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      South Florida upsets No. 18 Florida State

      September 26, 2009 /


      Daniels

      The undefeated South Florida Bulls entered Saturday’s competition against Florida State well aware that the Seminoles would be fired up on their home turf. While the Seminoles sought to prove their worth among the nation’s elite, their opponents were simply trying to justify their football program within their state. With senior quarterback Matt Grothe out with a knee injury, the Bulls looked to redshirt freshman B.J. Daniels for help. Daniels, who is coincidentally a Tallahassee native, was stellar in his debut performance. Rushing for 126 yards and throwing two touchdown passes, Daniels led his squad to a 17-7 victory at No. 18 Florida State.

      It was the first time since Nebraska’s Steve Taylor ran for 139 yards against the Seminoles in 1986 that an opposing quarterback rushed for over 100 yards against them.

      The Seminoles couldn’t keep the South Florida pass rush, led by defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and George Selvie and tackle Craig Marshall, off of Ponder. The Bulls sacked him five times and forced the crucial fumble in the fourth quarter.

      South Florida stopped the Seminoles on four plays from the 3-yard line early in the second quarter. USF then needed just five plays to cover 99 yards to get the game’s first touchdown.

      Another huge pass play, this one a 73-yard scoring pass from Daniels to Sterling Griffin, gave USF a 14-0 lead at the half.

      The Bulls could have been ahead by more at halftime, but Eric Schwartz missed a pair of 37-yard field goal tries.

      It was the first time since the third game of the 2008 season, a 12-3 loss to Wake Forest, that the Seminoles went scoreless in the first half.

      Florida State coach Bobby Bowden can’t be too pleased. While his team is ranked in the Top 25, I’m sure he wasn’t expecting a 2-2 record at this point in the season, let alone suffering a loss to the unranked Bulls. Nevertheless, this is a nice story for B.J. Daniels, who was overlooked by his hometown team. Now that he’s found a place with the Bulls, hopefully he’ll see more time on the field after his fine play today.

      College Football

      2009 NHL Preview: Colorado Avalanche

      September 26, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Colorado Avalanche…

      Team Play: ISSUE – Passing the torch. Over the summer, Avs’ team captain and icon Joe Sakic retired. Plagued by injuries, Sakic played in just 59 games over the last two seasons. Hoping to fill the (enormous) void, Colorado took center Matt Duchene with the third overall pick in the 2009 Entry Draft. While it’s patently unfair to compare the 18-year-old to the future Hall-of-Famer, Duchene will simply have to deal with it. Much will be expected of the youngster this season, as the Avalanche begin the climb back towards the playoffs and respectability. To that end, the Avs have made some sound offseason moves. First and foremost, they improved in the crease by signing free agent goalie Craig Anderson from Florida. Next, Colorado shored up a rather forlorn defensive corps by trading co-leading scorer Ryan Smyth to Los Angeles for d-men Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a 5th-round pick in 2010. These are significant steps in the right direction, but team health will play an equal role in the Avs’ improvement this season. Here’s hoping the injury bug doesn’t bite Colorado in 2009-10 like it did last season, in which the Avalanche used 13 defensemen and Milan Hejduk was the only skater to dress for all 82 games. Here’s hoping Joe Sakic passes the torch to Matt Duchene, rather than the snowblower.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      LSU narrowly defeats Mississippi State

      September 26, 2009 /

      LaFell

      If one were to only watch this game’s first quarter, their views on both teams would be drastically shaken. No. 7 LSU went into this game 3-0 and had won nine straight against their opponents from Mississippi State. At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs somehow held a 14-13 lead. It seemed as though fans could sense an upset as they suddenly piled into the stadium well after the opening whistle. Quickly, however, that ornate offense helmed by Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee gradually dismantled. By the end of the first half, Lee had thrown three interceptions and his team had committed a total of four turnovers. Luckily for them, LSU didn’t look any sharper — on either end of the field. Their skimpy defense was obvious to anyone watching. We knew that could be a problem coming in, but what was up with their rushing? With a total of seven yards rushing at the half, LSU coach Les Miles was left dumbfounded. Both teams had multiple opportunities to score, but sloppy play prevented either from increasing a lead. At the end of the half, No. 7 LSU was on top 16-14.

      In their first possession of the third quarter, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson connected with Brandon LaFell for a 58-yard touchdown pass. Despite their embarrassing first half performance, LSU suddenly looked like a real team. Still, Mississippi State would respond with a touchdown of their own. But Chad Johnson’s beautiful 93-yard punt return for a touchdown again rejuvenated the Tigers. Come the fourth quarter, Mississippi State completely depended on star running back Anthony Dixon to carry their team. This proved to be a wise decision, as he would finish the game with two touchdowns on 106 yards.

      With 1:20 left in the game, Mississippi State came within four inches of scoring, thanks again to Anthony Dixon. However, they couldn’t convert their momentum into a touchdown as LSU’s defense finally made an impact when it mattered most. In what was a surprisingly close game, LSU defeated Mississippi State 30-26.

      Lastly, hats off to Mississippi State’s new coach, Dan Mullen, who kept his team in the game against one of the strongest programs in college football.

      College Football

      2009 NHL Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

      September 26, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Chicago Blackhawks…

      Team Play: ISSUE – It’s all between the pipes, baby. Going into the free agency free-for-all which began July 1st, it seemed the Blackhawks’ plan was to trade goalie Cristobal Huet (who has three years remaining on his contract) and re-sign Nikolai Khabibulin (who was an unrestricted free agent). The ‘Hawks found no takers for Huet, and “The Bulin Wall” signed with Edmonton. Thus, Chicago enters the 2009-10 season depending heavily upon a goalie who was deemed second-best going into last seasons’ playoffs. As I mentioned in a post earlier this summer, the ‘Hawks can only hope Huet is able to rediscover the magic of his thirteen-game run with the Washington Capitals at the end of the 2007-08 season, in which he put up all-star numbers (11-2, 1.63 GAA, .936 sv%). Simply put, Huet must consistently play at a level which gives his teammates confidence. When a team lacks confidence in their goalie, they tend to go into a defensive shell, playing much more conservatively than normal. The current Chicago Blackhawks squad is not built to play a conservative, defense-first, don’t-take-chances type of game. If a lack of confidence in Huet causes the ‘Hawks to attempt to play that style of hockey, the season will be a miserable failure.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Carolina Hurricanes

      September 26, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Carolina Hurricanes…

      SUMMER SPLASH

      * A fairly quiet summer in the Carolinas for Hurricane season. Fan-fave Erik Cole was awarded a new 2-year deal as was Chad LaRose. A bevy of contracts come due next season, so the ‘Canes obviously feel confident about the team they have assembled for Paul Maurice who took over the coaching duties midway through last season.

      * 36-year old Aaron Ward came home from Boston to begin his second stint with the Hurricanes. Ward played with them from 2001-2006 and his family never left the area.

      * Lackluster Patrick Eaves went the other way to Boston in the Ward trade and Frantisek Kaberle was bought out of his contract.

      * Other notable additions to the team are Tom Kostopoulos, Andrew Alberts and just recently, Stephan Yelle.

      * The Hurricanes wanted a slightly bigger, tougher team this season and it looks like they have accomplished this goal during the off-season while also adding some veteran leadership.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

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