Page 237 of 2956

      Notre Dame’s high hopes crash and burn in Week 1

      September 3, 2011 /

      Everything that could have gone wrong for Notre Dame today did. Fumble on the 1-yard line that was returned all the way for a touchdown? Check. A pair of interceptions inside the 10-yard line? Check. Seventy-three yards of penalties? Check.

      All this added up to a 23-20 loss to South Florida in the Irish’s home opener. It wasn’t the start to the season Notre Dame expected. It wasn’t the start anyone expected, as several pundits had the Irish headed to a BCS game this year. That’s still not completely out of the question, but it sure seems like a longshot that this team can find a way to win 10 games.

      Notre Dame was horribly prepared for this game, that’s the only way to explain what happened. If there’s one or two fluky/bad plays that cost you, that can be blamed on individuals. When it’s permeated throughout the entire team, that rests on the shoulders of the coaches. Brian Kelly didn’t have his team ready to play today, for whatever reason, and now the Irish are 0-1 in a season they were supposed to “return to glory.”

      Making matters worse, Notre Dame dominated nearly every statistical category. They out-gained South Florida 508-254. They held the Bulls to three yards per rush (in reality, the defense played well, only allowing one touchdown despite being put in a bad spot multiple times).

      One positive that comes from this is that Notre Dame found its starting quarterback for the rest of the season: Tommy Rees. The negative, Kelly maybe should have realized that before naming Dayne Crist the starter a couple of weeks ago. Rees led the Irish to a 4-0 finish last season. He’s more accurate and 10-bazillion times more poised. Crist struggled in the first half, throwing an interception in the redzone (Rees threw one there, too, but that one was on the receiver) and making a handful of poor throws that stalled drives. Rees took over in the second half and was 24-of-34 for 296 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

      Yes, there were two weather delays in the game, but if anything, those were beneficial to the Irish. There is nowhere other than Kelly and the coaching staff to pin this loss. When you’re Notre Dame, you have to be ready to go every week. This team clearly was not.

      College Football, External Sports, News

      Auburn even worse off than originally thought

      September 3, 2011 /
      Auburn Tigers head coach Gene Chizik (L) and defensive player of the game Nick Fairley kiss the championship trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the NCAA BCS National Championship college football game in Glendale, Arizona, January 10, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      If you do a Google search for the phrase “Auburn disrespected” it returns 1,160 results (in 0.16 seconds … Congratulations, Google). The Tigers were the defending national champions, yet came into the season ranked No. 23 in Associated Press poll, which ruffled some feathers down in Alabama.

      This ranking was obviously wrong. Unfortunately for Auburn, not in the direction it was thinking.

      The Tigers looked like a shell of their national-championship selves on Saturday, needing an onside kick and a late rally to defeat Utah State 42-38 at home.

      Everyone knew Auburn would be down with the losses of Cam Newton and Nick Fairley to the NFL, but I don’t think anyone figured it would be this far down. The Tigers were a 24-point favorite against the Aggies, who are better known as that team you sometimes pick to win a couple of games in the NCAA basketball tournament.

      Not only did Utah State nearly upset the defending national champion, it controlled the line of scrimmage against it until the final three minutes, when it was in a prevent defense. The Aggies did whatever they wanted offensively, especially on the ground rushing for more than 200 yards, while Auburn struggled to get anything going in the run game. That doesn’t happen in these games. Normally these early-season close calls are born out of turnovers and big plays, not long, sustained touchdown drives.

      Maybe Utah State is going to be good this year, who knows. It plays in the WAC, and with Boise State gone, maybe it can make a little run. But that’s irrelevant.

      If Auburn has trouble going toe-to-toe with Utah State, imagine how tough it’s going to be when it plays any SEC West opponent? If Utah State runs for 200-plus against Auburn, what will Trent Richardson and Alabama do?

      Yes, there are a ton of new starters for the Tigers, so it’s going to take some time to round into shape. But like I said, today was less about execution and more about losing at the point of attack. Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn have a lot of work to do if Auburn has any thoughts of finishing this season in the top 25.

      College Football, External Sports

      Fade Material: College Football Week 1 Predictions

      September 3, 2011 /
      Oregon Ducks LaMichael James laughs after drawing a personal foul on the Auburn Tigers in the third quarter in the NCAA BCS National Championship college football game in Glendale, Arizona, January 10, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      I woke up today with an extra spring in my step because I knew it was the first Saturday of the 2011 college football season. But what really got me going was knowing I would once again be providing quality fade material for bettors around the world.

      It’s about people helping people, folks.

      No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU, 8:00PM ET
      The last time Jarrett Lee opened a season as a starting quarterback was in 2006…for Brenham High School. LSU was going to have uncertainty at the quarterback position regardless of whether or not Lee or Jordan Jefferson was named the starter. But where the problem comes in is that Jefferson was assumed to be the starter for months. Now, just weeks before the season, they switch to Lee because of Jefferson’s off-field issues. It’s usually unwise to go against the SEC in a non-conference game but I’m not that bright so I’ll assume the risk. I think LSU’s outstanding defense will tire late in the second half after trying to keep up with Darron Thomas and LaMichael James for most of the game. The Tigers’ D figures to be on the field an awful lot tonight.
      THE PICK: OREGON -3

      No. 7 Boise State vs. No. 22 Georgia
      All the talk in this one has revolved around Aaron Murray but I expect Kellen Moore to once again play mistake free. He has all new weapons this year but the Broncos’ offense rarely misses a beat from season to season. Never go against Boise State in their opener or in their bowl game. These types of games might as well be their freaking Super Bowl…
      THE PICK: BOISE STATE -3

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports, Free Picks

      TCU forgets how to play defense

      September 3, 2011 /

      Baylor defeated TCU 50-48 in a thriller last night, finishing with 564 yards in total offense. TCU coach Gary Patterson had harsh words for his defense after the game, singling out the play of his corners, but he needs to look in the mirror as Lee Corso pointed out this morning on ESPN. TCU lost a bunch of players on defense from last year’s tough squad, and Patterson should have known he had weaker corners. He should known he had to play more conservative defense. Instead, he left his corners out there alone on an island and they got torched. Then he had the nerve to call them out after the game. His own arrogance got him in trouble but he won’t admit it.

      College Football, External Sports

      Let’s talk T-Wolves!

      September 2, 2011 /
      Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (L) celebrates a basket with teammate Nikola Pekovic (R) during the second half of the Timberwolves’ NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in the Target Center in Minneapolis, March 7, 2011. Love extended his double-double streak to 51 consecutive games, tying Moses Malone for the NBA’s longest streak of double-doubles since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. Dallas won 108-105. REUTERS/Eric Miller (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      ESPN asked five Minnesota-related questions of its network of NBA bloggers and it’s once again time for me to piggy-back on the proceedings.

      1. Fact or Fiction: Ricky Rubio will be a star.

      Fiction: I think he can be a better than average NBA starter, but by all accounts he hasn’t developed over the last couple of seasons as was expected. His shooting percentage is pretty dreadful, so that inaccuracy will limit his upside. On a positive side, he has great court vision and is a pretty good defender. I don’t see stardom, but I do see starterdom.

      2. Fact or Fiction: Rick Adelman should be the Wolves’ next coach.

      Fact. He’s the best coach available and has had success just about everywhere he’s landed. He’s not going to turn this ship around quickly, but he’ll make the T-Wolves better.

      3. Fact or Fiction: Derrick Williams should start.

      Fact. Let’s see if he can play the 3. If it’s a disaster, then bring him off the bench in a 6th man role and let him build his confidence against the other team’s backups. It’s not like losing a few games early is going to tank the T-Wolves’ season. It’s already tanked.

      4. Fact or Fiction: Michael Beasley has a bright future in Minnesota.

      Fiction. It’s doubtful that he has a bright future anywhere. This is a guy who, at one of these glorified playground games, recently pushed a fan in the face because he couldn’t take the criticism. Maybe he’ll turn it around — you never know. He did post nice numbers on a bad team in 2010-11.

      5. Fact or Fiction: Minny makes the playoffs while K-Love is still there.

      Fiction. I’m not in Love’s head, but I wouldn’t re-sign with a team that is run by David Kahn. So unless the team fires Kahn and brings in a great basketball mind, Love will likely sign elsewhere even though the T-Wolves can (currently) offer the most money.

      External Sports, NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑