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      Carr becoming Cooper in Michigan-OSU rivalry

      November 20, 2006 /

      Certainly no one can take away what Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr has done in his coaching career. He has won a co-national championship, has never had a losing season and turned around a program that lost five games in ’05. But after watching Carr lose to Jim Tressel for the third straight year, one has to question whether or not he’s turning into the John Cooper of this rivalry.

      Cooper won a share of three Big Ten titles while coaching at OSU, but will mostly be remembered for his 2-10-1 record vs. UM. He was essentially run out of Ohio with crippling losses to Michigan in ’93, ’95 and ’96. Carr is now 1-5 lifetime against Tressel and it’s not far-fetched to think his doom may soon resemble Cooper’s.

      The bottom line is that Tressel not only coaches a good team year in and year out, but also wins that big game. Carr seems to only have one of those virtues down pat these days.

      College Football

      College Football Players of the Week

      November 20, 2006 /

      Here are your college football players of the week.

      Remember, if you feel that another player was worthy of higher honors than the two I chose, post the athlete and let me hear why you think he or they were more deserving.

      Offensive Player of the Week: Troy Smith, QB Ohio State
      I doubt that this one will catch much flak. Smith tore apart Michigan for 314 yards and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes 42-39 victory over the Wolverines. As mentioned in my recap of the big game, Smith had great vision while seeing the entire field, had sharpshooter accuracy and showed great mobility when forced from the pocket. Smith’s performance was good enough to overcome three OSU turnovers and put the Buckeyes into the national title game.

      Steve Slaton of West Virginia has to be mentioned too. Slaton had a total of seven yards heading into halftime of the Mountaineers game against Pittsburgh. He must have recharged the battery in the locker room, because Slaton emerged from the locker room to amass 345 total yards and four touchdowns in WV’s 45-27 win over the Panthers.

      Defensive Player of the Week: Jolonn Dunbar, LB Boston College
      Dunbar was an absolute maniac in BC’s 38-16 win over Maryland. Dunbar stole the show for the Eagles with two fumble recoveries for touchdowns and a team-high 14 tackles. No other defender in the country had a bigger performance than Dunbar.

      College Football

      Michigan is still #2 in the BCS, but USC and Florida might advance

      November 19, 2006 /

      Will this be the season that makes everyone give up on the BCS in favor of a playoff system? One can only hope. While Ohio State is the undisputed #1 team in the country, there is little consensus on which team should be #2.

      Despite Michigan’s loss to Ohio State, Michigan is hanging on as the #2 team in the BCS standings. Their lead over #3 USC, however, is very small. Thus the Trojans will likely leapfrog Michigan if they can win their remaining games against Notre Dame and UCLA. Michigan doesn’t have any more games, so the Wolverines don’t have any more opportunities to impress the voters. Also, if USC loses and Florida wins the SEC championship, the Gators will also have the opportunity to leapfrog Michigan. I won’t even bother discussing scenarios for Arkansas and West Virginia.

      Those arguing in favor of Michigan are focusing on the three-point margin of defeat in their road game against #1 Ohio State. Those arguing against Michigan can focus on the three Ohio State turnovers that made the game close. Without a couple of errant snaps by Ohio State’s center, the Buckeyes could have won that game by three touchdowns. They torched Michigan’s celebrated defense for 42 points and over 500 yards.

      Neither USC nor Florida has been overly impressive this season, but each will have impressive victories on their resumes if they can win out. It’s hard to argue that they should not get a shot at the Buckeyes.

      Of course, this mess makes it clear that college football needs a playoff. Urban Meyer’s opinion on the matter is probably shared by many:

      Florida coach Urban Meyer said Sunday a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State would be cause for immediate change to the BCS.

      “If that does happen, all the [university] presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system,” he said. “I mean like now, January or whenever to get that done.”

      He’ll probably feel the same way if USC and Florida both win out but USC gets the #2 ranking over Florida.

      The BCS works great when there are two teams who rise above the rest of the pack. The Ohio State/Miami match-up and the Texas/USC match-up from recent years come to mind. For that reason, the BCS is better than the old system that prevented these games from taking place. But in most years, the selection of the #2 team is very difficult. Fans deserve a playoff system.

      College Football

      NFL Sunday Night Recap: San Diego 35, Denver 27

      November 19, 2006 /

      Chargers 35, Broncos 27
      This is twice in two weeks where the Chargers fell behind early, only to rally and win in the second half. For as easy as Marty Schottenheimer makes it to criticize him, you have to give him credit for making necessary adjustments at halftime. Not every NFL coach does that, in fact, a lot of them don’t.

      After reaching pay dirt in the second half, LaDainian Tomlinson became the fastest player to reach 100 touchdowns in a career. The guy is phenomenal to watch on a weekly basis. Tomlinson scored four times tonight (three rushing, one receiving) and may single handedly take San Diego to a Super Bowl. I realize Philip Rivers and the defense are playing great too, but Tomlinson can carry a team by himself.

      This has to be a tough loss for Denver. Not only do the Broncos lose a game in the standings, but they also fall at home, where they have regularly owned San Diego. Jake Plummer wasn’t a disaster, but he was far from good. His forth quarter interception and last second fumble essentially sealed the deal for the Chargers. Okay, so he was a disaster.

      NFL

      Sunday’s injuries could change the course of the fantasy season

      November 19, 2006 /

      There will be more than a few Donovan McNabb owners scrambling to fill their QB position early this week as we head into Thanksgiving weekend. His season is over after tearing his ACL against the Titans. If you don’t have a good backup on the roster, you’ll have to hope there’s someone on your league’s waiver wire that can help you out of a tough spot…Brett Favre left the game before halftime with an apparent elbow injury to his throwing arm. Aaron Rodgers took over and looked pretty bad, completing only 4 of 12 passes for 32 yards, while losing a fumble. It sounds like Favre is expected to start next week, which would allow him to keep his consecutive games streak alive. Meanwhile, in Rodgers’ two-year career, he hasn’t given any indication that he’s ready to take over once Favre retires. I think NFL teams should handle these situations differently in the future. If you have a Hall of Fame QB who is a year or three away from retiring, DO NOT draft a QB to replace him unless you can land a can’t-miss prospect like Carson Palmer or Eli Manning. You’re better off continuing to build around your QB and trying to win now. Plus, they say that it’s easier to be the guy after the guy that replaces a legend such as Favre, so once a guy like that retires, sign a Brad Johnson for a year or two, draft your QB of the future and go from there. It will make life easier for everyone…Marques Colston, this year’s biggest fantasy surprise, went down with what the CBS announcers called “a high ankle sprain.” Such sprains are notorious for taking a long time to heal, so we may not see Colston for a while. In his stead, Devery Henderson (9-169) and Terrance Copper (6-87-1) both played well, but Joe Horn is back and it isn’t likely that Drew Brees will throw for 510 yards again this season, so you can’t expect that kind of production week in and week out…Kevin Jones also left early with an ankle sprain and did not return. Arlen Harris picked up his carries, but if KJ misses any time, expect the Lions to throw even more if Mike Martz has anything to say about it. Considering he’s the offensive coordinator, I think that’s a safe bet…DeShaun Foster suffered a hyperextended elbow and did not return to the game. DeAngelo Williams‘ value would skyrocket if Foster were to miss any time…LaMont Jordan tore his MCL and it looks like he will miss the remainder of the season. Justin Fargas would get most of his carries though it is likely that Zach Crockett would handle the goal line duties.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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