2008 Sun Bowl

At Last, a Bowl Defensive Gem as Oregon State Beats Pittsburgh, 3-0

2008 Armed Forces Bowl

Houston Tops Air Force 34-28 for First Bowl Win in 28 Years

January 8, 2009

January 7, 2008 - Third Article

2008 Holiday Bowl

Oregon Outlasts Oklahoma State, 42-31, in Exciting But No Defense Contest

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

When two high-scoring offenses clash you are not looking for exceptional defensive play and there was little of it when Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli scored 4 touchdowns as the Ducks' upset the Oklahoma State Cowboys 42-31 in the 2008 Holiday Bowl Tuesday (12-30-08).

As the bowl season progresses there is more exciting football and less good football being played; the bowl sponsors, players, fans and television executives all love the excitement but football purists get a gag reflex.

Masoli was No. 3 on Oregon's depth chart when the season started but injuries pushed him into the spotlight. He made the most of it against Oklahoma State, rushing for 3 touchdowns on option keepers of 1, 17 and 41 yards, and passing for another 20-yard score.

Masoli literally ran over Oklahoma State's senior free safety Quinton Moore on the 41-yarder, proving, at least in this case, that Moore was less. Missed tackles, bad angles on pursuit and lack of effort all contributed to a defenseless spectacle of 10 touchdowns and a field goal. One rumor, probably untrue, was that there were no defensive statistics kept because the offensive play was so evident.

For openers, both teams featured a spread offense with running quarterbacks. The result was Oregon gained 565 yards and Oklahoma State 469, only 1,034 total yards.

Masoli rushed 16 times for 106 yards and completed 18-of-32 passes for another 258 yards.

The Ducks' Jeremiah Johnson picked up 119 yards on 12 carries. Teammate LeGarrette Blount gained 74 yards on 7 carries, giving him 1,002 yards for the season. Johnson gained 1,201 yards for the season, giving Oregon its second duo in school history to each have 1,000+ yard seasons.

Johnson's 76-yard scoring scamper broke Barry Sanders' Holiday Bowl record of 67 yards in 1988. Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant set a record with 13 catches (a career high for Bryant) for 167 yards, including a 33-yard TD. The old records were 11 catches and 163 yards.

Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson got into the act by completing 27 of 50 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 16 times for 54 yards and a score.

As if Masoli's play was not enough to motivate the Ducks, Oregon players dedicated their win to Todd Doxey, a redshirt freshman from San Diego (site of the Holiday Bowl) who drowned last summer in Oregon's McKenzie River.

After the game, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said Masoli was "a tough son of a gun," adding that "He's faster than most people think and he's stronger and more difficult to take down. And he ran over and around and through people today." Masoli did exactly that.

What everyone really wants to know is: Where does Mike Bellotti continually find really good players (especially running backs and quarterbacks) that other programs miss? In Masoli's case, he is a junior college transfer.

"They were much more physical than us in the second half," said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. "We were not able to overcome that." No kidding, Mike. Oregon won the battle of the Mikes this time around. Gundy was the Oklahoma State quarterback when the Cowboys won the Holiday Bowl in 1988.

If Gundy wants to see even more physical players he should schedule a non-conference game with Oregon State. The Oregon State Beavers not only play really physical, they sometimes play mean, nasty and vicious at home. Did I mention dirty?

Oregon finished the season at 10-3, marking the 4th time that Bellotti has had double-digit wins in 14 seasons as head coach for the Ducks. Oklahoma State was 9-4.

January 7, 2009 - Second Article

2008 Humanitarian Bowl

Da'Rel Scott Plays 1.5 Quarters, Runs 174 Yards as Maryland Dumps Nevada

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The rumor was that Maryland's Da'Rel Scott and 6 of his teammates snuck out during the night after bed check at the Humanitarian Bowl, got caught and were benched by Terrapin coach Ralph Friedgen.

"Five percent of (the) guys thought they did not need to listen to me, that they could get bed checked and sneak out," said Ralph Friedgen. "This isn't my first rodeo," added Friedgen. So Scott, 3 other starters and his other teammates sat, and sat and sat as Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his high-powered "pistol" offense scored touchdowns.

Scott warmed up after the first quarter, thinking Friedgen would call off the punishment and put him in the game during the first half. No deal. He was made to sit until midway in the 3rd quarter before he got his shot at Nevada, and then the 5-foot-11, 192-pound sophomore running back made his presence felt.

Scott ran like he was 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, amassing 174 yards on 14 carries (a 12.4 average) and two touchdowns. He was virtually unstoppable as he ran over, around and through the best tacklers Nevada had to offer.

His first carry for 14 yards came at 5:55 left in the 3rd quarter and his next carry netted 11 yards. A 49-yard TD run with 12:21 left in the 4th quarter put Maryland up 35-28 and pushed Scott past 1,000 yards rushing for the season, becoming the 7th back in Maryland history to do so.

On Maryland's next possession, Scott reeled off runs of 11, 23, 30 and 2 yards (66 yards total) to score again with 7:44 left and put the Terrapins up for good 42-35 in the high-scoring Humanitarian Bowl free-for-all on Tuesday (12-30-08).

In the meantime, Maryland's junior quarterback Chris Turner was busy giving the game away, turning the ball over twice on an interception and a backward pass recovery that resulted in Nevada scoring two touchdowns.

Sophomore QB Kaepernick, the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, kept things interesting for the Wolfpack by completing 24-for-47 for an Alamo Bowl-record 370 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kaepernick even scored on a 15-yard run with 2:19 left but Maryland recovered Nevada's onside kick to maintain its lead and win the game.

The game was exciting with a 99-yard kick return by Maryland's freshman wide receiver Torrey Smith and 10 running or passing touchdowns. To say the least, there was not of lot of defense being played. Maryland ended the season at 8-5 and Nevada had to settle for a 7-6 mark.

January 7, 2009

2008 Alamo Bowl

Jeremy Maclin's Speed Carries Missouri to OT Win Against Northwestern, 30-23

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

There were many games during the last two years when Chase Daniel led his Missouri team to victory; however, the Tigers won the 2008 Alamo Bowl against Northwestern Wildcats 30-23 Monday (12-29-08) not because of Daniel but in spite of him.

Daniel was not on his game early on, throwing 3 interceptions, the first a tipped ball on Missouri's opening drive that led to Northwestern's first touchdown. The second was on an ill-advised throw into coverage that could have been a score on a 47-yard field goal attempt.

Daniel was part of the go-ahead play in overtime when he threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin to put Missouri up 30-23. Playing without Daniel on defense, the Tigers sacked backpedaling Wildcat quarterback C. J. Bacher, forcing a fumble that left Northwestern with a 4th-and-goal from the 32-yard line. A desperation heave into the end zone was knocked down and Missouri players and fans were celebrating like there was no tomorrow.

Daniel, the Tigers' senior quarterback who finished 4th in the 2007 Heisman Trophy voting, completed 27-of-44 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bacher, Northwestern's senior quarterback, had an even better day, completing 27-of-43 for 304 yards and an Alamo Bowl-record 3 touchdowns. Bacher's day was no doubt very disappointing.

Missouri was behind in the game 10-3 in the 2nd quarter and lacking momentum when its sensational sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin electrified the Tigers and their fans with a show-stopping 75-yard punt return that left the Wildcats flat-footed and wondering what happened. It was Maclin's first punt return for a TD this season and could not have come at a more opportune time.

Maclin, who has enough speed and moves to run away from defensive backs, is arguably one of the most exciting players in college football today, and certainly Missouri's most explosive threat. Maclin caught 7 passes for 43 yards, including the winning touchdown in overtime, and ran 5 times for another 43 yards.

The Alamo Bowl victory by the Tigers brought the team to a 10-4 final record and gave coach Gary Pinkel and the Tigers double-digit victories in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald and his Wildcats ended the year at 9-4. All things considered, it was a great year for Northwestern football, and an even better year for Missouri football.

January 5, 2009

2008 Papajohns.com Bowl

Mike Teel Rescues Rutgers, Late Surge Upends North Carolina State, 29-23

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

It took Rutgers a long time to get warmed up—about halfway through the 4th quarter—but the Scarlet Knights, led by trusty quarterback Mike Teel, came from behind to beat North Carolina State 29-23 in the Papajohns.com Bowl Monday (12-29-08).

Rutgers was down by 11 when "Comeback Mike" found Kenny Britt for a 42-yard scoring toss to give the Scarlet Knights the lead in the final quarter. Teel, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound, senior signal caller, completed 23 of 37 passes for 319 yards and the TD to Britt, who caught 6 passes for 119 yards.

The Scarlet Knights started their season by losing 5 of their first 6 games and Teel was on the receiving end of some boos at home and struggling with his game. Then he led Rutgers to 7 straight wins, including the Papajohns.com Bowl victory as the Knights ended the season at 8-5. Teel was named the game's Most Valuable Player. He certainly ended his season on a terrific winning streak and a bowl-game high note.

Britt, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior wide receiver, was a 3rd-team All American and proved it with a juggling catch on the go-ahead TD play.

North Carolina State was leading 17-6 at halftime but its quarterback Russell Wilson strained his knee in the first half and never returned. That turned out to be exceptionally bad news for the Wolfpack as Wilson went 11-for-23 for 186 yards and a touchdown in the first half. His replacements were irrelevant.

North Carolina State's bigger problem was the Wolfpack players turning the ball over 4 times, including one lost fumble and 3 second-half interceptions.

Rutgers did jump to a quick lead when cornerback Jason McCourty recovered a Wolfpack fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Teel promptly hit senior wide receiver Tiquan Underwood with a 22-yard pass and the Scarlet Knights then attempted a 6-yard field goal. Or so North Carolina State thought.

Rob Cervini, the holder on the play, picked up the ball and scampered into the end zone. The extra point was blocked by NC State, but no one could believe it turned out to be Cervini's first play of the year.

"We had worked a lot on the fake and felt highly confident that it would work," said coach Greg Schiano. "It’s unique that on his first play in a varsity game he scores a touchdown. That's pretty neat for him, and for us too." No kidding, Greg. Cervini will see more action as he is a freshman defensive back.

North Carolina coach Tom O'Brien had seen better second halfs. His Wolfpack finished the year at 6-7.

January 2, 2009

2008 Independence Bowl

Louisiana Tech Tops Northern Illinois, Notches 7th Comeback Win of Season

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

You can excuse the good people of Ruston, Louisiana if they feel that any game played by their Louisiana Tech Bulldogs is not over until the Bulldogs come from behind to win. That would be because the Bulldogs logged their 7th come-from-behind victory of the season in the Independence Bowl Saturday (12-28-08), beating Northern Illinois 17-10.

The win was sweet for Derek Dooley as it represented his first bowl victory as a head coach. Dooley is none other than a former protégé of Alabama head coach Nick Saban and son of the legendary Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley. Young Dooley used his special teams, defense and a running game to turn back Northern Illinois.

Senior defensive back Weldon Brown proved to be the Bulldogs big stopper. Brown stopped one Husky scoring threat with a shoestring tackle to set up a 4th down, then batted down the ensuing pass. He also recovered a fumbled punt to set up a field goal attempt, and ended one of two late Husky drives with an interception when the game was on the line. Brown finished with 14 tackles and the Most Valuable Defensive Player award.

On special teams, sophomore wide receiver Phil Livas took a kickoff return to the house for a 97-yard score, and junior running back Dan Porter rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown.

The postseason win was Louisiana Tech's first in 31 years; their last win also came in the Independence Bowl in 1977. The victory left the Bulldogs with their first 8-win season in 9 years. They finished the year at 8-5 while Northern Illinois slid to 6-7.

Louisiana Tech was not even expected to be in a bowl game but was selected when neither the Southeastern Conference (SEC) nor Big 12 could produce a participant.

Derek Dooley inherited a team that went 3-10. He improved the Bulldogs to 5-7 last year and now has them at 8-5 and a bowl victory in his second full season. Dooley's Bulldogs upset Mississippi State to kick off this season and then won 4 of their last 5 games to get to the Independence Bowl and generate more glory for the Bulldog faithful.

Louisiana Tech and Derek Dooley are on the way up. We know this because the Bulldogs scored 8 non-offensive touchdowns this season to tie for the most in major college football. When you score on defense or special teams, everyone gets excited.

In addition to Livas' 97-yard TD return in the Independence Bowl, he returned 2 punts for touchdowns during the regular season. The last player to return a kickoff for a touchdown in the Independence Bowl was a guy named Deuce McAllister who did it for Mississippi 10 years ago.

December 31, 2008 - Third Article

2008 Emerald Bowl

Jahvid Best Sets Rushing Record as Cal Bears Down Miami, 24-17

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Jahvid Best ran for a bowl-record 186 yards and scored twice as the California Bears handled the Miami Hurricanes to win the Emerald Bowl 24-17 Saturday (12-27-08). The Bears were favored by 7 and won by 7, giving head coach Jeff Tedford his 5th bowl victory in a school-record 6 consecutive bowl appearances.

The effort by Best, including a 42-yard TD scamper by the 5-foot-10, 193-pound sophomore, put Cal up 14-0 in the first quarter. Best finished the season with 1,580 yards rushing and will likely win the Pac-10 rushing title as Oregon State's outstanding freshman Jacquizz Rodgers would need 328 yards rushing in the Sun Bowl against Pittsburgh to overcome Best.

The 1,580 yards Best gained this season is the second highest total in Cal history. He helped his cause immensely by racking up 311 yards rushing against Washington in the final game of the regular season. The inept Huskies did not win a game this year, going 0-12 to become the worst team in Pac-10 history. No team is Pac-10 history has failed to win at least one game in a season until Washington this year.

The score was tied at 17 in the 4th quarter when the Bears' Giorgio Tavecchio blew a 34-yard field goal attempt with 4:24 left. What Best started in the 1st quarter and Tavecchio could not finish in the 4th quarter, senior linebacker Zack Follet did by forcing a fumble deep in Miami territory.

Bear quarterback Nate Longshore, a sometimes starter, was not impressive up to that point in the game, but the senior saved his best for last, completing a 2-yard scoring pass to freshman tight end Anthony Miller, who was not a presence during the regular season. No matter. When it counted, the Bears delivered Tedford his 5th bowl win as Cal's coach.

The entire Cal effort was no doubt helped by a sea of blue and gold fans at the San Francisco Giants' waterfront ballpark. The Cal Bear campus is approximately 12 miles from the Emerald Bowl site. So many Cal fans showed up they created a bowl-record crowd of 42,000+ screaming blue-gold sparkplugs.

Cal's win brought the Bear record to 9-4 on the season as Miami (FL) dropped to 7-6.

December 31, 2008 - Second Article

2008 Champs Sports Bowl

Florida State Uses an MVP Punter and Heads Up Play to Rout Wisconsin, 42-13

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

If you thought for a moment that 79-year-old Bobby Bowden was ready to retire as head coach of Florida State, forget it, especially after his Siminoles routed Wisconsin 42-13 in the Champs Sports Bowl Saturday (12-27-08).

For Bowden, the victory over Wisconsin was like déjà vu, a big-play offense and a hard-hitting, nasty, opportunistic defense getting all over the Badgers, sending them back into the hole they came from. The Siminoles' special teams got in the Badgers' faces.

When Florida State had to punt they had the right player—Graham Gano, the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation's best kicker. All Gano did was average 48+ yards on 5 punts and place 3 of them inside the 4, including 2 at Wisconsin's 1-yard line.

Talk about backing your opponent up against the goal line, Gano had just the right touch, earning him the MVP Award. When, if ever, have you hear of a punter getting an MVP Award in a bowl game?

On the defensive side, both Derek Nicholson and Dekoda Watson returned fumbles for touchdowns, Nicholson's for 75 yards and Watson's for 51. Talk about excitement.

After both teams failed to score in the 1st quarter, Florida State scored 2 touchdowns in each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters.

Wisconsin was continually starting out deep in its own territory and never really did get untracked. P. J. Hill managed to gain 140 yards on 15 carries for the Badgers, but quarterback Dustin Sherer completed only 4 of 9 for 55 yards during the first three quarters.

It was an ugly finish for Wisconsin's season. Early on the Badgers were ranked as high as 9th in the AP Top 25 Poll, but Wisconsin has always been overrated the last few years. The loss left them at 7-6.

The win put Florida State at 9-4, the Siminoles first 9-win season since 2004. Bobby Bowden is used to better, having hit at least 9 wins in 17 of 18 years before tailing off in recent seasons. Many of his key players return next year, giving him no good reason to quit, even at 80.

The Champs Sports Bowl game was Florida State's NCAA-leading 27th straight bowl game, improving Bowden's personal bowl game record to 21-10-1. Bowden has 382 career wins, just 1 short of Joe Paterno's 383 at Penn State, the major college record. Paterno is 82 years young.

Both Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno will likely be carried out of a football stadium on a stretcher when they quit coaching. These guys are icons and extremely competitive. Even though they would both deny it, each would like to go down in history with the most wins ever, and they prove it every year they return to the sideline.

December 31, 2008

2008 Meineke Bowl

Superstar Pat White Leads West Virginia Over North Carolina, 31-30

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Senior Pat White, college football's most prolific running quarterback ever, registered the best passing day of his 4-year career Saturday (12-27-08) in leading West Virginia to a 31-30 victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl.

While the game itself was close, Pat White has no peer while running the ball as a quarterback in college football, adding another 55 yards to bring his career total to 4,480 yards rushing. Add another 6,049 career passing yards and you have one of the very best to ever lace up his cleats for a college football game.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior is one of only a handful of players who have been able to both rush and pass for 3,000+ yards during their college career.

While better known for his running than passing, White put on a show in the Meineke Bowl that begs the question of whether he could play effectively on Sundays in the NFL. He completed 26 of 32 for 332 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, and engineered a clutch, game-winning 4th quarter scoring drive with a 20-yard strike to Alric Arnett.

North Carolina had put 8 men in the box to stop White's feared running assault, and it worked as they held White to only 55 yards on the ground. When White was forced to go airborne, he delivered the best passing game of his college career.

White was selected as the MVP because West Virginia won the game. Had the North Carolina Tar Heels won, the MVP would likely have been junior wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, who had 8 receptions for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns, setting school records for all 3 categories in the process.

Tar Heel quarterback T. J. Yates had a decent enough game, completing 15 of 25 for 211 yards and 1 TD, but managed to get intercepted with less than 2 minutes to play, ending any North Carolina hopes of winning the game.

Tar Heel coach Butch Davis dearly wanted a Meineke Bowl victory to cap his turnaround season that saw North Carolina go from a 4-8 record last year to an 8-4 record this year. NC finished the year at 8-5. The win left West Virginia at 9-4 for the season.

The Mountaineers' win was super sweet for coach Bill Stewart. When West Virginia's super successful coach Rich Rodriguez defected to Michigan, Stewart was left to fill his shoes. West Virginia could have done a lot worse than 9-4 on the year. Stewart should get some props for his effort.

December 30, 2008 - Second Article

2008 Motor City Bowl

Experience Counts as Florida Atlantic Shows Up Central Michigan, 24-21

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Twenty-five years ago Howard Schnellenberger coached Miami (FL) to a National Championship in 1983, a 31-30 win over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl. With that kind of positive experience, it was little wonder that Schnellenberger, now the coach of Florida Atlantic, led his team to a 24-21 upset win over Central Michigan in the 2008 Motor City Bowl.

Schnellenberger, who looks like every child's favorite 74-year-old grandfather, was out of football for 3 years when he was asked to build a football program from scratch for Florida Atlantic in 1998. He came up with a plan, did the fund-raising and hired himself as head coach.

After playing Division 1-AA games for 4 years (going 11-3 and 9-3 the last 2 years), Florida Atlantic stepped up to Division 1-A competition. In the program's 7th year, the Owls set an NCAA record by becoming the youngest program ever to receive an invitation to a bowl game; they won that game last year against Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.

This year's win over Central Michigan was Schnellenberger's 6th straight bowl victory in his career; he has never lost a bowl game, winning his first in 1981, 27 years ago.

Schnellenberger may be the least known college coach outside of America's coaching fraternity. Youngsters may not know him from Adam, but he is someone to be dealt with as a coach. His resume includes:

Being a head coach at Oklahoma, Louisville and Miami (FL). Being the offensive coordinator for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. Being head coach of the Baltimore Colts and offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. Being the offensive coordinator for Alabama and recruiting Joe Namath for head coach Bear Bryant in 1961.

Schnellenberger helped revolutionize college football recruiting by building a wall around South Florida and signing every quality athlete and then targeting the nation's elite recruits. His recruiting plan would go on to become a national model of how to recruit talent for college football.

The Motor City Bowl found both teams tied 10-all midway through the 3rd quarter when Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith connected with Chris Bonner on a 52-yard scoring play. Smith then found Cortez Gent with an 18-yard 4th quarter strike to give the Owls the lead for good.

The Owls began their season at 1-5 but won 5 of their final 6 games to become bowl-eligible at 6-6. They left the Motor City Bowl with a 7-6 record as Central Michigan fell to 8-5. The Chippewas were a 7-point favorite going in but left with a lot more respect for Howard Schnellenberger and his Florida Atlantic program.

December 30, 2008

2008 Hawaii Bowl

Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame Finally Arrives, Irish Speed Past Hawaii, 49-21

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It was a very, very long two years, but the Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame finally arrived at the Hawaii Bowl when the Fighting Irish flew by a slower Hawaii team, 49-21, mercifully ending Notre Dame's negative, burdensome 9-game bowl losing streak. The Irish had not won since its 24-21 victory over Texas A&M in the 1994 Cotton Bowl, 15 years ago following the 1993 season.

When Notre Dame's regular season just ended at a very average 6-6 mark following a 3-9 season a year ago, it was questionable whether the apologists outnumbered the rabid Irish fans who were calling for Charlie Weis' head on a platter. It was not like Weis had taken over a successful program and ran it into the ground.

He had inherited a team that Tyrone Willingham had taken to an 11-12 record over two seasons and, given the recruiting talent he inherited from Willingham, took Notre Dame to a 9-3 record his first year before losing in a BCS Fiesta Bowl game.

Weis' second season was 10-3 but then his Irish suffered a second straight loss in a BCS Sugar Bowl game. There were rumblings already among the Notre Dame faithful, who are very faithful to the Fighting Irish tradition but impatient and disloyal to its losing coaches. That is because the Notre Dame tradition is unmatchable in college football history.

Notre Dame has 11 consensus national championships and has been selected for 10 other shared national championships. Notre Dame has 102 winning seasons in 120 years of play, has had 12 undefeated seasons and another 10 with at most only 1 loss or tie. Notre Dame has the 2nd highest winning percentage (.736) among all Division I-A schools, 2nd only to Michigan (.738).

Notre Dame has the storybook coaches, including Knute Rockne (105-12-5), Frank Leahy (87-11-9), Ara Parseghian (95-17-4) and Lou Holtz (100-30-2). And the players. The Fighting Irish have 7 Heisman Trophy winners and have produced more All Americans than any other school.

When you go 9-15 over 2 seasons at Notre Dame, you are in trouble and Charlie Weis was until the Hawaii Bowl. The Irish faithful kept asking "where is all of the talent he was supposedly recruiting?" A lot of that freshman and sophomore talent finally showed up big time in the Hawaii Bowl. Sure, you can argue that Hawaii is not exactly the powerhouse of college football, but for those who watched the game, this much is very clear:

The speed of sophomore wide receiver Golden Tate was evident with 6 catches for 177 yards, including 3 catch and run touchdowns of 18, 40 and 69 yards running away from the covering defensive back. Tate led the team with 52 receptions for 903 yards and 7 TDs during the regular season.

The speed of freshman running back Amando Allen was evident with 2 catches for 59 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown, and an electrifying 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound size and hands of freshman wide receiver Michael Floyd, who set the Notre Dame freshman record in the regular season with 46 receptions for 702 yards and 7 TDs.

The 6-foot-6, 252-pound size of freshman tight end Kyle Rudolph, who caught 4 passes for 78 yards.

The play of 6-foot-5, 304-pound freshman right guard Trevor Robinson, who helped the offensive line decrease the sacks allowed in the regular season from 58 to 20, the lowest total in 8 years.

The accuracy of sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen was nothing short of incredible. Clausen was 22-of-26 for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns. Hawaiian Warrior coach Greg McMacklin said, including his years in the NFL, Clausen was "as accurate as I've ever seen."

Notre Dame clearly has some impressive position players that have come of age despite their youthfulness. Now Charlie Weis needs to find some more linemen to protect them and help them succeed. The Irish defense had 8 sacks and 2 forced turnovers in their Hawaii Bowl victory.

Notre Dame is developing a "we are one" mentality. As the Hawaii Bowl's pineapple-football trophy was presented at midfield after the victory, each Irish player came around to put his hands on the prize; they were that interested in what the statue meant to Notre Dame, the Irish football tradition and themselves.

Did anyone notice that Charlie Weis called a heck of a game from the booth upstairs? Trust me when I say that the Hawaiian Warriors noticed.

Notre Dame fans need not wonder any more, the Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame has officially started with his players, his system, and his first bowl victory as coach of the Fighting Irish.

December 29, 2008

2008 Poinsettia Bowl

Texas Christian Beats Boise State, Destroys Broncos Perfect Season

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The beauty of the Western Athletic Conference is not lost on Boise State. The Broncos waltzed to the WAC title with a perfect 8-0 record and then continued on for a perfect 12-0 regular season, scoring victory after victory against weak, sometimes pathetic, opponents.

The Broncos played only two teams all season worthy of mention—Oregon (who they barely beat 37-32) and the weaker Fresno State Bulldogs (who they slaughtered 61-10 in their regular season finale, proving that the Bulldogs were more bark than bite).

Boise State came to the Poinsettia Bowl (12-23-08) with a No. 9-rank in the AP Top 25 Poll to meet the No. 11-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, yes, those Horned Frogs. The result was predictable, if not laughable. TCU won 17-16, ruining Boise State's perfect season.

TCU was behind 13-10 midway through the 4th quarter when Joseph Turner scored on a 17-yard run to put TCU up 17-13. Boise State later had to settle for a field goal and lost 17-16. End of story. The comeback win for TCU was not as close as the score would indicate.

TCU bested Boise State in nearly every critical category—first downs (28 to 15), third down efficiency (9 of 18 to 3 of 11), rushing yards (275 to 28) and total yards (472 to 250). Boise State beat TCU in passing by a mere 25 yards (222 to 197). In the end, TCU's defense held and Boise State's did not.

"They had better athletes than we've ever seen," said Boise State running back Ian Johnson. "They played with so much heart. You didn't look over there one time and say, 'We broke them.' They knew they were going to come back and they believed in themselves the whole time."

So what happened that Boise State should have its dream of a second 13-0 season in three years fade away?

Just this: Boise State played one tough opponent—Oregon—to get to 12-0. TCU played two even tougher opponents—Oklahoma and Utah, losing to both—to get to a 10-2 mark in the regular season.

The fast, aggressive Horned Frog defense shut the door on the Broncos. Boise State came into the Poinsettia Bowl averaging 39 points and 456 yards a game, mostly against weak opponents, and left scoring 16 points and gaining 250 yards.

Boise State ended its season at 12-1 while TCU was 11-2.

December 23, 2008

2008 New Orleans Bowl

Southern Miss Wins Year's First OT Bowl Game, Stops Troy in a Thriller

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

New Orleans is an exciting place to drink and dance, a city that takes Mardi Gras to heart, and now the city that Creole cooking and jazz built has its own bowl game to add even more excitement thanks to some outrageous uniforms and Southern Mississippi.

The Golden Eagles had an inauspicious start and a fantastic finish in winning the bowl season's first overtime game, a crazy, wacky, wonderful 30-27 comeback victory over Troy in the New Orleans Bowl Sunday (12-21-08).

For openers, the Southern Miss players showed up to play in all-gold uniforms, defying orders that they wear white jerseys as the designated visiting team; they were penalized the loss of a timeout for their impertinence.

They committed a false start while lining up for their first offensive play.

Two plays later, the Trojans took a 7-0 lead on a defensive touchdown when Jorrick Calvin batted down a lateral, scooped it up and ran 17-yards on a fumble return.

Now you might think that Southern Miss was in deep trouble at this point, but that would be underestimating a team that had a 5-game losing streak earlier in the season, dropping their record to 2-6. The Golden Eagles then rattled off 4 straight wins to qualify for a bowl game.

The Troy Trojans won the Sun Belt Conference title and led 27-17 following Jerrel Jernigan's 6-yard touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter, but Southern Miss was just beginning to work its magic. Quarterback Austin Davis rolled out on a 4th-and-2 and lofted a 35-yard scoring pass to tight end Jonathan Massey with 7:20 left in regulation.

Britt Barefoot, a great name for a kicker, would later nail his second field goal of game, a 46-yarder with less than 3 minutes left to send the game into overtime, the first overtime game of the 2008 bowl season.

The Trojans then held Southern Miss to a 39-yard field goal by Britt Barefoot on the Golden Eagles first possession in OT, which proved to be enough for the victory when Michael McGee blocked Troy's 28-yard field goal attempt to tie the game. The Southern Miss sideline and fans then exploded with mixed emotions—joy and happiness.

The victory was Larry Fedora's first bowl game as Southern Mississippi's head coach, and the Golden Eagles' 3rd New Orleans Bowl win in 3 appearances.

Even more important, the win was the 5th straight for Southern Miss, which needed the first 4 to quality for the bowl game and the last 1 to extend the school's streak of consecutive winning seasons to15. Imagine, 15 straight winning seasons, a record very few teams could match.

Southern Miss finished the season at 7-6; Troy had to settle for an 8-5 record.

December 28, 2008

2008 Las Vegas Bowl

No. 17-Ranked Brigham Young Gets Upset by Unranked Arizona, 31-21

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The unranked Arizona Wildcats and their head coach Mike Stoops never made the AP Top 25 Poll during the 15-week regular season, but showed how overranked No. 17 Brigham Young University was by beating the Cougars 31-21 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

BYU wanted to strut its stuff at the expense of Arizona but came up sucking pond water in Louisiana. After getting whipped by Arizona Saturday (12-20-08), the Cougars finished the year at 10-3 while the Wildcats ended their campaign at 8-5.

There is a real significance to BYU's only 3 losses, and it is this: the Cougars got beat by the only 3 decent teams they played all year. After waltzing through 6 straight wins and rising to No. 8 in the AP Poll, the Cougars traveled to TCU and got crushed 32-7. After 4 more wins against weak opponents on an easy schedule, they ran smack into the Utah and got burned 48-24.

Both Utah and TCU are from the same Mountain West Conference as BYU, and Utah went on the win the MWC title with an unbeaten 8-0 record and a 12-0 perfect regular season. TCU was runner-up in the Conference and BYU was 3rd.

Who would have thought that the mighty Cougars, now ranked No. 17 and with an "outstanding" 10-2 record, would have a problem with a 7-5 Arizona squad? Answer: Mike Stoops and everyone on his Wildcat team.

Just listen to BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall after being upset by Arizona: "Ten and three is a solid season, but the standards here are much higher," said Mendenhall. "Our standards here are to win the conference championship and be on the national scene." Yeah, Bronco, like Arizona doesn't have any standards, the Wildcats just have the victory in the Las Vegas Bowl and still no national ranking.

Mendenhall should have been a spin doctor for a political party. Mendenhall should answer this question in a press conference: If Brigham Young is the 17th best team in the nation coming into the Las Vegas Bowl, where should Arizona be ranked? Arizona got no props from the polls all season while the Cougars were playing weak opponents and sitting around reading their press clippings.

Somehow the national media seems to fawn over unbeaten mid-major teams—like Utah and Boise State—and exaggerate their importance in the national rankings. Both Brigham Young and Arizona played and won against two common opponents—UCLA and Washington. That is the end of head-to-head comparisons and, in the final analysis of opponents, BYU comes up on the short end of the stick.

During the regular season, BYU faced and lost against only 2 AP Top 25 teams—TCU and Utah. Arizona faced 5 AP Top 25 teams, beating California and Arizona State and losing to Southern Cal, Oregon and Oregon State.

Had BYU also faced Southern Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, California and Arizona State instead of 5 cupcake opponents, there is no way BYU would have come out with 5 victories; the Cougar record might well have been 7-5 (exactly the same as Arizona) if not 5-7.

Arizona won the 1st half against BYU 10-7 and also the 2nd half 21-14.

The game itself was no big deal. Willie Tuitama, Arizona's senior quarterback, was 24-for-35 for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns in the air and 1 on the ground. The victory over BYU was Arizona's first in 10 years. Wildcat head coach Mike Stoops spent 5 years building up an Arizona program that needed some major attention, and now the Wildcat program is gaining credibility at the expense of Brigham Young University.

December 27, 2008

2008 St. Petersburg Bowl

Matt Grothe Helps South Florida Absolutely Crush Memphis, 41-14

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Matt Grothe of South Florida had a little unfinished business to take care of in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Unfortunately for the Memphis Tigers, they happened to be in the same bowl game.

Grothe, the Bulls' junior quarterback, completed 17 of 24 passes for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns as South Florida crushed the Memphis 41-14 Saturday (12-20-08). Grothe added 83 yards rushing in the game and was selected as the Most Valuable Player.

The performance was key for Matt Grothe because he moved ahead of West Virginia's Pat White as the Big East's career total offense leader. Grothe and White are the only players in conference history to amass more than 10,000 yards of total offense. White, a senior, has 10,142 in 49 games, and Grothe, a junior, has 10,242 in 39 games.

White will add to his numbers by playing in the Meineke Bowl on Dec. 27 against North Carolina. Grothe has another year of eligibility at South Florida to become the best player ever in total yards of offense.

South Florida won its first 5 games this year, climbing to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Then the Bulls got to dinking around and lost 5 of their last 7 games, finishing the regular season at 7-5. They took out their frustration by scoring on 4 of their first 5 possessions against the Tigers.

Grothe connected with Taurus Johnson for a 26-yard TD pass, with Ben Busbee for a 13-yard score, and with Dontavia Bogan for a third score of 24 yards.

The Bulls' defense put the clamps down on the Tigers' 1,000-yard-rusher Curtis Steele, holding Steele to 48 yards on 12 attempts. Memphis, which was beat on both sides of the ball, was forced to play catch up through the air.

Memphis was a good story line coming in. The Tigers lost their first 3 games and then won 6 of their next 9 to become bowl eligible.

In fairness, South Florida is a BCS team and Memphis is not, so South Florida should have won and did. With its loss to South Florida, Memphis fell to 0-3 against BCS opponents this season and is 2-13 against BCS teams since 2001.

The game marked the first meeting between South Florida and Memphis, former Conference USA rivals, since South Florida bolted the USA to join the Big East in 2005.

South Florida finished the year at 8-5; Memphis was 6-7. Memphis was also 1 of 9 teams with a 6-6 record that is playing in a bowl game this year. The others are Colorado State,Mississippi, Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, North Carolina State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame.

December 27, 2008 - Second Article

2008 New Mexico Bowl

Gartrell Johnson Gets 375 Total Yards, Leads Colorado State Past Fresno State

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Gartrell Johnson may have to think about when he has had a better day after his performance for Colorado State against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.

The 6-foot, 227-pound, senior running back piled up a career-high 285 yards rushing on 27 carries for a 10.5 average per carry, caught 5 passes for 90 yards, and scored 2 touchdowns, the last one on a 77-yard burst with 1:46 remaining to seal a 40-35 comeback victory for the Rams over the Fresno State Bulldogs Saturday (12-20-08).

Fresno State led 28-20 after the 3rd quarter but could not stop 3 consecutive Ram TDs in final quarter, putting Colorado State on top at 40-28. The Bulldogs, who played without 2 starters on offense and 4 on defense, did not quit. They managed to get within 40-35 with 55 seconds to go but could not recover the ensuing onside kick.

Fresno State's Anthony Harding rushed for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, and teammate Lonyae Miller added another 113 yards rushing and 2 more TDs, but the day really belonged to Johnson.

He will go down in the record books with a Football Bowl Subdivision (the NCAA's new, fancy, unnecessary name for Division 1-A teams) notation for the most combined yards rushing and receiving in a postseason game. His 285 yards rushing also ranks as the 2nd most in Colorado State football history.

It was axiomatic that Gartrell Johnson was named the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player and significant that the bowl victory was Colorado State's first since 2001.

"He is a very physical back," said Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild. Despite his amazing performance, Ram teammates found time to razz Johnson because he was twice caught from behind, once a 57-yard run in the 1st quarter and a second time on a 57-yard reception in the 2nd quarter. After his 77-yard scamper in the 4th quarter to seal the victory, Johnson had an opportunity to return the favor.

While the action was intense and the game was close at times, the Colorado State players had some fun as well. It was a perfect ending to the Rams' season.

Both teams finished the season at 7-6.

December 26, 2008

2008 EagleBank Bowl

Riley Skinner of Wake Forest Redeems Himself in 29-19 Comeback Over Navy

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The happiest guy at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC Saturday (12-20-08) was Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, who managed the perfect comeback.

In early September Skinner had a horrific game against Navy on his home turf, throwing 4 interceptions and fumbling once as the Midshipmen pulled off a 24-17 upset. The exact opposite happened Saturday as Skinner went 11-for-11 and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ben Wooster in the 4th quarter to lead his Demon Deacons to a 29-19 comeback victory over Navy in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl.

"He obviously didn't have his best game the first time around," said Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe. "Today in the rematch, I don't know if he could have played any better." Well said, Jimbo.

Skinner's perfect day passing broke the 33-year-old school record for accuracy set by Mike McGlamry in 1975. Skinner finished with 166 passing yards and added a completion on a conversion attempt.

Skinner, a junior, helped make his 16 senior teammates the winningest class in school history as they finished their careers with a 32-19 record, 3 bowl appearances and the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.

Navy's Rashawn King picked up a fumble and rambled 50 yards for a score to help the Midshipmen jump out to an early 13-0 lead. Skinner, however, was not to be denied this time around. He marched Wake Forest down the field to score in the final minute of the first half and then did it again to open the second half, putting the Demon Deacons up 14-13.

Navy scored again in the 4th quarter to regain the lead, 19-14, after a 2-point conversion pass failed.

Skinner then went to work on an 80-yard drive ending in the TD pass to Wooster, and adding a successful 2-point conversion to Devon Brown in the back of the end zone, making it 22-19 Wake Forest. Rich Belton put the frosting on the cake with a 36-yard TD run with 54 seconds left.

Wake Forest came up with some run support as Kevin Harris rushed for 136 yards and Josh Adams scored the Demon Deacons' first 2 TDs on the ground. Senior cornerback Alphonso Smith set an ACC record with his 21st career interception, but his fumble while making a rare appearance on offense allowed Rashawn King to run it back for Navy's first touchdown.

Both teams finished the season at 8-5.

2008 College Football Feature Articles

College Football 2008 Regular Season Weekly Wrap-Up

December 8, 2008

College Football – Week 15

The Champions - Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Buffalo

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It was the biggest game of college football regular season play, No. 1 and unbeaten Alabama (12-0) versus No. 2 Florida (11-1) at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship and the right to play in the BCS National Championship Game.

When it mattered the most, the Florida Gators—led by junior quarterback and last year's Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow—showed up. Tebow was 0-5 in games when his Gators trailed in the second half, but he overcame that statistic Saturday (12-6-08) by throwing the last of his 3 touchdown passes with less than 3 minutes remaining to seal Florida's 31-20 victory.

Despite trailing in the second half, Florida did win the first half 17-10 and also won the second half 14-10. Tebow was 14-of-22 passing for 216 yards and led his team in rushing with another 57 yards. When Florida needed a play the most, Tebow played a big role in making it happen.

The win gave Florida another SEC title under coach Urban Meyer and its second trip in three years to the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators routed Ohio State for the national championship in 2006. Florida will now face No. 4 Oklahoma for the BCS national title in Miami (FL).

Oklahoma staked its claim to face Florida by dusting off No. 19 Missouri, 62-21, for the Big 12 Championship. All you need to know about this game is that it was 38-7 at the half.

The 4 teams in contention for the BCS game during the final two weeks of the season were Alabama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. All had one loss except Alabama. Florida, which eventually prevailed over Alabama, had lost at home to Ole Miss 31-30 in its 4th game of the season, and then rattled off 8 wins in-a-row by huge margins before ruining Alabama's run for the national title.

Oklahoma had lost at home to Texas 45-35 in its 6th game, and then routed 6 teams before its big win over Missouri. The Sooners scored 60+ points in their last 5 wins.

The Texas Longhorns won 8 straight before losing on the road to Texas Tech, 39-33. After winning their last 3, they needed Oklahoma to lose to Missouri to have any chance at a title shot.

Elsewhere, No. 12 and unbeaten Ball State (12-0) joined Alabama by losing its first game in the Mid American Conference Championship as Turner Gill's 7-5 Buffalo team took down the Cardinals, 42-24, for the title. In just 3 years, coach Turner Gill has turned around a Buffalo program that was one of the worst in America.

East Carolina (8-4) hung on and hung tough in beating Tulsa (10-2) in the Conference USA Championship game, 27-24. Coach Skip Holtz won 3 games, including victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia, lost 3 games and then won 5 of his last 6 before beating Tulsa for the title.

Virginia Tech (8-4) went on to capture the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship by beating No. 18 Boston College (8-4), 30-12. Not to be outdone, Southern Cal kept UCLA at bay on the road, 28-7, to win its 7th straight Pac 10 Championship and 4th straight BCS bowl appearance.

With Alabama and Ball State losing their first game, only No. 7 Utah at 12-0 and No. 9 Boise State at 12-0 remained unbeaten among the 119 Division 1-A schools.

In other action, it was No. 19 Pittsburgh on the road over Connecticut 34-10, California at home horsewhipped the winless 0-12 Washington Huskies 48-7, Navy shut out Army 34-zip, Arizona ripped Arizona State 31-10, and No. 13 Cincinnati on the road outlasted Hawaii 29-24.

So it's Florida and Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game, and the other 4 BCS Bowl Games will find Penn State and Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State and Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, Utah and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and Cincinnati and Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

December 3, 2008

College Football – Week 14

Florida and Oklahoma Have a Shot at the National Title, Texas' Bid Is Over

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

With everything on the line for a shot at the BCS National Championship, 3 of the nation's top 4 college teams—Florida, Texas and Oklahoma—made their case in College Football's Week 14 action.

The two big questions were: 1) Would Florida win big and protect its No. 4 BCS ranking? and 2) Would a statement victory by No. 3-ranked Oklahoma lift the Sooners over No. 2-ranked Texas and into a Big 12 Championship game with Missouri?

Texas, which had beaten Oklahoma 45-35 earlier in the season at a neutral site, polished off the unranked 4-8 Texas A&M Aggies 49-9 at home to set the table. Unbeaten Alabama then registered its 12th straight victory at home by shutting out unranked Auburn 36-0 to retain its No. 1-ranking and possible date in the National Championship game. Florida followed suit on the road by taking apart No. 23-ranked (by AP) Florida 45-15.

Finally it was show time Saturday night and Oklahoma hit the road and performed on cue, turning back No. 11-ranked Oklahoma State 61-41. Last week Oklahoma routed then-No. 2 Texas Tech 65-21. Saturday's victory over its in-state rival was its 4th consecutive 60-point-plus win. The Sooners' Sam Bradford completed 30-of-44 passes for 370 yards and 4 touchdowns and then added another score on a 1-yard run.

Oklahoma needed to make up a minuscule eight-thousandths of a point to Texas in the BCS Standings to earn a spot against Missouri. When the new BCS Standings were released Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma was ecstatic, leapfrogging over Texas to claim the No. 2 spot with Texas No. 3 and Florida No. 4.

And now the final drama in Week 15 begins. No. 1 Alabama travels to Gainesville to face the No. 2 Florida Gators for the SEC Championship (AP Top 25 Poll rankings), and No. 19 Missouri travels to Norman to challenge No. 4 Oklahoma for the Big 12 Championship.

The Oklahoma-Missouri contest was damaged big time as Missouri suffered a pathetic loss to unranked Kansas, 40-37, over the weekend, leaving the Tigers with a 9-3 record and looking really woeful next to the South Division's 11-1 Texas, 11-1 Texas Tech and 9-3 Oklahoma State, all better teams that wanted to be in the Big 12 showdown.

Should Florida beat Alabama and Oklahoma beat Missouri, as most pundits think will happen, then Florida would meet Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game. Should Alabama beat Florida and Oklahoma beat Missouri, then it would be Alabama and Oklahoma. Should either Florida or Alabama win and Missouri upset Oklahoma, then Texas would face Florida or Alabama.

The regular season has now ended for the AP's No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Utah, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 14 TCU, No. 19 Brigham Young (BYU), No. 20 Northwestern and No. 21 Michigan State. All of these teams will play in a bowl game somewhere.

Other AP Top 25 teams that won this weekend included No. 5 Southern California at home over Notre Dame 38-3, No. 7 Texas Tech at home over Baylor 35-28, No. 9 Boise State at home over Fresno State 61-10, No. 15 Ball State at home over Western Michigan 45-22, and No. 16 Cincinnati at home over Syracuse 30-10.

No. 18 Georgia Tech on the road upsetting in-state rival No. 13 Georgia 45-42 in a barn burner; No. 19 Oregon on the road over No. 17 Oregon State, 65-38, knocking the Beavers out of a possible Rose Bowl appearance; No. 20 Boston College at home over Maryland 28-21; and No. 25 Mississippi at home shutting out in-state rival Mississippi State, 45-0.

Other games that caught my attention were Pittsburgh sneaking by West Virginia 19-15 to give the Panthers their 8th win of the season; Buffalo dropping an unnecessary loss to Kent State 24-21; Eastern Michigan (3-9) upsetting Central Michigan (8-4), 56-52 in a sad display of defense; Arkansas slipping by LSU 31-30; Rice working hard to outlast Houston 56-42 in another shameful display of little defense on either side; and 6-6 Florida Atlantic beating 4-7 Florida International in overtime, 57-50, in a game where no defense was played.

Other huge games this Saturday include No. 18 Boston College traveling to unranked Virginia Tech with the Atlantic Coast winner earning the title and an automatic bid to a BCS game. No. 8 Penn State, the Big Ten champion, appears headed to the BCS Rose Bowl.

East Carolina and Tulsa will face off for the Conference USA title. Unbeaten No. 12 Ball State (12-0) tangles with Buffalo for the Mid-American Championship. No. 7 Utah won the Mountain West Championship and will probably get a BCS bowl spot. No. 5 Southern Cal needs to beat UCLA to wrap up a Pac 10 title and automatic BCS bowl bid for the 7th consecutive year.

Elsewhere, Arkansas State and Troy battle it out for the Sun Belt title, and unbeaten No. 9 Boise State (12-0) has already won the Western Athletic Championship but will likely not get a BCS bowl bid.

Following Saturday's action, bowl officials will move in like a hot knife through butter to determine bowl bids and set the stage for Bowl Mania during the holidays to cap this year's college football season.

Don't Have a Good Day Today, MAKE Yourself a Good Day. Ignore the Negative, Practice the Positive.

November 25, 2008

College Football – Week 13

The Fantasy Season at Texas Tech Is Over, Oklahoma Kills the Dream, 65-21

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It was a grand, glorious 10 weeks for the No. 2-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders, complete with an undefeated 10-0 record and huge victories over Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma State. They looked unbeatable, unstoppable and headed for the BCS National Championship Game.

Then a funny thing happened when they took a trip to No. 5-ranked Oklahoma, which had lost to Texas 5 weeks ago. Either someone had forgotten to tell the Red Raiders, or they had forgotten to listen, that Oklahoma led the nation with 23 consecutive home victories.

No one had to remind the Sooners, they remembered just fine, clubbing the Red Raiders along side the head with a 2x4 in a stunning 65-21 drubbing. Sooner Quarterback Sam Bradford threw for 300+ yards and 4 touchdowns, and DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown ran for 5 more scores.

Both teams came in with explosive offenses. Both were 2 of the 3 top teams in the country in passing offense and scoring offense, averaging a combined 788 yards and 98 points a game. Statistically, both teams were equal in rushing defense and scoring defense. Both were equal in passing defense and both of their passing defense stats were poor.

What should have been an exciting, great scoring game became a great game for Oklahoma. Texas Tech ended up sucking pond water in Louisiana.

Three other ranked teams lost to other ranked opponents. No. 16 Brigham Young lost on the road to No. 8 Utah, 48-24. No. 17 Michigan State lost on the road to No. 7 Penn State, 49-18. No. 20 Pittsburgh lost on the road to No. 19 Cincinnati, 28-21.

Four other ranked teams lost to unranked opponents, never a good idea if you want to gain favor with the people involved in the national weekly rankings. These kind of losses can cost teams thousands of dollars in lost bowl revenue by being passed by the powers to be at bowls with wealthier payouts.

The losers included the No. 18 LSU Tigers who lost on their home turf to Mississippi, 31-13. The No. 22 Maryland Terrapins who got slapped around at home by Florida State, 37-3 (I know, small, edible turtles. No telling how much time some Maryland homer spent thinking up this nickname for a football team, but I suspect it had to be hours after exhausting every reasonable name). The No. 23 Miami (FL) Hurricanes who lost at home to Georgia Tech, 41-23. The No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels who got slapped around at home by the arch-rival North Carolina State Wolfpack, 41-10.

So 8 of 18 AP Top 25 Poll teams lost this week (44%), and 4 of the 8 lost to unranked teams. On the brighter side, 10 of the 18 top-ranked teams (56%) won and continued to march forward, 6 of them with a vengeance. The 5 fanny kickers besides Oklahoma included:

No. 3 Florida (10-1) which thumped 1-AA The Citadel 70-19, scoring on its first 7 possessions, racking up 512 yards of offense in the first half alone, and becoming the first Southeast Conference (SEC) team to score at least 42 points in 6 consecutive games. I like Florida but it is so unseemly to be playing 1-AA teams, even early in the season much less late.

No. 7 Penn State at home over No. 17 Michigan State 49-18. The Nittany Lions showed that the Spartans (though 9-3) are really not ready to play and beat great teams yet. Penn State's Daryll Clark threw for a career-high 341 yards and 4 touchdowns and the Nittany Lion defense held Spartan Javon Ringer to a season-low 42 yards (that's not Ringer, that's an inept Michigan State offensive line being controlled by Penn State).

No. 8 Utah at home over No. 16 Brigham Young 48-24. This win was huge for the Utes, who have an unbeaten 12-0 season, a Mountain West Conference championship, a date in the BCS Bowl Series, and a victory over BYU for the first time in 3 years.

No. 10 Ohio State at home over arch-rival Michigan 42-7. The Buckeyes totally humiliated a now dysfunctional Wolverine team led by first-year coach Rich Rodriquez, giving Michigan its worst loss to Ohio State in 40 years. Michigan is 3-9 on the year and a shambles of what was once a proud, successful program. Rodriguez, who built tremendous success at West Virginia, has a lot of work to do.

No. 15 Texas Christian (TCU) at home over Air Force 44-10. Andy Dalton threw 2 TD passes and ran for 2 more scores as the Horned Frogs (what a name for a team) racked up 10-win season. The 4 other winners were:

No. 9 Boise State on the road at Nevada 41-34. The Broncos were lucky to get out of this game unbeaten as Nevada won the second half, 31-17. When you give up 34 points to a 6-5 team, you are not nearly as good as your record says.

No. 14 Ball State on the road at Central Michigan 31-24. Central Michigan came into this game at 8-2 and the Cardinals needed a 4th quarter touchdown to win this one.

No. 19 Cincinnati at home over Pittsburgh 28-21, marking its first win over the Panthers in 8 games. Despite a broken arm, Tony Pike threw for 3 touchdown passes, and you thought Pittsburgh was tough.

No. 21 Oregon State on the road over Arizona, 19-17, on a last play 24-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Justin Kahut. It was sweet redemption for Kahut, who missed an extra point attempt that would have tied the game late in the 4th quarter.

Should the Oregon State Beavers beat their arch-rival—the Oregon Ducks—in their last game, they would qualify for the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1965. That is because the Beavers managed to upset visiting Southern California earlier in the season.

Seven Top 25 teams were idle this week—No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Southern California (USC), No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Missouri, No. 13 Georgia and No. 24 Oregon.

Entering the last two weeks of regular season play, only 4 unbeaten teams now remain—No. 1 Alabama (11-0), No. 8 Uath (12-0), No. 9 Boise State (11-0), and No. 15 Ball State (11-0). Utah will remain unbeaten as its season is over. On Saturday, Alabama hosts in-state, arch-rival Auburn, Boise State hosts Fresno State Friday, and Ball State hosts Western Michigan Tuesday (11-25-08).

In other news this weekend, the 0-10 Washington Huskies traveled to Pullman to face their arch-rival 1-10 Washington State Cougars in a game I have dubbed the "2008 Losers Bowl". Losers Bowl seemed like a correct title since Washington State's only victory came against 1-AA Portland State, so they really had a combined 1-A record of 0-20.

The Huskies, winless and hopeless, lead the nation in one category—they have the longest losing streak in the 1-A Division, 13 consecutive losses. This confrontation actually got exciting near the end as Washington held a 10-point lead at halftime and a 3-point lead with 56 seconds left to play.

The Huskies, however, allowed the Cougars to move from their own 20 to the Husky 11, where sophomore Nico Grasu kicked a 28-yard field goal on the final play of regulation time to tie the game at 13. Ironically, Husky kicker Ryan Perkins missed a 28-yarder about 3.5 minutes earlier.

The teams swapped field goals on their first overtime possessions, but Perkins missed again at 37 yards during Washington's second possession. Four downs later Grasu nailed one from the same 37 yards out to give the Cougars their first 1-A win of the season and their third victory over Washington in the last 4 years.

The rest of what happened over the weekend was just window dressing for a bunch of teams going nowhere at about 1,000 miles an hour.

Don't Have a Good Day Today, MAKE Yourself a Good Day. Ignore the Negative, Practice the Positive.

November 17, 2008

College Football – Week 12

Florida Steamrolls Over South Carolina, Giving Coach Spurrier His Worst Defeat

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Sixteen of 20 AP Top 25 teams won in College Football's 12th Week but none won bigger or more impressively than Urban Meyer's Florida Gators, who literally crushed Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks, 56-6, in what many thought would be a much closer contest.

After being upset 31-30 at home by Mississippi 6 weeks ago, the No. 3 Gators have gone ballistic, ripping off 5 straight wins by huge margins—38-7 over Arkansas, 51-21 over LSU, 63-5 over Kentucky, 49-10 over Georgia and 42-14 over Vanderbilt. Now they were staring at incoming South Carolina.

The Gamecocks were 7-3 and rated No. 11 in the nation in rushing defense, No. 10 in scoring defense, No. 4 in passing defense and No. 12 in passing efficiency defense. Florida was loaded as well, ranking No. 22 in rushing offense, No. 21 in rushing defense, No. 4 in scoring defense, No. 17 in passing defense, No. 10 in passing efficiency, No. 14 in passing efficiency defense and No. 4 in turnover margin.

Surely, No. 24-ranked South Carolina could at least slow down No. 3-ranked Florida, even in a losing effort. Didn't happen.

Despite some impressive statistics of their own, the Gators were ranked 91 in turnover margin, and did it show against the Gators, who capitalized on 3 consecutive turnovers in the 1st quarter, scoring 3 touchdowns in 8 plays. From then on, South Carolina and Steve Spurrier were toast.

The loss was Spurrier's worst in a storied playing and coaching career covering 5 decades. He had not been hosed that bad since falling 63-7 to Florida in 1995. Spurrier coached at Florida for 12 years, from 1990 to 2001. For Florida it was business as usual, racking up its 16th victory over South Carolina in 17 years, and pushing its record to 9-1 this year.

For all of South Carolina's defensive statistics against other opponents, they had to watch the 3 touchdowns on turnovers, watch Percy Harvin run for a career-high 167 yards against them, and watch Gator quarterback Tim Tebow account for 3 scores.

The first 16 ranked teams in the Top 25 Poll this week were not about to lose their ranking and status. They included:

No. 1 Alabama at home over Mississippi State 32-7, No. 4 Texas on the road over Kansas 35-7, No. 6 Southern California on the road over Stanford 45-23, No. 7 Penn State at home over Indiana 34-7, No. 8 Utah on the road over San Diego State 63-14, No. 9 Boise State on the road over Idaho 45-10, and No. 10 Ohio State on the road over Illinois 30-20.

No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road over Colorado 30-17, No. 12 Missouri on the road over Iowa State 52-20, No. 13 Georgia on the road over Auburn 17-13, No. 14 Ball State on the road over Miami of Ohio 31-16, and No. 16 Brigham Young on the road over Air Force 38-24.

Also winning this week were No. 19 Louisiana State at home over Troy 40-31 (the Tigers were losing to Troy 31-3 before scoring 37 unanswered points in a impressive comeback during an unimpressive win), No. 22 Cincinnati on the road over Louisville 28-20, and No. 23 Oregon State at home over California 34-21.

Five teams in the Top 25 were idle this week—No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas Christian, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 21 Pittsburgh.

Among the 4 Top 25 teams that were upset this week, only South Carolina played a ranked team, No. 2 Florida.

No. 17 North Carolina lost to Maryland 17-15 on the road, No. 20 Florida State lost to Boston College 27-17 at home and No. 25 Tulsa lost to Houston 70-30 on the road.

South Carolina, Florida State and Tulsa all dropped out of the Top 25 Poll again, Maryland and Oregon returned again, and Miami (FL) arrived for the first time this year.

Could we please now stop all of the spin about how Tulsa, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Clemson, California, East Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, UCLA, Fresno State, Wake Forest, Oregon, South Florida, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Auburn, West Virginia, Minnesota and Maryland should be in the Top 25.

All of these teams have been in and out of the Top 25 in the first 12 weeks of the season. Sure, some of them are good but all of them are terribly inconsistent.

The truth is only 13 teams have been in the Top 25 all 12 weeks. They are currently ranked No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Southern Cal, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Utah, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 12 Missouri, No. 13 Georgia, No. 16 Brigham Young and No. 17 LSU. Now that's consistency.

The only 5 undefeated teams remain 11-0 Alabama, 10-0 Texas Tech, 11-0 Utah, 10-0 Boise State and 10-0 Ball State.

There are at least 3 good matches this week as No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0) visits No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1), No. 7 Penn State (10-1) hosts No. 17 Michigan State (9-2), and No. 8 Utah (11-0) hosts No. 16 Brigham Young (10-1).

The unranked losers game of the year pits winless Washington (0-10) at Washington State (1-10). To add insult to injury, Washington State's one win came against 1-AA Portland State. Minus the 1-AA fiasco, these two birds will play each other at 0-20. There is a rumor floating around that fans will be paid to drive to Pullman to watch the game.

November 10, 2008

College Football – Week 11

Only 5 Teams Left With Perfect Records, Iowa Ends Penn State's BCS Title Hopes

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

There are only 5 unbeaten teams left in Division 1-A football and Penn State is not one of them. The 5 perfect records belong to Alabama (10-0), Texas Tech (10-0), Boise State (9-0), Utah (10-0) and Ball State (9-0).

Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions went to 9-0 and climbed to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll before taking a trip to Iowa Saturday (11-8-08) and losing to the Hawkeyes 24-23 on a 31-yard field goal with a second left.

Daniel Murray, who had not made a field goal since Iowa's season opener and had lost his job to a freshman, finally got a second chance. Murray had handled the kickoff duties but when it came to windy game conditions and a need for experience, coach Kirk Ferentz tapped Murray.

Murray drilled it down the middle and Iowa's freezing fans went berserk, flooding the field in wild excitement. It happened because Penn State blew a 9-point lead in the 4th quarter. Iowa won the last quarter 10-0. The Hawkeyes were aided by Shonn Greene's 117 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, and Ricky Stanzi's 15-of-25 passing for 171 yards.

The victory was Iowa's biggest in years, and its first against a Top 5 team since 1990. The Hawkeyes improved their record to 6-4, becoming bowl eligible. The Hawkeyes' 4 losses this year have been by a total of 12 points. Last week they lost to Illinois on a 46-yard field goal with 24 seconds left. This week was their turn to win with a last-second field goal.

Penn State's chance to compete in the national championship game evaporated. The kiss of death for Penn State was the fact that Iowa was an unranked team, and Penn State was playing on the road. The Nittany Lions new goals will be a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth on New Year's Day.

For the first time this season, all AP Top 25 Poll teams played, with 17 of the 25 teams winning and 5 huge victories among the winners that played other ranked teams. They included:

No. 1 Alabama on the road over No. 15 LSU in overtime, 27-21, with star quarterback John Parker Wilson scoring on a 1-yard sneak. The Crimson Tide had a chance to win the game in regulation play but a 29-yard field goal attempt by Leigh Tiffin was low and blocked.

LSU had the first crack in overtime but gave away even a shot at a field goal when Jarrett Lee threw his 4th interception and was picked off for the 3rd time in the game by Alabama's Rashad Johnson, who tied a school record in the process. The Tide nixed another field goal try, having already missed twice, and Wilson scored on the sneak to give Alabama a spot in the SEC championship game.

No. 2 Texas Tech at home over No. 8 Oklahoma State, 56-20, as the Red Raiders scored touchdowns on 7 consecutive possessions.

No. 7 Southern Cal at home over No. 21 California, 17-3, in an awesome display of defense. The win was the 6th straight for the Trojans who have outscored their opponents 231-23 since losing 27-21 as 25-point favorites at Oregon State. That's the Trojans, always losing a game to an unranked team, apparently they wake up late in Hollywood.

No. 10 Utah at home over No. 11 Texas Christian in a squeaker, 13-10. Utah had gone 9-0 and climbed to No. 10 by playing one of the weakest schedules west of the Mississippi River. The Utes are in the Mountain West Conference, and had they not played TCU they would not have faced one quality team worth talking about; they still face BYU in their final game.

No. 19 North Carolina at home over No. 22 Georgia Tech, 28-7, scoring 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter.

Twelve other Top 25 teams won against ranked opponents, including:

No. 4 Florida on the road over Vanderbilt, 42-14, as Tim Tebow threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for 2 more. The Gators clinched the SEC Eastern Division Title and will face SEC Western Division Title holder Alabama for the SEC Championship.

No. 5 Texas at home over Baylor, 45-21, as Longhorn Colt McCoy threw for 5 TDs and 300 yards. No. 6 Oklahoma on the road over Texas A&M in an easy rout, 66-28. No. 9 Boise State at home over Utah State, 49-14, as Kellen Moore threw for 362 yards and 2 TDs. No. 12 Ohio State on the road over Northwestern, 45-10, as Terrelle Prior threw for 3 scores and Chris "Beanie" Wells added 2 more on the ground.

No. 13 Missouri at home over Kansas State, 41-24, as Jeremy Maclin scored 3 TDs and racked up 278 all-purpose yards. No. 14 Georgia on the road over Kentucky, 42-38, getting the go-ahead TD on a pass from Matthew Stafford to A. J. Green with 1:54 left to play. No. 16 Ball State at home over Northern Illinois 45-14. No. 17 Brigham Young (BYU) at home over a 1-9 San Diego State team 41-12.

No. 18 Michigan State at home over Purdue, 21-7, as Javon Ringer scored twice and the Spartan defense made some great third-down stops. No. 24 Florida State at home over Clemson, 41-27, on coach Bobby Bowden's 79th birthday (yes, the guy is 79 and still coaching), and following the firing of Bowden's son Tommy as Clemson's head coach last month. No. 25 Pittsburgh at home over Louisville, 41-7, as the Panthers turned 4 Cardinal turnovers into scores.

The 7 losing Top 25 teams—besides No. 3 Penn State—that lost to unranked teams included:

No. 20 West Virginia at home to Cincinnati in overtime 26-23. West Virginia is one of those teams that can not stand prosperity, they have been in and out of the AP Top 25 all season. No. 23 Maryland on the road to Virginia Tech, 23-13.

For the 8 losing teams among the AP Top 25 this week, it is pretty much what legendary coach Lou Holtz said, "When all is said and done, more is said than done."

When the new AP Top 25 Poll came out Sunday, 4 teams were missing—West Virginia, California, Georgia Tech and Maryland. Replacing them were 2 new teams—No. 22 Cincinnati and No. 23 Oregon State—and 2 returning teams—No. 24 South Carolina (the Gamecocks left the poll after the first week) and No. 25 Tulsa (the Golden Hurricane arrived in the 8th week, were kicked out last week and returned this week).

In other games of note this week:

Boston College at home shut out Notre Dame 17-0 in their annual "Catholic Bowl" game.

An 8-2 Western Michigan team from the growing in stature Mid-American Conference hosted and beat Illinois from the Big Ten, 23-17.

A 4-5 Wyoming team from the Mountain West Conference hosted and beat Tennessee from the Southeastern Conference, 13-7. Could Tennessee sink any lower? Some fans had to read this result THREE times to believe it was true.

Hawaii beat New Mexico State 42-30 to even its record at 5-5 and one victory shy of bowl eligibility.

East Carolina became bowl eligible with its 6th victory, an overtime win over Marshall, 19-16.

That's it. That's all. I am out of here. Four more weeks and the regular season is over, then the bowl season surfaces and a few big-time winners will collect some major money for their football programs. A few of the bowl games will be great, we just don't know which ones.

November 2, 2008

College Football – Week 10

You Were Warned – In Just Two Years Nick Saban Has the Crimson Tide No. 1

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Goodbye Texas. Hello Alabama. It is now the Crimson Tide that have become the No. 1 coveted target in the nation for big-time college football programs in America.

The Texas Longhorns, who were No. 1, took on their 4th top-ranked team in consecutive weeks and came up short on the road Saturday (11-1-08) in Lubbock to No. 6 Texas Tech 39-33 on a scoring play that never should have happened with 1 second left.

In a Texas-style shootout, the Longhorns trailed 19-0 and rallied to take a 33-32 lead on Vondrell McGee's 4-yard touchdown run with only 1:29 to play. That gave just a little too much time left for the Red Raiders' Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, two gifted athletes on a mission few others would dare to take.

With virtually no time left and 28 yards from pay dirt, Harrell found himself surrounded by nasty Longhorns and out of time with Crabtree in double coverage and no room to even turn around. So what does a great quarterback do? He throws high into double coverage, hoping his All-American wide receiver is as great as Harrell thinks he is.

Michael Crabtree does not disappoint either his teammates or himself. He rises to the challenge, grabs the rock with sure hands, breaks the wannabe arm tackle of a sophomore cover back trying to strip the ball, and takes a couple of steps into the end zone and the game clock shows 1 second left.

Amazingly, Crabtree stays in bounds as thousands and thousands of screaming, delirious fans pour onto the field of play. It is sheer bedlam as fans begin to rip down the goal post at one end of the field, and the officials on the field try to restore order for the extra-point attempt and final kickoff to Texas to eliminate the one second left on the clock.

This is college football in America on a Saturday afternoon. A major university with thousands of fans who have suffered through the dominance of Texas and Oklahoma teams for too many years. This is their moment of glory and they will not be denied. It is the competitive spirit of America in its finest hour, their years of hardship and agony are over and their 15 minutes of fame and glory have arrived.

All of the Texas Tech fans, players and coaches need to party down big-time because Texas Tech's season is not over. The Red Raiders will now run a gauntlet somewhat similar to the one that the Longhorns faced as 8-1 Oklahoma State and 8-1 Oklahoma lie ahead and a lesser-light Baylor team lurks in the background.

The drama of this game could not have been higher. Texas Tech only needed a field goal to win the game, but could not rely on its kicker to convert from some 40 yards out. Not only was Harrell's pass into double coverage over the top, and even though Crabtree made a great catch, had he been tackled short of the end zone or gone out of bounds, it is unlikely in the moment that the Red Raiders could have called a time out and still had enough time to set up for a game-winning field goal try.

"All we needed was a field goal, but a touchdown's even sweeter," said Raider quarterback Graham Harrell after the game. "If you're a quarterback and don't want to be in that situation, you should change positions." Harrell finished with 474 yards passing and 2 touchdowns while completing 36 of 53 attempts.

Was this really THAT big of a win for Texas Tech? Yes it was. The Red Raider win over Texas was the biggest win in Texas Tech history and its first win against a No. 1-ranked team. The victory gave them command of the Big 12 South and put them smack in the middle of the race for a spot in the national championship game.

And just how close was Texas to winning? How about 1 second among 60 minutes of play? Or the fact that on the play prior to Crabtree's winning 28-yard TD catch, freshman safety Blake Gideon dropped what would have been a game-ending interception on a tipped pass. That single drop meant Harrell could make the dangerous decision to throw into double coverage to Crabtree. The rest is now history.

The win vaulted No. 6 Texas Tech past Penn State, Florida and Oklahoma into the No. 2 spot in this week's AP Top 25 Poll. For Texas Tech fans around the world, this rise to prominence came none too soon.

The reason Alabama vaulted from No. 2 in the AP rankings to the top spot is because the Crimson Tide shut out Arkansas State Saturday 35-0, scoring in every quarter and looking every bit as if they should be No. 1.

Coach Nick Saban has quickly become better than the gold standard in Alabama. Saban has taken the Crimson Tide to the No. 1 ranking in the nation in only his second year at Tuscaloosa. Saban is the highest paid coach in college football ($32 million for 8 years). Many fans and boosters at Alabama believe Saban is worth every penny of it and now you know why.

Saban turned around Michigan State's program in one year and went to 3 bowl games in his first 3 years. He turned around Louisiana State's program in one year, won or shared 3 SEC titles, went to bowl games all 5 years and won the National Championship in 2003. He turned around Alabama in his first season last year and went to a bowl game. Now his Crimson Tide players are 9-0 and in the hunt for a spot in this year's national championship game.

No. 5 Florida recorded a huge win on the road at No. 8 Georgia, putting some major hurt on the Bulldogs, 49-10. Since their unexpected lack of focus and 31-30 loss to Mississippi, Coach Urban Meyer's Gators have gone ballistic croc hunting, ripping apart Arkansas 38-7, LSU 51-21 and Kentucky 63-5 before hosting Georgia.

Apparently the Gators have become so savage that they will rip apart their victims but also drink their blood in their quest to get into the national championship game. The next victim to visit Gainsville this coming Saturday is the Vanderbilt Commodores, who had better order up tons of anti-crocodile spray. The Gators mean business.

Both Texas and Georgia lost to top-ranked teams. Texas Tech, Alabama and Florida were among 13 of the 20 AP Poll teams to win this week, 7 others—including Texas and Georgia which played top-ranked teams--lost and 5 teams were idle. No. 3 Penn State, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 18 Ball State, No. 21 North Carolina and No. 25 Maryland were all idle.

The other ranked teams which won big and made a statement included:

No. 4 Oklahoma at home in a waltz over Nebraska 62-28 (the Sooners led 62-21 after 3 quarters), No. 7 Southern Cal on the road shut out Washington 56-0 (the Huskies are dead and waiting for fired head coach Tyrone Willingham to get on down the road), No. 9 Oklahoma State at home over Iowa State 59-17 (the Cowboys scored in every quarter), No. 11 Boise State at home shut out New Mexico State 49-0 (the Broncos scored in every quarter against what we think is a team in the southwest), No. 12 TCU on the road over UNLV 44-14, and No. 15 LSU at home over Tulane 35-10.

Four other ranked teams won but were hardly impressive. They included:

No. 10 Utah on the road over weak, unranked New Mexico 13-10 (the 9-0 unbeaten Utah Utes are overrated big-time and may find that out this week when they clash with 9-1 TCU), No. 14 Missouri on the road over unranked Baylor 31-28 (the now toothless Tigers take down a 3-win Baylor team), No. 17 BYU on the road over weak, unranked Colorado State 45-42 (the Cougars are hardly ferocious, they gave up 32 points to TCU, 35 to UNLV and now 42 to Colorado State after beating a winless 0-8 Washington team 28-27 earlier in the season), and No. 22 Michigan State at home over Wisconsin 25-24 (it's true that Wisconsin may well be the best 4-5 team in the country, but the Spartans should have won by two touchdowns).

Five other ranked teams committed the unpardonable sin of losing to an unranked team. They included:

No. 16 Florida State lost on the road to Georgia Tech 31-28, No. 19 and unbeaten Tulsa lost on the road to Arkansas 30-23 (Tulsa is the newest most overrated team in 1-A football, Illinois lost that title by promptly losing 4 games), No. 20 Minnesota lost at home to Northwestern 24-17, No. 23 Oregon lost on the road to California 26-16, and No. 24 South Florida lost on the road to Cincinnati 24-10.

Dropping out of the AP Top 25 Poll on Sunday (11-2-08) were Minnesota (the Golden Gophers are 7-2 and a real surprise in the Big Ten), South Florida (overrated all season), Oregon (overrated all season) and Tulsa (grossly overrated all season). Good luck to all on your way out the door.

Playing their way back into the AP Poll this week were the No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers (they beat Connecticut), the No. 21 California Bears (they beat Oregon), the No. 22 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (they beat Florida State) and the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers (they beat Notre Dame 36-33 in the 4th overtime).

The only 6 unbeaten teams remaining include Alabama, Texas Tech, Penn State, Utah, Boise State and Ball State. In other games of note this week:

Oregon State barely beat Arizona State 27-25 in a really nasty, tough, sometimes dirty Pac 10 encounter. A 2-8 Idaho team put 24 points on the board and only lost by 6 points to a 6-3 San Jose State team. The Idaho Vandals are not the worst team in America, that title belongs to the 0-9 winless, hopeless Washington Huskies followed closely by the hapless, beyond hopeless 1-8 Washington State Cougars.

Also formerly winless North Texas posted its first win of the season on the road over 1-AA Western Kentucky 51-40. The Purdue Boilermakers did the entire Midwest a favor by whipping Michigan 48-42, ensuring that Michigan will have to suffer through its first losing season in 40 years and an end to its streak of 33 consecutive bowl game appearances.

From my perspective as a Michigan State graduate, any week that Michigan State wins and Michigan loses is a glorious week, thus far that glorious occurrence has happened 5 times this season and could happen twice more "Lord willing and the creek don't rise".

October 28, 2008

College Football – Week 9

Texas Handles Unbeaten Oklahoma State, and Penn State Finally Whips Ohio State

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 9th week saw the 5 teams at the top of the AP Top 25 Poll give notice to any and all opponents that they are not moving down easily.

No. 1 Texas hosted unbeaten No. 7 Oklahoma State and won 28-24 by holding the Cowboys to nearly half of their 46 point scoring average through 7 games. In 4 of its 7 wins, Oklahoma State had scored 56, 57, 55 and 56 points in consecutive games. The Cowboys played tough, but in the end the Longhorns refused to lose.

No. 2 Alabama traveled to unranked Tennessee and the Crimson Tide rolled on, beating the Volunteers 29-9. Tennessee may be the best 3-5 team in the country. Few people realize that the Vols are ranked 14th nationally in rushing defense, 17th in scoring defense and 17th in passing defense.

No. 3 Penn State traveled to No. 10 Ohio State and turned back one of the nation's top defenses in a 13-6 nail-biter. The Nittany Lions had waltzed through their first 6 games before facing Wisconsin on the road and Michigan at home. Many pundits thought that their schedule was weak compared to the Buckeyes. Not so. JoPa's team left Ohio State with a 9-0 record.

Less well known was the fact that while the Buckeyes were ranked among the Top 25 teams statistically in 5 defensive categories, the Nittany Lions were also ranked among the Top 25 in the same categories. Moreover, Penn State was in the Top 25 in one other defensive category and two more offensive categories. Ohio State will not be playing in the BCS national championship game this year.

No. 4 Oklahoma traveled to unranked Kansas State and won the game in the first half, 55-28. Kansas won in the second half, 7-3. The final was 58-35. Suffice to say that defense was not on display.

No. 5 Florida hosted Kentucky and took the Wildcats to school in a 63-5 romp that some thought would never end soon enough.

No. 6 Southern California managed to get past an unranked, 2-5 Arizona State team, 17-10, a not impressive victory. No. 8 Texas Tech was impressive on the road, ripping No. 19 Kansas a new one in a 63-21 victory. Tech led 56-14 after three quarters. No. 9 Georgia traveled to No. 11 Louisiana State and won 52-38.

The rest of the AP Top 25 winners did not create much of a stir. It was No. 13 Boise State over San Jose State 33-16, No. 15 Texas Christian over Wyoming 54-7, No. 16 Missouri over Colorado 58-0, No. 18 Brigham Young over UNLV 42-35, No. 20 Ball State over Eastern Michigan 38-16, No. 22 Tulsa over Central Florida 49-19, No. 24 Florida State over Virginia Tech 30-20, and No. 25 Minnesota over Purdue 17-6.

Other Top 25 teams that lost to unranked teams included No. 14 South Florida to Louisville 24-20, No. 17 Pittsburgh to Rutgers 54-34, No. 21 Georgia Tech to Virginia 24-17, and No. 23 Boston College to North Carolina 45-24. No. 12 Utah was idle this week.

The only 8 unbeaten teams remaining include Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Texas Tech, Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa.

When the new AP Top 25 list came out for week 10, 4 teams were missing—No. 17 Pittsburgh, No. 19 Kansas, No. 21 Georgia Tech and No. 23 Boston College. All were losers this week and subsequently gone.

New to the list this year was Maryland at No. 25, and returning to the Top 25 from earlier in the season were No. 21 North Carolina, No. 22 Michigan State and No. 23 Oregon.

College football's 10th week will be a pretty lame schedule with two exceptions. One unbeaten team will lose for the first time when No. 1 Texas (8-0) invades No. 6 Texas Tech (8-0). The Red Raiders understand that to be No. 1 you have to beat No. 1. Texas got 100% of the first-place votes in the AP Poll.

Another big test will find No. 5 Florida (6-1) traveling to No. 8 Georgia (7-1). Most of the rest of teams play a bunch of pushovers.

October 21, 2008

College Football – Week 8

Nation's Top 6 Teams Remain on Top, Led By Unbeaten Texas, Alabama & Penn State

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 8th week saw the lesser lights among the AP Top 25 take turns getting beat up while the nation's top 6 teams remain exactly the same with unbeaten Texas, Alabama and Penn State 1-2-3 followed by once-beaten Oklahoma, Florida and Southern Cal.

Taking care of business as usual was No. 1 Texas at home over No. 11 Missouri 56-31, No. 2 Alabama at home over unranked Mississippi 24-20, No. 3 Penn State at home over unranked Michigan 46-17, No. 4 Oklahoma at home over No. 16 Kansas 45-31, No. 5 Florida was idle, and No. 6 Southern Cal on the road over unranked Washington State 69-0.

Texas got off to a 35-0 lead by scoring touchdowns on its first 5 possessions of the first half as quarterback Colt McCoy had a career night, passing for 337 yards and 2 touchdowns, running for 2 more TDs, and setting a school record with 17 consecutive completions. Texas sure looks like a team that could play in the BCS national championship game as the Longhorns dominated on both sides of the ball.

Alabama led Mississippi 20-3 at the half and it was a good thing because the Old Miss Rebels won the second half 17-0. The Crimson Tide needed a late defensive stand and got it to hold off a Mississippi upset.

Michigan was feeling a lot buff after jumping out to a 10-0 lead and a 17-7 lead, but Penn State came back with 39 unanswered points to rout the Wolverines and break a 9-game losing streak against Michigan. Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lions figure it is their year, so you better get out of the way.

Kansas scored in every quarter but Oklahoma just kept coming and prevailed as quarterback Sam Bradford passed for a Sooner school-record 468 yards while adding 3 TD passes.

Southern Cal took no mercy in visiting Washington State by obliterating the Cougars 69-zip, rolling up 625 yards of total offense, including 28 first downs and 402 yards in the first half. The Washington State shutout loss was its first since 1984, 24 years and 280 games ago.

On paper, the Cougars are not the worst team in the country simply because they played and won a game against 1-AA Portland State. Their rivals, the Washington Huskies, continue to be winless in 6 outings so they have earned the distinction. Even winless North Texas at 0-7 doesn't get beat as bad as the Cougars and Huskies.

Other Top 25 winners this week included No. 7 Texas Tech on the road over unranked Texas A&M 43-25, No. 8 Oklahoma State at home over unranked Baylor 34-6, No. 10 Georgia at home over No. 22 Vanderbilt 24-14, No. 12 Ohio State on the road over No. 20 Michigan State 45-7, No. 13 LSU on the road over unranked South Carolina 24-17, No. 14 Utah at home over unranked Colorado State 49-16, No. 15 Boise State at home over unranked Hawaii 27-7, No. 19 South Florida at home over Syracuse 45-13, and No. 23 Pittsburgh on the road over Navy 42-21.

So 14 of the 23 AP Top 25 teams won (61%) while 9 of the 23 lost (39%) as 4 of the 9 losers ran head on into ranked teams. No. 24 Ball State, along with Florida, was idle.

No. 9 Brigham Young bit the dust as an unbeaten team by traveling to unranked Texas Christian and getting a mud hole stomped in them 32-7, so much for unbeaten teams playing cupcake schedules. Entering the game, BYU's Sagarin schedule strength ranked 121st among 119 Division 1-A teams.

No. 17 Virginia Tech traveled to unranked Boston College and managed to lose 28-23. No. 18 North Carolina traveled to unranked Virginia and lost to the Cavaliers in overtime 16-13. No. 21 Wake Forest traveled to unranked Maryland and got skunked 26-0. No. 25 California traveled to unranked Arizona and was upset 42-27. There seems to be a pattern here—Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest and California all had away games against unranked teams and lost, proving it is dangerous to travel.

The losses by Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest and California all bounced them right out of the Top 25 rankings. Losses by Vanderbilt and Michigan State bounced them out as well.

New to the rankings this week are Georgia Tech (6-1) at No. 21, Tulsa (7-0 with a schedule strength of 141st going into the week) at No. 22, Boston College (5-1) at No. 23, and Minnesota (6-1) at No. 25. Returning to the Top 25 for the second time this season was Texas Christian (7-1) at No. 15 and Florida State (5-1) at No. 24.

The 9 remaining unbeaten teams include Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa.

At least 1 of the 9 unbeatens will lose this Saturday (10-25-08) as No. 7 Oklahoma State (7-0) travels to No. 1 Texas (7-0). Two other hardcore games find No. 8 Texas Tech (7-0) at No. 19 Kansas (5-2), and No. 3 Penn State (8-0) at Ohio State (7-1).

October 14, 2008

College Football – Week 7

Only 10 Undefeated Teams Remain, Oklahoma, Missouri & LSU All Lose

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 7th week started with 15 teams left undefeated and ended with only 10 as No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Missouri, No. 4 Louisiana State, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 20 Auburn all were upset.

Some fans would point out that you could hardly call the Oklahoma and LSU losses as upsets since the No. 1 Sooners were playing No. 5 Texas Longhorns and the No. 4 LSU Tigers were playing the No. 11 Florida Gators.

The Texas-Oklahoma contest was a shoot out that Longhorn Coach Mack Brown called "one of the greatest football games I've ever seen." Texas was behind by 11 points twice in the first half and by 8 in the 3rd quarter before winning 45-35 at home.

Longhorn Chris Ogbannaya, a senior making his second start, rushed 15 times for 127 yards, none more important than his 62-yard gain on a play headed nowhere that helped put Texas on top to stay.

Texas' junior quarterback Colt McCoy went 28-of-35 for 277 yards with 1 TD pass and no turnovers. Oklahoma's sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford was not to be outdone, going 28-of-39 for 387 yards and 5 TDs. Bradford found Jordan Shipley for 11 passes, 112 yards and a TD. Shipley also had an electrifying 96-yard return for a TD.

No. 3 Missouri is not as good as its pre-game 5-0 record warrants and No. 17 Oklahoma State proved it by traveling to Missouri and beating the Tigers at home, 28-23, pushing its unbeaten record to 6-0. The loss was the first for Missouri.

No. 11 Florida just took it to No. 4 LSU, leading 20-3 at the half and finishing off the Tigers 51-21 at home. We no longer need to guess which team is better.

No. 13 Vanderbilt's little 15-minute brush with fame is over as the Commodores traveled to unranked Mississippi State and promptly lost 17-14 to the Bulldogs. Mississippi raised its record to 2-4 with the win over Vanderbilt. There are no words to describe the No. 20 Auburn Tigers who lost at home to unranked Arkansas 25-22. Auburn fell right out of the AP Top 25 Poll with a thud.

Between Missouri, Louisiana State and Auburn, it was not a good week to be the Tigers. Kudos to Texas, Florida and Oklahoma State which defended their rankings.

Among the other top 13 ranked teams which won were No. 6 Penn State on the road over Wisconsin 48-7, No. 7 Texas Tech at home over Nebraska 37-31 in overtime, No. 8 Southern California at home 28-0 over Arizona State, No. 9 BYU at home 21-3 over New Mexico, No, 10 Georgia at home 26-14 over Tennessee, No. 12 Ohio State at home 16-2 over Purdue, and No. 14 Utah on the road 40-7 over Wyoming.

Also No. 15 Boise State on the road 24-7 over Southern Mississippi, No. 16 Kansas at home 30-14 over Colorado, No. 21 Wake Forest at home 12-7 over Clemson (another Tiger team), No. 22 North Carolina at home 29-24 over Notre Dame, No. 23 Michigan State on the road 37-20 over unbeaten and unranked Northwestern, and No. 25 Ball State on the road 24-7 over 1-AA Western Kentucky.

The 10 remaining unbeaten teams (in no particular order) include Alabama, Penn State, Texas, Boise State, Texas Tech, Utah, BYU, Ball State, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

If you look at the Sagarin Ratings for schedule strength this is how the 10 unbeaten teams are ranked from best schedule strength to worst:

Alabama (38th), Texas (43rd), Utah (72nd), Penn State (74th), Oklahoma State (94th), Texas Tech (105th), Ball State (107th), Boise State (111th), Brigham Young (121st) and Tulsa (141st). This would go a long way in explaining why some of these teams are unbeaten. There are 119 Division 1-A schools so you can imagine how tough the teams were that played the last 5 of these unbeaten teams.

Tulsa plays absolutely no one worth talking about and could go unbeaten if they beat 3-3 Arkansas. Tulsa's last victory was over a 1-6 Southern Methodist team and the Golden Hurricane (that's Tulsa) won 37-31. Brigham Young thankfully faces off against Utah in the last game of the year for both schools. Boise State pretty much gets a free ride until Fresno State. Ball State really faces nobody.

Alabama, Texas, Penn State, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech will earn their way by facing far tougher competition.

Alabama, Virginia Tech, South Florida and Pittsburgh were all idle this week.

Other notable performances merit some attention. Penn State's Nittany Lions traveled to Wisconsin and beat the Badgers at home 48-7. It is not easy to beat Wisconsin at home, and for Joe Paterno's team to rip the Badgers apart was impressive.

Michigan is really underwhelming this year, losing again at home in the Big House to Toledo 13-10. The loss marked the first time in its storied history that Michigan has lost to a Mid-American Conference team. Toledo came into the contest with a 1-4 mark and an earlier loss to Florida International.

Oregon State has to be the nastiest 3-3 team in the nation. The Beavers thumped Washington State 66-13, topped Hawaii 45-7, upset Southern Cal 27-21, and is in no mood to explain its losses to Stanford, Penn State and Utah (all on the road). They travel to Washington this week and I would not want to be a Husky when they arrive.

After such a great start to its season, East Carolina now looks very average, losing again on the road to Virginia 35-20.

The new AP Top 25 Poll has the top 10 in this order—Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Oklahoma, Florida, Southern Cal, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Brigham Young and Georgia.

Some games of interest this week include No. 12 Ohio State at No. 20 Michigan State, No. 13 LSU at unranked but dangerous South Carolina, No. 22 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Georgia (the Commodores may lose their ranking), No. 16 Kansas at No. 4 Oklahoma (beware, Jayhawks), No. 11 Missouri at No. 1 Texas, unranked Michigan at No. 3 Penn State (Joe Paterno's eyes get bigger and bigger every week, only exceeded by his appetite for victories), and Hawaii at No. 15 Boise State (could the Warriors do the impossible?).

October 7, 2008

College Football – Week 6

AP's Top 25 Welcomes North Carolina, Michigan State, Pittsburgh & Ball State

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College Football's 6th week saw the AP pollsters kick Wisconsin, Fresno State, Oregon and Connecticut out of its Top 25 list and welcome in North Carolina (4-1) at 22, Michigan State (5-1-) at 23, Pittsburgh (4-1) at 24 and unbeaten Ball State (6-0) at 25.

No. 18 Wisconsin, which had risen to No. 8 in the 3rd week, fell the hardest, losing at home to No. 14 Ohio State 20-17. The Buckeyes true freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor scored on an 11-yard run with 68 seconds left to snap Wisconsin's 16-game home winning streak. When it counted, the Badgers could not stop Pryor to preserve their lead and also could not contain Chris "Beanie" Wells' 168 rushing yards.

No. 22 Fresno State got bushwhacked at home by unranked Hawaii in overtime 32-29. Hawaii capitalized on the Bulldogs' 6 turnovers and 3 missed field goals. The pineapple brigade of Hawaiian Warriors had lost 3 of their first 4 games and apparently were not willing to stop their winning tradition despite being on the road.

No. 23 Oregon had to travel to No. 9 Southern California, fresh off its 27-21 upset loss to the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis. The Trojans were in no mood to entertain another loss to an Oregon team and took it out on the Ducks 44-10.

No. 24 Connecticut was unbeaten at 5-0 before heading to unbeaten and unranked North Carolina. The Tar Heels saw opportunity coming and dispatched the Huskies by taking a 17-3 halftime lead before polishing them off 38-12.

Michigan State led Iowa 16-6 after three quarters and hung on with some great defensive stops in the 4th quarter to outlast the Hawkeyes, 16-13. After losing its opener on the road to California by a touchdown, the Spartans have now reeled off 5 consecutive victories.

Visiting Pittsburgh put some heartache on No. 10 South Florida on its home turf, leading 17-10 at the half and winning 26-21. Dave Wannstedt's Panthers were every bit the match for the South Florida Bulls, which suffered their first loss of the season.

Ball State picked up its 6th straight victory by shutting out Toledo 31-0 in a road game. Toledo's Rockets hung tough in the first half, trailing 3-0, but the Cardinals stopped messing around and scored 4 touchdowns in the second half to put an exclamation point on their win.

No. 19 Vanderbilt continues to impress in the tough Southeastern Conference, picking up its 5th straight victory at home to remain undefeated by upsetting No. 13 Auburn, 14-13. The Commodores are the only undefeated team in the SEC's East Division, ahead of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Vanderbilt is 3-0 in the SEC for the first time in 58 years (1950) and 5-0 overall for the first time in 65 years (1943).

Vanderbilt's Mackenzi Adams came off the bench and threw for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Commodores to victory over Auburn for the first time in their last 14 games against the Tigers. News flash: Vanderbilt is no longer a pushover.

Among the top 16 of 22 teams that won besides Southern Cal, Ohio State and Vanderbilt were:

No. 1 Oklahoma won on the road over Baylor 49-17. The Sooners scored 4 TDs in the opening quarter and then added a TD in each of the succeeding quarters. No. 2 Alabama won at home over unranked Kentucky 17-14. Alabama's Glen Coffee rushed for 218 yards and Leigh Tiffin kicked a 24-yard field goal with 2:12 left as the Crimson Tide hung on to give the Wildcats their first loss.

No. 4 Missouri traveled to unranked Nebraska and gave the Cornhuskers a horse whipping 52-17. The win was Missouri's first at Nebraska in 30 years. The Tigers' Chase Daniel threw for 3 TDs and Derrick Washington rushed for 139 yards and 3 TDs. Don't get too excited yet; Nebraska's 3 wins have come over lame opponents. No. 5 Texas traveled to Colorado and torched the Buffaloes 38-14. No. 6 Penn State beat Purdue on the road 20-6.

No. 7 Texas Tech rolled past unranked Kansas State on the road, 58-28, after leading 38-14 at the half. BYU (Brigham Young) beat unranked, in-state rival Utah State 34-14 on the road. No. 12 Florida ripped apart Arkansas 38-7 on the road. No. 15 Utah just eased past Oregon State 31-28 at home.

No. 16 Kansas was down 20-0 at the half and just got by unranked Iowa State 35-33 on the road. Jayhawk fans must sense that Kansas is not that good after gimmie wins against Florida International, Louisiana Tech and 1-AA Sam Houston State and a narrow 3-point win over a South Florida team on the downslide.

No. 17 Boise State kept winning by stomping Louisiana Tech 38-3 at home. No. 20 Virginia Tech picked up a 20-13 win at home against a losing, 1-AA Western Kentucky team. The Hokies also have a signature win over 1-AA Furman; let's get serious with the scheduling, guys. No. 21 Oklahoma State downed Texas A&M 56-28 at home.

No. 3 LSU (Louisiana State), No. 11 Georgia and No. 25 Wake Forest were idle this week.

Twelve of the AP Top 25 teams from week 5 remain undefeated. They are Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Texas, Penn State, Texas Tech, BYU, Utah, Boise State, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State.

Three other teams among the 119 1-A competitors remain undefeated—Ball State at 6-0 and Northwestern and Tulsa at 5-0. Alabama and Penn State are the only other two unbeaten teams at 6-0.

At least two of these 15 unbeaten teams will lose in college football's week 7 as Oklahoma State (5-0) travels to Missouri (5-0), and Texas (5-0) travels to Oklahoma (5-0).

Three other unbeatens had better strap their helmets on tight because 4-0 LSU travels to 4-1 Florida, 5-0 Northwestern hosts 5-1 Michigan State, and 6-0 Penn State travels to an angry 3-2 Wisconsin team that is not used to losing at home. Two other key games pit 4-1 Notre Dame at 4-1 North Carolina, and 5-1 Minnesota at 3-2 Illinois (any team that can beat Michigan now can beat Minnesota).

September 30, 2008

College Football – Week 5

9 AP Top 25 Teams Lose, 6 to Unranked Teams, No. 1 USC, No. 3 Georgia & No. 4 Florida All Fall

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 5th week revealed the nation's 6 luckiest teams—Missouri, Texas Tech, Brigham Young (BYU), Kansas, Boise State and Vanderbilt. They were the 6 teams among the AP Top 25 Poll who had a bye week, saving them from a possible upset loss.

The other 19 Top 25 teams did not fare so well in Week 5 as only 10 of the 19 won (a scant 53%) while 9 more—including 3 of the top 4 teams—lost.

Among the 9 ranked teams that lost, 6 committed the unforgivable sin of losing to unranked teams, an absolute no-no if you want to be in the hunt for the national title. You can pretty well say goodbye to the national title hopes of Southern California, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Clemson, Illinois and Texas Christian (TCU).

The biggest loser was No. 1-ranked University of Southern California (USC, the University of Shoulda Coulda), which traveled to the Corvallis (OR) den of the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers, an unranked team at 1-2 who had already lost away games at Stanford and Penn State, decided to take out their nastiness on the Trojans, dominating USC 21-0 in the first half and hanging on for a 27-21 victory.

USC should have known better, since the Trojans were upset by the Beavers 33-31 during their last trip to Corvallis two years ago. That loss ended Southern Cal's 38-game regular-season winning streak.

No. 4-ranked Florida hosted unranked Mississippi and promptly lost 31-30 with lousy defense and its star quarterback Tim Tebow, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, having a horrific day. Tebow was sacked 3 times by holding the ball too long, overthrew 4 receivers deep, lost a fumble that turned into an Ole Miss touchdown, and failed to convert on a run attempt with a critical 4th down and 2 feet to go at the Ole Miss 32-yard-line with 40 seconds left.

Florida won the first half 17-7 but lost the second half 24-13. It is a loss that coach Urban Meyer and his players will not soon forget, nor should they.

No. 9 Wisconsin led by 19 and was all over unranked Michigan but let the Wolverines back into the game by giving up 20 points in the 4th quarter, allowing Michigan to enjoy its biggest home comeback in history and give new coach Rich "I'm Not Hitched to West Virginia" Rodriguez his first win at Michigan, 27-25.

No. 16 Wake Forest spotted unranked Navy 17 points on its home field and never came back while losing 24-17.

No. 20 Clemson led unranked Maryland 17-6 at the half but could not score in the second half while losing at home, 20-17. Here is a news flash: Apparently Maryland is a whole lot better than Clemson this year.

No. 23 East Carolina hosted unranked Houston and bit the dust, 41-24. East Carolina's early season wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia are looking less impressive every week.

The other 3 ranked teams that lost at least lost to ranked opponents. No. 3 Georgia hosted No. 8 Alabama and was dominated by the Crimson Tide 41-30 in a game that was not nearly as close as its score. No. 22 Illinois traveled to No. 12 Penn State and made the Nittany Lions look good in Happy Valley as the Illini went down, 38-24. No. 24 Texas Christian (TCU) traveled to No. 2 Oklahoma and found out why you do not want to play the Sooners at home, losing 35-10.

The Georgia Bulldogs simply got beat up, and at home no less. Georgia was ranked No. 1 in the pre-season AP Top 25 Poll and will now take a nosedive in the rankings. Illinois, Clemson and East Carolina should all be kicked out of the Top 25 this week.

Seven other ranked teams won, some impressively, some not. They included:

No. 5 LSU at home 34-24 over 1-4 Mississippi State (not impressive), No. 7 Texas at home 52-10 over Arkansas (impressive), No. 13 South Florida on the road 41-10 over North Carolina State (impressive), No. 14 Ohio State at home 34-21 over Minnesota (the Gophers came in unbeaten), No. 15 Auburn at home 14-12 over Tennessee (seriously, not impressive), No. 17 Utah at home 37-21 over 1-AA Weber State (beating a 1-AA team is not impressive), and No. 25 Fresno State on the road 36-31 over UCLA (hardly impressive, given the current state of UCLA football).

Other game results that struck a chord with me were:

Seeing the recent great Hawaii Warrior tradition of winning games now hitting hard times. Hawaii dusted off 1-AA Weber but has lost to Florida, Oregon State and San Jose State to open the season. June Jones, who built a 75-41 record in 9 seasons at Hawaii, bolted the program to take over the head coaching job at Southern Methodist University this year.

Michigan State is now 4-1 after beating Indiana 42-29 on the road, but can the Spartans continue to win against Iowa and Northwestern and host Ohio State with a 6-1 start? Has coach Mark Dantonio been able to build a different mindset at Michigan State, or will the Spartans fold once again when playing better competition?

Question: When is the last time the Tennessee Volunteers started a season at 1-3? Answer: 14 years ago.

How bad could North Texas be? Rice is seldom if ever good, and the Owls whipped in-state rival North Texas 77-20. That was also the score at the end of the 3rd quarter. North Texas must be really bad. North Texas has played the 5th toughest schedule in the country so far, but Jeff Sagarin also has them rated at 152 among 119 1-A teams.

Washington's top two institutions—Washington and Washington State—are both terrible this year. Washington has lost its first 4 games, and the Huskies ' star quarterback Jake Locker broke the thumb on his throwing hand while losing Saturday to Stanford, 35-28. Things are not good in Husky land. Fourth-year coach Ty Willingham may be moving soon.

Things are even worse at Washington State. The Cougars are 0-5, having lost 39-13, 66-3, 45-17, 48-9 and 63-14. First year coach Paul Wulff will get a temporary pass but it is possible that when Washington State hosts in-state rival Washington on Nov. 22, the Cougars could be 0-11 and the Huskies 0-10.

Texas-El Paso (UTEP) coach Mike Price finally got his first win this season by hosting and beating the University of Central Florida, 58-13. Both teams are now 1-3.

The beauty of college football is the unexpected, the excitement of thousands of fans pouring onto the field after their Oregon State Beavers upset No. 1-ranked Southern Cal, the inexorable attrition of unbeaten teams clashing during conference play, and the unknown players who announce themselves as tomorrow's stars in today's games.

Welcome to college football's 6th week, when Wisconsin hosts Ohio State, South Florida hosts Pittsburgh, Auburn travels to Vanderbilt, Utah hosts Oregon State, Michigan State hosts Iowa, Southern Cal hosts Oregon, and Missouri travels to Nebraska.

September 24, 2008

College Football – Week 4:

14 Teams Suffer Their First Defeat – Auburn, East Carolina, Oregon & Florida State All Lose

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 4th week was a replica of last week as once again only 16 of the 21 AP Top 25 teams won, with 5 of the 16 winners having real difficulty doing so, and another 14 teams saw their unbeaten record broken with their first loss of the season.

The biggest winners were Louisiana State, Georgia, Wake Forest, Utah and Michigan State. The biggest losers were Auburn, East Carolina, Oregon, West Virginia and Florida State.

The 14 teams that suffered their first defeat included No. 10 Auburn at home to No. 6 LSU 26-21, No. 15 East Carolina on the road to unranked North Carolina State 30-24 in overtime, No. 17 Oregon at home to unranked and unbeaten Boise State 37-32, No. 24 Florida State at home to No. 18 Wake Forest 12-3, Arkansas at home to No. 8 Alabama 49-14, Notre Dame on the road to Michigan State 23-7, and Air Force at home to No. 17 Utah 30-23.

Also Troy on the road to No. 14 Ohio State 28-10, Kansas State on the road to Louisville38-29, Iowa on the road to Pittsburgh 21-20, North Carolina at home to Virginia Tech 20-17, Indiana at home to unranked and unbeaten Ball State 42-20, 1-AA Wofford on the road to South Carolina 23-13, and 1-AA Sam Houston State on the road to No. 18 Kansas 38-14.

To be honest, even though they won, Ohio State and South Carolina continue to unimpress.

Six of the ranked teams are just steamrolling over opponents. They include No. 4 Florida on the road over Tennessee 30-6, No. 7 Texas at home over Rice 52-10, No. 9 Alabama on the road over Arkansas 49-14, No. 11 Texas Tech at home over Massachusetts 56-14, No. 14 Brigham Young at home over Wyoming 44-0, and No. 16 Penn State at home over Temple 45-3.

The combined record of the 6 steamrollers is currently 22-0, and they have outscored their opponents 968 to 237. The most impressive of the bunch is Jo Pa's Penn State Nittany Lions, who have outscored their opponents 172-44 (+128) in 4 games.

Among the ranked teams that struggled to win were No. 6 LSU (which needed an 18-yard TD pass from Jarret Lee to Brandon LaFell with just over a minute to go, and snapped Auburn's streak of 6 consecutive victories at home against Top 10 teams), and No. 12 South Florida (which got by winless Florida International 17-9).

Also No. 18 Wake Forest (which picked up a good victory on the road against No. 24 Florida State 12-3), No. 20 Utah (which traveled to Air Force and outlasted the Falcons 30-23), No. 21 West Virginia (to unranked and unbeaten Colorado 17-14 in overtime) and No. 25 Fresno State (which traveled to Toledo and won 55-54 in overtime).

Three other ranked teams had an easier time winning and kept moving on. They included No. 3 Georgia (with a quality 27-10 win on the road over Arizona State), No. 4 Missouri (which continued to be unimpressive at home in a 42-21 defeat over Buffalo, either undefeated Missouri is giving up too many points or Buffalo is THAT good), and No. 23 Clemson (the Tigers picked up a good home win with a 54-0 shutout of 1-AA South Carolina State).

Among the ranked teams that had a bye week were No. 1 Southern California, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 22 Illinois.

When Tuesday's AP Top 25 Poll came out this week it was no surprise that 3 new teams came on board—Boise State (3-0) at No. 19, Vanderbilt (4-0) at No. 21 and Texas Christian (4-0) at No. 24. The biggest leap was by the Boise State Broncos who went from No. 29 to No. 19 and into the poll. The biggest drop was East Carolina from No. 15 to No. 23 (losing at home to an unranked team is frowned upon).

Banished from the poll were West Virginia, Oregon and Florida State (well, somebody has to go to make room for the winners).

Moving up in the poll was LSU, Alabama, Texas Tech, Brigham Young, Penn State, Wake Forest, Utah, Kansas and Clemson.

Three games look really interesting this week when we examine Tuesday's new AP Top 25 Poll. No. 8 Alabama must travel to No. 3 Georgia (both are 4-0), No. 13 South Florida (4-0) must travel to North Carolina State and beat the Wolfpack, which just gained a lot of confidence by upsetting then No. 15 East Carolina, and No. 22 Illinois must travel to No. 12 Penn State (4-0).

Two other bits of minor action that caught my eye: Washington State finally won its first game this year by romping over 1-AA Portland State 48-9, and Mike Price and his UTEP players came so close to their first win, losing 34-33 to New Mexico State.

So which conference is really kicking booty? I thought you would never ask. With 4 of the Top 8 teams in the AP Poll (Georgia, Florida, LSU and Alabama at a combined 14-0) it's the Southeastern Conference. The SEC boasts the nation's top non-conference winning percentage at 86% (25-4).

September 15, 2008

College Football – Week 3

Let There Be No Doubt: USC Crushes Ohio State 35-3 and Is Clearly No. 1

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's 3rd week saw a dramatic decrease of quality teams playing cupcakes and 1-AA schools looking for a payday at the expense of a victory. Whereas last week 19 of the 21 ranked teams in the AP Top 25 Poll won, this week only 16 of the 21 teams won, and 6 of the 16 winners (37%) had real difficulty doing so.

The competition will get really fierce next week when more league and conference games begin in earnest. The easy wins on the schedule will be over for most contenders on the national scene.

The biggest winner this week was No. 1 Southern Cal and the biggest loser was No. 5 Ohio State as the Trojans crushed the Buckeyes 35-3 behind Mark Sanchez's 4 touchdown passes and Joe McKnight's 105 rushing yards.

Ohio State never got untracked as a holding penalty nullified a 2nd quarter touchdown, and Todd Boeckman's errant throw was intercepted and returned for a TD by Trojan linebacker Rey Maualuga. Despite the miscues, it was evident that Ohio State is not in the same league as Southern Cal. The Buckeyes were decisive losers in the last two national championship games, and clearly are not as good as advertised once again.

Three other Top 25 teams came up with egg on their face after getting beat. No. 13 Kansas traveled to No. 19 South Florida and quickly found out why South Florida is for real, losing 37-34. No. 15 Arizona State led unranked UNLV 20-10 going into the 4th quarter, but the Sun Devils let UNLV back into the game by giving up 10 points and then managed to blow the game in overtime, 23-20. No. 23 California traveled to unranked Maryland and was stung 35-27 by the Terrapins, proving again that it is harder to win away games.

Fifteen of the 16 ranked teams that won protected their undefeated records. The only team that did not was Illinois, which lost earlier in the season to Missouri.

They included No. 1 Southern Cal (USC) 35-3 over No. 5 Ohio State, No. 2 Georgia 14-7 over South Carolina, No. 3 Oklahoma 55-14 over Washington, No. 6 Missouri 69-17 over Nevada, No. 7 Louisiana (LSU) 41-3 over North Texas, No. 9 Auburn 3-2 over Mississippi State, No. 10 Wisconsin 13-10 over No. 21 Fresno State, and No. 11 Alabama 41-7 over 1-AA Western Kentucky.

No. 12 Texas Tech 43-7 over in-state rival Southern Methodist (SMU), No. 14 East Carolina 28-24 over Tulane, No. 16 Oregon 32-26 in double overtime over Purdue, No. 17 Penn State 55-13 over Syracuse, No. 18 Brigham Young (BYU) 59-0 over UCLA, No. 19 South Florida 37-34 over No. 13 Kansas, No. 22 Utah 58-10 over in-state rival Utah State, and No. 24 Illinois 20-17 over Louisiana-Lafayette.

The really impressive wins in away games were racked up by Oklahoma, Penn State and Utah.

The 6 teams that really struggled in winning included Georgia, Auburn, Wisconsin, East Carolina, Oregon and Illinois. Only Illinois was at home.

Georgia blew into Columbia a week after South Carolina was upset by Vanderbilt for the second straight year, and the Gamecocks' defense was tough on the Bulldogs. A 3rd quarter score put Georgia ahead and the Dawgs forced 2 turnovers in the 4th quarter to escape with a win. The loss was Steve Spurrier's 6th straight in SEC play.

Georgia felt the sting of South Carolina last season when the Gamecocks upset them 16-12, keeping the Bulldogs out of the SEC title race and national title contention. Give Georgia credit as the Dawg defense held SC to 18 yards on 16 rushes.

Auburn held Mississippi State to only 116 yards on offense but the Tigers committed 3 turnovers, missed 2 field goals and gave the Mississippi State a safety.

Wisconsin invaded Fresno State and used special teams play to win a tough one. A 2nd half field goal after a fumbled punt proved the difference as Fresno State's Kevin Goessling missed 3 field goals, including a 35-yarder in the last quarter and a 51-yarder after a blocked punt in the 3rd quarter.

East Carolina rallied to beat Tulane with a 24-yard TD strike from Patrick Pinkney to Jamar Bryant with 1:41 remaining in the game.

Oregon trailed 20-3 early in the 2nd quarter but came back to tie Purdue and win in double overtime on LaGarrette Blount's 3-yard touchdown.

Illinois had to recover an onside kick with 20 seconds left to stave off a home victory over Louisiana-Lafayette's Ragin' Caguns.

No. 4 Florida, No. 20 Wake Forest and No. 25 West Virginia did not play this week, and No. 8 Texas' game with Arkansas was postponed due to Hurricane Ike.

Keep an eye on 11 unranked teams that have taken care of business by quietly starting the season with 3 straight wins. They include Air Force, Ball State, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, TCU and Vanderbilt. Three other unranked sleepers at 2-0 are Florida State, Notre Dame and Boise State.

Games of interest this week include unbeaten Wake Forest (2-0) at Florida State (2-0), unbeaten Notre Dame (2-0) at Michigan State (2-1), unbeaten Utah (3-0) at Air Force (3-0), unbeaten LSU (2-0) at unbeaten Auburn (3-0), and unbeaten Georgia (3-0) at Arizona State (2-1). Yes, fans, at least three unbeaten teams are going to lose this week, we just don't know which ones.

September 14, 2008

College Football:

Here Are the Results of Ed's Predictions on What Would Happen With AP's Top 25

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

About my predictions late Saturday night on Sunday's AP Top 25 Poll:

I said California and Illinois would drop right out of the poll. California did but Illinois moved up 2 spots, from 24 to 22, on the strength of what I am not sure since Illinois barely beat unranked Louisiana-Lafayette at home, 20-17. Doesn't sound like a No. 22 to me. I still predict that Illinois will go down in the long run.

I said look for Oklahoma to replace Georgia as No. 2. That happened.

I said look for Missouri to at least replace Ohio State at No. 5. That happened.

I said look for Penn State, Brigham Young, South Florida and Utah to all move up in the standings. Penn State went from 17 to 16, Brigham Young went from 18 to 14, South Florida went from 19 to 12, and Utah went from 22 to 20. That happened.

I said look for Georgia, Ohio State, Auburn, Kansas and Arizona State to drop in the standings but remain in the Top 25. Georgia dropped from 2 to 3, Ohio State dropped from 5 to 13, Auburn dropped from 9 to 10, Kansas dropped from 13 to 19, and Arizona State dropped from 15 to right out of the Top 25. All 5 teams dropped. That happened. Arizona State did not remain in the standings.

You decide if I was blowing smoke or not, or if my predictions were worth a crap or not.

September 13, 2008

College Football:

Quick Predictions on Who Will Rise and Fall in Sunday's AP Top 25 Football Poll

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Saturday, 9-14-08, 10:45 p.m. PST – Here are some quick predictions on who will rise and fall in Sunday's AP Top 25 Football Poll:

First, look for #23 California and #24 Illinois to drop right out of the Top 25.

Second, look for #3 Oklahoma to replace Georgia at No. 2.

Third, look for #6 Missouri to at least replace Ohio State at No. 5, or even leap to No. 4 since Florida is idle this week.

Fourth, look for #17 Penn State, #18 Brigham Young, #19 South Florida and #22 Utah to all move up in the standings.

Fifth, look for #2 Georgia, #5 Ohio State, #9 Auburn, #13 Kansas and #15 Arizona State to remain in the Top 25 but to drop down in the pecking order.

A full weekend report will be coming either Monday or Tuesday.

September 9, 2008

College Football – Week 2

East Carolina Smacks West Virginia, Upsets Its 3rd Straight Ranked Team

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The 2008 college football season welcomed in its first Cinderella team as No. 8 West Virginia came calling in the Pirates' den in East Carolina and the Pirates upset the Mountaineers easily, 24-3, controlling both sides of the line, and recording their 3rd consecutive victory over a ranked team in their last 3 games.

East Carolina defeated No. 24-ranked Boise State 41-38 in last year's Hawaii Bowl. The Pirates opened this season by upsetting then No. 17-ranked Virginia Tech 27-22. Skip Holtz, East Carolina's coach, is the son of the legendary Lou Holtz, who is now a sports commentator. Skip Holtz has officially begun building his own legacy.

Last season there were enough Cinderella teams to play musical chairs. Missouri rose to No. 1, Oregon rose to No. 2, Boston College rose to No. 2, South Florida rose to No. 2, Kansas rose to No. 2 and Arizona State rose to No. 6. None of them were in the Top 25 in the poll after the first week of play.

Some pundits said East Carolina had the upset in the bag after leading 17-3 at the half. Pirate quarterback Patrick Pinkney went 22-for-28 for 236 yards and a touchdown while running back Jonathan Williams scored twice rushing. East Carolina rolled up 386 yards of offense to the Mountaineers' 251; the defense held West Virginia to a field goal.

The win propelled East Carolina to the No. 14 spot this week in the AP Top 25 Poll. No. 24 California also moved into the Poll this week as UCLA and South Carolina exited.

The Gamecocks did the unthinkable, losing their second straight game 24-17 to Vanderbilt. The win was Vanderbilt's first home win over a ranked team in 16 years.

To add insult to injury, last season Vanderbilt traveled to South Carolina and upset the Gamecocks 17-6. South Carolina had been ranked No. 6 when Vanderbilt came to town. Two weeks later South Carolina was not even in the Top 25 Poll, that is what an unexpected loss can do to a top-ranked team. Life does not get better for South Carolina this week as it hosts No. 2 Georgia.

The upsets of West Virginia and South Carolina were the only two blemishes among the top-ranked teams.

Business as usual was the by-word for the first week of the season and it continued this week as the other 19 of 21 teams that competed won.

They included No. 2 Georgia 56-17 over Central Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State 26-14 over in-state rival Ohio, No. 4 Oklahoma 52-26 over Cincinnati, No. 5 Florida 26-3 over Miami (FL), No. 6 Missouri 52-3 over in-state rival 1-AA SE Missouri, No. 9 Auburn 27-13 over Southern Mississippi, No. 10 Texas 42-13 over UTEP at UTEP, No. 11 Wisconsin 51-14 over Marshall, No. 12 Texas Tech 35-19 over Nevada at Nevada, and No. 13 Alabama 20-6 over Tulane.

No. 14 Kansas 29-0 over Louisiana Tech, No. 15 Arizona State 41-17 over Stanford, No. 15 Brigham Young 28-27 over Washington at Washington, No. 17 South Florida 31-24 in overtime over Central Florida at Central Florida, No. 18 Oregon 66-24 over Utah State, No. 19 Penn State 45-14 over Oregon State, No. 20 Wake Forest 30-28 over Mississippi, No. 22 Utah 42-21 over UNLV, and No. 24 Illinois 47-21 over in-state rival 1-AA Eastern Illinois.

Four of the winners—Ohio State, Brigham Young, South Florida and Wake Forest—were not impressive but remained in the AP To 25.

No. 1 Southern California, No. 21 Fresno State and No. 23 UCLA (since dropped out of the AP Poll) did not play this week, and No. 7 Louisiana State's game with Troy was postponed due to a hurricane threat.

Eight other non-ranked teams made statements with victories. They included California 66-3 over Washington State (bringing the Bears into the AP Poll at No. 23), Florida State 69-0 over 1-AA Western Carolina, Iowa 42-0 over Florida International, Arkansas State 83-10 over 1-AA Texas Southern, TCU 67-7 over 1-AA Stephen F. Austin, Kansas State 69-10 over 1-AA Montana State, Baylor 51-6 over 1-AA Northwestern State, and Indiana 45-3 over 1-AA Murray State.

The excuse-me-while-I-limp-in winner of the week was Connecticut squeaking by Temple 12-9 in overtime.

Following the new AP Top 25 Poll released Sunday (9-7-08), key match-ups that will cause sparks this week include No. 5 Ohio State traveling to No. 1 Southern California, No. 10 Wisconsin traveling to No. 21 Fresno State, No. 13 Kansas traveling to No. 19 South Florida, and No. 18 Brigham Young hosting former No. 23 UCLA, which was idle over the weekend.

September 2, 2008

College Football – Week 1

No. 24 Alabama Stuns No. 9 Clemson 34-10, East Carolina Upsets No. 17 Virginia Tech

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

After a topsy-turvy 2007 college football season full of surprises, the 2008 college football season opened like business as usual. No less than 20 teams among the AP's Top 25 Preseason Poll won their opener.

It would be hard to call 2 of the 5 losing teams as an upset—No. 9 Clemson lost at home to No. 24 Alabama 34-10, and No. 20 Illinois lost to No. 6 Missouri 52-42 on the road. This was a preseason poll and all 4 teams were ranked.

The only three real upsets were No. 17 Virginia Tech's loss to host East Carolina, 27-22, since East Carolina was unranked, and No. 25 Pittsburgh losing its opener at home to unranked Bowling Green 27-17, and No. 18 Tennessee's overtime loss to host UCLA 27-24.

The 21 ranked winning teams racked up some pretty impressive opening victories:

No. 1 Georgia hosted and defeated 1-AA Georgia Southern 45-21. Georgia hosts Central Michigan next, another easy opponent.

No. 2 Ohio State hosted and shut out 1-AA Youngstown State 43-0. Ohio State hosts in-state rival Ohio next.

No. 3 Southern California (USC) traveled to Virginia and won easily on the road 52-7. USC takes a week off and then hosts Ohio State on Sept. 13, giving them lots of time to prepare for the Buckeyes.

No. 4 Oklahoma hosted and ripped apart 1-AA Chattanooga 57-2. Oklahoma hosts Cincinnati next, another lightweight.

No. 5 Florida hosted Hawaii and gave the Warriors a taste of top competition, 56-10. Florida hosts in-state rival Miami next.

No. 6 Missouri hosted and defeated No. 20 Illinois 52-42. Both of these teams should be good again this year, but it does not appear than either of them has a defense against a good offense. Missouri hosts in-state rival Southeast Missouri State next while Illinois hosts in-state rival Eastern Illinois. Both should win easily.

No. 7 Louisiana State (LSU) saw 1-AA Appalachian State coming to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge and promptly sent them packing with a 41-13 loss. LSU hosts Troy next. Troy should get run over.

No. 8 West Virginia hosted and defeated 1-AA Villanova 48-21. West Virginia travels to East Carolina next and the Mountaineers from the Big East Conference had better be on their game. The East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA are on a big time roll. Coach Skip Holtz led East Carolina past Boise State last year in the Hawaii Bowl, giving him two huge wins in a row.

No. 10 Auburn hosted and shut out Louisiana-Monroe 34-zip. Auburn hosts Southern Mississippi next.

No. 11 Texas hosted and smashed Florida Atlantic 52-10. Texas travels to in-state rival Texas-El Paso (UTEP) next, another easy opponent for the Longhorns.

No. 12 Texas Tech's pass-happy offense blew by 1-AA visitor Eastern Washington 49-24 and will travel to Nevada next.

No. 13 Wisconsin feasted on Akron 38-17 in the Badgers' home opener, and host Marshall next. Many pundits are looking at Wisconsin as a powerhouse in the Big Ten this year. Akron might agree.

No. 14 Kansas treated visiting Florida International like road kill in a 40-10 victory. The Jayhawks host weak Louisiana Tech next.

No. 15 Arizona State hosted and turned back 1-AA in-state rival Northern Arizona 30-13. Next up for the Sun Devils is visiting Stanford, which won a big game in its home opener against Oregon State 36-28.

No. 16 Brigham Young (BYU) hosted and stormed past 1-AA Northern Iowa 41-17 and now travels to Washington to face a young, inexperienced Husky team.

No. 17 Virginia Tech lost to host East Carolina 27-22 and should easily rebound when the Hokies host 1-AA Furman next. Trust me when I say it will not be a good day to be Furman. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, the master of special teams play, got beat when East Carolina's T. J. Lee scooped up his own blocked punt and ran it in for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:52 left to seal the Pirates' victory. Beamer and his band of Virginia Tech players will take it out on Furman. Virginia Tech should drop in the first regular-season AP Poll this week, especially since East Carolina was an unranked team.

No. 18 Tennessee traveled to UCLA and lost a heartbreaker to UCLA 27-24. The Volunteers led 14-7 at the half, led 14-10 after the 3rd quarter, watched UCLA take a 24-21 lead with 27 seconds left in the 4th quarter, managed to tie the game at 24, and then lost in overtime when UCLA's kicker made a 42-yard field goal and Tennessee's kicker missed a 34-yarder. The win represented the first game and first win for new coach Rick Neuheisel's UCLA coaching debut at his alma mater.

No. 19 South Florida hosted and stomped Tennessee-Martin 56-7. Next up for South Florida will be a trip to in-state rival Central Florida. South Florida surprised a lot of teams last year with a 9-4 record, including a 56-21 loss to Oregon in the Brut Sun Bowl.

No. 20 Illinois traveled to No. 6 Missouri and lost 52-42 in a high-scoring offensive shootout.

No. 21 Oregon hosted and put a licking on Washington 44-10. The Huskies, who only trailed 14-10 at the half, proved no match for Oregon's spread offense and speed. Oregon hosts Utah State next while Washington has its home opener against BYU. Coach Ty Willingham and his Washington players will be lucky to leave Husky Stadium with their shirts on after BYU gets done with them.

No. 22 Penn State hosted and stomped a mud hole in 1-AA Coastal Carolina 66-10. Penn State will host a very angry Oregon State team next. The Nittany Lions had better be ready because the Beavers play tough, hard-nosed football to say it kindly.

No. 23 Wake Forest traveled to Baylor and got the job done, 41-13.

No. 24 Alabama traveled to No. 9 Clemson and the Crimson Tide rolled out with an impressive 34-10 victory. We predicted that Clemson could be in trouble with a capital T, and in fact they were. Alabama led 23-3 at the half and outscored Clemson 11-7 in the second half. Alabama entertains Tulane next in the Crimson Tide's home opener. The Bryant-Denny Stadium will be rockin', and unless the Earth caves in, Alabama will be 2-0.

No. 25 Pittsburgh had its season opener at home against Bowling Green and came up short, losing to the Falcons from the Mid-American Conference, 27-17. Is Pittsburgh that bad? Yes. Bowling Green is a Mid-American Conference team and Pittsburgh plays in the Big East Conference. If Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt keeps this up, he will never get any respect. Are you aware that Bowling Green won the Mid-American East title last year, went 8-4 overall and played in the GMAC Bowl? Yes, the Falcons lost to Tulsa 63-7 in their bowl game, but at least they went.

Pittsburgh last year was 5-7 overall and spent the season sucking pond water. A lot of fans are in prayer in Pittsburgh, hoping the Panthers will get better. Will someone please inform rabid Panther Nation fans that it is OK to pray like it depends on God, but the Panther players need to act like it depends on them. Pittsburgh should fall right out of the first regular-season AP Poll and take its rightful place in obscurity.

Seven of the 8 non-ranked teams that needed to win their opener did. Only Michigan, which lost its opener at home last year to 1-AA Appalachian State 34-32, managed to lose again at home in the Big House to Utah, 25-23. The loss represented the first game and first loss for new coach Rich Rodriguez. Had Michigan not come up with 13 points in the last quarter, the Wolverines would have lost 25-10. Do you think they sell Utah jerseys in Ann Arbor? In fairness, Michigan did end up at 8-4 last year and did beat Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl.

The 7 non-ranked teams that won included:

Arizona over Idaho 70-0 (49-zip at the half), Arkansas over 1-AA Western Illinois 28-24 (don't laugh, at least the Razorbacks won), Boise State over 1-AA Idaho State 49-7, Boston College over Kent State 21-0, Connecticut over 1-AA Hofstra 35-3, Kansas State over North Texas 45-6, and Nebraska over Western Michigan 47-24 (the Cornhuskers still have a lot of work to do).

Add-on winners include Colorado at home over in-state rival Colorado State 38-17 (this game is in the same category as the Oregon-Oregon State civil war shootout every year), and Wyoming at home over Ohio 21-20 (many Wyoming backers have made big bucks betting on Wyoming at home over the years).

And my pick for game of the week? The mighty Buffalo Bulls (hear my mighty roar) scored in every quarter to paste visiting Texas-El Paso (UTEP) 42-17. Keep an eye on Buffalo. The Bulls, with coach Turner Gill, have decided to stop being the NCAA's doormat and start beating people because they can.

That's the story on this opening week wrap-up. Other teams may have played and won, but until they stop standing around and looking important rather than actually beating someone, they get no coverage here.

August 27, 2008

College Football Preview:

Only 5 Games Highlight First Week, 29 Others Must Win Their Opener

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Ah, finally, the first kickoff of the 2008 NCAA college football season opens Thursday (8-28-08) with 14 games scheduled, followed by 2 games Friday, 55 games Saturday, 2 more Sunday and 2 Monday. The most interesting game for the opening night is Buffalo hosting Texas-El Paso (UTEP).

Two years ago Turner Gill took over the Buffalo head coaching job. He only went 2-10 his first year but did defeat Kent State University, the FIRST team with a winning record that the Bulls had defeated in 8 years. Buffalo had been a doormat in the NCAA for far too long.

Gill's Bulls went 5-7 last year and 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference, Buffalo's first conference winning record since the Bulls became a Division I-A school. Gill was named MAC Coach of the Year. Turner Gill was part of 3 national championships as a coach at Nebraska, and his positive influence in Buffalo is becoming evident.

UTEP is interesting because of Mike Price, the former Washington State University head coach who led the Cougars for 14 years, compiling three 10-win seasons (he was 20-5 his last two seasons) and 5 bowl appearances.

Alabama hired Price away from Washington State but he never coached the Crimson Tide due to an off-field incident that resulted in a lawsuit that Price won against Sports Illustrated magazine. Price led UTEP to two consecutive 8-4 seasons and two bowl appearances, but then has had back-to-back 5-7 and 4-8 seasons.

The Buffalo-UTEP game is the most interesting game because either Turner Gill and Buffalo are going to continue to ascend the ladder of success, or Mike Price and UTEP are going to make a comeback. One coach will win and one will lose in this confrontation. We will let you know what happens if you miss the results on the tube.

Here are my choices for the 4 other games of real interest this week, two of which involve teams ranked in AP's Preseason Top 25 Poll.

Nick Saban starts his second year at Alabama (ranked No. 24) by traveling to Clemson (No. 9) for his opener. This was not what he had in mind when he signed on with the Crimson Tide, but then again, this is the Southeastern Conference (SEC), also known as (aka) the suicidially-energized conference. Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference could be trouble with a capital T.

The Big 12's Missouri Tigers (No. 6) will host Illinois (No. 20) from the Big Ten. Coach Gary Pinkel's Tigers went 12-2 last year and stomped Arkansas 38-7 in the Cotton Bowl. Heisman Trophy Finalist Chase Daniel will return as quarterback for the Tigers. All Daniel did last year was throw for 4,300+ yards and 33 touchdown passes and compile a QB rating of 147.9 (this is not a typo).

The other two highlight games find Colorado State traveling to Colorado for in-state bragging rights (this is no way to start the season for either team), and Mark Dantonio's Michigan State Spartans traveling to California. As a MSU alum I would to remind Dantonio that he will face much tougher teams than California this season—like Ohio State (No. 2), Michigan, Wisconsin (No. 13) and Penn State (No. 22).

Here are 21 teams ranked in the AP Poll that must win their opener to justify their preseason ranking:

Georgia (No. 1) hosts 1-AA Georgia Southern. Although this is an in-state rivalry, I doubt very much that Georgia is going to lose this game, especially if the Bulldogs plan on winning the BCS national championship game this year.

Ohio State (No. 2) hosts AA Youngstown State. Buckeye Coach Jim Tressel led Youngstown State to 4 National I-AA titles and 6 other playoff berths while coaching at Youngstown State, and he has not forgotten where he came from, giving Youngstown State a huge payday they would not otherwise enjoy.

Southern California (USC) (No. 3) travels to Virginia.

Oklahoma (No. 4) hosts AA Chattanooga. Are you serious, Mate? I would not want to be the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Florida (No. 5) hosts Hawaii. Give some real kudos to Hawaii for taking on a quality, Top 5 team on the road in its opener.

Louisiana State (LSU) (No. 7) hosts Appalachian State. Last year 1-AA Appalachian State had its opener at the Big House in Ann Arbor, upsetting the highly favored Michigan Wolverines. Trust me when I say Appalachian State will not be sneaking up on LSU.

West Virginia (No. 8) hosts AA Villanova. Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia last year for a bigger job at Michigan. Good luck, West Virginia.

Auburn (No. 10) hosts Louisiana-Monroe.

Texas (No. 11) hosts Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic just might be in for a thumping.

Texas Tech (No. 12) hosts AA Eastern Washington. Eastern Washington just might find out what an air attack is in college football. Eastern Washington has no chance to win this game. Last year the Texas Tech Red Raiders were No. 1 nationally in passing offense, No. 2 in total offense, No. 4 in pass efficiency offense and No. 6 in scoring offense. The game will be over before it starts. Even prayer will not help Eastern Washington.

Wisconsin (No, 13) hosts Akron.

Kansas (No. 14) hosts Florida International. Florida International could be nothing but road kill after this outing.

Arizona State (No. 15) hosts AA Northern Arizona. Watch out, Sun Devils, these in-state rivalries can be surprising.

Brigham Young (BYU) (No. 16) hosts AA Northern Iowa.

Virginia Tech (No. 17) travels to East Carolina.

Tennessee (No. 18) travels to UCLA. This game marks Rick Neuheisel's debut as the Bruins' head coach following his "problems" and exit from the University of Washington. Neuheisel has some proving to do. Remember a guy named Norm Chow (think Southern California's national championship team)? He is Neuheisel's offensive coordinator. The defensive coordinator is a guy named DeWayne Walker. Let's see if Neuheisel can put together a huge upset and a first-game win for the Bruins, Neuheisel's alma mater.

South Florida (No. 19) hosts Tennessee-Martin. Can you believe that South Florida was actually ranked as high as No. 2 nationally last year?

Oregon (No. 21) hosts Washington. Could Tyrone Willingham's Huskies find a way to win this game, and begin to save his coaching job at Washington?

Penn State (No. 22) hosts AA Coastal Carolina. Yikes, I would not want to be Coastal Carolina.

Wake Forest (No. 23) travels to Baylor.

Pittsburgh (No. 25) hosts Bowling Green. Once again, former NFL coach Dave Wannstedt tries to get his alma mater, the Pittsburgh Panthers, on the map as a major contender this season.

Here are 8 more unranked teams (favored teams first) that had better win their opener if they expect to do diddly squat this year:

Arizona hosts Idaho.
Arkansas hosts AA Western Illinois.
Boise State hosts AA Idaho State.
Boston College travels to Kent State.
Connecticut hosts AA Hofstra.
Kansas State hosts North Texas.
Michigan hosts Utah.
Nebraska hosts Western Michigan.

June 18, 2008

In Trouble Already: Ty Willingham

Get Excited: It's Only 11 Weeks Until Kickoff of the 2008 NCAA College Football Season

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It is only 11 weeks until the kickoff of the 2008 NCAA College Football Season. The best part of this week is that it is only 11 Saturdays until the Washington Huskies travel south to face the Oregon Ducks in their opener. Husky Coach Ty Willingham had better have his players ready to win.

It is a foregone conclusion that Willingham MUST lead Washington to a winning season and bowl appearance or his time as the Husky coach will be over.

Since Willingham started his first season in Seattle, Husky fans and boosters have been underwhelmed by his poor record. In 2005 Washington was 2-9 and last in the Pac 10 Conference. In 2006 Washington was 5-7 and next to last in the Pac 10. In 2007 Washington was 4-9 and last in the Pac 10. You get the picture.

An 11-25 record and zero bowl appearances have left Husky followers bewitched, bothered and bewildered. Stacked against Don James 18-year career record of 153-57-2 (72%), a 10-4 bowl game record, and winning 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992, Willingham's mark looks really lame.

The Washington Huskies have a proud football tradition that has fallen on hard times with Willingham at the helm. Prior to Willingham, the Huskies have won 15 Pac-10 Conference championships, 7 Rose Bowl titles and 2 NCAA national championships. No wonder Husky fans were slamming their helmets and pulling memorabilia off the rec room walls.

Washington has not had a winning season since 2002 (the last season under Rick Neuheisel), and has had 4 consecutive losing seasons for the first time in the history of Husky football. Yikes! Time to stop screwing around and get with it.

Willingham was given marching orders to get better coaches around him, and responded by hiring Ed Donatell as the new defensive coordinator and Brian White as the new tight ends/special teams coach.

Donatell is a veteran NFL defensive coordinator with both the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. Donatell seems like a no-nonsense kind of guy who could drop a player on his backside if needed.

White really made his mark at Wisconsin as the Running Backs Coach and Offensive Coordinator, helping the Badgers to 9 bowl appearances, including Rose Bowl selections in 1999 and 2000. He mentored 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, 2001 NFL first-round draft choice Michael Bennett, and 2001 Big 10 Freshman of the Year Anthony Davis.

There may be nicer, more patient, more loyal to loser coaches in America than Ty Willingham, but only God knows where he could be.

Willingham's main claim to fame at Washington has been to keep the program clean (no NCAA recruiting violations or other indiscretions), recruit some promising players to join freshman sensation Jake Locker, exude integrity, academic standards for players and good sportsmanship, and become President of the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees.

Winning football games (ultimately, the only reason he will remain head coach of the Huskies), on the other hand, has been very elusive for Willingham.

Up until now, Willingham and his Huskies have reminded me of what Lou Holtz had to say one fine Saturday—"When all is said and done, more is said than done." Lou Holtz had a way of cutting to the chase.

For Willingham, the future is clear: have a winning season in 2008 and go to a bowl game, or get gone.

2008 Washington Husky Football

December 22, 2008

He Makes 2 Quality Decisions

Steve Sarkisian - A Real Breath of Fresh Air for Washington's Huskies

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

He is apparently half-Armenian and half-Irish, 34 years old and the new head coach of the University of Washington's football team. Meet Steve Sarkisian, young, energetic, successful and excited about the opportunity to turn around the fortunes of the Husky football program.

That will not be as difficult a problem as Washington's current 0-12 season record might suggest. We are purposefully not mentioning the fired coach whom Sarkisian is replacing. Sarkisian and the University of Washington deserve a clean slate at this moment in time. The old guy is history better left unwritten.

Before he arrived in Seattle to be announced as the new coach, Sarkisian had never been head coach of a major college football program. Some pundits consider his hiring a liability because of his inexperience as a head coach. I consider his inexperience an asset because Sarkisian is not bringing with him a bunch of failed practices, tired beliefs about what worked 20 years ago, and old cronies as part of the coaching staff.

Just winning a single game next season will make him more successful than his predecessor.

Sarkisian has been the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the University of Southern California the last 2 years. USC is a national powerhouse led by head coach Pete Carroll. So what's the big deal with USC and Pete Carroll? Just this:

In the 7 years prior to this season, Carroll is 76-14 (84%) at USC, the best winning percentage of any current Division 1 coach with at least 5 years of experience. Carroll won National Championships in 2003 and 2004, won an unprecedented 6 consecutive Pac 10 titles and appeared in an NCAA record 6 consecutive BCS bowl games, won an NCAA record of at least 11 victories each season, and has been ranked in the AP Top 4 in each of those seasons.

This year the Trojans won their 7th consecutive Pac 10 title, and are again 11-1 going into their 7th consecutive BCS Rose Bowl appearance, this time against Penn State.

So what has Sarkisian had to do with Carroll's success? He was there 7 of the last 8 years, first as the quarterback coach and then as the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach the last 2 years. Sarkisian led the USC offensive effort while helping develop Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart (drafted by the Arizona Cardinals) and Carson Palmer (drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals). He also helped develop John David Brody (drafted by the Minnesota Vikings).

It's also one thing to coach quarterbacks when you haven't been one or been a very successful one, and another thing to do so as a great college quarterback, which Sarkisian was at Brigham Young University.

After two years at a community college, Sarkisian started for BYU as a junior, passing for 3,437 yards and 20 touchdowns. He finished his first season by going 31-for-34 for 399 yards and 3 touchdowns in BYU's 45-28 victory over Fresno State, setting an NCAA record for completion percentage (91%), and 2 of his 3 incompletions were intentionally thrown out of bounds to avoid the pass rush.

As a senior, Sarkisian passed for 4,027 yards and 33 TDs with a 173+ pass efficiency rating, the best in the NCAA. BYU finished the regular season at 13-1, won the Western Athletic Conference Championship and then beat Kansas State 19-15 in the Cotton Bowl. He was selected as WAC Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team NCAA All-American.

While Washington will be Steve Sarkisian's first head coaching job, he is clearly a winner as a player and a winner as a coach at USC.

Thus far, Sarkisian has made 2 quality decisions—he accepted the challenge at Washington and he didn't keep any of the holdover coaches from the 0-12 team he inherited. Nice work, Steve. Who wants or needs winless coaches?

Sarkisian's first order of business (besides hiring a staff and recruiting like there is no tomorrow) will be to change the culture of Washington's program by restoring a winning attitude with belief.

Only time will tell how much success Sarkisian will enjoy with the Washington Husky football program, but one thing is for sure: Athletic Director Scott Woodward's decision to hire him is a giant step in the right direction.

December 21, 2008

Stoic and Unrelenting

Despite the Protestations, It Really Was All About Tyrone Willingham

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

He would have made a great Roman soldier, the strong, disciplined, determined, unemotional type ready to go into battle. The problem at the University of Washington was that he went into battle with the responsibility of being a football coach, not a soldier. So Tyrone Willingham received an early retirement from Husky Stadium.

Now he will have to find other stadiums to do battle. Please, do not feel badly for Ty Willingham. He has his pride, his integrity and his losing record to accompany him elsewhere.

In 4 seasons with Willingham, the Huskies went 11-37 (23%), racking up a winless 0-12 record this year, the worst in Washington's school history and also the worst ever by a Pacific 10 Conference team. After the season-ending 48-7 loss to California on the road, a local newspaper headline said it best, "Huskies Deliver What Willingham Asks: Zero".

Prior to the final defeat, Willingham was asked if his last game as Husky coach would be sentimental for him. He answered, "It won't. Not from me . . . It's always been about our football team and our football players, and hopefully never about me."

This from a man and football coach who was always demanding respect, not giving respect to earn respect. He was indifferent about being liked by fans, boosters and media representatives. You could aptly call him the "grim warrior".

In short, he was difficult to like. He conducted closed practices, keeping his supporters at bay. He took the names off of the players' uniforms, diminishing their importance. He shielded his players, denying them the opportunity for personal growth. Clearly, he would not win any personality contest on the best day in his life. He was withdrawn, but extremely sensitive to any suggestion of a perceived slight, criticism or hint that he was not obviously a man of integrity.

While his players provided the respect he demanded and never had a bad word to say about him, they also played far short of their potential. Perhaps it didn't help that their coach had the personality of an ashtray, making it a badge of honor not to show any emotion whatsoever. Any positive accomplishment of a player was hardly noticed or celebrated; there was always more work to be done and more improvement to make.

Despite all of the protestations from Tyrone Willingham, it really was all about Ty Willingham and not the players, fans, boosters, university and media coverage. They all played second fiddle to Willingham's incessant need to be himself. He was doing his best to lead, but no one was inclined to follow. Had he turned around while he was leading, he would have found no one behind him.

Whatever success Willingham had in coaching did not come with him to the University of Washington. He came to a traditionally proud, winning program that had slid into mediocrity and left it totally winless and the worst in school and Pac 10 history.

Was it time for Ty Willingham to take a hike? You better believe it.

November 6, 2008

Football Teams That Lose

All 3 Main Washington Teams Get Scorched, Outscored by Only 140-7

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The State of Washington's three main football teams—the Washington Huskies, the Washington State Cougars and the Seattle Seahawks—all lost last weekend by a combined score of 140-7 (not a misprint).

The No. 7 Southern California Trojans shut out the Huskies 56-0. How bad was it? Well, the Huskies turned the ball over 3 times and Southern Cal scored touchdowns on its first 6 possessions of the game.

It was the Huskies first shutout since a 38-0 loss at Southern Cal in 2001, their worst loss since their 65-7 disaster at Miami in 2001, and their worst shutout loss since a 58-0 beating they took at Oregon in 1973. The Huskies have been outscored this season 113 to 333. Yes, they have no offense, no defense, no special teams play and no apparent coaching results.

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham has been told to hit the road after this season but chose to hang around for the last 4 games before departing. This tactic has some fans and boosters scratching their head, wondering if this has not become a festering sore in such a negative environment.

The Stanford Cardinal shutout the Cougars 59-0. How bad was it? Well, the Cougars had 4 turnovers and 3 dropped passes that gave Stanford a quick 31-0 lead and things just kind of went downhill from there.

There are 3 more Pac 10 games remaining on the Cougars' schedule yet they have already broken the Pac 10 Conference record for most points allowed in league games—a whopping 350.

The Conference records date from 1916. Who knows how many more points the Cougars will add to their new record before this season mercifully comes to an end. Overall, the Cougars have been outscored this season 111 to 443.

The Seahawks were burned at home by the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-7. Were it not for a 90-yard, record-setting pass and run play from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson on Seattle's first play of the game, the three Washington teams would have been shutout 140-0. The Seahawks have been outscored this season 151 to 210.

The Washington Huskies are 0-8 thus far, the Washington State Cougars 1-8 and the Seattle Seahawks 2-6. Their combined record is 3-22. The three teams have been outscored by a combined 375 to 986.

It is not the year for football in Washington. An entire sports depression hangs over the state like a pestilence in the Middle Ages.

The Seattle Mariners lost more than 100 games this year with a $100 million payroll, setting a major league record for investment futility. The Seattle Supersonics were hijacked out of town and surfaced as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When you add up the consecutive losses between the three main Washington teams mentioned, the number is 14. Fourteen straight losses. If that is not some kind of record, it should be.

Is there no end in sight? We will find out this weekend when the Huskies face Arizona State, the Cougars face Arizona, and the Seahawks face Miami. Some folks would not give you 2 cents for the chances of any of them winning. It may be the first election hangover since Barack Obama became President-elect of the United States.

October 30, 2008

College Football

Washington's Athletic Director Finally Makes the Right Move – Fires Coach

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Scott Woodward, the University of Washington's newly appointed permanent athletic director, has made it official that Tyrone Willingham will not be back for another season as the Huskies' head football coach.

Willingham will stay on to coach the team's 5 remaining games and then leave with a $1 million buyout. Willingham was in his 4th year of a 5-year contract.

His Huskies are currently 0-7 this season following a 33-7 slapping by Notre Dame last Saturday (10-25-08) on the Huskies' home turf. Their 7th straight loss of the season meant that the Huskies will end the year with a losing record and elimination from bowl eligibility.

Only a fool trapped in an outhouse for the last 5 years would not know that it was not if but when Willingham would go. With any kind of luck whatsoever Willingham's entire staff will go with him right out the front door.

Washington's football program needs some new faces, new game plans, new offensive and defensive schemes, new personalities, new life and new excitement before all of its fans leave Husky Stadium and never return.

Only a very inexperienced chief administrator or a broke fool would think that fans and boosters will open their pockets to fund a new or remodeled stadium for a losing team. People with money do not invest their hard-earned dollars in organizations that continually lose, and that look like losers, talk like losers and walk like losers.

People with money are more apt to give their money to an organization or charity that is upscale and already has something going on. The reason is simple—winners want to run with winners or organizations they perceive, with some cash input, will become winners soon.

Sanity keeps me from actually talking about Washington's performance against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Oh, all right, if you must know here are the Husky offensive statistics for the game: 26 yards rushing, 98 yards passing, 124 yards of total offense. That is all you need to know.

If we were in Biblical times, the players and coaches probably would have been dodging rocks before they left the stadium. If you think I exaggerate, you have not seen the Huskies play since their franchise quarterback Jake Locker was injured earlier in the year.

By all accounts Ty Willingham is a stand up guy. He works hard, he is honest, he is straightforward, he has integrity, he is not looking for shortcuts or handouts. He wants to get on in this world by the sweat of his own brow, lifting himself up by his bootstraps to become successful in today's competitive world of coaching on a national stage.

As a big time coach at Washington, he simply could not win more games than he lost, and a whole lot of paying customers (fans and boosters) thought he could not coach victories at Washington if his life depended upon it. His record at Washington was 11 and 32 (11 wins and 32 losses) after seasons of 2-9, 5-7, 4-9 and 0-7 so far this year.

His backers say that no one could have turned the program around at Washington quickly. There is too much evidence to the contrary, and it explains why his backers are so few and jumping ship like passengers on the Titanic.

Mark Dantonio took over a program at Michigan State that was 4-8 and went 7-6 his first year and to a bowl game, he is currently 7-2 this year and ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Current Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster went 1-11 in his first season last year and is 7-1 this season and currently ranked No. 20 in the Top 25 Poll.

When Mike Price went to UTEP, he took over a team that had won only 2 games in each of its last two seasons. In his first year, Price went 8-4 and to a bowl, in his second year he went 8-4 and to a bowl game. Do not waste your breath telling me the head coach does not make a difference. The head coach can make all the difference in the world.

Speculation is rampant on the Washington campus in Seattle and really all around Western Washington about who will replace Ty Willingham. It is very likely that the Washington powers to be will set their sights on a high-profile coach meaning, among other things, that a successor may not be announced until the current bowl season is over.

Until then, they would be interviewing more losers than winners, like we don't know what that's about.

October 23, 2008

Losing Has Become Contagious

It Is Not a Good Idea to Have a Football Team Anywhere Near Seattle, Washington

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The losing tradition and slide to mediocrity among the State of Washington's three marquee football teams really started at the end of last season when Washington State ended its season by traveling to Seattle and beating arch-rival Washington 42-35 in Husky Stadium. The Cougars ended their season at 5-7.

Washington then traveled to Hawaii and lost to the Warriors 35-28, ending its season at 4-9.

The Seattle Seahawks would end their regular season last year at 10-6 before beating the Washington Redskins 35-14 in their first playoff game, and then being eliminated 42-20 by the Green Bay Packers in the second round.

What has happened to the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks since then has been horrific—all three of the state's flagship football teams have inadvertently raised losing to an art form. Here is the score:

The Washington Huskies have not won a game this season, losing 6 straight times (and 8 times including last year's two season-ending losses). They have been beaten by Oregon 44-10, Brigham Young 28-27, Oklahoma 55-14, Stanford 35-28, Arizona 48-14 and Oregon State 34-13. They have been out scored 244 to 106.

Not to be outdone, the Washington State Cougars managed to beat 1-AA Portland State 48-9 but have lost 7 other games. They have been beaten by Oklahoma State 39-13, California 66-3, Baylor 45-17, Oregon 63-14, UCLA 28-3, Oregon State 66-13 and Southern California 69-0. They have been out scored 385 to 111.

The Cougars have given up 60+ points 3 times, and their 69-0 shutout loss to Southern Cal was the first time Washington State has not scored in 280 consecutive games, dating back to 1984, 24 years ago. First year coach Paul Wulff has to be beside himself implementing his system with on-the-field players he did not recruit.

The Seattle Seahawks managed to beat the St. Louis Rams 37-13 but have lost 5 other games. They have been beaten by Buffalo 34-10, San Francisco 33-30, the New York Giants 44-6, Green Bay 27-17 and Tampa Bay 20-10. They have been out scored 171 to 110.

In total, Washington's three flagship teams this season have a current combined record of 2-18 and have been out scored 800 to 327. It is currently not a good idea to have a football team anywhere near Seattle or in the State of Washington.

The talent pool at Washington and Washington State is dreadful; the losses run up by the talent pool of the Seahawks are inexcusable. Excuses aside, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, Washington State coach Paul Wulff and Seattle Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren are having terrible seasons.

But what about the fans and supporters? I thought you would never ask. They are not taking it very well. They are angry, upset and intolerant of failure. Sounds pretty normal to me. Who wants to back a bunch of losers?

It certainly does not take any talent to lose. Unfortunately, the prospect of any of these teams doing diddly-squat this year is slim to none, and Slim left town a long time ago.

October 9, 2008

College Football:

Washington's Huskies Don't Need a Bye Week, They Really Need a Bye Season

October 2, 2008

College Football:

 So Who Are the Current Worst Players in Division 1-A Football in the Nation?

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

There is some good news for the 10 worst Sagarin-ranked Division 1-A teams in the nation—they are not the worst team in the nation.

When we pose the question, "So who are the current worst players in Division I-A football in the nation?", Army (ranked 190th among 119 Division 1-A teams), Idaho (180th), Eastern Michigan (171st), North Texas (152nd), Southern Methodist (148th), Kent State (145th), Alabama-Birmingham (140th), Louisiana-Monroe (138th) and Washington State (136th) can all breathe a sigh of relief. The spotlight will not be on them.

There are actually 31 other teams (too numerous and irrelevant to mention here) ranked lower than the current worst team in 1-A football.

The worst team after college football's 5th week is ranked 90th by Sagarin, and is none other than the University of Washington Huskies.

This is not an idle designation or flippant comment, the Washington Huskies have earned this dubious distinction based on their non-performance on the field of battle.

Among other considerations that qualify Washington as currently the worst 1-A team in the nation are these irrefutable facts:

1) Washington is the only winless Bowl Championship Series team in the country.

2) Washington is the only winless team from a major conference, and is only 1 of 3 winless teams among the 119 schools in the NCAA's Bowl Subdivision (called Division 1-A by normal people left over from earlier generations). North Texas (0-4) and Army (0-4), both mentioned earlier, are the other winless teams.

3) Washington has zero (zip, nada) quarterback sacks this season, and ranks last among 119 teams in quarterback sacks nationally. Apparently the Husky defenders do not know who to tackle when, or are unable to advance far enough on defense to get the job done.

4) Washington's defense ranks dead last in tackles for loss. They have 13 in 5 games and every other team has more.

5) Washington ranks 118th among 119 teams in total defense (yards given up).

6) Washington ranks 114th among 119 teams in scoring defense.

7) Washington ranks 116th among 119 teams in rushing defense.

8) Washington ranks 119th among 119 teams in pass efficiency defense.

9) Stanford, the Huskies last opponent and last home game opponent, came in averaging 272 yards of offense and walked out of Husky Stadium with a 35-28 win and 466 yards of offense.

The new Husky defensive coordinator this year is Ed Donatell, a former successful defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. This should give you some idea of the current lack of defensive talent at the University of Washington. Last year Washington's defensive secondary could not cover my grandmother. Apparently this year's version of a secondary is even less capable.

Jake Locker, Washington' top offensive threat, broke the first metacarpal of the right thumb on his throwing hand, so reserve redshirt freshman quarterback Ronnie Fouch will take over. Fouch's backups will be walk-on redshirt freshman Taylor Bean and true freshman Luther Leonard. If Washington had no bad news, they would have no news at all.

On the bright side, the Washington Huskies have played the toughest schedule among all 245 Division 1-A and 1-AA schools, according to the Sagarin's ratings. Some pundits thought that if Huskies did not beat Stanford when they had the chance, they might not get a win all year. They just might be right.

It looks like it is going to take some serious growing up and playing up for the Huskies to do anything except diddly-squat.

Read my 5-Part series on Distance Running that involves dieting, weight loss and physical conditioning::

"Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight - Part 1"

"How Lectins (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types - Part 2"

"Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat - Part 3"

"How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice - Part 4"

"There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency - Part 5"

September 20, 2008

College Football:

Oklahoma Scores on 7 Straight Possessions at Husky Stadium to Slam Washington, 55-14

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Hurricanes are nonexistent in the Pacific Northwest but one blew in Saturday (9-13-08) from Oklahoma as the Sooners scored on 7 straight possessions to obliterate the University of Washington Huskies, 55-14.

So how bad was it for the Huskies?

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was 18-for-21 passing for 304 yards and 5 touchdowns. Operating out of a no-huddle offense, the sophomore is completing 79% of his passes with 12 TDs and 2 interceptions. Last year Bradford set an NCAA record for freshmen with 36 touchdown passes.

Oklahoma runner Chris Brown gained 110 yards. His teammate DeMarco Murray gained 100 yards.

Oklahoma led 34-0 at the half, then the Sooners yawned and scored another 21 points in the second half.

Sooner Coach Bob Stoops celebrated his 100th win for Oklahoma at the expense of Washington. Stoops reached the 100-win mark faster than any coach in history except for Penn State's Joe Paterno.

Washington lost 3 fumbles, missed 2 field goals and punted 3 times in a terrible first half of play.

The defeat for Washington was its worst since 1929, 79 years ago. The rumor that the Huskies did not play the game is totally false; they were just knocked around and sometimes flat on their back. The last time Washington went 0-3 to start a season was in 2004.

Washington started 4 true freshmen against Oklahoma and has played at least 10 true freshmen or redshirt freshmen in an attempt to find someone to run with its outstanding sophomore quarterback Jake Locker. Locker needs more talent and speed around him so Washington can win some games, show some dramatic improvement, and save Ty Willingham his coaching job.

Knute Rockne said it best, "One loss is good for the soul, too many losses is not good for the coach."

Make no mistake, there is a reason Oklahoma is rated No. 2 in AP's Top 25 Poll. For the record, Washington has thus far played the 2nd toughest schedule among the 119 1-A teams to start the season. The Huskies opened against then No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Brigham Young.

Washington's next 3 opponents are Stanford, Arizona and Oregon State, all of which are unranked and have a combined 4-5 record. Perhaps Washington's first win is just around the corner.

On the other hand, Washington's rushing offense is ranked 101st nationally, its passing offense 77th, total offense 94th and scoring offense 100th. The Husky defense is even more underwhelming with its rushing defense rated 109th, passing defense 111th, total defense 116th and scoring defense 112th. All of this is among 119 big school teams.

September 10, 2008

Every Call Is a Judgment Call

College Football's First Controversial Gaffe May Have Cost Washington a Huge Upset

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Taking University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker out of a college football game is like taking Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James out of the National Basketball Association, or taking Tom Brady out of the National Football League, but that is what effectively happened last Saturday (9-6-08) in Seattle.

A controversial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jake Locker was a prime topic of conversation over the weekend by fans, coaches, play-by-play announcers, sports commentators and officials in 49 of 50 states. A survey revealed that the only state that agreed with the call was Utah.

That was because it was the No. 15-ranked Brigham Young University Cougars who benefited from the call, barely getting out of Husky Stadium with a 28-27 win. Utah is home to BYU.

Pacific-10 Conference referee Larry Farina leveled the 15-yard penalty on Locker for tossing the football into the air after scoring a touchdown with 2 seconds remaining in the game. A successful Washington extra point attempt would have tied the game at 28 all.

The penalty made the Dawg's extra point attempt a 35-yard effort rather than a 20-yard attempt. More important, it raddled a team of young, inexperienced players, allowing the attempt to be blocked as time expired, ending what could easily have been an overtime game.

We will never know if the extra point attempt would have been made from 20 yards out because the referee effectively took the game out of the hands of the players and coaches in favor of interpreting the rule book by the letter of the law.

Obviously embarrassed by the call upon reflection, and by the fan and player reaction after the game, referee Larry Farina issued this statement in defense of his call:

"It is a celebration rule that we are required to call. It was not a judgment call," said Farina to the media representatives.

David Perry, national coordinator for college football officiating, thought differently. While saying the penalty was correct (according to the rules), Perry added that ALL calls are judgment calls. Amen, David, amen.

Jake Locker was clearly not taunting any BYU player. He was not looking at any BYU player, throwing the football at any BYU player, speaking to any BYU player, or gesturing to any BYU player. He was simply excited about scoring a touchdown on the last possible play of the game to create an opportunity to tie the game and settle the outcome in overtime.

Even the national coordinator for college football officiating conceded that the penalty could not have been called if judgment was exercised, saying "I think it's safe to say on emotional moments officials might become a little more lenient."

Of course, Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall totally agreed with and defended the call. Why not? It was in his best interest to do so. Even Washington coach Ty Willingham initially agreed with the call, taking the side of the referee. On Monday, Willingham, perhaps the nicest, most politically correct, polite coach in college football, changed his mind.

"I think we all know that was not the right call," Willingham said. "The proper judgment was not used. That was not the act of a young man taunting. That was not an unsportsmanlike act at all. It should have been viewed in its totality and not just isolated as the letter of the law."

Thank you, Ty, for going to bat for your most important player, one of the most exciting and talented players in college football today. Thank you for going to bat for your team, for the University of Washington, and for fans everywhere who were reacting to the unjustified call.

It is the officials and head referee that set the standard for sportsmanship in any game, and in this case, Larry Farina could have made a better call.

In Husky nation, there is no rest for the weary. Washington, now 0-2 after facing No. 18-ranked Oregon and No. 15-ranked Brigham Young to open the season, will host No. 3-ranked Oklahoma next. Rather than adding insult to injury by sharing with you how much trouble Washington will have beating Oklahoma, this is all you need to know:

Oklahoma is 783-295-53 in its 114th season of football. The Sooners have won 7 Associated Press national championships, 41 conference championships, 24 bowl games, have gone undefeated 14 times, have an NCAA-record 30 (yes, 30) 10-win seasons, and have set the NCAA big-school record with a 47-game winning streak between 1953 and 1957.

Ouch! Good luck, Washington, and God speed. I will try to remember you in my prayers, knowing that it is OK to pray for a victory like in depends on God, but much better to act like it depends on you (the Huskies). They find in Oklahoma that the bigger, faster, more talented the Sooner players are, the better prayer works in the Dust Bowl.

September 3, 2008

Husky Football:

It Is Going to Be a Very Long Season for Washington's Football Program

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

If Washington's football program was Southern California's football program, it might be right on target to say the Huskies picked up right where they left off last year.

All Southern Cal has done the past two years is go 10-2 twice in the regular season and then beat Michigan 32-18 in the 2006 Rose Bowl and beat Illinois 49-17 in the 2007 Rose Bowl. The Trojans traveled to Virginia for their opener on the road this year and won easily, 52-7.

Unfortunately for the Washington Huskies, they did pick up right where they left off last season, only it was losing big time once again in their opener at Oregon. The Ducks brushed aside all of Washington's months-long preparation (or lack of preparation) for the game, winning 44-10 while piling up 496 yards of offense.

So what should we have expected? Last year Oregon beat Washington 55-34, and the Ducks won 34-14, 45-21 and 31-6 in the prior three outings, giving Oregon a 5-game win streak over Washington, the longest consecutive butt-kicking in a series that started in 1900.

So what were the major positives for Washington Huskies Saturday night? Well, they found Eugene, they showed up for the game on time, and they had their uniforms on correctly.

Once they hit the Autzen Stadium turf, Washington's vaunted offensive line was conspicuously absent, affecting their new-look running game as true freshman starter Chris Polk gained 19 yards on 14 carries, and sophomore Brandon Johnson gained 13 yards on 7 carries.

Polk may be fast, Polk may be shifty, but the Duck defenders had absolutely no problem finding and tackling him. Chris Polk learned a lot about the real experience difference between high school football and Pac 10 football on the road against a quality team in a hostile stadium. At least Duck Nation was not throwing bottles at the Huskies.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Locker, Washington's major offensive threat, was held in check by Oregon's defense. When it became apparent that there would be no Husky passing attack because of a lot of dropped balls and inexperience, Oregon was able to stack the box with more players than chocolates in a See's candy box. The Duck defensive secondary is so good they can play man-to-man coverage, allowing sometimes 8 defenders near the line of scrimmage.

Poor Jake Locker. He had to be looking around and noticing that he had less support around him than last year when the Huskies went 4-9 and were dead last in the Pac 10.

The Huskies have 24 true or redshirt freshmen on the team, two of them—5-foot-11, 200-pound running back Chris Polk and 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive lineman Senio Kelemete—started against Oregon.

Polk and Kelemete were among 8 true freshmen who played their first college football game Saturday night. The others were 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver Devin Aguilar, 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, 5-foot-8, 161-pound wide receiver Jordan Polk (no apparent relation to Chris Polk), 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end Kavario Middleton (he caught 4 passes for 35 yards), 6-foot-2, 348-pound defensive lineman Alameda Ta'amu, and 6-foot-6, 255-pound defensive end Everette Thompson.

The bottom line to the game: Oregon's players were more experienced, more talented and much quicker. As Washington's former, legendary coach Don James used to say, "Speed kills."

And don't you just love coach Ty Willingham's comment after the debacle, "This was one that we didn't anticipate." This, after 4 years of beatings and 9 months to prepare for the Ducks. Willingham has the personality of an ashtray and the emotion to match.

You can always count on Ty to give you a stunner of a quote after a game. Other favorites are "We played really hard" or "We thought we had a chance to win this football game" or "We thought we were in this game."

Washington's next opponent? I thought you did not have enough interest to ask. Try hosting No. 16-ranked Brigham Young (BYU), the two-time defending Mountain West Conference champions and owners of the nation's longest winning streak (11 games after its opening game 41-17 victory over 1-AA Northern Iowa).

Washington should upset Brigham Young, assuming that pigs fly. After the Huskies lose to BYU and Oklahoma, they will be 0-3 when they start their Pac 10 conference play against Stanford.

2008 Michigan State Spartan Football

November 11, 2008

College Football

The Curse Is Now Over - Michigan State Avoids Its Customary Late Season Collapse

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

When 16 seniors walked out of Spartan Stadium in East Lansing Saturday after their 9th victory of the year against Purdue, their greatest legacy will be that they were the class that broke the curse—the dreaded Michigan State curse of starting fast and finishing poorly.

Prior to Mark Dantonio becoming coach last season, former coach John L. Smith started the 4 prior seasons at 18-4 and finished at 4-22. In 2003, it was a 7-1 start and a 1-3 finish. In 2004 it was a 4-3 start and a 1-5 finish. In 2005 it was a 4-0 start and a 1-6 finish. In 2006 it was a 3-0 start and a 1-8 finish. That is what is called a curse.

Mark Dantonio started last season at 2-4 and finished at 5-2. The Spartans went 7-6 and wound up in a bowl game. After beating Purdue 21-7 at home Saturday (11-8-08), the Spartans are 9-2. Michigan State lost its opener at California, reeled off 6 straight victories, took a beating by Ohio State 45-7, but has rebounded with another 3 straight wins.

The curse is officially over. Dantonio has changed the culture at Michigan State from "it's all about me" to "we are one". He has demanded discipline, focus, performance and accountability. His players now believe they can win, and have learned how to close out a game and win, again, again and again.

The Spartans catch a bye this week and then take on the 7th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on the road to end their season. When Saturday started, Penn State was 9-0 and ranked No. 3. After getting upset by Iowa 24-23 in Iowa, Michigan State now has a chance for a share of the Big Ten title for the first time since 1990.

The Spartans' conference record is 6-1 while Penn State and Ohio State are both 5-1, leaving Michigan State a half-game ahead in the standings at the moment. Penn State faces Indiana before its showdown with the Spartans. Ohio State faces Illinois and Michigan to close out its season.

Michigan State is currently ranked 18th in the AP Top 25 Poll. The Spartans have everything to gain and nothing to lose against Penn State as the Nittany Lions are ranked 7th and will be favored on their turf. The Spartans will not be expected to win, and should they win they would gain at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Michigan State (9-2) is not blowing the socks off of teams right now, like Florida, Alabama and Texas Tech, but they will still earn a bowl game of much more significance this year, even if they lose to Penn State as expected.

What has been so interesting about Michigan State this year is that the Spartan defense has outplayed its statistics. Among the 119 Division 1-A teams, Michigan State ranks 75th in rushing defense, 59th in passing defense and 37th in scoring defense. They are ranked 18th in the nation among all teams but are not among the top 25 teams in any of these defensive categories.

When push came to shove against Purdue, the Spartan defense darn near had a shutout. Their offense had 4 turnovers Saturday but the defense held tough.

Michigan State stopped Purdue on its first 15 possessions of the game, including a 14-yard sack on a 4th-and-5 at the Spartan 27-yard line, and a minus 1-yard stop on a 4th-and-1 at the Spartan 29-yard line. On its 16th possession, the Boilermakers finally put together a 16-play, 88-yard drive for their only touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game.

With only 19 seconds left in the 1st half and Michigan State leading 7-0, freshman defensive back Johnny Adams stepped in front of a Justin Siller pass and returned the interception 40 yards to give the Spartans a 14-0 halftime lead. Again, the defense not only held but scored to help the offense.

Here is a fact that has not been mentioned by sports reporters and analysts around the country: Of teams with 9 or more victories, there are only 9 teams that have fewer losses than Michigan State after college football's 11th week of play.

They are Texas Tech (10-0), Texas (9-1), Alabama (10-0), Oklahoma (9-1), Penn State (9-1), Utah (10-0), Boise State (9-0), Ball State (9-0) and Brigham Young (9-1). The Spartans are in pretty heady company by any standard of measure.

Can Michigan State beat Penn State? Penn State just lost to Iowa on the road, 24-23. Sure, JoPa (coach Joe Paterno) is hopping mad at missing out on another national title. Michigan State hosted and beat Iowa 16-13. In college football, anything can and will happen.

November 7, 2008

College Football

Swenson's Last Second Field Goal Lifts Michigan State Over Wisconsin

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

A great special teams player can win you a critical game when your offense is staggering and your defense is stalled.

Meet Brett Swenson, a 5-foot-8, 169-pound junior kicker out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Pompano Beach (FL). He put his foot down in the Michigan State-Wisconsin game Saturday (11-1-08) with 7 seconds left and kicked a 44-yard field goal to lift the Spartans to a 25-24 victory.

Running out of time, the Spartans scrambled to set up for a field goal, but were helped when the Badgers called a timeout with 12 seconds left. Then the Badgers called their last timeout, hoping to rattle Swenson, only to watch Swenson take his helmet off, laugh and then make the field goal.

"The first timeout helped me because it gave me a chance to relax after rushing on the field," said Swenson after the victory. "The second timeout, I thought was funny because he was trying to ice me and I knew that wouldn't work."

Prior to the 44-yard game winner, Swenson kicked field goals of 27, 21 and 50 yards.

Without Swenson kicking butt and taking names, Michigan State loses a game it should not lose. With Swenson the Spartans log their 8th win of the season against 2 losses. More important, the plague of collapsing late in the season is now starting to become a thing of the past.

To say that coach Mark Dantonio's presence has not make a tremendous difference in the consciousness of the Michigan State University football program is to ignore Brett Swenson's confidence when he lines up to make a field goal. Swenson just might be the best college field goal kicker in the country.

When you compete for a spot in a BCS bowl game or a major bowl game, a great, reliable kicker is a key player you want on your side. In 10 games, Swenson has made 19 of 23 field goal attempts with 6-of-6 between 40 to 49 yards and 1-of-2 from 50+ yards. He also endured a couple of bad snaps and bad holds.

Michigan State was not on top of its game against Wisconsin and was not on top of its No. 22 standing in the AP Top 25 Poll. By winning, the Spartans are now ranked No. 18 in the same poll. Voters boosted Michigan State's fortunes because they recognize that the Spartans were 11 points down in the 4th quarter and came back to win. Secondly, they know that despite Wisconsin's 4-5 losing record, is the best 4-5 team in the country.

Michigan State is 8-2 for just the second time in 4 decades and will play in consecutive bowls for the first time since the end of the Nick Saban era in the late 1990s.

The Spartans host Purdue this Saturday and end their season on the road at Penn State on Nov. 22.

October 26, 2008

Notes From an Absolute Homer:

Any Day That Michigan Loses and Michigan State Wins Is a Great Day

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Ah "how sweet it is" as Jackie Gleason used to say on "The Honeymooners" comedy sitcom in the late 1960s.

Any day that Michigan loses a football game and Michigan State wins a football game is a great day. When Michigan State beats Michigan (as happened today, Saturday, 10-25-08) it is a glorious day.

That would be because Michigan State had not beaten Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor since 1990, 18 years ago. The Spartans finished 8-3-1 that year, became Big Ten Co-Champions at 6-2, and beat Southern California 17-16 in the John Hancock Bowl. The coach was George Perles.

Michigan State's last victory over Michigan was a 26-24 win at home in 2001.

The Spartans huge win Saturday pushed their record to 7-2 for just the 3rd time in 40 years. First-year coach Rich Rodriguez and his Wolverines are having their worst season since 1962, when Michigan finished 2-7 and tied a school record for losses. The Wolverines now have lost 4 games at home this season for the first time in 4 decades, and 4 in-a-row overall for the first time in 41 years

Michigan, which has college football's winningest program, now has to win its final 4 games—three of which are on the road, including one at Ohio State—just to be eligible to play in a 34th straight bowl game.

Michigan State's victory was even sweeter because a blown call by a replay official gave Michigan a touchdown in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Had the Spartans not ultimately won, the Wolverines would have benefited from a touchdown it did not score when Brandon Minor's 19-yard catch near the end zone was declared out of bounds.

A replay official upstairs in the stands overturned a correct ruling on the field, giving Minor a TD because his foot hit a pylon on his way out of bounds. The NCAA rule book states that "A player or an airborne player who touches a pylon is out of bounds".

The replay official clearly blew the call, which was so blatant, so stupid and so unnecessary it makes you wonder if the replay official in question is a University of Michigan graduate.

The game was tied at 21 when the 3rd quarter ended. Michigan State's Javon Ringer scored his second TD on a 3-yard run midway through the 4th quarter, and Brian Hoyer's 3rd TD pass meant the Spartans outscored the Wolverines 14-zip in the last quarter, lifting Michigan State to a 35-21 victory over the once-mighty Michigan Wolverines.

Ringer, Michigan State's Heisman candidate, picked up 194 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on 37 carries (5.2 yards per carry). Hoyer was 17-for-29 for 282 yards and a season-high 3 TD passes, one a 61-yarder to Blair White. White finished with 4 catches for 143 yards, an outstanding game for the walk-on junior wide receiver.

The Spartans out gained Michigan 473-252, their highest total in a win at Michigan Stadium in a half-century and their most lopsided victory in the rivalry since they beat Michigan 34-0 at the Big House in 1967.

Michigan State also out rushed Michigan in its victory Saturday, 167-84, a fact that is significant since the team that has rushed for the most yards has won 35 of the last 38 games in their rivalry.

The Spartans next host Wisconsin, a 4-4 team that beat Illinois 27-17 Saturday. Should Michigan State beat Wisconsin and Purdue at home, the Spartans would then be 9-2 when they travel to Penn State for their final regular season game.

After Saturday's victory over the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and his Spartans deserve to bask in glory for at least 15 minutes before they turn their attention to those nasty Wisconsin Badgers, who will arrive at Spartan Stadium all too soon.

October 22, 2008

College Football:

After 6 Straight Victories, Michigan State Is Still Not Ready for Prime Time Action

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Let there be no doubt that the turnaround in Michigan State University’s football program under Mark Dantonio is for real. It is just going to take more than two years to achieve a rise to national prominence with an appearance in a lofty BCS bowl game.

After an opening season loss on the road and 6 straight victories, the No. 20 Spartans hosted No. 12 Ohio State at home Saturday (10-19-08) and nothing went right. The Buckeyes, who have now beaten Michigan State 7 straight times, jumped to a quick 28-0 half time lead and capitalized on 3 Spartan fumbles and 2 interceptions to win 45-7. The Buckeyes converted the 5 turnovers into 21 points, killing any Spartan momentum.

The Buckeyes 21 points in the first quarter was against a Michigan State team that had not allowed a first-quarter point in its first 4 home games this season, and had not given up more than 17 points a game at home overall.

Michigan State was off to its best start since 2003, but seemed to show it is still not ready to be a prime-time contender against Ohio State, which has flat dominated the Big Ten in recent years.

Michigan State’s Heisman candidate, Javon Ringer, was held to 67 yards on 16 carries, and starting quarterback Brian Hoyer was 5-for-13 passing for 27 yards and an interception. Ringer did not fumble, but Keshawn Martin, Blair White and backup QB Kirk Cousins did, resulting in 70-yard and 48-yard touchdown runs.

Throw out the interception and fumble due to inexperience, and backup quarterback Cousins, a redshirt freshman, was not that bad at all, going 18-for-25 for 161 yards and a touchdown to Charlie Gantt.

The Buckeyes true freshman QB Terrelle Pryor was awesome, completing 7-of-11 for 116 yards and a TD, and rushing 72 yards on 12 carries with an 18-yard TD. Chris “Beanie” Wells added 140 yards on 31 carries and 2 TDs for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State played much better on defense and Michigan State did too much to help them look good by committing the 5 turnovers. Prior to Saturday’s rout, the Spartans had only lost the ball 6 times in their first 7 games.

The win, which was Ohio State’s 7th straight over Michigan State, kept them atop the Big Ten Conference race, tied with Penn State at 4-0. The win knocked MSU right out of the AP Top 25 and moved Ohio State up from No. 12 to No. 10.

The Buckeyes will now be shooting for their 4th straight Big Ten title and perhaps a 3rd straight appearance in the BCS national championship game.

Michigan State now faces Michigan at Michigan, where the Spartans have not won since 1990. Yikes! Michigan State (6-2) has to shake off the Ohio State flop at home and win on the road at Michigan for the first time in 18 years to keep the pollsters thinking the Spartans will have a better year this year than last.

The Spartans have worked hard to create a 6-2 record and must appreciate that effort, understanding that even more hard work could carry them by Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue, leaving them at 9-2. Even if Michigan State loses to currently unbeaten Penn State in its last game, it would still leave them with a 9-3 record and a better shot at a more prestigious bowl game. The Spartans were 7-6 last year.

October 17, 2008

College Football:

Michigan State (6-1) vs. Ohio State (6-1), the Spartans' Biggest Game in 8+ Years

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Michigan State hosts Ohio State Saturday (10-18-08) in a showdown to see who will get a distinct edge in their race for the Big Ten championship. Both teams have 6-1 records and are undefeated at 3-0 in Big Ten play going into the contest at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing (MI). Ohio State is ranked No. 12 and Michigan State No. 20 in the current AP Top 25 Poll.

For Ohio State, it is a critical game but a match-up the Buckeyes have won the last 6 times they have faced the Spartans. The Buckeyes won 27-13 in 2000, 33-23 in 2003, 32-19 in 2004, 35-24 in 2005, 38-7 in 2006 and 24-17 in 2007. They did not meet in 2001 and 2002. Ohio State is confident and knows how to win against Michigan State, whether at home or on the road.

For Michigan State, it is also a critical game but so much more. It is simply the biggest game in the last 8 years. It is another opportunity for the Spartans to show they CAN beat Ohio State and break their 6-game losing streak against the Buckeyes. It is a home game for the Spartans, adding even more pressure to perform.

Michigan State's last great day in the sun and last victory over Ohio State came in 1999, when the Spartans beat the Buckeyes 23-7 at home, went 10-2 on the season, and won the Citrus Bowl 37-34 over Florida.

One early line on this game had Ohio State favored by 3.5 points on the road. Michigan State will probably be an underdog at home and why not? The Spartans have not been able to get it done (win) the last 6 times out against Ohio State.

Ohio State's only loss came on the road at Southern California, a 35-3 drubbing. Michigan State lost its opener on the road to California, 38-31, and has since reeled off 6 consecutive wins, the latest coming last Saturday on the road at Northwestern 37-20.

Against Northwestern, the Spartan defense used a couple of Wildcat turnovers to go up 17-0 in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Javon Ringer, MSU's rushing machine, picked up 124 yards on 35 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Brian Hoyer went 14-for-20 for 169 yards and 2 TD passes. Brett Swenson kicked field goals from 26, 42 and 34-yards out.

Ohio State is known for its defensive play, partly because of Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, who was the defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes national championship team in 2002. Dantonio helped create and sustain the defensive tradition at Ohio State and now he is doing the same thing in his second year as the head coach at MSU.

Dantonio is the real deal. In his first year at Michigan State last year, the Spartans won 7 games and lost 6, but all 6 losses were by 7 points or less. Last year Northwestern quarterback C. J. Bacher threw for a school-record 520 yards and the Wildcats won 48-41 in overtime. This year Bacher was limited to 283 yards and Northwestern lost. That is huge progress for Michigan State.

Ohio State's defensive statistics are better than Michigan State's through their first 7 games. The Buckeyes are 23rd nationally in rushing defense; the Spartans are 60th. Ohio State wins in passing defense, 16th to 87th; total defense, 12th to 68th, and scoring defense, 13th to 25th. The Spartans do top the Buckeyes in turnover margin, +10 to +7.

While the defensive statistics do favor Ohio State, one thing is for sure—this is the best Michigan State team that the Buckeyes have faced in 8 years. Normally, Michigan State would have folded its tent and gone home at this point in the season. That did not happen last year (the Spartans won their last 4 games) and it has not happened this year.

The Spartans have decided that the hunting season has just started, and they have the Buckeyes clearly in their sights. Anything short of a victory for the Spartans would be failure once again. Anything short of a victory for the Buckeyes just might signal a possible changing of the guard in the Big Ten.

October 10, 2008

College Football:

Best Spartan Defensive Stop in 8+ Years Propels Michigan State Past Iowa, 16-13

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It was Dinah Washington who popularized the song "What a Difference a Day Makes" in 1959. It was linebacker Adam Decker who made a key 4th-down stop in the last quarter Saturday (10-4-08) to preserve a 16-13 victory over Iowa.

Decker's decisive tackle of bruising tailback Shonn Greene on a 4th-and-1 from the Spartan 21-yard line gave Michigan State its 5th straight victory, and ultimately pushed the Spartans into the AP Top 25 Poll with a 5-1 record.

I could not hear Decker's tackle in Michigan watching the game on the tube from Washington in the Great Pacific Northwest, but my spirit could. I thought immediately of the legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne who said, "It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it."

Decker's tackle may well turn out to be the most important defensive stop at Michigan State since the Spartan football program last rose to national prominence in 1999, going 9-2 under Nick Saban and earning a trip to the 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl where they beat Florida 37-34.

Decker is a 6-foot-2, 238-pound junior who played at Brother Rice, a Catholic high school in Rochester Hills (MI). Decker and his fellow "S Troops" did not just talk the talk Saturday but walked the walk as they stepped up and made stop after stop when it counted and the game was on the line. My nomination for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week is the entire Michigan State defensive team led by Adam Decker.

While coach Mark Dantonio is far from a deity, he has slowly but surely begun to change the culture of Michigan State football to one of belief and closing out games to win. Gone is the "it's all about me" mentality. Now it is "we are one".

What exactly are you talking about? I thought you would never ask. I am talking about how the Spartans have folded like a cheap K-Mart deck chair during the 4 years prior to Mark Dantonio's arrival last year, replacing John L. Smith.

Under Smith, Michigan State started the 2003 season at 7-1 and finished 1-3. In 2004, the Spartans started at 4-3 and finished at 1-5. In 2005, they started at 4-0 and finished at 1-6. In 2006, they started at 3-0 and finished at 1-8.

When totaled, Smith started these 4 seasons at 18-4 and finished at 4-22. Case closed.

Now let's see if we can discern a difference in how Mark Dantonio's first season last year went. Dantonio started at 2-4 (new coach, new system, new competence) and finished at 5-2. Do I detect some progress here? How could I not. This year Dantonio's Spartans lost their first game and have now strung together 5 straight victories.

I cannot underestimate the importance of Mark Dantonio to the Michigan State football program.

At the halfway point in the season, most sane pundits (especially University of Michigan and Ohio State supporters) would argue that Michigan State could lose its next 6 games against 5-0 Northwestern, 5-1 Ohio State, 2-3 Michigan, 3-3 Wisconsin, 2-3 Purdue and 6-0 Penn State. Yes, they could. Anything is possible in college football, which is why college football is more exciting than pro football.

But what if the culture Mark Dantonio has been preaching doesn't just arrive but sticks in the minds of the Spartans? Is it beyond reality to think that the Spartans could be 6-1 when they face Ohio State at home in 2 weeks? To do so, Michigan State must travel to unbeaten Northwestern and win this Saturday (10-11-08).

Let's let Dantonio and the Spartans decide what happens.

October 4, 2008

College Football:

Michigan State Got the Message in an Away Game: Just Win, Baby, Just Win

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Most football teams, even mediocre ones, can play like a winner at home even if they have not won on the road in two years. So when a Big 10 contender wins on the road, you have to do a double take and wonder, how far could they advance toward a major bowl game?

This pretty well describes Michigan State's recent (9-27-08) 42-29 victory on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Spartans won the first half 27-22 and won the second half 15-7. They scored in every quarter and shut out Indiana in the 4th quarter.

Michigan State faced some adversity and overcame it. Late in the 3rd quarter Indiana came up with a 97-yard touchdown pass that appeared to put the Hoosiers in the lead, but their right guard was called for holding in the end zone, giving the Spartans a safety and a 36-29 lead.

After adding a couple of 4th quarter field goals by Brett Swenson, MSU left with a well-earned 42-29 road win. Give some props to Swenson, who successfully kicked 4 field goals from 45, 48, 45 and 32 yards. An accurate long kicker is critical to success in major bowl games.

In a game that was not decided at the end of the 3rd quarter, there were 2 safeties, a blocked punt and 3 replay reviews. None of it mattered as much as the Spartans 4th consecutive victory with star running back Javon Ringer averaging 204 yards rushing in the 4 wins.

Ringer had so much running success coming in that Indiana sought to limit his yardage, forcing him to carry the ball 44 times for 198 yards. You could hardly call that containment. When it really mattered in the last quarter, it was Ringer running time after time, eating up the clock and preserving the margin of victory. Ringer also scored another rushing touchdown and now has 12. He continues to lead the nation in rushing TDs.

Brian Hoyer had some dropped passes by receivers (one of which was an easy touchdown), but still ended up going 14-of-26 for 261 yards, including an 82-yard scoring pass to Charlie Gantt. Hoyer also scored a rushing TD on a 1-yard plunge.

Indiana did lead the game 7-6 at one point, but was no match for the Spartans when push came to shove.

Next up for Michigan State is a homecoming game against Iowa on Saturday.

The Spartans, now 4-1, have not broken into the AP Top 25 Poll but have moved up to 27th place with only Maryland and 25th place Wake Forest between them and the 25th spot. Should they beat Iowa and Northwestern the next two weeks, their chances of making the Top 25 are excellent.

Michigan State fans are just beginning to see what a great hire head coach Mark Dantonio has been. Like Tom Izzo in basketball and Walt Drenth in cross-country and track & field, Dantonio is a winner who can take the Spartans to a national championship. Preps in Michigan are beginning to think of Michigan State first now rather than the Michigan Wolverines.

September 25, 2008

College Football:

Michigan State and Javon Ringer Deliver a Rush to Notre Dame's Fighting Irish, 23-7

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

When you are a 5-foot-9, 202-pound running back and you can squat 620 pounds in a dead lift, you have great strength and balance in your legs to keep moving when a huge defensive lineman, linebacker or safety tries to tackle you.

Let me introduce you to Javon Ringer, Michigan State's star running back.

After running over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 23-7 Saturday (9-20-08) at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said, "You want to feature your best player, and right now, that's our tailback."

So Dantonio sent Ringer running 39 times against Notre Dame's defense (the Irish knew he was coming and could not stop him), and Ringer just ran and ran and ran for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ringer became the first player in Michigan State history to rush for 200 yards in consecutive games.

"You can hit him and hit him and he just keeps coming," lamented Norte Dame coach Charlie Weis.

The Fighting Irish did not help themselves too much by giving up 3 fumbles and missing 2 field goals. Oh well, that is Charlie Weis' problem.

The Spartan defense announced themselves by limiting Norte Dame to minus 5 yards on its first two possessions.

Michigan State led 13-0 going into the 4th quarter and then the Spartans had Ringer carry the ball on all 7 plays to cap off a 77-yard drive into pay dirt with 2:16 remaining. It is getting a little easier to coach at Michigan State, you just give the ball to Ringer, get yards, control the clock, and win.

Ringer leads the nation in scoring with 11 touchdowns in 4 games. He is also second in rushing nationally with 699 yards, averaging 4.89 yards per carry.

Donald Brown of Connecticut leads the nation in rushing with 716 yards in 4 games. Shun White of Navy is ranked 3rd and averaging 10.68 yards per carry with 673 yards. White's average will drop when Navy actually plays a team with a rushing defense.

So far White has gained his yards against 1-AA Towson (a junior varsity team in 1-A competition that is giving up an average of 322 yards rushing per game), Rutgers (ranked 106th among 119 1-A teams), Ball State (ranked 104th) and Duke (ranked 82nd).

Let's see how many yards Shun White gets against TCU, Louisville, Georgia, Florida State, Kentucky, Southern California, Penn State, Alabama, Louisiana State and Utah. Actually, he will get zero since Navy doesn't play anybody worth talking about. Their toughest game may be against Wake Forest, which is ranked 33rd in rushing defense.

Michigan State next travels to Indiana to face the Hoosiers, who are not exactly ripping it up. Indiana won games against 1-AA Western Kentucky and 1-AA Murray State before hosting Ball State of the Mid-American Conference (now 4-0) and losing 45-3. Last time I checked, Indiana was in the Big Ten but you could not tell by its first three opponents.

Michigan State does not play 1-AA teams. The Spartans prefer to scrimmage on their practice field at home.

It is true that Indiana could pull off a huge upset against Michigan State. Anything can happen in college football. It is also true that Michigan State could create some new plots in Memorial Stadium. It is more likely that the Spartans will leave Indiana with a 4-1 record; the score in victory will be irrelevant.

For those who know and understand the Sagarin college football ratings, the Spartans have climbed from No. 51 during preseason to No. 30 this week. If Michigan State keeps winning, they will appear in the AP Top 25 Poll soon.

September 19, 2008

College Football:

Michigan State's Javon Ringer After 3 Games: 498 Yards Rushing and 9 TDs

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

One of the big reasons why Michigan State has won its second game in a row is senior running back Javon Ringer.

The Spartan defense was able to shut out visiting Florida Atlantic Saturday 17-0 behind the running of Ringer, who had a career-high 282 yards rushing on a career-high 43 carries while scoring 2 touchdowns.

Ringer, a 5-foot-9, 202-pound battering ram and speedster, has now rushed for 498 yards in 3 outings (166 yards per game, 4.79 yards per carry) and scored 9 touchdowns. He leads all 1-A runners in TDs and ranks No. 3 among runners.

His gains have come against California, Eastern Michigan and Florida Atlantic, all of which are not exactly the Great Wall of China against the run. California ranks 31st in rushing defense, Eastern Michigan 97th and Florida Atlantic 107th among 119 1-A schools.

Ringer is one of the top running backs in the country. Shun White of Navy is ranked No. 1 with 588 yards (196 yards per game) and Donald Brown of Connecticut is No. 2 with 566 yards (188 yards per game).

Shun White is averaging 12.51 yards per carry, a statistic hard to believe since Navy is rated 115th in passing offense (translation: Navy is not going to beat you with the pass). Navy is also ranked No. 1 in rushing offense with 370 yards per game. Knowing this, why are teams not putting 8 men in the box and stopping White short of 12 yards per carry?

White's yards have been gained against Towson, Ball State and Duke, not exactly powerhouses either.

How Ringer would do against the 5 best rushing defenses in the nation remains to be seen. The current top 5 teams against the rush are Alabama (42 ypg), Florida State (43 ypg), TCU (43+ ypg), Indiana (45 ypg) and LSU (48 ypg). The only team Ringer will face in the regular season is Indiana, which Michigan State visits on Sept. 27.

Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 5 of 15 passes for 88 yards with an interception and no TD passes against Florida Atlantic. If you are wondering why Michigan State is running Ringer so much, now you know. They are getting very little performance and leadership from Brian Hoyer (a 5th year senior) and a lot of performance and leadership from Javon Ringer.

Michigan State hosts Notre Dame Saturday (9-20-08) and then starts its Big Ten schedule against Indiana.

So how far will Michigan State go this year? Do not worry about it. Just keep running Javon Ringer until someone can stop him.

September 11, 2008

College Football:

Michigan State's Javon Ringer Scores Five Times in 42-10 Victory Over Eastern Michigan

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Mark Dantonio's Michigan State Spartans logged their first victory of the season Saturday (9-6-08) behind 5-foot-9, 202-pound senior Javon Ringer, who rushed for 135 yards on 34 carriers (almost 4 yards a carry) and scored 5 times as the Spartans crushed Eastern Michigan 42-10.

Ringer scored twice in MSU's opening 38-31 loss at California, so he now has 7 rushing touchdowns on the year. It is a tall order, but if Ringer can score twice a game for the next 10 games, the Spartans may be able to improve on their 7-5 record from last year.

Ringer was either missed or bypassed by the Ohio State coaching staff when he graduated from Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School in Dayton (OH). One would think that Ringer might want to stick the ball in some interesting places when the Spartans hook up with the Buckeyes on the third Saturday in October.

It appears that MSU's passing attack behind 5th year senior Brian Hoyer is going nowhere fast. Let's just say that teams are not planning their whole defensive strategy around the play-making ability of Hoyer.

There is a reason that Hoyer was 8-for-12 for 148 yards (translation = don't screw up) against Eastern Michigan, which was 4-8 last year, losing while Bowling Green and Central Michigan were winning in the Mid-American Conference.

Unlike the Spartans, teams who play the Washington Huskies do plan their whole defensive strategy around containing the play of redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Locker. National analysts and commentators are quick to recognize that Locker could be outstanding as a quarterback, running back, receiver or strong safety. Locker has the talent and play-making ability that Hoyer does not.

A stout, lockdown defense and a strong running game will take Michigan State farther than Hoyer's arm and field leadership. A running game eats up the clock and keeps your opponent's offense off the field

I suggested that the Spartans should ride the Eastern Michigan Eagles like Seabiscuit at Pimlico, and they did. Michigan State scored touchdowns in each quarter and scored two TDs in both the 2nd and 4th quarters. Ringer scored on runs of 4, 6, 2, 1 and 2 yards. He could have had a 6th TD had he not fumbled 3 yards from pay dirt on Michigan State's opening drive.

Last year I watched the Spartans crush the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) 55-18 in their opener, and MSU looked unstoppable and unbeatable, running over, around and through UAB for 298 yards.

Then they played better competition and started looking more beatable every week. MSU gave up a ton of points last year while losing to more developed programs at Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. Michigan State's biggest win last year came at home against an 8-4 Penn State team, 35-31.

The Spartans host Florida Atlantic (1-1) next, not exactly a powerhouse but a 7-5 team last year (just like MSU's record last year), co-champions of the Sun Belt title with Troy at 6-1, and winners of the New Orleans Bowl over Memphis, 44-27.

The Spartans could and should win this home game by 3 touchdowns, otherwise, tougher opponents on their schedule might get the idea that Michigan State is not that big of a deal.

September 4, 2008

Spartan Football:

For the Michigan State Spartans, 7 Has Become a Very Uncomfortable Number

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

In all 6 of their losses last year, the Michigan State Spartans' margin of defeat was only 7 points or less. In their opener on the road at California this year, they lost 38-31 and their margin of defeat was again 7 points or less.

This year starts the second season under Mark Dantonio's tutelage and there are at least three things you can say with certainty about the Spartans—they are in every loss to the end, they play tough, and they give up a lot of points on defense.

In their last 7 losses, Michigan State has given up 233 points (33+ a game) and scored 195 (27+ a game). Appreciate the fact that it is difficult to win games in Division 1-A (what the NCAA likes to call its Football Bowl Subdivision) when you are spotting your opponent 5 touchdowns a game.

Dantonio thrives on defense. He was the architect of Ohio State's defense on its 2002 National Championship team as the defensive coordinator. He is still one to two years away at Michigan State from recruiting his kind of players and getting them productive on the field. Trust me when I say that he is getting tired of being scored on in the meantime.

Jeff Tedford's California Bears went 5-0 to open last season, rose to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 Poll, and then finished the regular season a disappointing 1-6 before beating Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Against Michigan State, California once again got off to a fast start when Bryant Nnabuife returned a blocked punt for the first score and Cal took a 17-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

After struggling on offense for three quarters, the Spartans were able to convert 3 third-down plays and got a roughing-the-punter gift penalty during a 97-yard drive that ended with Javon Ringer's 10-yard TD scamper, pulling within 3 points at 24-21. Shane Vereen ultimately broke loose on an 81-yard scoring run to put Cal on top with 4:21 left.

Michigan State connected on a 29-yard scoring pass from Brian Hoyer to Mark Dell to pull within 7, and had another opportunity to try and tie it at midfield but Hoyer threw 4 straight incompletions to end the game.

Brian Hoyer is a 5th-year senior quarterback for the Spartans. His stats on the game were 20-for-48 (41%) for 321 yards and 1 TD pass, all of which might be OK but when the game was on the line there was no leadership and good decision-making from Hoyer. Senior Javon Ringer took 27 carries to gain 81 yards rushing and scored twice.

Last year Michigan State scored 33+ points a game and ranked 29th nationally in scoring offense, but Mark Dantonio must realize that he has a real problem on defense.

The Spartan defense is so porous they need to borrow that umbrella from the Morton's salt packaging label. You cannot give up 5 touchdowns a game and comfortably win more games than you lose. You have to shut teams down with a lockdown defense that says we are going to shorten the field for you until you go nowhere.

Another issue concerns players who are big and bad. No matter how ugly you play, when you lack speed you cannot catch the player running by you. Michigan State lacks speed. California was a much faster team and that advantage alone helped them win and Michigan State lose.

The Spartans next host in-state rival Eastern Michigan, which rushed for 413 yards and shut out 1-AA Indiana State 52-0 in its home opener. If Michigan State expects to have any kind of season at all, the Spartans need to ride the Eastern Michigan Eagles like Seabiscuit at Pimlico.

Editor's Disclaimer: I am a proud Class of 1966 graduate of Michigan State University and a total homer when the Spartans are winning. When they are constantly losing, I do not give them space on my blog, but I do not discriminate in the sense that no team gets a lot of space on my blog when they are losing, I avoid losers like the plague. I am not as interested in participating as I am in winning.

2008 College Football Feature Articles

December 20, 2008

Just Ask the Texas Longhorns

Final BCS Standings Show Why It's Better to Lose Early Than Late

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The Florida Gators will remember their 4th game of the season when they hosted Mississippi and were upset 31-30 after winning their first 3 games. The Oklahoma Sooners will remember their 6th game when they hosted Texas and were upset 45-35 after winning their first 5 games.

Florida would go on to win its next 8 games and then beat Alabama 31-20 to win the SEC Championship and a spot in the BCS National Championship Game Jan. 8 in Miami. Oklahoma would go on to win its next 6 games and then beat Missouri 62-21 to win the Big 12 Championship and the right to face Florida in the National Championship Game. Both teams are 12-1 going into the National Championship.

The Texas Longhorns will remember their 9th game of the season when they traveled to Texas A&M and were upset 39-33 after winning their first 8 games. Texas would go on to win its next 3 games and then watch helplessly as Florida and Oklahoma won conference championships and rose in the BCS Standings to determine who would play in the National Championship Game.

While Florida, Oklahoma and Texas all had a rightful claim to be in the NCAA's final game, Texas became the odd man out despite beating the Oklahoma Sooners on their own turf.

The final, cumulative BCS Standings showed Oklahoma with a BCS Average of 0.976, Florida at 0.948 and Texas at 0.930, with a mere 18 one-hundreds of a point separating Florida and Texas. The BCS Average is calculated by averaging the percent totals of the Harris Interactive and USA Today polls, and 6 different computer ranking services.

So what looked like a phenomenal win for Texas against Oklahoma early on really meant absolutely nothing when push came to shove. Florida's last game win over a then No. 1-ranked, 12-0 Alabama team meant everything

As has been the case in most years, teams can lose a game early in the season and still come back to qualify for the National Championship Game, but a team that loses a game late in the season pays a terrible price. Florida, Oklahoma and Texas all finished the regular season at 11-1.

The strong finish by both Florida and Oklahoma scored points with the pollsters. Florida won its last 8 games and SEC Championship by an average score of 49-13. Oklahoma won its last 6 games and Big 12 Championship by an average score of 59-29, and averaging more than 60 points in its last 5 games. When you combine their scores to finish the season, Florida and Oklahoma beat opponents by an average of 108-42. It is doubtful that the National Championship Game on Jan. 8 will be won by a score of 9-3.

With this year's Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma facing off against last year's Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida, expect some sparks to fly. Bradford has thrown for 4,464 yards with 48 TD passes against 6 interceptions. Tebow has thrown for 2,515 yards with 28 TD passes against 2 interceptions.

December 17, 2008

Who Plays Who and When

Complete, Detailed 2008 College Football Bowl Game Schedule

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

There will be 34 college football bowl games this year, so 68 of the 119 Division 1-A schools (57%) will compete in bowl games. Ridiculous? Nah, more like asinine or bovine of the NCAA to allow this to happen.

The powers to be allow it to happen because they are greedy. The coaches love it because they are allowed more practice days to hone player skills for next year, and it also implies they have had a successful season. Nothing could be further from the truth. At least nine teams should not be playing bowl games.

They are Colorado State, Memphis, Mississippi, Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, North Carolina State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. None of these teams could win more games than they lost; each finished the regular season at 6-6. There should be an NCAA rule that says if you do not have more wins than losses, you cannot play in a bowl game.

Notre Dame has such a big money contract that if the Irish were 4 and 8 they would probably play in a bowl game. The Fighting Irish have not won a bowl game in so long they end up playing Hawaii (7-6) in the Hawaii Bowl, and Notre Dame is not even favored to win the contest.

Here is a rundown of all the bowl games, who plays who and when (all games are EST—Eastern Standard Time):

Saturday, December 20

Navy (8-4) vs. Wake Forest (7-5) in the EagleBank Bowl at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

Colorado State (6-6) vs. Fresno State (7-5) in the New Mexico Bowl at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

South Florida (7-5) vs. Memphis (6-6) in the St. Petersburg Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Brigham Young (10-2) vs. Arizona (7-5) in the Las Vegas Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Sunday, December 21

Troy (8-4) vs. Southern Mississippi (6-6) in the New Orleans Bowl at 8:15 p.m. on ESPN.

Tuesday, December 23

Boise State (12-0) vs. TCU (10-2) in the Poinsettia Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve

Notre Dame (6-6) vs. Hawaii (7-6) in the Hawaii Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Friday, December 26

Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (6-6) in the Motor City Bowl at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Saturday, December 27

North Carolina (8-4) vs. West Virginia (8-4) in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

Wisconsin (7-5) vs. Florida State (8-4) in the Champs Sports Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.

California (8-4) vs. Miami, FL (7-5) in the Emerald Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Sunday, December 28

Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (6-6) in the Independence Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Monday, December 29

Rutgers (7-5) vs. North Carolina State (6-6) in the Papajohns.com Bowl at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

Missouri (9-4) vs. Northwestern (9-3) in the Alamo Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Tuesday, December 30

Maryland (7-5) vs. Nevada (7-5) in the Humanitarian Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Oregon (9-3) in the Holiday Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Rice (9-3) vs. Western Michigan (9-3) in the Texas Bowl at 8 p.m. on NFL.

Wednesday, December 31, New Year's Eve

Air Force (8-4) vs. Houston (7-5) in the Armed Forces Bowl at Noon on ESPN.

Oregon State (8-4) vs. Pittsburgh (9-3) in the Sun Bowl at 2 p.m. on CBS.

Boston College (9-4) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6) in the Music City Bowl at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Minnesota (7-5) vs. Kansas (7-5) in the Insight Bowl at 6 p.m. on NFL.

LSU (7-5) vs. Georgia Tech (9-3) in the Chick-fil A Bowl at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Thursday, January 1, New Year's Day

Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5) in the Outback Bowl at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (9-3) in the Capital One Bowl at 1 p.m. on ABC.

Clemson (7-5) vs. Nebraska (8-4) in the Gator Bowl at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Southern California (11-1) vs. Penn State (11-1) in the BCS Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. on ABC.

Virginia Tech (9-4) vs. Cincinnati (11-2) in the BCS Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Friday, January 2

Texas Tech (11-1) vs. Mississippi (8-4) in the Cotton Bowl at 2 p.m. on Fox.

East Carolina (9-4) vs. Kentucky (6-6) in the Liberty Bowl at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

Utah (12-0) vs. Alabama (12-1) in the BCS Sugar Bowl at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Saturday, January 3

Connecticut (7-5) vs. Buffalo (8-5) in the International Bowl at Noon on ESPN2.

Monday, January 5

Texas (11-1) vs. Ohio State (10-2) in the BCS Fiesta Bowl at 8 p.m. on Fox.

Tuesday, January 6

Tulsa (10-3) vs. Ball State (12-1) in the GMAC Bowl at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Thursday, January 8

Oklahoma (12-1) vs. Florida (12-1) in the BCS National Championship Game at 8 p.m. on Fox.

November 24, 2008

Unbeaten But Untested

Boise State & Ball State, Both 11-0, Are Really Overrated Top 25 Teams

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Both Boise State and Ball State are 11-0 so far this season and have earned some bragging rights. After all, they are 2 of only 4 teams that remain undefeated among the 119 Division 1-A schools at this point in the college football season. Utah is 12-0 and Alabama is 11-0.

Entering Saturday's competition (11-22-08), Alabama was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll, Utah was No. 8, Boise State was No. 9 and Ball State No. 14. Perhaps even more important, the BCS Standings had Alabama at No. 1, Utah at No. 7, Boise State at No. 9 and Ball State at No. 17.

I do not have any problem with Alabama and Utah's rankings in either poll, but I have some serious problems with Boise State and Ball State being ranked so high.

The players, coaches, fans, boosters and citizens of Boise, Idaho (home of the Boise State Broncos) and of Muncie, Indiana (home of the Ball State Cardinals) should be understandably fired up about their teams' success.

There should be a lot of hoopla and hollering going on in Boise and Muncie. It is not easy to go undefeated through 11 games when you compete at any level.

Having said that, my gag complex is on red alert because I think both Boise State and Ball State are hardly the 9th and 17th best teams in the nation, according to the BCS Standings. Strength of schedule apparently has no influence in the BCS Standings.

Entering Saturday's competition, Boise State's strength of schedule was 123rd and Ball State's was 127th among the 119 Division 1-A schools, according to the Sagarin College Football Ratings.

This means that both teams have built their unbeaten records on teams that are—on average—less than Division 1-A caliber. I find this a serious chink in their armor.

Last season, the Hawaii Warriors waltzed their way to a 12-0 record before gaining a BCS Sugar Bowl date with Georgia, and then losing 41-10 to the Bulldogs. And exactly how did Hawaii build that undefeated 12-0 mark that left them with a No. 10 ranking in the AP Top 25 Final Poll? Glad you finally asked. Here's how:

The 12 teams the Hawaii Warriors whacked had a combined 53-92 won-loss record for a lofty .365 (37%) win percentage. Their victims included 1-11 Northern Colorado (a 1-AA team), 1-11 Idaho, 2-10 UNLV, 2-10 Utah State, 4-9 New Mexico State, 4-9 Washington, 5-7 Louisiana Tech, 5-7 San Jose State, 5-6 Charleston Southern (another 1-AA team), 6-6 Nevada, 8-4 Fresno State, and 10-2 Boise State.

You could call Fresno State and Boise State good teams with a straight face. I am not sure what the other 10 teams are except mediocre, bad to terrible.

So was Hawaii really the 10th best team in the country going into the Sugar Bowl? Not on your life. The fact of the matter is that Hawaii could have been easily beaten by far more teams than they played last year.

Not to be outdone by Hawaii, this year no less than 3 unbeaten teams from non-major conferences have risen up out of the ashes with hopes of a BCS Bowl Game opportunity—12-0 Utah from the Mountain West Conference, 11-0 Boise State from the Western Athletic Conference, and 11-0 Ball State from the Mid American Conference.

I have no problem with Utah since their strength of schedule is only 4 points less than No. 1-ranked 11-0 Alabama, 72 to 76. If you are wondering, No. 3 Florida (10-1) rated 8th in strength of schedule and No. 4 Texas (10-1) rated 7th in strength of schedule going into Saturday's competition.

If Alabama makes it to the BCS National Championship Game, the Crimson Tide could be in for a little surprise.

Boise State has built its undefeated 11-0 record this year by winning against teams with a combined 58-77 record for a .429 (43%) win percentage. The Bronco victims have included 1-11 Idaho State (a 1-AA team), 2-10 Idaho, 2-9 Utah State, 3-8 New Mexico State, 5-6 Bowling Green, 5-6 Southern Mississippi, 6-6 San Jose State, 6-5 Hawaii, 6-5 Nevada, 7-4 Louisiana State, 7-4 Fresno State, and 8-3 Oregon.

You could call Fresno State and Oregon good teams but the rest of them are not even on the radar screen of good by any measure.

The Boise State Broncos put together an undefeated 12-0 regular season in 2006 and faced Oklahoma in the BCS Fiesta Bowl, winning 43-42 in overtime to record an historic victory by a mid-level team over a major, loaded football program. It was a glorious moment for Boise State and its boosters.

One has to wonder, though, what Boise State's record would have been that year if the Broncos had played Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Nebraska (teams with a combined 36-8 record) as Oklahoma has had to do this year. Certainly Boise State would not have walked into the Fiesta Bowl with a 12-0 mark.

Ball State has built its undefeated 11-0 record this year by winning against teams with a combined 51-82 record for a .383 (38%) win percentage. The Cardinal victims have included 2-10 Northeastern (a 1-AA school), 2-9 Western Kentucky (another 1-AA school), 2-9 Eastern Michigan, 2-9 Miami of Ohio, 3-9 Indiana, 3-8 Kent State, 3-8 Toledo, 5-6 Akron, 6-4 Navy, 6-5 Northern Illinois, 8-3 Central Michigan, and 9-2 Western Michigan.

Had Ball State played Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Nebraska (teams with a combined 36-8 record) as Oklahoma has had to do this year, there is no way the Cardinals would be 11-0.

Is Ball State the 17th best team in America? I doubt it. Should Ball State garner a better bowl game against a worthy opponent, it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals will do.

Utah, Boise State and Ball State will be able to bring their game during the bowl season. If they are playing in more than a rinky-dinky bowl game, it will actually mean something.

November 1, 2008

College Football:

Tulsa the 19th Best Team in Nation? You Must Be Kidding and Here Is Why

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Entering college football's 10th week of play there were 8 unbeaten teams remaining—Texas, Alabama, Penn State, Texas Tech, Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa. Penn State was 9-0, Boise State and Tulsa were 7-0 and the other 5 were 8-0.

Everyone paying attention knew that either Texas or Texas Tech would suffer their first loss as they were playing each other at Texas Tech. Few knew just how vulnerable Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa were to suffering their first defeat.

The AP Top 25 Poll had Texas as 1st, Alabama 2nd, Penn State 3rd, Texas Tech 6th, Utah 10th, Boise State 11th, Ball State 18th and Tulsa 19th.

Jeff Sagarin's Football Ratings and Schedule Rankings do not draw a lot of attention from the 65 national press representatives who cast ballots each week to determine the AP Top 25 Poll. The pundits do not talk or write about Sagarin very often, but there is much to be learned by paying attention to Sagarin's statistical analysis.

For example, there is a world of difference between Texas and Tulsa. Beginning the 10th week of play, Texas deserved to be 1st in the AP Poll with an 8-0 record and a Sagarin Strength of Schedule (SOS) of 18th. Simply put, Texas' 18th SOS ranking means the Longhorns have played a schedule equivalent to facing a Top 25 team every week.

Tulsa's 19th place in the AP Poll with a 7-0 record and a SOS rating of 131st is not deserved. The Golden Hurricane's 131st SOS ranking means they have played a schedule equivalent to facing a Division 1-AA team every week. There are only 119 teams in Division 1-A.

You could argue with some credibility that there are 82 teams in America that could beat Tulsa because Tulsa did lose 30-23 Saturday (11-1-08) to Arkansas, a 3-5 team that was at the bottom of the SEC's West standings, and was also rated 83rd by Sagarin.

The point is that there is no way under God's green Earth that Tulsa is the 19th best team in the country. It is great that Golden Hurricane and the City of Tulsa had a nice 7-0 run as they started the season against some substandard 1-A competition. Tulsa's actual record is 8-0 but everyone ignores its victory of Central Arkansas which is not even a Division 1-A or 1-AA school but a Division II school. Good grief, what's next, the local high school team?

Ball State's 8-0 mark and 18th place AP ranking is nothing to write home to mom about either. The Cardinals have a 116th SOS ranking which again means they have played an equivalent of a 1-AA every week. They have gotten fat against a lot of weak teams.

Boise State is not much better with its 11th place AP ranking and 110th SOS ranking. There is no way Boise State is the 11th best team in the country, even if the Broncos did shut out a 2-5 New Mexico State team 49-0 Saturday. At least the Broncos have one quality win over Oregon on the road, which is more than Tulsa and Ball State can say.

When Tulsa, Ball State and Boise State started winning every week the idea was to run the table (go undefeated) and sneak into a BCS bowl game for great national recognition and a fat paycheck. There is nothing wrong with their intentions. They just may not make it and, incidentally, there is no way Boise State is the 11th best team in the country.

Texas Tech is 6th in the AP and has a SOS ranking of 91. Give the Red Raiders credit, they just hosted and knocked off No. 1 Texas 39-33. You can bet their SOS ranking will rise since playing a No. 1-ranked team. Going into the game, Texas had a SOS ranking of 18, the best among the undefeated teams.

For the record, Alabama had a SOS ranking of 49; Penn State was 63 and Utah 94. Alabama shut out Arkansas State 35-0 Saturday and Utah barely got by a 4-5 New Mexico team 13-10, showing just how weak the Utah Utes really are and they are 10th in the AP Poll, which is ridiculous. Utah must still face TCU and BYU.

Penn State and Ball State were idle this week.

The reality is that 4 of the 8 unbeaten teams—Texas, Alabama, Penn State and Texas Tech—deserved to be ranked in the AP and the other 4—Utah, Boise State, Ball State and Tulsa—either do not deserve to be in the AA Top 25 or should be ranked considerably lower.

October 1, 2008

College Football:

 4 AP Top 25 Teams Have Some Proving to Do—Missouri, Texas Tech, South Florida and Kansas

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Four of the AP Top 25 Poll teams in college football's 5th week have some proving to do to justify their national ranking. Missouri is ranked 4th in the current AP Top 25 Poll, Texas Tech 7th, South Florida 10th and Kansas 16th. These four ranked teams need to play better competition and win. That includes South Florida's narrow victory at home over Kansas, 37-34.

Let's start with South Florida, which is rated 119th in schedule toughness by Sagarin among the 119 schools in Division 1-A or, as the NCAA honchos like to say, the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The average schedule toughness of the five opponents South Florida has already played equals the worst Division 1-A school in college football. The Bulls have beaten 1-AA Tennessee Martin 56-7 (ranked 170th by Sagarin in quality among 242 Division 1-A and 1-AA schools with football programs), Central Florida 31-24 in overtime (ranked 124th in quality), Kansas 37-34 (ranked 42nd), Florida International 17-9 (ranked 108th) and North Carolina State 41-10 (ranked 100th).

Do not confuse Sagarin's rating for schedule toughness with his ranking for quality team performance. Said another way, Kansas is the 42nd best team in the country right now, North Carolina State is the 100th best, Florida International is 108th, Central Florida is 124th and Tennessee Martin is 170th.

Four of the 5 teams South Florida has beaten are ranked 100th or worse by Sagarin. The facts don't exaggerate, and Sagarin's ratings, unlike the AP Top 25 Poll, are based on actual game results pitted against one another. The Bulls are unbeaten at 5-0 but host Pittsburgh this Saturday. Let's see if Dave Wannstedt can get his Pitt Panthers over the hump and beat South Florida.

Missouri is really out in left field hanging on the branch of a tree. The Tigers rate 142nd in schedule toughness, the worst of these four teams that could be overrated and headed for a nosedive in the AP Poll.

Missouri's heady 4-0 mark has come at the expense of Illinois 52-42 (ranked 61st in quality by Sagarin), 1-AA Southeast Missouri State 52-3 (ranked 211th), Nevada 69-17 (ranked 67th) and Buffalo 42-21 (ranked 93rd). The fact that the Tigers have outscored their opponents 215-83 still does not impress. They gave up 42 points to Illinois, their best opponent yet.

Illinois was in the AP Top 25 the first four weeks of the season, rising to No. 22. Two weeks ago I was all over the Fighting Illini's case, saying they should not even be among the Top 25. Last week they visited Penn State at Happy Valley and found out just how good they are not.

Illinois was kicked out of the Top 25 this week, and Missouri may have a free fall in the Top 25 as the diddling around will stop with the Tigers' next four opponents—Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas and Colorado.

Texas Tech is unbeaten at 4-0 but is rated 129th in schedule toughness by Sagarin. The Red Raiders are hanging with Missouri on the other branch of the same tree. Texas Tech has wins over 1-AA Eastern Washington 49-24 (ranked 98th by Sagarin), Nevada 35-19 (ranked 67th), Southern Methodist 43-7 (ranked 148th) and 1-AA Massachusetts 56-14 (ranked 113th).

This is the Red Raiders' wake-up call for the next 7 weeks—Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. Let's see if Texas Tech knocks off these 7 opponents and ends up at 11-0 on the season with pushover Baylor as its last opponent. If you think Texas Tech is about to drop in the AP Top 25 your are right.

Kansas is the last of the four Top ranked teams with some serious proving to do. The Jayhawks are rated 101st in schedule toughness. Kansas, you will recall, lost to South Florida 37-34 in an away game. The Jayhawks' wins have come against Florida International 40-10 (ranked 108th by Sagarin), Louisiana Tech 29-0 (ranked 107th), and 1-AA Sam Houston State 38-14 (ranked 127th).

After next week, Kansas will be looking across the line at Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas and Missouri. It is really doubtful that Kansas will end its regular season at 11-1.

It is not probable that Kansas will go 11-1 since the Big 12 teams will be playing each other very soon. Five Big 12 teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 with 4-0 records—Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. They had better enjoy their unbeaten records while they can.

While not appearing so, Missouri and Texas Tech may be the weakest of the five unbeaten teams. Time will tell, and Sagarin will record the results for all to see.

September 17, 2008

College Football:

Meet the Illinois Fighting Illini – The Most Overrated Team in the AP's Top 25 Poll

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Coach Ron Zook's Illinois team took the Big Ten by storm last year, tying with Michigan for the runner-up spot at 6-2, and going 9-3 in the regular season. The Fighting Illini from Champaign got ahead by sneaking up on some opponents.

Then they arrived at the Rose Bowl to face Southern California and took about 49 shots to the head with a ball-peen hammer as the Trojans won going away, 49-17. Last year Illinois finished at No. 20 in the final AP Poll. All of last year's fight and hype moved Illinois into this year's AP Top 25 Poll.

The Illini, currently ranked No. 22, have no business being in AP's Top 25, and will probably figure that out after visiting No. 16 Penn State at Happy Valley next weekend (9-27-08). They have a bye this weekend and will need all of the extra time to get ready to face Jo Pa's (Joe Paterno's) Nittany Lions.

Teams that did well last year generally get a free pass into the AP Top 25 the following year. Whether they maintain the ranking is another question. In Illinois' case, while they are currently No. 22 in the AP Poll, the Sagarin football ratings puts them at No. 66, where they belong.

The AP Top 25 Poll is determined each week by 64 influential sportswriters around the country. It can be argued that it is a popularity poll. Jeff Sagarin's NCAA Football Ratings uses a scientific, statistical analysis to determine the pecking order for the 245 teams in Division I-A (119 teams) and I-AA (the rest). Sagarin's ratings are the gold standard.

Part of Illinois' No. 66 rating at the moment is because the Fighting Illini have played a weak schedule of opponents, the 106th weakest schedule rank in the country to be exact. Sure, the Illini opened with Missouri (not exactly a walk in the park) but they also have squared off against Eastern Illinois (rated 157th) and Louisiana-Lafayette (rated 128th), not exactly college football powerhouses.

Here is also a news flash for the Fighting Illini, who gave up an average of 30 points to their first 3 opponents: You cannot give up 30 points a game and win a lot of games against good teams. Last year Illinois gave up 21 points per game and still won 9 games. This year the Illini defense gave up 52 points in losing to Missouri in their opener. Missouri is currently ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll.

The road ahead for Ron Zook's Illini is interesting as they must face Penn State (currently 3-0), Michigan (1-2), Minnesota (3-0), Indiana (2-0), Wisconsin (3-0), Iowa (3-0), Ohio State (2-1) and Northwestern (3-0). The combined record of these opponents is 20-3 at the moment.

Zook just might get snookered before he sneaks up on anyone this year.

If you are wondering, the next 5 most overrated teams currently in the AP Poll are Fresno State, South Florida, Clemson, Kansas and Missouri (yes, Missouri). The two most underrated teams are Penn State and Brigham Young (BYU).

September 5, 2008

Interesting NCAA Statistics

College Openers – 6 Teams Rush for 400+ Yards, 5 More Pass for 400+ Yards

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

While reviewing the Sortable Team Statistics for the first week of the college football campaign, I was surprised to notice that no less than 6 teams rushed for more than 400 yards in their first game, and 5 others passed for more than 400 yards in their openers.

Navy led the rushing statistics with a whopping 558 yards followed by Air Force with 433, Southern Mississippi 427, Nevada 426, Eastern Michigan 413 and Wisconsin 404.

This begged the question: Which team played Navy and gave up 558 yards rushing in one game? It was none other than 1-AA Towson, which the Midshipmen defeated 41-13. That explains a lot, however, 558 yards is an obscene amount of yardage to give up, even for a 1-AA university.

Air Force gained 433 yards in beating 1-AA Southern Utah, 41-7. Southern Mississippi rolled to 427 yards while turning back Louisiana-Lafayette, 51-21. Nevada piled up 426 yards while upending 1-AA Grambling, 49-13. Eastern Michigan gained 413 yards to shut out I-AA Indiana State, 52-0. Wisconsin rumbled for 404 yards in whipping Akron, 38-17. Only Louisiana-Lafayette and Akron are 1-A schools.

It should come as no surprise that Navy was No. 1 nationally in rushing offense among 119 schools in the 1-A Division last year. Air Force was No. 2, Nevada was No. 12, Southern Mississippi No. 19 and Wisconsin No. 21. Only Eastern Michigan, which was No. 54, was a real surprise the first week.

It almost goes without saying that having a productive rushing offense keeps your defensive team off of the field and eats up valuable clock time when your opponent is trailing.

Texas Tech led the passing statistics with 536 yards, scoring in every quarter while beating 1-AA Eastern Washington, 49-24. Brigham Young picked up 486 yards in turning back 1-AA Northern Iowa, 41-17. Houston had 467 yards in its victory over 1-AA Southern University, 55-3.

Even though No. 20-ranked Illinois threw for 451 yards against No. 6 Missouri, the Illini lost 52-42 to the Tigers. Oregon State could not get it done either. The Beavers threw for 404 yards but lost to Stanford, 36-28, on the road.

It should come as no surprise that Texas Tech was No. 1 nationally in passing offense among 119 schools in the 1-A Division last year. Brigham Young (BYU) was No. 14 and Houston was No. 25. The two real surprises were Oregon State (rated No. 87 last year) and Illinois (No. 109).

Two other interesting facts are that even though Texas Tech was ranked No. 1 in passing offense last year, the Red Raiders were dead last in rushing (119th out of 119 teams). Navy, which was rated No. 1 in rushing offense, was also dead last in passing among 119 teams.

September 18, 2008

College Football:

Shock Waves in the Midwest – Could the Big Ten Title Be Up for Grabs This Year?

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Having been born and raised in Michigan and being a football fan from my youth gives me a distinct advantage in assessing the state of the Big Ten Football Conference. When talk turns to who will win the Big Ten title this fall, one immediately thinks of Michigan and Ohio State, and for good reason.

Over 4 long, intolerable decades, Michigan or Ohio State have either won outright or shared the title 23 times, and either the Wolverines or Buckeyes have been part of another 10 titles. In other words, Michigan and/or Ohio State have been part of 33 titles in 40 years, or 82% of the time.

When 2 teams among 10 in the Big Ten can consistently win or share a conference title, you have to wonder what the other 8 teams in the conference are doing besides losing to Michigan or Ohio State.

Since 1896, Michigan has won or shared 42 championships, Ohio State has won or shared 32 championships, and next best is Minnesota with 18. My alma mater, Michigan State (Class of 1966) has only won or shared 6 titles, with its last outright title in 1987 and its last shared title in 1990.

Particularly disturbing to outsiders was the 10-year period from 1968 through 1977 when only Michigan and/or Ohio State won or shared every title. If you were a Michigan or Ohio State fan, these were the glory years. As outsiders from Michigan State we ate a lot of nachos and drank a lot during that decade.

All of which brings me to the 35-3 hammering No. 1 Southern Cal (USC) put on then No. 5 Ohio State last Saturday (9-13-08). A not-so-hot Michigan team was busy losing 35-17 to Notre Dame on the same day. As Jackie Gleason used to say on his pioneering sitcom (The Honeymooners), "How sweet it is" for a Michigan State grad.

Given that Michigan and Ohio State may not be the powerhouses of yesteryear, and considering the fact that Penn State (3-0), Minnesota (3-0), Indiana (2-0), Wisconsin (3-0), Iowa (3-0), and Northwestern (3-0) are all unbeaten at the moment, could this be the year that the Big Ten title is up for grabs? Their combined record is 17-0.

Let us quietly pray to the football gods that it is so. The Big Ten can certainly do better than send Illinois back to the Rose Bowl this year after the Fighting Illini were ripped apart by USC last year, 49-17.

Ohio State won the Big Ten title outright last year with a 7-1 mark but was busy getting beat by LSU 38-24 in the BCS National Championship Game so Illinois ended up in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State has won or shared the last 3 Big Ten titles.

I will be rooting for my Michigan State Spartans to win this year's Big Ten title outright, but I will settle for anyone but Michigan or Ohio State.

August 26, 2008

College Football Preview:

Michigan-Michigan State Big 10 Clash Will Pit New Coaches in a Head-Knocker

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

It is not often that there is a head-on train crash in Michigan, but one will occur the fourth Saturday in October (10-25-08) when the Michigan State Spartans invade the Michigan Wolverines' Big House in Ann Arbor for a classic showdown of epic proportions.

This season the hype is for real because Michigan State's second-year coach Mark Dantonio meets Michigan's new coach Rich Rodriguez for the first time.

As if there was not enough trouble already in the Big Ten with Jim Tressel at Ohio State, Rich Rodriguez decided to bolt from his immensely successful West Virginia program and into Michigan's storied football past.

Tressel has been two legs and bad news for every other Big Ten team since he arrived on the scene. In 7 years at Ohio State, Tressel has compiled a 73-16 record (82% win percentage), gone 14-0 and won the 2002 National Championship, played in 2 other BCS National Championship games, won 4 Big Ten titles, and racked up a 6-1 mark against arch-rival Michigan.

Just as Jim Tressel has notched an outstanding record of success at Ohio State, Rich Rodriguez has done so at West Virginia. In 7 years at West Virginia, Rodriguez has gone 60-26 (69% win percentage), has gone 32-5 in his last 3 years (86%), won 4 Big East titles, and led the Mountaineers to 6 straight bowl game appearances. Rodriguez is one of only two current Hispanic head football coaches in the NCAA.

Mark Dantonio led the Spartans to a 7-6 record in his first year and an appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl against Boston College. All 6 of Dantonio's losses were by 7 points or less and 4 of the 6 losses were away games.

More important is the fact that Dantonio came to Michigan State from Ohio State, where he was defensive coordinator on the Buckeyes' 2002 National Championship team that was ranked No. 2 nationally in scoring defense and No. 3 nationally in rushing defense. In 2003, his defense was ranked No. 1 nationally in rushing defense and No. 9 nationally in total defense.

Mark Dantonio is an excellent coach and a worthy opponent for either Ohio State or Michigan. Dantonio's defensive players kick butt and take names. Give him two more years of recruiting "his kind of players" and the Spartans will be consistently in the Top 25 nationally.

Last year Dantonio's first-year team lost to Michigan 28-24 at home late in the season. Considering the caliber of Rich Rodriguez as a coach, the competition will be even tougher this year when the Michigan State travels to Michigan on that fateful fourth Saturday in October.

Five of Michigan State's first 8 games are at home and even if the Spartans lose to Ohio State at home the week before they play Michigan, they could be 7-1 going into the Big House at Ann Arbor.

It is doubtful that Michigan will lose its first two games at home as it did last year against AA Appalachian State (34-32) and Oregon (39-7). Should the Wolverines get by Wisconsin, Illinois and Penn State (they beat Illinois and Penn State last season and lost to Wisconsin), Michigan could be 7-0 when the Spartans arrive. Look for an explosion to occur as opportunity will most certainly meet preparedness.

Should Michigan prevail in this epic battle, the Wolverines will definitely have the longer end of the stick as their season-ending game is on the road at Ohio State. Should Georgia falter (the Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 by the AP Poll entering the season), it is possible that Michigan could be 11-0 and Ohio State could be 11-0 when they meet, and then they would be playing for a place in the BCS National Championship game.

Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in the same AP Poll entering the season. Both Michigan and Michigan State received votes for the Top 25 preseason poll but did not make the cut.

August 25, 2008

College Football Preview:

 Forbes Touts Alabama's Nick Saban as the Most Powerful Coach in Sports

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

So who is the most powerful coach in sports today? Nick Saban of Alabama according to Forbes magazine (9-1-08 issue). Forbes wastes no time in anointing Saban as the best of the best and ahead of the rest when it comes to being the most powerful sports coach in our time.

While God-fearing, rabid fans in Alabama recognize that Saban is not God, they certainly think he is a god in the sense that he is a superhuman being who has power over human fortunes, namely the Crimson Tide.

What is unique about Saban's stature, as Forbes points out, is that Saban's 8-year, $32 million contract gives him complete and absolute control over every aspect of Alabama's football program—recruiting, coaching, business administration and public relations. No other coach of any other sport enjoys such an advantage, if in fact it does turn out to be an advantage. Time will tell.

Until success becomes evident, Saban's contract also has some very special perks, like 25 hours for his private use of a university airplane, two cars and a country club membership, all extras that make his annual compensation package closer to $5 million per year. He can also leave the school at any time without financial penalty, a rarity in big-time college coaching contracts.

His contract remains among the highest after his first year on the job, and his contract is bigger than all but a handful of NFL coaches.

No coach, according to Forbes, can match Saban's combination of money, control and influence, and that includes all coaches in the professional leagues. Suffice to say that Saban, and his agent, James E. Sexton II, know a thing or two about how to negotiate an exceptional professional contract.

Alabama can afford Saban. The Crimson Tide football program generated $52 million in revenue last year (yes, college football is BIG business), and had an estimated $32 million in profit. Yikes, that is major profit. How would you like to run a business that generates $52 million in revenue and has a profit of 61%.

Taxpayers in Alabama can also relax as well since not a cent of Saban's contract is paid by student or taxpayer money, it all comes out of the university's football program budget, which also funds 77% of the athletic department, including nonrevenue producing sports.

It is Saban who has been tabbed to lift the fortunes of Alabama back to the glory years the Crimson Tide experienced under Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won 6 national championships and 13 SEC championships. When Bryant retired in 1982, Alabama's football success took a dramatic drop in national prestige.

So how much of an impact has Saban had after his first year? Well, the team went 7-6 and beat Colorado in the Independence Bowl. Saban's first spring practice game drew 92,000 fans (you read it right). The waiting list for season tickets tripled to 10,000 after Saban's arrival. His recruiting class this year was rated No. 1 nationally by a consensus of tracking services.

Saban is a control freak (Alabama football practices are all but closed, and he personally authorizes all interviews with his players and coaches), but he is also very successful at what he does. He resurrected football programs at Michigan State (from squat to a 9-2 season in 5 years with 4 bowl games) and Louisiana State (a 48-16 record in 5 years, 5 bowl games, 2 SEC titles and a national championship) before arriving at 'Bama.

University of Alabama's president, Robert Witt, is fine with everything going on in its athletic program. There have been 100,000 donors to the university's recent $500 million capital campaign, many of whom are ardent football supporters.

So how will Alabama do this year? Probably very well. With Saban, you either produce on the field or you will be nursing splinters on your backside riding the bench. Nick Saban expects to win, not occasionally, but every bloody time.

That is very hard to do in the SEC, but for $4 million a year you learn to outthink, outwork and out recruit your opponents. Saban has some talent coming, and nothing beats talent when talent shows up to play.

February 9, 2008

College Football Recruiting:

 Look Out SEC – Alabama Rates No. 1 as Nick Saban Prepares to Go to War

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

If you think football in the Southeastern Conference is just a game that generates a ton of money for the schools and the NCAA that regulates it in a highly publicized environment, you do not understand what success is about in the SEC.

SEC games are not battles between teams, they are outright warfare with a fight to the last man standing won by heavy artillery (talent). That is why Wednesday's (2-6-08) first day of signing letters of intent by high school seniors was so significant. According to several analysts, Nick Saban and Alabama ranked No. 1 with the nation's best class of talent.

Among Rivals.com Top 50 prospects, Alabama picked up No. 4 Julio Jones, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound wide receiver from Foley (AL); No. 28 B. J. Scott, a 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver-super athlete from Vigor (AL); No. 30 Tyler Love, a 6-foot-7, 290-pound offensive lineman from Mountain Brook (AL); No. 34 Jerrell Harris, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker from Gadsden (AL); and No. 35 Alonzo Lawrence, a 6-foot-1, 190 pound defensive back from George County (MS).

Add to that distinguished list No. 55 Mark Barron, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound athlete from Mobile (AL) and No. 60 Barrett Jones, a 6-foot-5, 271-pound offensive lineman from Memphis (TN), and no school in America had 7 of the Top 60 Rival.com prospects except Alabama.

Southern Cal had 6 in the Top 60, Ohio State had 5 and Notre Dame had 5. Notre Dame's recuiting class was rated No. 2 by Rivals.com, Ohio State's No. 8 and Southern California's No. 10.

Nick Saban, the highest paid college coach at about $4 million a year, earned his pay. Saban was able to sign 7 of the top 11 prospects in Alabama. Auburn did not have a single recruit among Rivals.com Top 100 prospects; the Tigers came up sucking pond water.

Look for Saban and the Crimson Tide to start a concerted march to a higher place as a current Division 1A powerhouse and national title contender. Should the Top 60 picks stay injury free and reach their potential on the college turf, they will most certainly be playing in the NFL on Sundays.

If you are not stoked about Alabama football you need to live in another state.

Three other schools catch my personal attention because I have ties to Washington, Arizona State and Michigan State.

Ty Willingham's Washington Huskies had the highest Rivals.com pick among these 3 teams with No. 57 Kavario Middleton, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end from Lakewood (WA). Middleton was joined by his teammate, Jermaine Kearse, a 6-foot-2, 175 pound wide receiver.

Washington also signed Everrette Thompson, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound defensive end from Burien (WA); Alameda Ta'amu, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound (yes, 330 pounds!) offensive guard from Seattle; Allen Carroll, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive guard from Oakland (CA); Chris Polk, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back with 4.5 speed from Redlands (CA); and Jordan Polk, 5-foot-10, 170-pound wide receiver with 4.46 speed from Portland (OR).

Washington's catch is being called the best recruiting class since Reggie Williams and Charles Frederick in 2001.

The Huskies also picked up some speed with linebacker Kurt Mangum (4.59), cornerbacks Adam Long (4.45), Anthony Gobern (4.4) and Justin Glenn (4.5), safety Johri Fogerson (4.55), and running backs Demitrius Bronson (4.5) and David Freeman (4.4). Let me be the first to dub Kurt Magnum as Magnum P.I. (Personal Intimidator) and Demitrius Bronson as Death Wish Bronson.

All of this comes as a surprise as Tie Willingham, unlike Nick Saban, does not have a rep as a recruiter. The fact that redstart freshman quarterback Jake Locker started last year and impressed almost everyone with his agility, speed and savvy probably did not hurt a lick.

Scout.com rated Washington's recruiting class as the 14th best among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A schools. Look for the Huskies to finally win more games than they lose next year. If they do not, Willingham may be looking for another job.

Scout.com rated Dennis Erickson and his Arizona State Sun Devils class as the 17th best nationally. Among Erickson's top prospects was Jack Elway, none other than the son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

Jack Elway has his father's arm but apparently not his speed. Nonetheless, he comes from an excellent gene pool. In addition to his dad, his mother Janet was an outstanding college athlete as a swimmer for Stanford University.

Here are two facts you may not know about John Elway. 1) He may have played football at Stanford University but he was born and raised in Port Angeles (WA). 2) He had 47 career game-winning or game-tying drives in the 4th quarter, an NFL record.

Mark Dantonio and his Michigan State Spartans (my alma mater, Class of 1966) did not fare as well as Washington or Arizona State. Other than any local coverage in Michigan and a little among Big Ten teams, the Spartans received zero national attention.
That tells me they ended up with the short end of stick, and that is indeed bad news.

Dantonio knows that Jim Tressel and his Ohio State Buckeyes are only going to get better; Dantonio was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State's undefeated (14-0) national championship team in 2002. Tressel also won 4 Division 1AA national championships at Youngstown State, and his won-loss record as head coach at Ohio State is a stunning 83% (73-15).

If Ohio State is not enough competition for Michigan State, Michigan will cause the Spartans headaches as well since Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia to coach the Wolverines next year.

Michigan has won more games than any other team in college football history, and now along comes Rodriguez, who spent 7 seasons at West Virginia compiling a 60-26 record (69%) with 4 Big East titles.

Rodriguez, 1 of only 2 Hispanic head coaches in Division IA football, went 32-5 (86%) his last 3 years at West Virginia. Rodriguez is great for Michigan; for Michigan State he is two legs and bad news. The Spartans may get the snot kicked out of them by Michigan for the next 5 years.

I am praying that Dantonio can find a couple of nuggets among the scrap heap of players that are left over after all of the good programs have used up their scholarship allotments. The Spartans need talent and speed immediately, they do not have nearly enough at the moment.

The justified enthusiasm among Crimson Tide fans at Alabama does need to be tempered by the knowledge that recruiting is not an exact science. While we know that the sun will come up tomorrow, we do not know how these recruits will play out.

What we do know is that coaching can make average players better; Rich Rodriguez is an example. His recent West Virginia recruiting classes were rated mid-30s to mid-50s yet he led the Mountaineers to 2 BCS bowl wins in the last 3 seasons, and he came within 1 win of playing for last year's national title.

We also know that a position player like a quarterback, who touches the ball on every play, can make a team much better. An example this year was Todd Reesing of Kansas who led the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory. Reesing was rated a 2-star to 3-star player by the rating services (5 stars is best) yet he became a 5-star player when given the opportunity to do so.

Since many of these kids will become redshirts (meaning they will not play their freshman year) and become redshirt freshman (like Jake Locker of Washington) when they start playing their sophomore year. It may take all of 5 years to determine who among the many players just signed will become tomorrow's stars and NFL draftees.

In the meantime, I will be praying for Mark Dantonio and my Michigan State Spartans. I view myself as an important intercessor as the Spartans have continued to disappoint in recent years. Wherever they have been I do not want to go.

Pro Football:

November 6, 2008

Football Teams That Lose

All 3 Main Washington Teams Get Scorched, Outscored by Only 140-7

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The State of Washington's three main football teams—the Washington Huskies, the Washington State Cougars and the Seattle Seahawks—all lost last weekend by a combined score of 140-7 (not a misprint).

The No. 7 Southern California Trojans shut out the Huskies 56-0. How bad was it? Well, the Huskies turned the ball over 3 times and Southern Cal scored touchdowns on its first 6 possessions of the game.

It was the Huskies first shutout since a 38-0 loss at Southern Cal in 2001, their worst loss since their 65-7 disaster at Miami in 2001, and their worst shutout loss since a 58-0 beating they took at Oregon in 1973. The Huskies have been outscored this season 113 to 333. Yes, they have no offense, no defense, no special teams play and no apparent coaching results.

Washington coach Tyrone Willingham has been told to hit the road after this season but chose to hang around for the last 4 games before departing. This tactic has some fans and boosters scratching their head, wondering if this has not become a festering sore in such a negative environment.

The Stanford Cardinal shutout the Cougars 59-0. How bad was it? Well, the Cougars had 4 turnovers and 3 dropped passes that gave Stanford a quick 31-0 lead and things just kind of went downhill from there.

There are 3 more Pac 10 games remaining on the Cougars' schedule yet they have already broken the Pac 10 Conference record for most points allowed in league games—a whopping 350.

The Conference records date from 1916. Who knows how many more points the Cougars will add to their new record before this season mercifully comes to an end. Overall, the Cougars have been outscored this season 111 to 443.

The Seahawks were burned at home by the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-7. Were it not for a 90-yard, record-setting pass and run play from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson on Seattle's first play of the game, the three Washington teams would have been shutout 140-0. The Seahawks have been outscored this season 151 to 210.

The Washington Huskies are 0-8 thus far, the Washington State Cougars 1-8 and the Seattle Seahawks 2-6. Their combined record is 3-22. The three teams have been outscored by a combined 375 to 986.

It is not the year for football in Washington. An entire sports depression hangs over the state like a pestilence in the Middle Ages.

The Seattle Mariners lost more than 100 games this year with a $100 million payroll, setting a major league record for investment futility. The Seattle Supersonics were hijacked out of town and surfaced as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When you add up the consecutive losses between the three main Washington teams mentioned, the number is 14. Fourteen straight losses. If that is not some kind of record, it should be.

Is there no end in sight? We will find out this weekend when the Huskies face Arizona State, the Cougars face Arizona, and the Seahawks face Miami. Some folks would not give you 2 cents for the chances of any of them winning. It may be the first election hangover since Barack Obama became President-elect of the United States.

October 29, 2008

Pro Football:

Leonard "Green Shoes" Weaver Leads Seahawks to Second Victory in 7 Games

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Football should be about fun and the Seattle Seahawks finally made it so by running the San Francisco 49ers off of their home field Sunday (10-26-08) behind the catch and run explosion of Leonard "Green Shoes" Weaver and the pass snatching ability of Josh Wilson, winning 34-13.

On a day when Seattle's defense not only showed up but played, Weaver turned two short receptions by back-up quarterback Seneca Wallace into 43 and 62-yard touchdowns.

Just watching Weaver stream down the sideline in shoes with a prominent lime green presence was worth the price of admission. Weaver, Seattle's 6-foot, 242-pound fullback, was high-stepping and high-styling in taking the rock to the house twice. Normally Weaver is the lead blocker for running backs Julius Jones and Mo Morris.

Weaver's green shoes are reminiscent of another more famous athlete from the mid-1970s, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson. Johnson, a 3-time, All-Pro selection as a kick return specialist, wore white shoes when everyone else wore black shoes.

Johnson had great speed, and long before showboating became an end-zone pastime in the NFL, he was one of the first players to launch scoring celebrations, initially by doing the then-famous soul dance, the "Funky Chicken".

Josh Wilson, the Seahawks' second-year defensive back and kickoff return specialist, picked up a fumble in last week's 20-10 loss at Tampa Bay and was scampering for an apparent 96-yard touchdown when some official whistled the play dead.

It came as no surprise Sunday when Wilson picked off a J. T. O'Sullivan pass and took off on a 75-yard inception return to put Seattle up 20-3 with 31 seconds left in the 1st half. Coach Mike Holmgren saw Wilson's theft as a tremendous momentum shift for his
Seahawks.

The Seahawk defense had sacked O'Sullivan 8 times in their first meeting this year in Seattle, but the 49ers walked away with a 33-30 overtime victory. This time they got to San Francisco's quarterbacks 5 times but forced starter O'Sullivan to fumble twice, and 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive end Patrick Kerney picked up one of the fumbles and ran 50 yards, setting up a second field goal in the 1st quarter.

Seattle's missing defense earlier in the season showed up in J. T. O'Sullivan's backfield, putting so much pressure on O'Sullivan that new 49er coach Mike Singletary yanked him in favor of Shaun Hill. It didn't seem to matter because Seattle left San Francisco on top this time.

The Seahawks, now 2-5 on the year, are tied for 2nd place in the National Conference's weak West Division with the St. Louis Rams. The Arizona Cardinals are leading the division with a 4-3 mark.

Read my other detailed, knowledgeable, interesting articles on Seattle Seahawk football, including:

"Does Seattle Have Too Many Stars and Not Enough Football Players?"

"Seattle's Only Hope For Sports Success Is Now Hiding in a Dumper Somewhere"

"Will Seahawks' Woeful 0-2 Start Leave Them Out of the Chase For the Super Bowl Title?

"Seattle Seahawks' Opener in Buffalo Proves an Awful Study in Ineptitude"

"Here Come the Seahawks: Stumbling and Bumbling into Holmgren's Last Year"

"Can the Seahawks Find the Grit to Deliver Holmgren a 2nd Super Bowl Winning Team?"

October 23, 2008

Losing Has Become Contagious

It Is Not a Good Idea to Have a Football Team Anywhere Near Seattle, Washington

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The losing tradition and slide to mediocrity among the State of Washington's three marquee football teams really started at the end of last season when Washington State ended its season by traveling to Seattle and beating arch-rival Washington 42-35 in Husky Stadium. The Cougars ended their season at 5-7.

Washington then traveled to Hawaii and lost to the Warriors 35-28, ending its season at 4-9.

The Seattle Seahawks would end their regular season last year at 10-6 before beating the Washington Redskins 35-14 in their first playoff game, and then being eliminated 42-20 by the Green Bay Packers in the second round.

What has happened to the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Seattle Seahawks since then has been horrific—all three of the state's flagship football teams have inadvertently raised losing to an art form. Here is the score:

The Washington Huskies have not won a game this season, losing 6 straight times (and 8 times including last year's two season-ending losses). They have been beaten by Oregon 44-10, Brigham Young 28-27, Oklahoma 55-14, Stanford 35-28, Arizona 48-14 and Oregon State 34-13. They have been out scored 244 to 106.

Not to be outdone, the Washington State Cougars managed to beat 1-AA Portland State 48-9 but have lost 7 other games. They have been beaten by Oklahoma State 39-13, California 66-3, Baylor 45-17, Oregon 63-14, UCLA 28-3, Oregon State 66-13 and Southern California 69-0. They have been out scored 385 to 111.

The Cougars have given up 60+ points 3 times, and their 69-0 shutout loss to Southern Cal was the first time Washington State has not scored in 280 consecutive games, dating back to 1984, 24 years ago. First year coach Paul Wulff has to be beside himself implementing his system with on-the-field players he did not recruit.

The Seattle Seahawks managed to beat the St. Louis Rams 37-13 but have lost 5 other games. They have been beaten by Buffalo 34-10, San Francisco 33-30, the New York Giants 44-6, Green Bay 27-17 and Tampa Bay 20-10. They have been out scored 171 to 110.

In total, Washington's three flagship teams this season have a current combined record of 2-18 and have been out scored 800 to 327. It is currently not a good idea to have a football team anywhere near Seattle or in the State of Washington.

The talent pool at Washington and Washington State is dreadful; the losses run up by the talent pool of the Seahawks are inexcusable. Excuses aside, Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, Washington State coach Paul Wulff and Seattle Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren are having terrible seasons.

But what about the fans and supporters? I thought you would never ask. They are not taking it very well. They are angry, upset and intolerant of failure. Sounds pretty normal to me. Who wants to back a bunch of losers?

It certainly does not take any talent to lose. Unfortunately, the prospect of any of these teams doing diddly-squat this year is slim to none, and Slim left town a long time ago.

Read some of my articles on running, including:

"Updated USA Prep Track & Field Records and the New Best 2008 Top Performances"

"Meet 'Pre' – America's Greatest Running Legend and Greatest Middle Distance Runner"

"Arthur Lydiard, the World's Greatest Middle Distance Coach, on How to Train Effectively"

"What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running"

"A St. Patrick's Day Toast to Irish Runners Marcus O'Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan"

"Millrose Games Celebrates 100th Birthday as Track's Most Prestigious Indoor Event"

October 16, 2008

Pro Football:

Does Seattle Have Too Many Stars and Not Enough Football Players?

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Whatever bloom was on the Seattle Seahawks football team has officially faded with the soon to be falling leaves of autumn. It was nice while it lasted. Fans were gifted with 4 consecutive National Football Conference West Division titles, a NFC championship and a Super Bowl appearance.

The apex of Seattle's rise to prominence was 2005 when the Seahawks went 13-3, won the NFC Division title, won the NFC championship and played Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 40 (XL for the Roman numeral freaks), losing to the Steelers 21-10.

This year the Hawks started the season with an eye on returning to the Super Bowl and winning, which would have given Mike Holmgren his second Super Bowl victory in his last season before leaving Seattle to take a year off. Holmgren would have gone down as the only NFL head coach to take two different teams to the Super Bowl and win.

Here is what Seahawks have done so far: They traveled to Buffalo and got their tails whipped by the Bills 34-10. They lost 33-30 in overtime in their home opener against San Francisco. They managed to beat St. Louis at home 37-13 (an almost turnaround). They took a bye week. They traveled to New York and got humiliated by the Giants 44-6. They spent last Sunday (10-12-08) losing to Green Bay at home 27-17.

I was at the Green Bay game watching the current mess called the Seattle Seahawks. After Green Bay scored a touchdown to go up 24-10 with approximately 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter, I got up and left with my friend. Thousands of fans literally got up and left with me.

After 50+ years of watching football games, covering football as a sports editor for a daily newspaper and being a lifelong fan, I can tell when players have tanked it in and could not come back and win if their life depended on it. I was right, they eventually lost 27-17.

Whatever magic Seattle has had in the past has gotten up and left the franchise. The Seahawks are terrible right now. They could get better but they will still stink.

Some fans think the Seahawks' demise is because of an inordinate number of injuries to wide receivers or a banged up quarterback Matt Hasselbeck who is probably lucky to be able to get out of a chair at the moment.

The team returned all 11 starters from last year's defensive unit, but someone forgot to tell them that they still have to play again this year. They are not where they need to be, they look dazed and confused, and even All-Pro, lock-down cornerback Marcus Trufant could not stop Green Bay's Greg Jennings from scoring on a 45-yard touchdown pass.

All of which causes me to ask a simple question: Does Seattle have too many stars and not enough football players?

Think about it. There is Walter Jones, arguably the best left tackle in the history of the NFL. There is Matt Hasselbeck, one of the best quarterbacks. There is Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson, two of the best linebackers in the NFL. There is Leroy Hill, who many fans think is as good as Tatupu or Peterson, and some think even better. There is Marcus Trufant, a lock-down corner.

At least 5 of these stars have big time contracts, only Leroy Hill, who will become a free agent this year, does not.

Noticeably missing from the 2005 banner team is guard Steve Hutchinson (gone to the Minnesota Vikings in a salary tiff) and running back Shaun Alexander (former NFL Most Valuable Player in 2005 who just signed with the Washington Redskins as a back-up).

It is easy to get caught up in the press clippings and even easier to ease up when you make big money. It takes no talent whatsoever to blow assignments. It takes a lot of talent to stay on top year after year, game after game, and play after play.

No one goes very far without talent, and some players do not go very far with talent. What separates the great players from the good players from the average players?

Consider at least 4 things: 1) Talent. 2) Focus. 3) Consistency. 4) A white heat, deep down burning inside to be the best of the best and ahead of the rest. If you have no idea what I am talking about, watch some game film of Brett Favre (pronounced Farve).

There have been more talented quarterbacks than Brett Favre, but none have been tougher, played harder or gone farther. The statistics tell the story, but there is no measure for Favre's heart, desire and pure joy on a football field. No wonder he cannot stay retired.

The Seahawks might need a little less of the "it's all about me" attitude and a little more of the "we are one" mentality. Teams win games and titles, not individuals. There is no sport that requires so much teamwork to succeed as football.

The Seahawk players—not the coaches or fans—need to decide if they are going to be a team of players with stars, or a team of players that wins.

Read my other detailed, knowledgeable, interesting articles on Seattle Seahawk football, including:

"Seattle's Only Hope For Sports Success Is Now Hiding in a Dumper Somewhere"

"Will Seahawks' Woeful 0-2 Start Leave Them Out of the Chase For the Super Bowl Title?

"Seattle Seahawks' Opener in Buffalo Proves an Awful Study in Ineptitude"

"Here Come the Seahawks: Stumbling and Bumbling into Holmgren's Last Year"

"Can the Seahawks Find the Grit to Deliver Holmgren a 2nd Super Bowl Winning Team?"

"2007 NFL Playoffs: Seattle Seahawks Croak as Packers Kick Them Silly in the Snowflakes, 42-20"

October 11, 2008

Pro Football:

Seattle's Only Hope for Sports Success Is Now Hiding in a Dumper Somewhere