Here are 10 things to watch this weekend: 1. Can Arkansas protect quarterback Tyler Wilson ? The No. 7 Hogs have struggled to protect Wilson for much of the season, allowing 15 sacks in eight games. They’ll have to keep No. 9 South Carolina’s menacing defensive linemen away from him in Saturday’s game at Razorback Stadium. The Hogs didn’t look inspired in their past two victories (29-24 at Ole Miss and 31-28 at Vanderbilt) and fell behind by double-digits in both contests. The Razorbacks can’t afford another slow start against South Carolina, which ranks No.
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What to watch in college football
Filed under Football by on Nov 3rd, 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.
Issues to consider heading into the eighth week of games. Price vs. Luck : Think back to your college football brain in August. Now look that bolded intro. Who would’ve thunk it, right? Well, turns out that Andrew Luck is a heck of a quarterback, but at present not only is Washington’s Keith Price nipping at his heels in terms of passing efficiency, but he’s also got more touchdown passes than the leading Heisman Trophy contender — 21 vs. 18. Luck is almost certain to play well at home against a fair-to-middling Huskies defense. To lead the upset for Washington, Price will need to match — if not exceed — Luck’s numbers. Barkley to Woods : USC QB Matt Barkley and WR Robert Woods are the best pass-catch combination in the Pac-12, and one of the two or three best in the nation. They’ve combined for six TDs and 130.5 yards per game. But they were not in sync last week against California. It’s likely the Trojans will struggle to run against a tough Notre Dame front seven. So the way USC wins in South Bend is Barkley to Woods, Barkley to Woods. Who starts at QB, RB for Oregon ? Not much to this one: Do Darron Thomas (knee) and LaMichael James (elbow) start for the Ducks at Colorado? Or do their backups: Bryan Bennett and Kenjon Barner ? This pretty much is the only expected intrigue in Boulder on Saturday. Hays or Maynard ? While there’s no single reason Utah and California are both 0-3 in Pac-12 play, the biggest is inconsistent play at QB. Utes QB Jon Hays replaced injured starter Jordan Wynn for the second half against Washington and has mostly improved in two starts. Cal’s Zach Maynard started the season well but has struggled since the conference slate began, bottoming out last Thursday with three interceptions against USC. With two good defenses at AT&T Park, it’s unlikely either offense will be able to run the ball 40 times and win. The team that is more efficient passing the ball likely ends up smiling. Wildcats set free ? There’s a feeling that Arizona’s players were playing tight — more worried more about mistakes than focused on making plays — in recent weeks as the losses piled up and coach Mike Stoops got more frenzied on the sidelines. We’ll get a better feel for that Thursday night. The Wildcats have started slowly all season. If they get off to a quick, enthusiastic start against UCLA, you’d have to think a lot of players have loosened up since Stoops was fired. That shouldn’t be over-construed as an indictment of Stoops, by the way. After all that losing and a coach firing, sometimes it becomes easier to play when you have nothing to lose. Tuel time : Washington State QB Jeff Tuel didn’t pick a great team for his first start since a fractured clavicle forced him to miss the Cougars’ first five games: Stanford. While Tuel had his moments, he looked a little out of sorts against an A-list defense. But after getting his game legs back, Oregon State’s defense offers a much softer landing. Tuel is the Cougars unquestioned leader. This is a must-win game for the Cougs’ bowl hopes and for coach Paul Wulff — and in such games, unquestioned leaders step up, lead and make plays that turn must-wins into victories. Hogs on the Farm : While the rise of Stanford football is not unreasonably connected to Luck, more than a few folks will tell you a culture shift was more important. A program that was seen as soft, one populated by smart young men with aspirations other than pro football — because they wanted to make more money than the NFL could pay them — transformed into an edgy, physical and, yes, maybe slightly dirty unit that played until the very echo of the whistle. Washington coach Steve Sarkisian has been talking about the Huskies playing physical football since he was hired to take over a team that went soft under Tyrone Willingham. The Huskies have taken some big steps forward — see the dominant victory over Nebraska in the 2010 Holiday Bowl. But they aren’t there yet on either line. Or are they? We’ll see Saturday in the trenches. Prince wears the crown : Kevin Prince is (again) UCLA’s quarterback. While this has many Bruins fans slapping their foreheads, Prince was a capable passer in 2009 and ran the pistol offense well in 2010. He’s just never been consistent and, most important, never stayed healthy. Well, Richard Brehaut is out for the year, so the QB job is (again) Prince’s
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What to watch in the Pac-12: Week 8
Filed under Football by on Oct 20th, 2011. Comment.
1. So this is the state of intercollegiate athletics in the Big 12: the regents and the presidents at Texas and Oklahoma are telling each other how great it will be to join the Pac-12 while Longhorns coach Mack Brown is describing the price that move will extract from the players and their families. Remember Brown’s words when the move happens, and Oklahoma president David Boren and Texas president Bill Powers describe how their student-athletes will benefit from a league that spans three time zones. 2. After reading the allegations that the NCAA delivered Monday to South Carolina, it’s difficult to decide what’s more problematic: a) the athletic department allowed 12 student-athletes to receive some $47,000 in extra benefits; or b) the benefits, in the form of housing the players in a hotel at a rate of $14.59 per night, didn’t set off an NCAA alarm in any athletic official’s head. That rate may work for a cheap apartment — it works out to about $450 per month — but the Whitney Hotel (AAA rate: $99) is no apartment. 3. Once it became clear that the weather delay at the Oklahoma State-Tulsa game would last hours instead of minutes, how do you keep your 160 athletes, coaches, managers and others fueled? One of coach Mike Gundy’s state trooper escorts took assistant strength coach Tyler Buckminster to a local grocery, where they picked up 8-10 loaves of bread, and a shopping cart full of peanut butter and several flavors of jelly. “I guess if you are hungry enough, you’ll eat whatever is available,” Gundy said Monday.
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3-point stance: Expansion will take its toll
Filed under Football by on Sep 20th, 2011. Comment.
Because if the Longhorns’ endless pursuit of athletic department dollars is, in fact, the driving force behind Texas A&M’s desire… Source: Mercedes Sun-Star
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Only the price is right for Texas A&M’s Aggies
Filed under News by on Aug 14th, 2011. Comment.
Now that Edward Aschoff, previously of The Gainesville Sun and a wonderful addition to our SEC coverage at ESPN.com, has joined us, I put the question right to you, Edward: Convince me that Alabama wouldn’t be the champion if we had an SEC playoff next season in football. Then again, maybe you agree with me that the Crimson Tide are poised to take home another crown. Granted, this would be a little different format … March Madness in the fall, if you will. But imagine the intrigue if you had four straight weekends of tournament football in this league with that lose-and-you-go-home specter hanging over every game the way it does in hoops. Edward Aschoff: First off, what a welcome to the blog. Immediately starting with a great debate like this is always fun. But I have to disagree with you on your champion. While I think Alabama might be the best team in the country, I like LSU to take home the inaugural SEC tournament title. When I look at Tigers, the only area that really concerns me is the quarterback position. Jordan Jefferson didn’t have the best year statistically, but the Tigers still went 11-2 and blew out Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Jefferson proved he’s a leader, but if he starts to struggle, coach Les Miles has transfer stud Zach Mettenberger waiting in the wings. Plus, LSU might have the most talented defense in the league. The Tigers are replacing a lot, but this year’s group won’t miss much of a beat. If Jefferson struggles, the defense will be the difference in the tournament. LSU’s defense will frustrate and outlast Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and that offense in the title game. Chris Low: Both defenses will be worth the price of admission next season, and getting back a healthy Sam Montgomery at end will be big for the Tigers. LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis doesn’t think they were ever the same defensively after Montgomery went down in the Tennessee game with his season-ending knee injury a year ago. The same goes for safety Brandon Taylor. Go back and look how much LSU missed Taylor in that loss to Arkansas to end the regular season. His return next season will again make that secondary one of the best in the league despite losing all-world cornerback Patrick Peterson. But here’s the big question: Is it Jefferson or Mettenberger quarterbacking that team when LSU reaches the final? Edward Aschoff: Jefferson wasn’t spectacular last year and everyone knows it. That’s why he’s working even harder this spring, and he’ll have the benefit of learning a thing or two from new offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe. Being right in the thick of the BCS hunt until losing to Arkansas at the end of the regular season motivates Jefferson. And so does having Mettenberger breathing down his neck. Jefferson never put up gaudy numbers, but he won 11 games last season. He’s a senior leader, and LSU’s defense will put him in good situations, limiting his chances of making mistakes.
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Breaking down the inaugural SEC tourney
Filed under Football by on Apr 4th, 2011. Comment.
Now that Edward Aschoff, previously of The Gainesville Sun and a wonderful addition to our SEC coverage at ESPN.com, has joined us, I put the question right to you, Edward: Convince me that Alabama wouldn’t be the champion if we had an SEC playoff next season in football. Then again, maybe you agree with me that the Crimson Tide are poised to take home another crown. Granted, this would be a little different format … March Madness in the fall, if you will. But imagine the intrigue if you had four straight weekends of tournament football in this league with that lose-and-you-go-home specter hanging over every game the way it does in hoops. Edward Aschoff: First off, what a welcome to the blog. Immediately starting with a great debate like this is always fun. But I have to disagree with you on your champion. While I think Alabama might be the best team in the country, I like LSU to take home the inaugural SEC tournament title. When I look at Tigers, the only area that really concerns me is the quarterback position. Jordan Jefferson didn’t have the best year statistically, but the Tigers still went 11-2 and blew out Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. Jefferson proved he’s a leader, but if he starts to struggle, coach Les Miles has transfer stud Zach Mettenberger waiting in the wings. Plus, LSU might have the most talented defense in the league. The Tigers are replacing a lot, but this year’s group won’t miss much of a beat. If Jefferson struggles, the defense will be the difference in the tournament. LSU’s defense will frustrate and outlast Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and that offense in the title game. Chris Low: Both defenses will be worth the price of admission next season, and getting back a healthy Sam Montgomery at end will be big for the Tigers. LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis doesn’t think they were ever the same defensively after Montgomery went down in the Tennessee game with his season-ending knee injury a year ago. The same goes for safety Brandon Taylor. Go back and look how much LSU missed Taylor in that loss to Arkansas to end the regular season. His return next season will again make that secondary one of the best in the league despite losing all-world cornerback Patrick Peterson
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Breaking down the inaugural SEC tourney
Filed under Football by on Apr 4th, 2011. Comment.
It’s time to take a look back at the highlights (there were a few) and lowlights (more of these) from the 2010-11 Big Ten bowl season. Best performance: Iowa running back Marcus Coker in the Insight Bowl. You can make good cases for Terrelle Pryor and Nathan Scheelhaase as well, but Coker’s performance under tough circumstances was absolutely amazing. The true freshman entered the Insight Bowl as Iowa’s only reliable option at running back after Adam Robinson ’s suspension. He proceeded to rush for 219 yards — an Iowa bowl record — and two touchdowns as the Hawkeyes beat Missouri. Best save: Dane Sanzenbacher showed why his Ohio State teammates voted him MVP on the opening drive of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Pryor neared the goal line on an electrifying run but fumbled the ball into the end zone. An Arkansas recovery would have turned momentum, but Sanzenbacher saved his quarterback by falling on the ball for his first career “rushing touchdown.” Ohio State surged to a 28-7 lead and held on to win 31-26. Worst defense: There are several nominees, as Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern combined to allow 146 points in bowl losses. It’s a tough call between the Michigan schools, but I’ve got to go with the Wolverines, who suffered the worst bowl loss in team history and surrendered 52 points to a Mississippi State team with a good, but not great, offense. Michigan State didn’t fare much better against Alabama, which pulled many of its starters early in the third quarter. Best play: There might not have been a bigger play in the 2010-11 postseason than Micah Hyde’s 72-yard interception return for a touchdown with 5:32 left in the Insight Bowl. Iowa’s defense looked gassed and Missouri had limited the Hawkeyes’ offense to three second-half points before Hyde picked off Blaine Gabbert and took it to the house. Solomon Thomas’ interception to seal Ohio State’s Sugar Bowl win also merits a mention here. Worst strategic adjustment: It’s hard to attach “worst” to this one, but we’re dealing with extremes here. Wisconsin diverted ever so slightly from its season-long plan to pound away at defenses at TCU and paid the price in a 21-19 loss. The Horned Frogs never consistently stopped Wisconsin’s backs on runs between the tackles, but the Badgers veered from their power game at inopportune times. Even though Wisconsin’s potential 2-point conversion attempt nearly worked, it’s still surprising the Badgers didn’t go down with their bread-and-butter run game. Best closing argument: Illinois in the Texas Bowl. The Illini came in at 6-6 and had displayed the maddening inconsistency to suit their record. But they put it all together against Baylor in a dominating victory. Vic Koenning’s defense held Robert Griffin III in check and Scheelhaase showed significant progress from the end of the regular season to the bowl and provided the type of offensive balance Illinois needed. Worst closing argument: Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. Coach Mark Dantonio talked about the game as a chance to “measure up,” but the Spartans flat-lined and provided fuel to their critics with a poor performance. Although Michigan State admittedly overachieved this season, a co-conference champion has to be more competitive in such a big setting. Not the type of ending Michigan State wanted for a breakthrough season. Best quote: Wisconsin players stole the show at Rose Bowl media headquarters leading up to the game.
Filed under Football by on Jan 13th, 2011. Comment.
Since news first broke about a pending NCAA investigation, there has been a lot of talking about Tennessee: What will happen to Bruce Pearl? Will the Vols be penalized even further? But inside the bubble that is the actual Tennessee basketball program, the message has been brief. Pearl has not wasted a lot of breath explaining what’s going on and what could go on. He hasn’t tried to rally the troops or foster an us-against-the-world mentality. He’s given his players one simple directive: If you want to change the conversation, give people something else to talk about. “I made these mistakes and we’re paying the price for it,’’ Pearl said. “I just told our guys, ‘Let’s just keep playing well and then maybe they’ll start talking about how you play instead of the other stuff. If you play well, then it will start. At some point, it starts to wear away.’’ The Vols have heeded their coach’s words well. There are plenty of surprises in this early season — Connecticut and Louisville’s impressive starts, Butler and Gonzaga’s early struggles. Put Tennessee’s focus and intestinal fortitude among them. On Nov. 19, the SEC announced an eight-game suspension for Pearl. On Nov. 24, the Vols beat a very good Virginia Commonwealth team and two days later, topped Villanova. Tennessee now stands at 6-0, the lone undefeated team in the SEC. Nothing will entirely quiet the rumbling surrounding Pearl and the Volunteers until the NCAA investigation and subsequent punishment is finalized. But Tennessee can go a long way in changing the direction of the conversation if it can beat No. 3 Pittsburgh on Saturday in the SEC/Big East Invitational. “The two best teams I’ve seen on television right now are Duke and Pittsburgh,’’ Pearl said. “I’m not saying they’ll definitely go to the Final Four. We’ve got a long way to go and it’s unfair, I think, to put that on a team in December. But if the Final Four were this weekend, they’d be there.’’ Picked to win the Big East and among the early favorites to make the Final Four, the Panthers have done nothing to discredit the early hype. They have cruised to a 10-0 start, challenged only by Texas in the process. A typical Jamie Dixon team, Pitt plays scrappy defense and is allowing opponents to score just 60 points per game. But where the team makes a living — and where the Vols will have to be especially mindful — is on the boards. The Panthers are fourth in the nation in rebounds per game (45), but it is their ability to all but obliterate their opponents on the glass that has separated them. Pitt outrebounds teams by an average of 16.7 per game, far and away the biggest differential in basketball this year (Texas A&M is second, with 13-board margin). That could spell trouble for a Tennessee team that has been an OK if not terrific shooting team and has coughed up 16 turnovers per game. “I really like the way we’ve played the last couple of games,’’ Dixon said. “We’ve been focusing on a couple of things and we ended up following up on them — really taking care of the basketball and cutting down on the turnovers. I think we’re getting back to where normal is for us.’’ Normal, of course, for the Panthers is a standard of excellence almost unparalleled in college basketball these days. Aside from last season, Pittsburgh has won its first 10 games in every season dating back to the 2003-04 season. And in that time, only four schools have more overall wins than the Panthers. Pearl, whose never had the chance to coach against Dixon, has become a quick admirer after watching Pitt game film. “None of us coaches does anything original; we all beg, borrow and steal and run the same plays,’’ Pearl said.
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Inside the Vol bubble, it’s just basketball
Filed under Basketball, News by on Dec 10th, 2010. Comment.
I hit on my upset special last week when I picked Texas A&M to beat Nebraska, but I’ll pause and give you a few seconds to plead your case about why it shouldn’t count… …I’m counting it anyway. For the second consecutive week, my only miss came courtesy of those plucky Boulder Buffs, so maybe it’s time to start picking them to win. We’ll see. I’m headed to Stillwater this week for Bedlam, a.k.a the Big 12 South championship game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but here’s who I’ve got this week in the rest of the games across the conference: Last week: 5-1 (.833) Overall: 71-18 (.798) THURSDAY No. 17 Texas A&M 20, Texas 13: This is my pick of the week. Come back later this afternoon for a video of my explanation. FRIDAY No. 15 Nebraska 19, Colorado 13 : Nebraska’s defense is playing better than it has all season. Its offense is playing as poorly as it has all season. It’s anyone’s guess as to if or how well Taylor Martinez plays on Saturday, but he won’t be the same Martinez that routinely racked up 125 yards on the ground early in the season. Without being able to plant on that ankle, Martinez’s passing mechanics suffered against Texas A&M as well. Nebraska finds enough offense to win with Rex Burkhead and Roy Helu Jr. , but it’s close against a Colorado team that’s finally utilizing its apparent talent. SATURDAY No. 14 Missouri 31, Kansas 14: Kansas is getting better, and played a great first half against Oklahoma State last week. The Tigers offense is good, but they don’t have the number of high-level options Oklahoma State used to blow out the Jayhawks in the second half. Don’t be surprised if Turner Gill has something up his sleeve for this game, and pulls it out to help put some points on the board early. Kansas State 41, North Texas 17: The Mean Green got a nice bump after firing Todd Dodge earlier in the year, but that bump isn’t going to put them over Kansas State. They don’t make running backs like Daniel Thomas in the Sun Belt. The Wildcats overpower the home team and head to a bowl game with a better taste in their mouth than after last week’s loss to Colorado. Texas Tech 47, Houston 24: Houston has lost its last three games, and given up 42 points a pop doing it. That streak won’t end in Lubbock against the Red Raiders. Taylor Potts goes out on a high note heading into a bowl game. No. 9 Oklahoma State 47, No. 13 Oklahoma 38 : Expect this one to be well worth the price of admission. Oklahoma State’s defense has made big strides down the stretch, and they’ll be the difference this week. Mike Gundy gets his first win over the Sooners with the most on the line and on the biggest stage. Couldn’t ask for a better time. I’ll be back on Friday with my three keys to this game for each team. Regular season complete : Baylor (7-5), Iowa State (5-7)
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Big 12 predictions: Week 13
Filed under Football by on Nov 24th, 2010. Comment.
