All week, ESPN.com has been breaking down the nonconference schedules of each and every team in a dozen different leagues. On Tuesday, we began with the ACC , SEC and C-USA . On Wednesday, we continued with the Big East , Atlantic 10 and Colonial . We devoted Thursday to the West, with the Pac-12 , WCC and Mountain West . Friday is all about the Midwest. We began with a look at the Missouri Valley and the Big 12 and finish up with the Big Ten … ILLINOIS Toughest : Gonzaga (Dec. 3), vs
Read this article:
Nonconference schedule analysis: Big Ten
Filed under Basketball, News by on Oct 7th, 2011. Comment. 
For a player who was barely recruited out of high school, Dustin Garrison is coming up big for West Virginia. Garrison has emerged from a trio of freshmen running backs after a 291-yard performance against Bowling Green last week in his first career start. But Garrison started showing serious flashes in the second half against LSU. His 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of that game brought the Mountaineers to within six. In the last two games, Garrison has gotten 42 combined carries — compared to three in the first three games. All three of those came against Norfolk State. “It’s hard when you have so many guys to get a guy into a rhythm, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You have to tell those guys to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve had. The last six quarters, Dustin has been able to get in there and get on a roll. The more we gave it to him, the better he’s gotten.” Garrison remained patient through the first several games of the season, even after he got zero carries against Marshall and Maryland. He had shown his ability as a receiver out of the backfield, but wanted to make sure the coaches knew what he could do when he got his hands on the ball. His mom told him before every game to just wait. He would get his chance. Once he got his opportunity against Bowling Green, he was not going to let anything stop him. “It was hard for a while just waiting for my chance, but once I finally got it, I knew I had to show them I could make things happen,” Garrison said in a phone interview. Garrison ran for 233 yards in the first half, a school record. Neither he nor his teammates had any idea he had surpassed 200 yards in the half. It was only as they were headed to the locker room that they realized what he had done. “It was great,” Garrison said. “I never had the ball like that since high school, so it was like déjà vu. I had to go out there and make plays. It was a great feeling going out there and making people miss and things like that.” As a senior at Pearland (Texas) High, Garrison set school single-season records with 406 carries for 2,842 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also added 36 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns. But no scholarship offers came. Schools were concerned about his size: 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. It was not until Robert Gillespie, then an assistant with Oklahoma State, called to say he was moving on to a new opportunity and they wanted Garrison with him. The new opportunity was at West Virginia with Holgorsen. “These last two games helped my confidence a lot,” Garrison said
Filed under Football by on Oct 5th, 2011. Comment.
For a player who was barely recruited out of high school, Dustin Garrison is coming up big for West Virginia. Garrison has emerged from a trio of freshmen running backs after a 291-yard performance against Bowling Green last week in his first career start. But Garrison started showing serious flashes in the second half against LSU. His 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of that game brought the Mountaineers to within six. In the last two games, Garrison has gotten 42 combined carries — compared to three in the first three games. All three of those came against Norfolk State. “It’s hard when you have so many guys to get a guy into a rhythm, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You have to tell those guys to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve had. The last six quarters, Dustin has been able to get in there and get on a roll. The more we gave it to him, the better he’s gotten.” Garrison remained patient through the first several games of the season, even after he got zero carries against Marshall and Maryland. He had shown his ability as a receiver out of the backfield, but wanted to make sure the coaches knew what he could do when he got his hands on the ball. His mom told him before every game to just wait. He would get his chance. Once he got his opportunity against Bowling Green, he was not going to let anything stop him. “It was hard for a while just waiting for my chance, but once I finally got it, I knew I had to show them I could make things happen,” Garrison said in a phone interview. Garrison ran for 233 yards in the first half, a school record. Neither he nor his teammates had any idea he had surpassed 200 yards in the half. It was only as they were headed to the locker room that they realized what he had done. “It was great,” Garrison said. “I never had the ball like that since high school, so it was like déjà vu. I had to go out there and make plays. It was a great feeling going out there and making people miss and things like that.” As a senior at Pearland (Texas) High, Garrison set school single-season records with 406 carries for 2,842 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also added 36 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns. But no scholarship offers came. Schools were concerned about his size: 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. It was not until Robert Gillespie, then an assistant with Oklahoma State, called to say he was moving on to a new opportunity and they wanted Garrison with him. The new opportunity was at West Virginia with Holgorsen.
Continue reading here:
Dustin Garrison comes up big for WVU
Filed under Football by on Oct 5th, 2011. Comment.
Longhorns fans will have to stick with the hope that the painful experiences of last season will somehow benefit Texas in 2011. Texas… Source: Bleacher Report
Visit link:
Preseason College Football Rankings 2011: Which Top 25 Teams Won’t Go Bowling?
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Aug 19th, 2011. Comment.
Boy, some tough news for LSU and even tougher news for Steve Kragthorpe. LSU coach Les Miles announced Thursday that Kragthorpe is stepping down as offensive coordinator after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Kragthorpe will stay on as quarterbacks coach and be in the booth for games, but offensive line coach Greg Studrawa will move into the role of offensive coordinator and call plays this season. The first thing on anybody’s mind is Kragthorpe’s health. He and his family have already been through enough in the past year. In fact, it was about this time a year ago that Kragthorpe, the former head coach at Louisville and Tulsa, stepped down as receivers coach at Texas A&M to help care for his wife, Cynthia, who was battling multiple sclerosis and also underwent heart surgery. Doctors were able to get her heart condition under control, but her battle with MS continues. Kragthorpe, 46, found out about his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis about three weeks ago, and he and Miles have been working toward a resolution ever since.
See the rest here:
Kragthorpe gives up play-calling duties
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 4th, 2011. Comment.
Oklahoma State won a school-record 11 games last season, which only fuels fan desires for even more victories. They’ve tasted it, you might say, and were a few bounces away from the program’s first Big 12 Championship appearance. So what’s in store for the encore? KC Joyner says the Cowboys are one of his five teams that may be headed for a significant drop-off next season. You’ll need ESPN Insider access to read the whole thing, but here’s what Joyner has to say about Boone’s Boys. Offensive hurdle: The Cowboys’ offense will be going through more adjustments than a team that is replacing two starters normally would. Oklahoma State lost its offensive coordinator (Dana Holgorsen, now the head coach at West Virginia), an All-American running back (Kendall Hunter) and its No. 3 wideout ( Bo Bowling ). Defensive hurdle: Oklahoma State’s defense faced more plays from scrimmage than any other team in the Big 12 last year (1,069). Because the Cowboys’ offensive game plan this season figures to be as fast-paced as the one Holgorsen called in 2010, it means that the six new starters on this side of the ball will have their endurance tested quite often. X factor: Oklahoma State was the only Big 12 team to finish the 2010 season with a turnover margin of even or better in every conference contest. That feat will be hard to replicate. Joyner makes plenty of interesting points that aren’t quite so obvious, namely the increased impact of turnover on the defensive side of the ball for teams with high-paced offenses. I don’t see the Bowling loss as a big one; Josh Cooper can fill his role as long as he stays healthy, and I see Hubert Anyiam stepping in for a big season opposite Justin Blackmon . The turnover advantages may make last season’s accomplishments seem suspect, but Oklahoma State didn’t play many close games where turnovers might have shifted the entire game, similar to what Texas experienced in 2010. The season-defining Thursday night win over Texas A&M was the most obvious example (OSU won the turnover battle 5-3, and the game on a last-second field goal set up by, yes, a turnover), but the rest of the wins? Oklahoma State won just one other game by single digits, an early season near disaster against Troy. The only other remotely close game was a 24-14 road win over Kansas State, but the Cowboys were forced to play without the Big 12’s best player in 2010: Blackmon. So, this isn’t Michigan State in 2010 or Iowa in 2009 we’re talking about, i.e. teams hanging on with late heroics to win tight games. But what do you think? Is Oklahoma State headed for a drop-off? Vote in our poll.
See the rest here:
Is Oklahoma State headed for a drop-off?
Filed under Football, News by on Jun 22nd, 2011. Comment.
With 23 teams in non-AQ conferences set to play their spring games between tonight and tomorrow, here is a quick look at big-time questions for a selected few. Boise State Big question: Receiver. Austin Pettis and Titus Young formed one of the best receiver duos in the nation over the last several years. But now they are gone, leaving the Broncos looking for a deep threat to replace Young and a possession receiver to replace Pettis. Tyler Shoemaker , Chris Potter , Geraldo Hiwat and Kirby Moore all figure to make contributions. Watch for freshman Troy Ware as well. Starting quarterback Kellen Moore is not expected to do much in the game Saturday, but the receivers need all the work they can get to prepare for bigger roles. Others in the MWC playing : New Mexico. East Carolina Big question : Defense. The Pirates were lucky to make a bowl game last season with the way their defense played. They ranked last in all of college football in total defense, giving up an average of 479 yards a game, and closed the season with losses in five of their final six games. A prolific offense is all that saved them. Granted, East Carolina lost nine starters on defense, but there was still no excuse for that type of performance. The Pirates are now switching to a 3-4 though it is unclear what they have headed into the spring game. Injuries to several players have left them thin in the front seven. Defensive tackles Michael Brooks (right knee), Robert Jones (right shoulder) and Chrishon Rose (left shoulder) and linebacker/defensive end Justin Dixon (left knee) all sat out the spring. Defensive tackle Leroy Vick, a transfer from Georgia Military Institute, injured his left knee in a scrimmage and is out for the season. Linebacker Lamar McLendon, who started 10 of 13 games last season, left the team for personal reasons. So it is safe to say coach Ruffin McNeill will have to wait until the fall to find out more about this group. Others in C-USA playing : UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, UAB, Memphis. Hawaii Big question : Receiver. The Warriors lose Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares , who combined for over 3,000 yards in the pass-happy Hawaii offense. Royce Pollard returns after having 901 yards as the Z receiver last season and will be counted on to step up and become a go-to receiver for returning quarterback Bryant Moniz . Others to watch: Allen Sampson and Terrence Bell, who would bring an added boost of speed; Miah Ostrowski, the point guard on the hoops team who has a good bond with Moniz; and Darius Bright and Corey Paclebar . Others in the WAC playing : Nevada Miami (Ohio) Big question : Quarterback. The surprise MAC champions have a new coach in Don Treadwell, so there are plenty of areas that have been open to competition. The biggest is at quarterback, where Zac Dysert and Austin Boucher are competing for the starting job. Dysert went into 2010 as the starter before missing the rest of the season with a rib injury. Boucher came in and led the RedHawks to the MAC title and one of the biggest turnaround seasons in NCAA history. Both have been even throughout the spring, and Treadwell has been mum on who has the edge. Others in the MAC playing : Kent State, Bowling Green (Friday), Western Michigan, Central Michigan (Friday), Toledo (Friday), Buffalo, Akron, Ohio, Temple North Texas Big question: Quarterback. Derek Thompson and junior college transfer Brent Osborn went into the spring competing for the starting job, and it appears Thompson has the edge going into the spring game. North Texas had major injury problems at quarterback last season — Thompson broke his leg in the only game he started. Even though Thompson has been with the team longer, he is still relatively inexperienced. Others in the Sun Belt with games : Western Kentucky, Arkansas State
Original post:
Non-AQ spring games
Filed under Football by on Apr 15th, 2011. Comment.
Many non-AQ teams have their spring games set for this weekend. A quick look: C-USA UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, East Carolina, UAB, Memphis Mountain West Boise State, New Mexico WAC Nevada, Hawaii (Friday) MAC Kent State, Bowling Green (Friday), Western Michigan, Central Michigan (Friday), Toledo (Friday), Buffalo, Miami-Ohio (Friday), Akron, Ohio, Temple Sun Belt Western Kentucky, Arkansas State, North Texas
Excerpt from:
Spring game schedule
Filed under Football by on Apr 12th, 2011. Comment.
An absolutely classic night of postseason basketball led to the eviction of 18 teams from the national championship chase. We have 171 left. There were four overtime games, two of them double OT. There were two other one-point games won on shots in the final five seconds. There were huge comebacks and massive collapses. There were bodies flying from coast-to-coast in desperate pursuit of March glory. The biggest share of glory was grabbed by Arkansas-Little Rock guard Solomon Bozeman , whose 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left gave the Trojans the Sun Belt title over North Texas. It is the school’s first NCAA bid since 1990, when UALR went on to shock Notre Dame in the first round. Way back in early November, I ran into the UALR coaching staff after the Trojans upset SMU on the road to open the season. I talked to head coach Steve Shields and assistant Joe Kleine (yes, the former NBA center) and they were very excited about their team’s potential. But then UALR suffered three different three-game losing streaks on the way to a 15-16 regular-season record. Then the Trojans won four games in four days, capped by Bozeman’s shot in the 58th second of the 160th minute of tourney play. Great stuff. But since the job of this nightly blog installment is to deal with the losers, not the winners, let’s count down those who are dismissed from national championship contention: A-10: George Washington (upset by St. Joseph’s in OT). St. Bonaventure (beaten by LaSalle in double OT). Saint Louis (beaten by Rhode Island). Massachusetts (beaten by Dayton)
Continued here:
Counting it down: Title field cut to 171
Filed under Basketball by on Mar 9th, 2011. Comment.
Each Wednesday, your humble college basketball hoops blogger (er, me) will respond to your questions, comments and nonsensical rants in this here Hoopsbag. To submit a query, visit this page by clicking the link under my name in the upper right-hand corner of the page. You can also e-mail me or send me your entries via Twitter . Per the usual, let’s begin in video form. After recapping Michigan State’s thorough trouncing at the hands of an impressive Syracuse team last night, I asked Twitter followers the ever-perilous annual question : “Raise your hand if you’re just a little bit — even a little bit — worried about Michigan State. Anyone?” (What, you thought I was referring to the Kevin Bacon Logitech commercial ? Because, man, what a great commercial.) The response on MSU was immediate, thorough, and altogether pretty diverse. A sampling of responses: @Slicknickshady : “Nope. Not at all. Like this every year. Izzo treats these like pre season games. They really don’t matter. Sure I would love to see them win more of these games and im sure izzo would. But you don’t hang banners for beating Connecticut, Duke, and Syracuse in Nov./Dec. Wins would be nice. But oh well.” @Duvisited : “Worried, no. But they may be what they were last year – a good but not great team, a five seed, not a top-five team.” @SteveLayman : “I’ll raise my hand. But, I sort of feel like Izzo’s standing at the front of staring through me, saying, ‘doubting me? Ha!’” @raphiellej : “I don’t know if I like the basketball IQ of the guys on the court right now. (Besides Draymond Green .) Have faith in Coach Izzo though.” @jeffborzello : “Been worried since the preseason — more so now.” @johnkirby : “No, I was just stretching.” @BuffJE : “Raise your hand if you’ve been worried about Michigan State in December before, only to see them eventually make another Final Four.” Mr. BuffJE makes the salient point. If this were any other team, or any other coach, the Spartans’ bandwagon would currently be experiencing mass departures. Because Michigan State seems to do this almost every year — comes into the season highly ranked, sputters against a brutal nonconference schedule, falters against top competition — and still manages to pull it together come tournament time leads us to believe that it’s all part of Izzo’s master plan. It’s a weird analytical situation. Do we judge by precedent, or by what we see on the court
See more here:
Hoopsbag: Doubting the Spartans already?
Filed under Basketball by on Dec 8th, 2010. Comment.
