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      Iowa shocks Michigan State in final seconds

      October 24, 2009 /

      Even those that think they’re the most overrated team in college football have to admit how remarkable the Iowa Hawkeyes have been this season.

      No. 6 Iowa stayed perfect on the season thanks to an improbable 15-13 win over Michigan State on Saturday. Both teams struggling generating any kind of offense until less than three minutes remaining when Iowa took a 9-6 lead on a 20-yard Daniel Murray field goal.

      The Spartans then marched up the field (thanks to a great hook-and-ladder call) and scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Blair White with only 1:37 remaining in the game to put MSU up 13-9. Iowa answered back with a drive of its own, capping it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Ricky Stanzi to Marvin McNutt on a 4th and goal as time expired.

      Iowa is 8-0 on the season and in all but one of those wins (a 35-3 rout of Iowa State), the Hawkeyes battled some kind of adversity. Whether they’ve been trailing at the start of the game, at halftime or late in the fourth quarter, Iowa has found a way to win and for that, voters must keep them ranked high.

      I would be willing to argue with anyone who said Iowa isn’t impressive. Are they dominating opponents? No. Are the playing top-notch teams every week? No. Should they have probably suffered a loss at this point? Yes, if not several. Did Michigan State choke several times on the final drive? Absolutely.

      But isn’t the point of the lame, stupid, idiotic BCS system to win games? Isn’t the point to treat every week like it’s a playoff game where victory reigns supreme? It’s not like the Hawkeyes play in the Big East or the Mountain West – they play in the Big Ten, where Ohio State has made a living off playing in BCS games or the national championship with one or no losses.

      Iowa could lose next week and be dropped so far down in the polls that they would need a sniper lens just to see the top. But for now, they’re undefeated, are the team to beat in the Big Ten and will continue to be in BCS contention.

      College Football

      Jed Hoyer hired as next Padres GM

      October 24, 2009 /

      Hoyer

      Jed Hoyer, who joined the Red Sox in 2002 and was one of the co-general managers during Theo Epstein’s brief absence, has been named the GM of the San Diego Padres.

      The 35-year-old Hoyer emerged as a favorite immediately after Padres CEO Jeff Moorad fired Kevin Towers during the last weekend of the regular season.

      Moorad has said he wants a more “strategic approach” from his GM. Towers was known more as a seat-of-the-pants GM who built four NL West winners during his 14 seasons as GM, and had his 1998 club reach the World Series, where it was swept by the Yankees.

      oyer will face the same obstacle Towers faced through the years – a payroll significantly smaller that baseball big hitters. The payroll for next season will probably be in the $40 million range.

      This is the second time Moorad has hired a Red Sox assistant GM. When he ran the Diamondbacks, Moorad hired Josh Byrnes as general manager in October 2005.

      Hoyer was hired by the Red Sox as assistant to the GM following the 2003 season. He was later promoted to assistant GM, and later was given the title of senior vice president.

      Good luck, Jed. With a $40 million payroll set for next season, nobody is expecting much. Personally, I’d use that money to flee to South America.

      MLB

      Notre Dame’s Clausen pushes BC player after game

      October 24, 2009 /

      Following Notre Dame’s 20-16 win over Boston College on Saturday, Jimmy Clausen went to shake the hand of Eagle player Rich Gunnell, who appeared to have a few choice words for the Irish quarterback.

      So Clausen said, “Hey Rich, let’s be cool here. We both tried really hard today and sportsmanship is my life. I think the world of you and I appreciate your friendship.”

      Okay, so Clausen didn’t say any of that. He actually pushed Gunnell and the whole incident was caught on television. (Thanks to SPORTSbyBROOKS.com for the video tip.)

      Now, who knows what Gunnell said and who knows what the players said to each other during the game. Obviously the moment isn’t good for Clausen, but these aren’t choirboys here. A push seems kind of mild in the grand scheme of things.

      The bigger story is how Notre Dame continues to struggle against Boston College. The Irish’s victory was ugly at best.

      College Football, Video

      Clemson upsets Miami in overtime

      October 24, 2009 /

      Go figure, Miami faces four ranked teams to start the season (Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma), manages to win three of those games, but then suffers its second loss of the season to an unranked Clemson team at home.

      A pesky Tigers team knocked off the No. 10 Hurricanes 40-37 in overtime on Saturday, thanks in large part to Kyle Parker’s big passing day. The freshman quarterback completed 25 of his 37 pass attempts for 326 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. His 26-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Ford in overtime gave Clemson the victory.

      Heisman candidate Jacory Harris made a slew of mistakes in this game and just couldn’t recover. He threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, but his three interceptions doomed Miami as the Canes turned the ball over a total of four times.

      With Miami’s loss, Georgia Tech now becomes the outright leader in the Coastal Division by a wide margin. The defeat also opens the door for the Yellow Jackets to leapfrog the Hurricanes in the BCS standings, which is obviously critical.

      The “O” word will start to be thrown around Miami now. Their win over Florida State at the start of the season doesn’t look as impressive now as it did then given how the ‘Noles have stumbled. Of course, their win over Georgia Tech holds strong, especially considering how the Jackets continue to climb the rankings.

      Still, with two losses in the ACC, the Hurricanes look rather average right now, don’t they?

      College Football

      Alabama’s passing game continues to struggle

      October 24, 2009 /

      At the end of the day, winning games in college football is the only thing that matters. That’s why Alabama won’t apologize for its 12-10 victory over Tennessee at home on Saturday, even though it needed a blocked field goal as time expired to secure the win.

      That said, Nick Saban better figure out a way for his team to move the ball through the air or else the Tide won’t find themselves playing for a national title this year.

      The Alabama coaching staff showed little to no confidence in quarterback Greg McElroy today. Either that, or McElroy played too conservatively because he barely threw the ball vertically and his average pass went for a paltry 4.1 yards.

      The playcalling was also highly questionable at times for Alabama, especially in on the Tide’s final drive before halftime. Their offensive line was blowing the Vols off the ball and Mark Ingram had gapping holes to run through. Yet when ‘Bama got inside the 10 yard line, Saban’s crew called two straight passes on second and third down, both of which fell incomplete and the Tide had to settle for a field goal.

      Why, when you’re completely dominating the line of scrimmage and running the ball at will, would you call two straight pass plays? The calls made no sense and they probably cost ‘Bama six points. Granted, Monte Kiffin’s defense deserves a lot of credit for taking away the run and neutralizing Ingram (he had 99 yards on 18 carries) as much as possible, but the Tide coaching staff flat out blew it before half.

      Outside of the final two minutes when they allowed Tennessee to get back into the game, the Tide defense played great. There were multiple times today when the Vols got on ‘Bama’s side of the field and the Tide defense knocked them backwards. Just as they’ve been all season, they were impressive.

      But again, if this team wants to play for a national championship then Saban needs to figure out how to move the chains outside of handing the ball to Ingram every play.

      College Football

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