Category: College Football (Page 78 of 296)

      2010 College Football Week 8 Picks

      October 22, 2010 /
      DALLAS - OCTOBER 02: Jeremy Beal and Jamarkus McFarland of the Oklahoma Sooners celebrate a quarterback sack against the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter at the Cotton Bowl on October 2, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

      Thanks to Wisconsin’s domination of Ohio State last Saturday night, I missed out on my first 4-0 week in college football. No matter, I’ll gladly take 3-1 to give me a winning record on the year. (Crap, I said that too loud, didn’t I? I did, I did say that too loud. The college football gods are going to be annnngry…)

      Utah (love them Utes), Boise State and Hawaii were all winners in Week 7, while those douche Buckeyes were my only loser. Week 8 picks are below.

      Colorado State @ Utah, 6:00PM ET
      I may take the Utes every week from here on out. They’ve covered in five of their first six games (their only blemish was a push) and you never have to worry about a letdown because, well, it’s Utah. If the Utes don’t blow everyone out by 60, then they look weak in the eyes of BCS voters because of the conference they play in (although that won’t be a problem next year when they join the Pac-12). The Rams are 0-3 on the road, where they’ve allowed an average of 43.7 points per game and have scored just 14.3 PPG. Utah, on the other hand, is averaging 40.3 PPG at home this season and has allowed just 12.3 PPG. Thirty and a half points is a steep number to lay, but the Utes have been covering big point spreads all season (albeit, this will be the biggest since they were a 29-point favorite over San Jose State on September 25, a game in which they won, 56-3).
      THE PICK: UTAH –30.5

      UAB @ Mississippi State, 7:00PM ET
      After beating Florida last Saturday to improve to 5-2 on the year, Mississippi State earned its way into the top-25 this week. That said, this has letdown written all over it. The Bulldogs are in the midst of their SEC schedule and now have to play a 2-4 UAB team at home. With games against Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Ole Miss coming up over the next month, it’ll be easy to overlook a Blazers squad that hasn’t won on the road yet. It would make one team’s entire season to beat a ranked foe on their home field. The other team has its sites on tougher challenges down the road. I’m taking the former, which is also getting 19.5 points.
      THE PICK: UAB +19.5

      North Carolina @ Miami, 7:30PM ET
      I could be falling into a trap here, but isn’t North Carolina being undervalued a bit in this game? Both teams are 4-2 with identical 2-1 records in the ACC and the Tar Heels have won four straight despite having two NCAA investigations hanging over their heads. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, are only two weeks removed from laying an egg against Florida State at home and managed to beat Duke by just two touchdowns (well, two touchdowns and one two-point conversion, as the score was 28-13) despite the Blue Devils’ seven turnovers. Again, I may be falling into a trap here and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was 58-0 Miami at halftime because of this, but I’ll gladly take the 6.5 points with the hotter team right now.
      THE PICK: NORTH CAROLINA +6.5

      Oklahoma @ Missouri, 8:00PM ET
      I know I’m going to piss off the MIZZOU faithful here, but I don’t think the Tigers are good enough to be ranked No. 11 in the BCS Standings. The AP has it right with ranking them at No.18, which is more than fair considering this team was fortunate that San Diego State didn’t beat them in their home stadium a month ago. The Sooners have won seven straight against the Tigers and 19 of 20 in the series, with MIZZOU’s lone victory coming in 1998. Oklahoma has had a tendency this year of letting opponents hang around, but if Missouri can’t establish its running game, the Sooners will start to pull away in the second half. This one will be tight, but I think OU will use the diss from the AP (which has the Sooners ranked third) as motivation to come out on top.
      THE PICK: OKLAHOMA –3

      Season Record: 11-9

      College Football, External Sports

      Pac-12 divisions announced – California schools will split

      October 21, 2010 /
      California captains' Chris Guarnero, Cameron Jordan, Mike Mohamed and Kevin Riley and USC captains watch referee Jack Folliard tosses a coin before the game against USC at LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. USC defeated California, 48-14. Photo via Newscom

      When the Pac-10 officially becomes the Pac-12 next year the conference will have two divisions and the California schools will be split.

      UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State and newcomers Utah and Colorado will be in one division, while Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State will be in the other.

      The conference needed the split in order to generate a “lucrative” title game in December, but it won’t make some traditionalists happy. Cal and USC have played every year since 1929, while Cal has played UCLA each season since 1933. Stanford has also played UCLA and USC every year since 1946.

      Count USC athletic director Pat Haden as someone who doesn’t like how the new divisions are structured.

      “I told [the rest of the athletic directors] my alumni will kill me if we don’t play the Northern California schools,” Haden said a week ago when word of the alignment leaked out.

      “I proposed a 5-2-2 model that has us playing the five schools [in our division] every year and then have the Northern California schools as part of our regular two and then rotate the other two. We need to play Stanford and Cal.”

      Haden’s proposal is pretty sound and it would satisfy those who were opposed to expansion because it’ll keep with the tradition that the conference has maintained over the past however many decades.

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Week 8 Odds

      October 20, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Cameron Newton of the Auburn Tigers reacts after rushing in a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      No. 6 LSU @ No. 4 Auburn, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
      What a terrific matchup in the SEC this weekend. LSU currently owns the No. 3 defense in the nation, but Auburn has the nation’s ninth-ranked offense, led by dual-threat quarterback Cam Newton. Auburn racked up 65 points against Arkansas last week and is averaging 40 points a game so far this season. On the other side, LSU is seeking more consistency out of its two quarterbacks, Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee. The duo struggled again last week against FCS opponent McNeese, as offensive production has killed LSU virtually all season.
      CURRENT ODDS: AUBURN –6

      No. 10 Wisconsin @ No. 13 Iowa, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
      Kinnick Stadium will be the sight of a massive bout in the Big Ten this Saturday as No. 13 Iowa hosts No. 10 Wisconsin. The Badgers are fresh off a big upset of previously No. 1 Ohio State and a win over fellow Big Ten rival Iowa would help them climb further up the top-10. The Hawkeyes are expected to get a big dose of running back John Clay, who rushed for over 100 yards in the Badgers’ win over the Buckeyes last Saturday. He’ll face a stiff challenge this weekend against college football’s No. 7 rushing defense. With Michigan State and Ohio State coming up in the next month, this is just the first of three huge home tests for Iowa the rest of the way.
      CURRENT ODDS: IOWA –5.5

      No. 14 Nebraska vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State, 3:30PM ET
      After suffering a brutal loss to Big 12 rival Texas last week, Nebraska looks to rebound against another tough conference foe when it travels to Stillwater this Saturday. The Huskers have won six straight on the road, but the Cowboys have been victorious in six of their last six home games. That said, Oklahoma State has struggled against top-25 competition, dropping 20 of their last 25 games against ranked opponents. The Cowboys are averaging 49.5 points and 535.3 yards per game this season, which puts them second to only Oregon in both of those categories. Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini should put together a sound defensive game plan in order to slow the Cowboys’ passing attack and you know he wants to hand Oklahoma State its first loss of the season, much like Texas did to his squad last week.
      CURRENT ODDS: NEBRASKA –5.5

      No. 3 Oklahoma @ No. 11 Missouri, 8:00PM ET, Saturday
      The current BCS standings have Oklahoma ranked No. 1, but the AP Top 25 has the Sooners at No. 3. Either way, OU will be tested this Saturday by a MIZZOU team looking to jump into the top-10. The Sooners have won seven straight games over the Tigers and 19 of the last 20 meetings between these two teams. The only time Missouri beat Oklahoma was back in 1998 and if the Tigers are to get their second victory against the Sooners, they’ll have to slow quarterback Landry Jones and OU’s explosive passing attack. Jones was 30-of-34 for 334 yards and three touchdowns against Iowa State last Saturday, which was the highest completion percentage of any Oklahoma quarterback with at least 25 attempts.
      CURRENT ODDS: OKLAHOMA –3 (53.5)

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      College Football, External Sports

      Eric LeGrand’s injury a painful reminder of how violent football can be

      October 18, 2010 /
      NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - SEPTEMBER 25: Rutgers Stadium is seen during a Rutgers Scarlet Knights football game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on September 25, 2010 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

      Football is a thrilling sport. The harder the hits, the more fans enjoy the game. The faster the action, the more exciting the sport becomes.

      But when you see Rutgers’ defensive tackle Eric LeGrand carried off the field on a stretcher after sustaining a neck injury, you’re reminded of how violent the game of football can be. How unforgiving the sport is sometimes.

      Replays showed that LeGrand ran full speed into Army’s Malcolm Brown following a 22-yard kick return with five minutes remaining in Rutgers’ 23-20 overtime win on Saturday. Both players hit the ground, but only one got up.

      The 6-foot-2, 275-pound LeGrand laid motionless on the turf for nearly seven minutes before being lifted onto a backboard with his head and body immobilized. He was then carted off the field to an ambulance, which transported him to the medical center.

      LeGrand fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae and was he arrived at the medical center he underwent emergency surgery in order to stabilize his spine. There’s concern that he will never walk again.

      My heart goes out to LeGrand, his family and friends, as well as Rutgers University. I’m sure everyone will support Eric and give him the hope he needs moving forward. There have been many positive stories about people walking again after neck surgery and while I don’t know LeGrand personally, I’ll be rooting for him in his recovery.

      Get better, Eric.

      College Football, External Sports

      It was a collective effort by Ohio State in loss to Wisconsin

      October 17, 2010 /
      CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 02: Head coach Jim Tressell of the Ohio State Buckeyes watches as his team takes on the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 24-13. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      “Nothing against our special teams,” Pryor said, “but that really hurt us. That kicked us in our rear end.”

      That was Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor following Ohio State’s devastating 31-18 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday night – a loss that will cost the Buckeyes the No. 1 spot in the top-25 rankings. What he should have said was that the entire Ohio State program, from the coaching staff to the players to the cheerleaders “really hurt us.” Because nobody, nobody, showed up for the Buckeyes in Madison.

      One would have thought that after Alabama fell to South Carolina last week that Ohio State would come out a little more focused for their bout against Wisconsin. This wasn’t a letdown game against an overzealous Northwestern or Illinois team that the Buckeyes had to get through. This was a major battle against another ranked foe that so happened to also play in the Big Ten, so where was OSU’s effort?

      On the opening kickoff, Jim Tressel’s vaunted special teams gave up a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, which set the table for Wisconsin the rest of the night. That’s what Pryor was alluding to when he threw his special teams under the bus, although it wasn’t just that group that failed the Buckeyes on Saturday.

      OSU’s usually stingy defense was absolutely shredded by the Badgers’ rushing attack for 184 yards – 138 came the first half when Wisconsin built a 21-3 lead. The Badgers didn’t hide from who they are – they lined up toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes and punched them straight in the mouth with John Clay and James White. They didn’t try to go side to side or try to get fancy with their passing game because of whom they were facing: they went right at the Buckeyes over and over and over again, and the end result wasn’t pretty for OSU.

      Tressel’s conservative approach once again reared its ugly head too. Down 21-0 in the first half, his playcalling resembled that of a coach hoping that either his backs or quarterback would trip and fall into the end zone by accident rather then fool the defense. Never did he give Pryor a run-pass option or go play action when Wisconsin loaded up to stop the run. It was pathetic and his effort cost his team a chance to get six instead of settling for just three.

      Then, with 6:29 remaining in the game and the Buckeyes’ trailing by 10, Tressel decided to punt and it backfired. OSU faced a 4th-and-10 at their 29-yard line, so it was a tough call either way. But they needed points and Wisconsin was eager to run the clock out. Considering his defense had been shredded the entire night, it probably would have been best had he sent his offense back onto the field. At least that would have been the more aggressive move; nobody would have faulted him for trying to get points down 10 with only six and a half minutes left. But he didn’t and along with his team last night, he failed.

      Now Oregon will have its shot at the top spot. Of course, if the Ducks play as well as the Buckeyes did Saturday night, their stay at the top will also be short lived.

      College Football, External Sports

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