Tag: Ryan Mallett (Page 6 of 6)

      Don’t worry Georgia fans, Aaron Murray is going to be a star

      September 18, 2010 /
      COLUMBIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Quarterback Aaron Murray of the Georgia Bulldogs calls out a play during the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 11, 2010 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

      Georgia may have suffered a home loss today, and fallen to 0-2 in the SEC, but it looks to me like the Bulldogs are in good hands going forward.

      Aaron Murray didn’t light up the scoreboard in the Bulldogs 31-24 loss to Arkansas, but he was solid in leading Georgia back from a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter of a big game. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King midway through the fourth, and led a game-tying drive with about 4 minutes to play.

      In the end, Murray was out-dueled by Ryan Mallett, but a lot of older, more experienced quarterbacks are going to suffer the same fate this year. Mallett is, in my mind, the best pro quarterback prospect in college football, so losing to him is nothing to hang your head about.

      Georgia fans have to be excited about the fight Murray showed while not just standing in the pocket and making big throws down the field — without arguably the nation’s top receiver, mind you, in A.J. Green — but for also making some tough runs for big first downs, and even a touchdown in the first quarter.

      The Bulldogs may go through some growing pains this season, especially while Green continues to serve his suspension. But the future looks bright in Athens, as long as Murray as at the helm.

      College Football, External Sports

      Stoops, Arizona look for big-time program win

      September 18, 2010 /

      Under the direction of Mike Stoops, Arizona has won some very big games. The Wildcats knocked off a top 10 team three years in a row from 2005-07, with UCLA, California and Oregon all being their victims. This past year, Arizona even knocked off the Pac 10’s Goliath in USC.

      But those wins all came late in the season, when Arizona had already piled up a handful of losses. One thing the Wildcats — who seem to perennially be thought of as a sleeper team — have not done, is capitalize on any preseason hype with a big-time early-season win.

      They have the chance to do that tonight, though, when they play host to No. 9 Iowa. A win moves the Wildcats to 3-0 and gives them some serious national respect. It would also be a huge victory for the Pac 10, which is trying to assert itself as a top conference, even with a lethargic, and penalized, USC.

      Can Stoops and Arizona pull it off? Click through for that prediction, and more from today’s games. Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 College Football Predictions

      August 30, 2010 /
      Jan 1, 2010; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes players huddle before the 2010 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks. Photo via Newscom

      Conference winners, sleepers, power rankings and one big, fat national championship prediction.

      Enjoy.

      Big Ten

      Champion: Ohio State
      Yes, it’s true – the Buckeyes need Terrelle Pryor to be more consistent in the passing game this year if they expect to win a national championship. But stop acting like that’s the difference between OSU winning the Big Ten and them turning into Vanderbilt. Choke on this for a second: The Buckeyes return all three leading rushers from 2009 in Pryor, Brandon Saine and Dan Herron, the secondary features three senior NFL prospects, and they own the best defensive end in the nation in Cameron Heyward. Pryor is also coming off a dominating performance against Oregon in the Rose Bowl and reports state that he has committed himself this offseason to being a better teammate. Sorry Buckeye-haters, but the gap between them and Alabama is closer than you think.

      Conference Champion Sleeper: Michigan Slate
      My biggest concern with the Spartans is that despite pulling off an upset nearly every year, they also manage to lose a game they shouldn’t. But they have a slew of playmakers and plenty of depth on both sides of the ball, plus feature a ton of offensive firepower in Larry Caper, Edwin Baker, Keith Nicol and Mark Dell. Oh, and linebacker Greg Jones is the best defender in the nation. If this team can avoid being tripped up by an inferior opponent, they could easily surprise this season.

      Conference Power Ranking: #1 Ohio State, #2 Iowa, #3 Wisconsin, # 4 Penn State, #5 Michigan State, #6 Northwestern, #7 Michigan, #8 Purdue, #9 Illinois, #10 Indiana, #11 Minnesota.

      I admit that I had Michigan rated too high when I did my Big Ten preview last week. Having any sort of trust in Rich Rodriguez right now is a dangerous proposition for obvious reasons. Just when you think he’s going to figure things out in Ann Arbor, he makes a decision to muck everything up. Penn State might be ranked a little high given their quarterback concerns. Wisconsin is going to give teams trouble this year and Northwestern is going to be a tough opponent every week as well.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      2010 SEC College Football Preview: Alabama still reigns supreme

      August 25, 2010 /
      PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate with the BCS Championship trophy after winning the Citi BCS National Championship game over the Texas Longhorns at the Rose Bowl on January 7, 2010 in Pasadena, California. The Crimson Tide defeated the Longhorns 37-21. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

      Here’s a quick and dirty look at how I see things playing out in the SEC this season:

      #1 Alabama
      Led by head coach Nick Saban and Heisman winner Mark Ingram, this is by far the best team in the country. While they don’t come weakness-free, the Tide have the best combination of talent and coaching in all of college football. They play in the nation’s toughest conference so there’s always a chance that they could lose a game during the season, but this is your clear national title favorite. Their defense might be even better than it was a year ago.

      #2 Florida
      The Gators lost Tim Tebow, Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez, Maurkice Pouncey, Carlos Dunlap, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper, Joe Haden and Major Wright from their squad last season. In one word: Ouch. Outside of running back Jeff Demps, they lost their top player at nearly every position, which would usually destroy a program’s chances of competing the next year. But this is Florida – they reload every year. This year’s crop of starters has seen time in either part-time action or spot starts over the last couple of years, so the Gators will compete. Are they a top 5 team? We’ll find out soon.

      #3 Arkansas
      All right, so I might be drinking too much of the Ryan Mallett Kool-Aid by ranking the Razorbacks ahead of Georgia and LSU. But even though Bobby Petrino is a turd, the man knows how to run an offense (a college football offense, that is) and Arkansas will be explosive on that side of the ball again this year. The question is whether or not their defense will step up so that this team can reach its full potential. As it stands now, it’s probably safe to say that Arkansas is going to have issues slowing teams down this year, but I just can’t stop starring at that offense. It’s like a tractor beam of hotness.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

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