though Boston College is set to plummet in the polls after being upset by FSU 27-17, people shouldn’t cast aside quarterback Matt Ryan. His Heisman chances might have dropped, but he’s got bigger and better things ahead of him in the NFL. There’s just no other quarterback prospect in the country with Ryan’s intangibles, fundamentals and arm strength. Right now, he’s a better pro prospect than Brian Brohm, Colt Brennan and Andre Woodson.

– What a catch by Brian Robiskie in the fourth quarter of Ohio State’s 38-17 victory over Wisconsin. He was absolutely hammered in the end zone, but give him credit for hanging onto the ball.

– What in God’s name happened to Nebraska? Remember when they used to be a perennial powerhouse every year? They gave up 48 points in the first half of a 76-39 loss to Kansas. Forty-eight points in one half! Seventy-six points in all! Holy crap – the Jayhawks offense is sick…76 points!