New UCLA coach Jim Mora signed a class of 25 on Wednesday, and it appears his first recruiting haul will rank among the nation’s top 20. Fifteen of the players are from California, two each in the states of Texas, Georgia and Arizona, and one from Delaware, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey and Florida. The class includes a junior college transfer, one who signed in December and will attend school in the spring. Four recruits were part of the ESPNU 150.
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UCLA’s Jim Mora signs 25
Filed under Football by on Feb 1st, 2012. Comment. 
Karlee Bispo won three individual events and was on a first-place relay team as the fourth-ranked Texas women’s swimming team defeated No. 1 Georgia 155-145 at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Saturday. The second-ranked UT men’s team beat
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Women’s swimming team beats No. 1 Georgia
Filed under News by on Jan 7th, 2012. Comment.
Well, the worst kept secret is finally out and the SEC has a new brother to play with. Sunday, the SEC officially welcomed in Missouri , who will leave the Big 12. For those counting at home, that makes 14 members in the SEC. The Tigers will compete in the SEC beginning in 2012, and according to SEC commissioner Mike Slive, will also be placed in the SEC East, which is a good move, because it will help preserve some traditional SEC. However, traveling from Columbia, S.C., to Columbia, Mo., could cost you a pretty penny. Regardless, the addition of Missouri should be a welcomed addition to the conference. It’s a strong academic school and will be the fourth Association of American Universities school in the SEC. It also brings in two pretty big TV markets in St. Louis and Kansas City. That means more people in front of TV sets when SEC games are on. There are still some challenges ahead for Missouri, with the Big 12 still trying to add West Virginia. Dueling suits between West Virginia and the Big East concerning the league’s 27-month notice required in Big East bylaws are slowing down the Mountaineers’ move to the Big 12. In turn, that could impact the Tigers’ move to the SEC because the Big 12 needs to have at least 10 members in order to fulfill its television contract. Still, Mizzou and the SEC held a public celebration Sunday to officially announce the school’s move to the SEC. “The Southeastern Conference is a highly successful, stable, premier athletic conference that offers exciting opportunities for the University of Missouri,” Missouri chancellor Brady J. Deaton said in a statement. “In joining the SEC, MU partners with universities distinguished for their academic programs and their emphasis on student success. The SEC will provide our student-athletes with top flight competition and unparalleled visibility. We came to this decision after careful consideration of the long term best interests of our university. We believe the Southeastern Conference is an outstanding home for the Mizzou Tigers, and we take great pride in our association with this distinguished league.” Here are some fun facts the SEC gave us about the new Tigers coming into the league: The university, located in Columbia, Mo., was founded in 1839 and has an enrollment of 33,800 students, which would be the fourth largest institution in the SEC. Only Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M have a larger student body. There are more than 260,000 Missouri alumni around the world. The state of Missouri borders three SEC states: Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. The Tigers’ football team has been to a bowl game for six straight years and 28 times overall. Missouri’s men’s basketball team has made it to the NCAA Tournament three straight seasons and 24 times overall. The softball team has participated in the College World Series each of the past three seasons. The Tigers have won Big 12 Championships in men’s basketball, soccer and softball. The Tigers sponsor 20 varsity sports. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming and diving, wrestling, indoor and outdoor track and field, and cross country. Women’s sports include basketball, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country, and volleyball. Missouri participates in every sport sponsored by the SEC except men’s tennis and the SEC sponsors every sport the Tigers participate in except wrestling. Missouri boasts national championships in baseball (1954) and men’s indoor track and field (1965).
Filed under Baseball, Basketball, Football by on Nov 7th, 2011. Comment.
1. No. 4 Stanford’s 38-13 victory in a cold rain at Oregon State came at a cost. Both wide receiver Chris Owusu (concussion) and tight end Levine Toilolo went out of the game with injuries, one week after Stanford lost tight end Zach Ertz . It reminds me of Florida State in 1991, which won its first 10 games, the eighth a 27-16 victory in the rain at LSU. The Seminoles suffered so many injuries that night that they didn’t have the juice to beat Miami or Florida at season’s end. This beat-up Stanford team must play No. 7 Oregon. 2. The only two teams among the top eight that don’t play another team in the top eight are No. 3 Alabama and No. 5 Boise State. The Broncos need No. 15 Georgia to keep winning, starting with No. 20 Auburn on Saturday. The Tide must have No. 8 Arkansas win at No. 1 LSU on Nov. 25, and even then would have to negotiate their way through a three-way tie for first in the SEC West with the Tigers and the Hogs to get to the SEC championship game. I just don’t see a non-champion playing for the crystal football. 3. Oklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles ’ season ends with him atop the FBS in receiving yards (1,157 yards) and second in yards per game (128.56). Broyles suffered a torn ACL in the Sooners’ 41-25 victory over Texas A&M. The Sooners have had an uncanny number of injuries over the past few seasons. Coach Bob Stoops says it’s nothing more than bad luck. Strength coach Jerry Schmitt is considered one of the best in the business. But you have to wonder.
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3-point stance: Stanford’s victory is costly
Filed under Football by on Nov 7th, 2011. Comment.
Say what you will about Missouri’s decision to leave the Big 12 and head to the SEC. Accuse Mizzou of greed at the expense of tradition. Say it achieves nothing but the addition of $12 million or so to the Tigers’ athletics department’s bottom line. Call it what you want. You’re probably not wrong. But whatever the vitriol involved, however much wailing and gnashing of teeth you’re inclined to provide, at this point it’s basically a waste. It’s official now: Missouri is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC , and that, as the immortal Stone Cold Steve Austin might say, is the bottom line. (Because Stone Cold said so.) The more pertinent question, at least for college basketball fans, is how this will affect the on-floor performance of conferences involved. Missouri won’t become a SEC member until the 2012-13 season at the earliest (and possibly later depending on West Virginia’s arrival date in the Big 12), and with a new coach and so many seniors on this year’s team, it’s difficult to predict how strong Tigers basketball will be in the next few years. But what if Missouri joined the SEC right now? Could the conference — a football-dominant league where basketball has almost always taken a backseat — be the best in the country? You can certainly make that argument. In a hypothetical world in which Missouri and Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference tomorrow — just go with it, guys — the league would have an impressive roster of league title contenders and top-25 teams. The 2011-12 versions of Missouri and Texas A&M are ranked No. 25 and No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll , respectively. Both have questions, but both could very well compete for the Big 12 title. That would likely be the case in the SEC too, where both squads could at least hang with the likes of No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Florida. More than anything, the SEC would receive a boost in its middle-regions. As of now, the league is one of haves and have-nots — the very good programs listed above contrasted with the likes of likely doormats like LSU, Auburn, South Carolina and (suddenly) Tennessee. And both would be better than Arkansas and Misssissippi State, two talented teams with sleeper potential in 2011-12. In this hypothetical, if those two teams pan out, the SEC would have, count ‘em, eight potential NCAA tournament teams out of 14 members. It would have six teams in the preseason top 25 (tying the Big East for the most) — and three in the top 10. That’s a pretty high ratio, one few conferences could match. And in the long view, if Tennessee recovers from the Bruce Pearl mess and Mark Fox’s recruiting continues to go well at Georgia, the SEC could be a very, very deep league. In the meantime, the Big 12 would take a major hit. To be sure, the addition of West Virginia — whenever that kicks in — is a boon for Big 12 hoops; the Mountaineers are likely to remain competitive as long as Bob Huggins is at the helm, and probably longer. But the addition of TCU is a hoops non-starter. The Horned Frogs have made just two NCAA tournament appearances since 1987. Since 2005, when it moved to the Mountain West, TCU hoops has failed to post a single .500 record. After Nebraska and Colorado left the conference last season, the Big 12 arguably became the best pound-for-pound hoops league in the country. But the real-world 2011-12 season is the only time we’ll get to see that kind of league play out.
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In adding Missouri, SEC boosts hoops
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Nov 6th, 2011. Comment.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — What’s one implication of playing Wake Forest inside 31,500-seat BB&T Field, almost 50,000 seats fewer than Notre Dame Stadium? How about exposure. No, Notre Dame doesn’t lack for drama or attention, but maybe the Carolinas do. And the Irish have made it a point of making their presence felt in that area. Just take a look at these numbers: Seven current Notre Dame players hail from North Carolina or South Carolina. Three more, Mark Harrell and Romeo Okwara (both North Carolina) and Chris Brown (South Carolina), have committed to play for the Irish next season. Eight ESPNU 150 players hail from either North Carolina or South Carolina, which, together, puts the area sixth behind Florida, Texas, California, Georgia and Alabama. “It’s started to grow in terms of its significance in the recruiting grand scheme of things — even when I was at Cincinnati we started to get in there because the high school football was growing and that population growth in that area, as you know, made that the reason for it,” Brian Kelly said Sunday. “So it’s been on our radar. We’ve just really worked hard at it, and we’ve obviously got some players from that area that have allowed us to continue to build those relationships.” “Yeah, North Carolina, South Carolina has been an area now that we’ve had a number of coaches on our staff, it’s not just one coach, that are in there recruiting it hard. So getting down and playing Wake Forest, you know, obviously we’re gonna be able to have a number of kids come up — they won’t be our guests obviously, but they’re certainly gonna check us out.” Irish cornerback Robert Blanton, from Matthews, N.C., said he will have a dozen family members in attendance. “It’s about an hour and 15 minutes [northeast] of Charlotte, and it takes about 45 minutes if you drive fast,” Blanton said of his hometown, laughing. Linebacker Prince Shembo, from Charlotte, will get to see his father, Maurice, in the stands for just the second time since the elder Shembo suffered a brain aneurysm Sept. 16. On Tuesday, Kelly again cited population growth for the number of recruitable football players in the Carolinas, a place he said he recruited wide receivers and defensive backs from while at Central Michigan from 2004-06. In addition to Blanton, Kelly’s other starting cornerback Saturday, Gary Gray, hails from the area, having played high school ball at Richland Northeast in Columbia, S.C. “Just have always felt that that’s been — when I was at Central and Cincinnati — kind of an under-the-radar state or states,” Kelly said. “It’s not that anymore. So I’ve always felt the importance of it because it was a big growth area demographically. And then I think Notre Dame has always been in that area, and we’ve just kind of carried that on from my beliefs that it’s a very good football state.”
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Irish make presence felt in Carolinas
Filed under Football by on Nov 4th, 2011. Comment.
Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore has done so much during his Broncos career, from going to a BCS game to becoming a Heisman finalist to throwing for over 3,000 yards in each of his first three seasons as a starter. But perhaps there is no better measure for what he has meant to his team than the mark he is in line to get Saturday at UNLV. Moore is set to pass former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as the all-time NCAA career wins leader, with 46 victories. The No. 5 Broncos are 41-point favorites and are expected to dominate once again. “I think the No. 1 stat that most coaches and most people care about is the wins or losses,” Boise State coach Chris Petersen said. “Sometimes they’re not always how you draw them up, but at the end of the day that’s probably the most important stat.” Moore, who epitomizes the word humble, has never missed a game in his Boise State career. He said this in July about getting the record: “The victories record is a special one just because that comes with more than just me. I’m smart enough to recognize if I can do that, then George Iloka would probably be the winningest safety. Thomas Byrd would love to be the winningest center. There’s been a lot of guys involved in that run. I think that would be pretty neat.” Here is a by-the-numbers look at Moore during his winning run: First win: Aug. 30, 2008 — 49-7 over Idaho State. Moore went 14-of-19 for 274 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Associated Press game story noted, “Becoming the first freshman to start in the season opener for the Broncos, the left-handed Moore used his quick release and rifle arm to complete 14 of 19 passes and no interceptions.” Losses: 2. TCU in 2009 and Nevada in 2010. 300-yard passing games: 13. Included in there: one 500-yard day against Hawaii last season, and two 400-yard games. Only Ryan Dinwiddie (four) had more in school history. Total career touchdown passes: 123. That ranks No. 4 on the NCAA career passing touchdown list. He needs nine to pass Colt Brennan (Hawaii 2004-07) for third place. Multiple TD games: 40. Included are 28 games with three or more, eight with four or more and four with five scoring passes. Moore has thrown for multiple touchdowns in 20 straight games. Total career interceptions: 24. Multiple INT games: 3. 26: Number of games in which he completed over 70 percent of his passes. Five: Number of games in which he completed over 80 percent of his passes. Two came this season: Georgia (82.4 percent) and Colorado State (87.6 percent). 101.6: Worst career passer rating, against Nevada earlier this year in a 30-10 win. Moore went 19-of-33 for 142 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. It was the only game this season he completed less than 70 percent of his passes. 250: Best career passer rating, against San Jose State last year in a 48-0 win. Moore was 14-of-16 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
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Kellen Moore goes for career wins mark
Filed under Football by on Nov 3rd, 2011. Comment.
There’s a rumor floating around that there’s a pretty big game in Tuscaloosa this week. Here’s a look at what to watch around the league in Week 10: 1. Winning up front: With all the focus on the two defenses in the Alabama and LSU game, keep a close eye on who gets it done up front on offense, especially in the second half. Both of these offensive lines have a way of imposing their will on teams after halftime. They should be healthy, too. Guard Anthony Steen is expected back for Alabama after missing time with a concussion, and LSU will get back center P.J. Lonergan, who didn’t play in either of the Tigers’ last two games while recovering from an ankle injury. The team that plays the best on the offensive line is the team that’s going to win this game. 2.Big-play receivers: With both the Alabama and LSU defenses being so stout, it makes sense that the team that wins is going to have to hit a few big plays in the passing game. It was Jarrett Lee completing the third-down bomb to Rueben Randle last season to ice the game for the Tigers, and two years ago, it was Julio Jones’ 73-yard catch and run that put the Crimson Tide ahead to stay. LSU’s Randle has been one of the best big-play receivers in the league this season. He has seven touchdown receptions and is averaging 19.3 yards per catch. Russell Shepard is somebody else to watch for the Tigers, while Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks are also plenty capable of striking from long distance for the Crimson Tide.
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What to watch in the SEC: Week 10
Filed under Football by on Nov 3rd, 2011. Comment.
West Virginia had to endure a week of limbo and a false alarm. The deal was on. Then it wasn’t. Now, it is: West Virginia is the newest member of the Big 12. Questions about the timing of the Mountaineers’ entrance ( July 2012 or 27 months from now? ) remain, but the biggest has a clear answer: Do the Mountaineers fit? In the only way that truly matters in realignment, on the field (and by default, the conference bank account), West Virginia has done everything necessary to prove that yes, it does belong. Realignment moves of late have made clear that geography is a secondary concern in realignment, right by basketball but barely within earshot of football acumen. The Big 12 wasn’t in a position to break the mold. It needed quality programs more than it needed a new neighbor, and West Virginia’s lack of the latter was nowhere near enough to outweigh the former. West Virginia proved it was a school worthy of any major conference. The Mountaineers have paid the BCS two visits. They beat SEC champion Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Nobody’s beaten the SEC champion in the BCS since. Two years later, Big 12 champion Oklahoma went down by 20 points in the Fiesta Bowl. Those are games in which program’s reputations are staked upon
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West Virginia again proves what matters
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Oct 28th, 2011. Comment.
Here are 10 things I’ll be watching in college football this weekend: 1. Will Oklahoma bounce back against Kansas State? The No. 9 Sooners were stunned by unranked Texas Tech 41-38 last week, ending their 39-game home winning streak. OU hasn’t lost consecutive conference games since a four-game slide in 1998. The Wildcats are off to a 7-0 start but haven’t beaten OU since the 2003 Big 12 championship game. Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein ran for 10 touchdowns in the past three games, but the Cats are averaging only 153.9 passing yards per game. The Red Raiders were able to expose OU’s secondary while totaling 572 yards of offense last week. 2. Should Clemson be on upset alert? Heading into Saturday night’s game at Georgia Tech, the Tigers are aiming for their first 9-0 start since 1981, when they finished 12-0 and won a national championship. Georgia Tech has dropped two games in a row, scoring only 28 points and averaging only 253 yards of offense in losses to Virginia and Miami. But Tech’s triple-option offense might pose problems for Clemson’s defense, which surrendered 83 points in victories over Maryland and North Carolina. The Tigers scored 115 points and had 1,026 yards of offense in their last two games. 3. What does USC have to do to upset Stanford? The No. 6 Cardinal will be going for their 16th consecutive victory in Saturday night’s trip to USC. The Trojans will have to slow down Stanford’s running game, which ran for a school-record 446 yards in last week’s 65-21 rout of Washington. The Trojans will need another big game from receiver Robert Woods , who had 12 catches for 224 yards with three touchdowns in last season’s 37-35 loss to Stanford. USC quarterback Matt Barkley has thrown nine touchdowns with only one interception during a three-game winning streak. 4. Who starts at quarterback for Florida? Gators coach Will Muschamp said senior John Brantley is ready to go for Saturday’s game against No. 22 Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla. But Brantley hasn’t played since injuring his ankle early in the Gators’ 38-10 loss to Alabama on Oct. 1 and hasn’t practiced much over the past three weeks. Brantley might get a chance to play against the Bulldogs, but don’t be surprised if freshmen Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett take most of the snaps. Georgia has to do a better job of taking care of the football — it has had 12 turnovers in its three consecutive losses to UF. 5. Who’s going to run the ball for South Carolina? The No. 13 Gamecocks begin life without star tailback Marcus Lattimore , who will miss the rest of the season after tearing knee ligaments in a 14-12 victory over Mississippi State on Oct. 15. Freshman Brandon Wilds will get the start in Saturday’s game at Tennessee, after running for 75 yards on 13 carries so far this season. Quarterback Connor Shaw will have to carry a bigger load on offense, and former USC basketball player Bruce Ellington might get some snaps out of “Wildcats” plays. Volunteers freshman quarterback Justin Worley makes his first start after senior Matt Simms was benched last week. 6. Should Oklahoma State be worried about Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III ? The No. 3 Cowboys’ defense has held up so far this season but will be tested by Griffin, who has thrown 22 touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Baylor’s defense has been exposed by strong passing attacks, giving up 681 yards of offense in a 55-28 loss to Texas A&M on Oct. 15. The Bears allowed 725 yards in a 55-28 loss to OSU last season. Griffin played very well against the Aggies, throwing for a school-record 430 yards with three touchdowns. Baylor has lost five straight and 14 of 15 games to the Pokes. 7. Can Michigan State get up for another big game? The No
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Oct 27th, 2011. Comment.
