DALLAS — Scanning the list of the nation’s top-25 recruiting classes unearths few surprises. The list is mostly national powers like Texas, Alabama, Notre Dame, LSU or USC. That, or growing programs at the height of recent success, like Stanford. Every single team, though, won enough games to qualify for a bowl game, save sleeping giant Tennessee trying to rebuild under Derek Dooley. One team sticks out. Despite a 5-7 season, Texas Tech still signed the nation’s No.
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Tech recruiting strong, despite struggles
Filed under Football by on Feb 3rd, 2012. 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.
1. Texas Tech’s 41-38 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma proves that Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville is up to his old ways. In 16 seasons as an FBS head coach at Ole Miss (1995-98), Auburn (1999-2008) and Texas Tech (2010-present), Tuberville has won 13 games against top-10 opponents, five against top-five teams. Tuberville is, overall, 21-33 against higher-ranked teams. I don’t have records for all coaches, but winning two of every five sounds impressive. 2. We may be able, once and for all, to decide what is more indicative of quality: losing to top-10 teams or losing close games to good teams. All we have to do is find a bowl game in which Auburn, which has lost to three teams currently in the top 10, can play Miami, which has two last-minute losses to teams in the top 12 (the Hurricanes’ third loss came by eight points to Maryland). Let’s get the bowl projection boys, Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards, to work on that. 3. USC returned to the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven weeks. The media poll is the best measure of the Trojans, given that their NCAA postseason ban renders them ineligible for the BCS standings. USC’s 31-17 victory at Notre Dame, where it hasn’t lost since 2001, should give the Trojans some cred in the street (previous best win: Syracuse) and in the mirror as they prepare for No. 6 Stanford, their first ranked opponent.
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3-point stance: Tuberville’s still got it
Filed under Football by on Oct 24th, 2011. Comment.
Here are 10 things I’ll be watching in college football this weekend: 1. Can Wisconsin’s mammoth offensive line handle Michigan State’s aggressive defense? The No. 6 Badgers have one of the country’s biggest offensive lines, with their five starters averaging 322 pounds. The No. 16 Spartans’ starting four defensive linemen have an average weight of 282 pounds, but they’re very aggressive and exceptionally quick. Whichever team controls the line of scrimmage in Saturday night’s game at Spartans Stadium figures to have a big advantage. MSU ranks No. 2 nationally in total defense (186.1 yards per game) and No. 8 in sacks (3.5 per game). 2. Is No. 25 Washington capable of knocking off No. 8 Stanford? The Cardinal will play a ranked opponent for the first time this season in Saturday night’s game at Stanford Stadium. The Huskies are off to their first 3-0 start in Pac-12 play since 1997. Washington quarterback Keith Price has been spectacular, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 1,466 yards with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is 5-1 against ranked opponents, and the Cardinal has won 15 games in a row, the longest winning streak in the country. 3. Will USC restore order against Notre Dame? The Fighting Irish knocked off the Trojans 20-16 last season, ending USC’s eight-game winning streak in the series. USC quarterback Matt Barkley missed last year’s game against Notre Dame because of a sprained ankle. He’s coming off a so-so performance in USC’s 30-9 victory over Cal last week, completing 19 of 35 passes for a season-low 195 yards. Notre Dame’s secondary will be tested by receiver Robert Woods , who had only five catches for 36 yards against the Bears. 4. Does No. 20 Auburn have a chance at No. 1 LSU? The Tigers will go into Saturday’s game at Tiger Stadium with a new quarterback, after Auburn coach Gene Chizik benched Barrett Trotter in favor of sophomore Clint Moseley . Moseley, who is more of a running threat than Trotter, provided a spark in the second half of last week’s 17-6 victory over Florida. Chizik can only hope Moseley performs better than the last two quarterbacks who faced LSU’s defense: Florida freshman Jacoby Brissett and Tennessee’s Matt Simms . LSU will probably stack the line of scrimmage to slow down Auburn’s running attack, so Moseley will have to make some throws down the field. 5. Can Tennessee’s defense slow down Alabama’s Trent Richardson
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What to watch in college football: Week 8
Filed under Football by on Oct 20th, 2011. Comment.
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema has more pressing concerns than worrying about the initial Bowl Championship Series standings, which were released on Sunday night. “I’m sure it will come across my desk,” Bielema said Sunday afternoon. “I haven’t been waiting for it.” Bielema couldn’t be happy with what he saw. Bielema, whose Badgers are off to a 6-0 start and lead the country in scoring with more than 50 points per game, were No. 6 in the initial BCS standings. The Badgers are ranked No. 4 in both the Harris Poll and USA Today coaches’ poll, which make up two-thirds of the BCS formula. The top two teams in the final BCS standings released on Dec. 4 will play in the Jan. 9 Allstate BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans. But the Badgers’ average rating in six computer polls was 11th. The Badgers were ranked as low as No. 17 in Kenneth Massey’s ratings and No. 6 by Jeff Sagarin. “I think we’re a team that’s gotten better week by week,” Bielema said. The Badgers’ are undoubtedly hurt by their soft non-conference schedule. Wisconsin’s three nonconference FBS opponents — UNLV, Oregon State and Northern Illinois — have a combined record of 6-13. Only the Huskies have a winning record. The Badgers also played FCS foe South Dakota. “Our nonconference schedule is what it is,” Bielema said. “Those things are set so far in advance you just try to get a quality opponent.” The good news for Wisconsin
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Wisconsin needs help in BCS standings
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 17th, 2011. Comment.
……history. 09/29/56 – (1) Oklahoma 36, North Carolina 0 10/06/56 – (1) Oklahoma 66, Kansas State 0 10/13/56 – (1) Oklahoma 45, Texas 0 10/20/56 – (1) Oklahoma 34, Kansas 12 10/27/56 – (2) Oklahoma 40, Notre Dame 0 11/03/56 – (1) Oklahoma 27, Colorado 19… Source: Official Site of the Oklahoma Sooners
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Football. Archived Blog
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 4th, 2011. Comment.
In 1998, while head coach of womenâs soccer at Baylor, he was a finalist for an opening in Austin . But the job went… Source: Notre Dame Magazine
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Women’s soccer at the summit
Filed under News by on Oct 4th, 2011. Comment.
South Florida Bulls at Pittsburgh Panthers (2.5, 52.5) Why South Florida will cover: The Bulls won at Notre Dame and have dominated the rest of their competition, going 3-1 ATSwith the lone miss being a 28-point win versus a 30-point spread. USF is one t Source: Covers
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College football Top 25 betting cheat sheet: Week 5
Filed under Football, News by on Sep 28th, 2011. Comment.
Nobody has seen one bead of sweat on Notre Dame’s brow after all these years. The same is true with Texas. When the Longhorns finally bolt the Big 12, they’ll set the conditions for admittance elsewhere. THE GREAT BOODINI: The Mystic… Source: Detroit Free Press
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Drew Sharp: Big-money Texas has earned right to call its own shots
Filed under News by on Sep 24th, 2011. Comment.
Texas is flirting with the ACC, but the Big Ten really wants the Longhorns, and yes, the Pac-12 probably makes the most sense. That is, unless Texas goes independent, like Notre Dame, which is also supposedly… Source: Metro – New York
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Let’s spice up conference realignment
Filed under News by on Sep 21st, 2011. Comment.
