Category: College Football (Page 81 of 296)

      Will Alabama loss cost the the Tide (and the SEC) a shot at the national title?

      October 9, 2010 /
      AUBURN, AL - SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Stephen Garcia of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks to pass against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      The Southeastern Conference may have lost its stranglehold on the national championship today.

      South Carolina shocked the world (OK, so it wasn’t exactly the biggest upset ever, but it was still pretty big) when it knocked off No. 1 Alabama 35-21 this afternoon. The win is huge for Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks, who were showing signs of being a legitimate SEC title contender this season. It’s also vindication for Stephen Garcia, the much-maligned South Carolina quarterback who could only watch from the bench two weeks ago as his team lost to Auburn.

      But for the conference, it could be a big problem. In most years a one-loss SEC team makes the title game without hesitation, but this isn’t most years. This year is all about the Boise State argument, and don’t look now, but TCU is still undefeated, and Ohio State might not have anyone on its schedule that can beat it. And, oh yeah, that team in Eugene, Ore. is looking pretty good this year, too.

      Basically, the chances of there being two undefeated teams at the end of the season are pretty high right now, and while Alabama (or heck, South Carolina) would have played one heck of a schedule if it runs the table the rest of the way, keeping out one of the undefeated teams would start quite an uproar.

      I am personally of the belief that while the SEC is probably still the country’s toughest conference, you can’t keep an undefeated Boise State team out of the championship game. The Broncos have done enough over the past few years to show they’re not a fluke, and it would be high time they got their shot.

      What do you think? Should a one-loss Alabama (or SEC) team get a title shot over Boise?

      College Football, External Sports

      It’s time for Joe Paterno to let Penn State move on

      October 9, 2010 /
      TUSCALOOSA, AL - SEPTEMBER 11: Head coach Joe Paterno of the Penn State Nittany Lions walks out onto the field during warmups before facing the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      I’m not the first person to write that headline. Heck, I wouldn’t have been the first had I written it 10 years ago.

      But after today’s showing against Illinois, and this season in general, I think we can all agree that it’s time for Joe Paterno to step down at Penn State and let a new regime come in. In all honesty, he probably should have hung it up last year, as Daryll Clark walked out the door with a host of seniors, leaving behind a young team in a rebuilding state.

      There’s no need for Joe Paterno to go through any kind of rebuilding, not at 83 years old. He probably didn’t need to be going through it as a 76-year-old, either, but he did and managed to make it out with a few more quality seasons. Whether or not that was good for the future of the Penn State program, who knows. I don’t know what coaches would have taken that job in 2004 or 2005, and even if I did, there’s no way to say they would have succeeded.

      But now — with a young team that, even though it’s hitting some serious bumps in the road this year, has quite a bit of talent — would be a good time for Paterno to hand the reins to someone else. Whether it’s his son Jay or Greg Schiano (not the wisest move, in my opinion) or a great up-and-coming coach like a Jim Harbaugh (this is the best-case scenario for Penn State), it’s time.

      Paterno has given more to college football than most anyone in history. He basically put Penn State on the map, and that will never be forgotten. But he needs to realize that now is clearly the time to step away and let the program grow without him.

      College Football, External Sports

      Nothing at noon: Early college football slate has been boring

      October 9, 2010 /
      CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 02: Terrelle Pryor of the Ohio State Buckeyes leads teammates including Justin Boren , Dan Herron and Mike Adams off the field during a game against 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)

      If you like to sleep in on Saturdays (like, really sleep in), you’ve been in luck. The noon (eastern) slate of college football games this season has been both lacking big-time games, and any kind of surprises. It’s essentially the bad Big Ten and ACC games, and maybe lower-level SEC matchup.

      I imagine it has a lot to do with television, and the networks trying to get the biggest games in the prime spots (3:30 and 8). But in year’s past, I seem to remember there being some noon games that were worth watching. And even if they weren’t worth turning on at the start, there always seemed to be at least one game that you saw the score for that made you turn on the TV.

      Outside of Florida’s scare against Miami (OH) in Week 1, South Carolina’s win over Georgia in Week 2 and Miami’s win over Clemson last week, there really hasn’t been that much to watch early in the day. And really, none of those were all that exciting. This is surprising in a year where college football has had a ton of big games with a lot of hype. As a couch potato who loves to come home from my morning duties and take in some football right away, I’m very dismayed by this.

      Sure, the 3:30 and 8 time slots are great, but if you plan on focusing on one game, the others might as well not even be on. Plus, some of the bigger games get pushed completely off of television in different markets. For instance, last week’s 8 p.m. ABC game in Michigan was Notre Dame vs. Boston College. If you’re not a Notre Dame fan (or I suppose a BC fan, but there’s really not many of those in this state), that doesn’t do much for you. The mirror game on ESPN2 was Washington at USC, which turned out to be a good game, but really doesn’t draw that much interest in the Midwest.

      One of last week’s biggest games, Stanford at Oregon, wasn’t even on TV, and I’m not just talking about my crappy basic digital package at home. Buffalo Wild Wings, which has like 75 TVs, didn’t have the game on because it wasn’t available. You’re telling me Notre Dame at Boston College couldn’t have been moved to the noon time slot where people in the Midwest and East (the obvious major markets for that game) could have been awake and watching?

      Surely there are more pressing issues in college football right now, but this dearth of noon games seems to be the easiest to fix. So get on it, NCAA, because not only is this boring me early in the day, but it’s really making it hard to find things to write about before 3:30.

      College Football, External Sports

      Week 6 forecast: Will Sparty stop Denard Robinson? Will South Carolina pull the upset?

      October 9, 2010 /

      College football season continues to be awesome. It seems like every week I sit down to write my picks (which also continue to be awesome) there are a handful of games that are can’t miss.

      I don’t know if that’s because there’s an increasing number of good teams in college football, or if all the cupcakes teams were feasting on at the beginning of the season beefed up their records artificially. Either way, I like being excited on a Friday night for what I’m about to see the next day, and I’ve been like that for a few weeks now.

      This week is no different, in fact, it’s about as big as any weekend of the season. And maybe that’s artificially inflated for myself living in Michigan and seeing about 50% of my Facebook “friends” switch their profile picture to something Michigan or Michigan State related. It’s half exciting and half terribly annoying (example: New friend request from John Doe. Hmm, John Doe doesn’t ring a bell, I wonder what he looks like. Oh, he looks just like Denard Robinson. Strange. Ignore. (Not true, I never ignore. My ego can use all the friends it can get, virtual or not.)).

      Enough parentheses, let’s get to the games. Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Week 6 Picks

      October 8, 2010 /
      TUSCALOOSA, AL - OCTOBER 02: Mark Ingram of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates his touchdown against the Florida Gators with Preston Dial and Michael Williams at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      It was a .500 effort last weekend thanks to NC State’s collapse against Virginia Tech. (What the H was that, Wolfpack?) Michigan State and Boise State were winners, while Ohio State and the NC State Chokesalot were losers.

      I’m 6-6 against the number this season, but let’s see if we can’t pull out another 3-1 Saturday like we did two weekends ago.

      No. 1 Alabama at. No. 19 South Carolina, 3:30PM ET, CBS
      The thought here might be to take the points with a 3-1 South Carolina team playing at home – especially after the Tide struggled with Arkansas two weeks ago on the road. But I think the near-loss was good for Nick Saban’s squad, who is at the end of a daunting three-game stretch. Heisman winner Mark Ingram shredded the Gamecocks last season by rushing for 246 yards and I see more of the same this year.
      THE PICK: ALABAMA –7

      Minnesota at No. 20 Wisconsin, 12:00PM ET, Big Ten Network
      I’m going right back to the well against Wisconsin again, which is just 1-4 against the spread this year. Minnesota’s offense has been a little better than people expected and this should be a classic Big Ten battle (i.e. boring football), which will be won down in the trenches. While I don’t see the Gophers pulling off an upset like the Spartans did last Saturday against Wisconsin, 22.5 points is too much for the Badgers to be laying against anyone right now.
      THE PICK: MINNESOTA +22.5

      Toledo at. No. 4 Boise State, 8:00PM ET, ESPN 3
      There typically aren’t any letdown games for a team like Boise State, but if there were, it would look like Toledo. The Broncos waxed New Mexico State 59-0 on the road last Saturday, which is why oddsmakers have hiked up the point spread again this week (Boise covered as a 43.5-point favorite). But the Rockets are 3-0 against the spread on the road this year and have enough weapons to score against a potentially less-motivated Boise defense. Any game involving the Broncos has a chance to get ugly in a hurry, but I think Toledo keeps this contest within 39 points.
      THE PICK: TOLEDO +39

      Oregon State at. No. 9 Arizona, 6:00PM ET Versus
      Is it just me or do oddsmakers continue to slight the Beavers in terms of the spread? They’ve already proven in close losses to TCU and Boise State that they can hang with top-25 competition and yet here they are once again listed as an underdog of more than a touchdown. The Wildcats’ record speaks for itself, but most teams have trouble with the Rodgers brothers and I like for Oregon State to keep this one close, just as Cal did two weeks ago against ‘Zona.
      THE PICK: OREGON STATE +8.5

      Season Record: 6-6

      College Football, External Sports

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