We all know Duke's bad. And that, quite frankly, is probably putting it mildly. After all, the Blue Devils haven't won more than one game in a season in over three years and they've had four winless seasons since 1996. But if you needed any more definitive proof that Duke stinks, we got it in a court of law Thursday.
While a good number of teams settle into conference play around the country, we still have a few marquee non-conference games that will grab everyone's attention. As for the game of the week? Pick your poison. Right now, nothing really jumps out at you. There are some very good, and very important games, but there isn't one that rises above the rest. Maybe that changes if the season's first four weeks play out differently than we expect.
This spring, there's no sense of impending doom for Bobby Bowden and no reason to worry about how his future at Florida State will unfold. Rather, there's a feeling of relief from the 78-year old Seminoles coach with his succession plan firmly in place.
Two of the biggest stories to emerge this week out of spring practice have nothing to do with quarterback battles, new coaches or schematic changes. Rather, it's injury news to two big name offensive stars that are grabbing the most headlines heading into April.
Finally, we'll have our answer this week. Terrelle Pryor, the most hyped and heralded quarterback in the history of high school football, will make his decision on where he'll be attending school this fall. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Oregon were Pryor's four finalists when he told the college football world on National Signing Day that he wasn't prepared to decide. But he's been down to two for some time. But which two?
Oklahoma is in the middle of spring practice right now, but the 2008 season will be put on the backburner for Tuesday as the Sooners host their pro day for all prospective NFL Draft selections to make on final impression on scouts.
After a pretty impressive first season under center for North Carolina, T.J. Yates figures to be the Tar Heels starter when fall camp opens in August. But as Yates recovers and rehabs from shoulder surgery, the fight to impress and possibly push Yates out of the job has taken center stage in Chapel Hill with spring practice underway.
You can file this one under ironic. Florida State received an award from the National Consortium for Academics & Sports at the orgainzation's conference last week.
No one ever said being a head coach at a BCS school is easy work, but there's one thing you can't deny: it's pretty good work if you can find it. Just ask UConn coach Randy Edsall.
Georgia president Michael Adams, and chairman of the NCAA executive committee, has been outspoken this week about the need for a playoff in college football. In Adams' eyes, the NCAA should create an eight team playoff, seed the teams into four bowl games and eventually crown its first football champion in the organization's history. And as he goes about trumping for big change, he's picked up one prominent supporter in Athens.
Orange Bowl partcipant, winners of 11 games and once the No. 2 team in the nation. With a resume like that you'd think a team wouldn't have a chip on its shoulder heading into its biggest game of the year, but this is Kansas we're talking about.
Illinois has been in this situation before. Big underdog, in an environment that's going to be anything but friendly, against one the best defenses in the nation. And the last time Illinois found itself in a game like Tuesday's Rose Bowl they did the unthinkable.
It doesn't seem that long ago that Boston College was flying high, up to No. 2 in the nation and only a handful of games away from a potential berth in the BCS Championship game. Then the Eagles were grounded by Florida State and eventually stumbled home with a 2-3 record over the season's final month. So much for that dream.
After learning that Florida State would be without 36 players for its Music City Bowl matchup with Kentucky Dec. 31, your first inclination is to wonder whether Bobby Bowden's going to have any players left by the time the game actually arrives. Because at the rate Florida State is going these days, the Seminoles are going to need guys to pull double duty after 25 players were expected to be suspended players earlier in the week when news of a cheatin scandal broke.
Back in the summer I tried predicting - as accurately as possible, not just a bunch of stabs in the dark - the matchups in each of the 32 bowl games. So now that we know who's playing who, I figured I'd look back and see if I got any even half right. The results, I have to say, are pretty. Pretty pathetic.
Few things in life are easy. And predicting, analyzing and understanding college football is not one of those things because Saturday night we saw more of the unexpected and more of the chaos that has come to exemplify the 2007 season.
The coaching carousel seems to have slowed down as the week comes to a close with no one getting the ax the past few days. But there's been plenty of other activity around the country with coaches contemplating moves to other jobs and there's one in particular that should really take a hard look at what the future may hold.
Tim Tebow is likely your 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, but after what we saw from Chase Daniel Saturday night, I'm sure some people are going to give the Missouri quarterback more than a second thought after what they saw out of the junior.
So I guess this makes Les Miles' decision to potentially become the next head coach at Michigan a little easier considering he doesn't have to worry about missing out on his team playing for the national championship.
Lose your quarterback and you're going to lose. It was as simple as that for two teams this extended three day football weekend after watching No. 2 Oregon fall on the road Thursday night and then watching No. 3 Oklahoma follow suit Saturday.
Is this going to be Lloyd Carr's final game on the sidelines of the Big House? That's the big question on everyone's mind entering Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State meeting with the Big Ten title up for grabs in college football's premier rivalry.
So where do we find ourselves after another highly ranked team - in Saturday's case No. 1 Ohio State - lost to an unranked team for what seems like the 50th time this season? We find ourselves with a drastically altered BCS standings, one that will be void of the Buckeyes as national title contenders after Illinois ran roughshod over the Ohio State defense when they are released later Sunday.
Rules changes have become the norm in college football, most especially those involving tweaks to the clock the past few years. So after the NCAA's attempts to speed up the game last season were met with dismay and disgust from many of the nation's coaches, the NCAA changed the rules again this past off-season in an effort to drive down the times of these marathon-like games. But after 10 weeks it looks like it's time for the to go back to the drawing board.
So who's the best defensive back in the country? According to the people at the Jim Thorpe Association, there are 12 of them right now. But that number's about to change.
Apparently there's something bad about being No. 2 this year and we saw the second ranked team in the nation go down yet again Saturday, severely shaking up the national title picture.
We got a week off from the wild and shocking upsets, but if we came away with anything from this weekend it's that we have ourselves a legit No. 1 team in the nation.
You can probably chalk it up to him trying to show proper respect, along with trying to fire up his team and maybe pad the opponent's ego a little bit before a big game, but Frank Beamer's statement earlier in the week about Boston College borders on blasphemous - especially if you're a Miami fan.
The No. 15 team in the latest BCS rankings is Virginia - believe it or not - and in this wild and crazy college football season you might as well call them the Cardiac Cavs.
CBSSports.com came out with its College Football Halfway All-America Team this afternoon, and while the CBSSports.com staff did a pretty good job putting it together, here's a case for a few who maybe should have made the team over a few who did.
It's officially The Year of the Upset. We've had a few wacky weekends and just when you think things are about to return to normal, we have the top two teams in the nation lose on the same day for the first time since Sept. 21, 1996 and scramble up the polls yet again. Just in time, of course, for Sunday's season premiere of the BCS rankings.
Just when Florida State starts to show you something, creeps back into the Top 25 and seemed poised to contend in the ACC Atlantic, they give you a performance like Thursday's that makes you realize Bobby Bowden's boys have a long way to go.
The worst home loss in Florida State history has been fresh on the mind of Bobby Bowden as his Seminoles head into their Thursday night matchup with Wake Forest.
Think all these upsets we've seen so far this season are all that surprising? Think again because coaches around the country barely sigh when they hear that Appalachian State, Syracuse or even a 41-point underdog to the No. 2 team in the nation has pulled off the unexpected.
For a while there it was looking like Florida was right back in the thick of things. Leading the No. 1 Tigers on the road, Florida was only a matter of minutes from leaving Baton Rouge with a gigantic win and jumping right back into the national championship picture. But LSU would have none of it.
If you saw this weekend coming, a weekend in which half of the Top 10 lost, then you made yourself quite a bit of money because the odds against it happening anytime soon are slim to none.
He was the No. 1 player in New York coming out of high school in the Syracuse area back in 2003, but little did Joe Paterno know the kind of player Mike Hart would turn out to be at Michigan.
Texas A&M heads into its matchup with Miami this evening as a 2.5 point underdog despite the fact that the Aggies are the No. 20 team in the nation and that the Hurrcanes haven't exactly looked like favorite material so far this season.
So does anyone have any doubts about USC, most especially the Trojans running game, after their performance in Lincoln Saturday night? Tough to find a whole lot that's wrong with Pete Carroll's squad after the Trojans let everyone know they don't plan on handing over their No. 1 ranking anytime soon.
Swagger is something that's been missing from the Washington sidelines for some years now as the once mighty Huskies have fallen on hard times. But the tide seems to be turning in Ty Willingham's third season in Seattle with the Huskies off to a 2-0 start.
To say Georgia Tech has breezed in its first two games would be an understatement. The Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponents 102-17, averaging a robust 442 yards per game. But after two early romps, Chan Gailey's squad gets its first real test of the season Saturday in Boston College.
Drastic times call for drastic measures, and both the times and measures have arrived at Virginia Tech. After being embarrassed 48-7 by LSU on Saturday, head coach Frank Beamer has yanked his veteran signal-caller in favor of a freshman. Tyrod Taylor will make his first start on Saturday against Ohio University, hoping to lead the Hokies out of an uninspired 1-1 start and away from the rapidly-growing trappings of a terribly disappointing season.
Sam Bradford for Heisman? The Sooners quarterback just got done leading Oklahoma to another huge win, this week over Miami and that Hurricanes defense that was taken to the woodshed.
Oklahoma and Miami haven't played each other in 20 years, but that all changes Saturday when two of the top programs in college football, who just happen to be in very different positions this season, meet in Norman.
The talk of the college football world continues to be Appalachian State after the Mountaineers pulled off the shocking, and historic, upset of Michigan last Saturday. But it didn't come as a complete surprise to Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer.
Week 1 of the college football season is usually forgettable thanks to all the blowouts and otherwise boring games that flood the schedule. This year, however, it was anything but thanks to one team from Boone, N.C. that pulled off an upset for the ages.
Well, no one could have predicted this: the No. 5 team in the nation, losing to a Division I-AA/FCS team, in what could very well be one of the greatest upsets in college football history.
Jeff Jagodzinski certainly isn't easing into his head coaching career at Boston College and Philip Fulmer has a doozy of game to kick off year No. 16 at Tennessee.
Despite it's undisputed status as the premiere conference in the country, the SEC hasn't been immune to criticism, especially when talk has turned to the league's non-conference schedule.
On the day after, Randy Shannon had another chance to enlighten all of us as to why he picked Kirby Freeman as Miami's starting quarterback over Kyle Wright, but the Miami coach wouldn't budge.
After weeks of speculation, but mostly silence, Randy Shannon has made his decision as to who the starting quarterback will be for the Hurricanes. And the winner, for Week 1 at least, is not Mr. Wright.
A few weeks after coaches around the country submitted their ballots for their own Preseason Top 25, it was the writers' turn as the Associated Press released its Preseason Top 25 poll Saturday and there's practically no difference between them.
Let Les Miles speak his mind and apparently he's going to be pretty candid, especially when the topic of conversation turns to the best team in the nation, USC, and its Pac-10 counterparts.
The Atlanta Sports Council has broached the idea of having Duke play its game against Alabama in 2010 in the Georgia Dome. The experience of playing in an NFL stadium is one thing, but why would the Blue Devils even think about losing a home game against the Crimson Tide when they need all the support they can get?
Perhaps the biggest race in college football these days doesn't involve a fight for a division title, a battle for some recruit or sprint to raise more funds. The biggest race may very well be the race between cities bidding to host future ACC Championship Games and it seems like a new entrant is emerging every week.
To see Jeff Samardzija go the route of professional baseball - over professional football - shouldn’t have come as a total shock. For the sake of health and money, he made a smart, smart decision to go with a career in baseballl. The Cubs signed the former Notre Dame wide receiver for $10 millions over 5 seasons Friday, putting an end to his football career that was destine for the NFL.
Surprising how Wisconsin got it done today. If you have said that Wisconsin was going to have so much trouble rushing the ball in the first half, yet still have a 10 point lead at the beginning of the third quarter, you would have never believed it. P.J. Hill and the rest of the running game did absolutely nothing all day and John Stocco had a little trouble taking care of the ball. But he threw a couple of TDs and the team persevered. The defense played very well, as usual, to hold on at the end.
Sometimes you leave a movie theater feeling high. Sometimes you leave a move theater feeling low. And sometimes you leave it emotionally drained, but smiling as you make your way to the exit. That was the case for me Thursday evening after I had the chance to catch a special screening of Warner Bros. new release, “We Are Marshall,” in Midtown Manhattan.
Charlie Weis isn’t concerned so much about Notre Dame’s bowl destination. Nor should he be. His team is going to wind up in the Sugar Bowl despite not deserving the honor of playing in a BCS bowl.
There was a reason why USC came in as an 8.5 point favorite Saturday. And they showed it, in a big way, against the Irish. Simply put: USC showed that it's in a different class than Notre Dame, one that's right next to a team from Columbus, Ohio.
Chris Leak finally played well in a big spot this season. Going 7-for-8 on that game deciding drive was impressive. Leak did a great job with Dallas Baker on the drive, calling an audible at the line that resulted in a 25-yard completion to Baker and then hooked up with him for a touchdown in the back corner of the endzone that Baker made a nice adjustment to catch.
The inevitable happened today when Larry Coker was officially let go of his duties as Miami’s head coach. It’s a sad end to what became a sad episode in Coral Gables, but one that we all could see coming from a mile away.
So the question now is are we going to get a rematch? There’s no doubt that Ohio State and Michigan played an amazing game Saturday, one that’s going to go down as a classic in the series and will be talked about for the rest of the year. But if you ask me, the prospects of seeing a rematch are looking ever more probable. The answer, however, we should get to rematch question is no.
Well, first half impressions? Looks as if the better team is rising to the top. Troy Smith is 30 minutes away from locking up the Heisman Trophy and the Buckeyes are on their way to a win if things continue as is.
If there’s one thing you’re going to come away from yesterday’s Rutgers-Louisville game is that the Scarlet Knights have one heck of a defense. Their speed and tenacity at pressuring Brian Brohm was the reason Rutgers earned the biggest win in school history.
So Michigan and Ohio State got their scares today against two unlikely opponents. I guess what we saw was a case of Michigan and Ohio State simply overlooking their opponents. Troy Smith didn’t have a huge day and the Wolverines basically won thanks to their defense making the late stop that it did.
Just when you thought it would be JaMarcus Russell who would cost the Tigers their game against Tennessee (and he nearly did), the enigmatic QB was the catalyst for LSU’s 4th quarter comeback and its big road win over the Vols.
For those who subscribe to the idea that SEC offenses are struggling this year, there’s a perfectly good explanation. It’s those stacked defenses and a glut of new, relatively inexperienced QBs manning the posts at several schools, that’s bringing the conference’s offensive numbers down.
All the talk of the college football world this week will be about West Virginia and Louisville, and rightfully so. Two undefeated, top 5 teams with national championship aspirations will face off with the loser left in the dark of title contention.
It was a great game to watch and dramatic as can be, but we shouldn’t be overly surprised that USC finally lost a game. Let’s face it. They’ve been playing with fire these last few weeks, just waiting to get burned. Saturday, they got burned.
Temple got its first win of the season, and its first win in a long, long time, against Bowling Green. Congratulations to Al Golden. First time since Nov. 2004 that the Owls won a game. So how bad does that make Bowling Green? The Falcons losing to Temple: Urban Meyer must be ashamed.
Mr. Williams Has Landed (In The Competitive Western State Conference)
Willie Williams has apparently surfaced in California, playing for West Los Angeles Community College. In the enigmatic linebackers first game of the season (he sat out the team’s first five games of the year because he wasn’t eligible academically) he had a blocked punt,13 tackles and two sacks as his team lost 28-0.
The owners of the No. 2 defense in the nation is…Rutgers. After defeating Pittsburgh Saturday, and holding Tyler Palko and the high-flying Pitt offense to only 169 yards in the air, Rutgers defense is earning more and more respect every week. And UConn coach Randy Edsall, who will face the Scarlet Knights Sunday, knows why their defense has been so impressive, allowing 223 yards per game – second only to LSU.
It was a pretty wild Saturday that saw some history, another incredible comeback and a plethora of performances that helped sort out the national picture a little more. Here’s what I think we’ve learned and what I come away from Saturday with. . .
How do you get a roughing the passer penalty on the last play of the game? Stupid play on Brian Orakpo’s part. The Longhorns are just fortunate that it didn’t lead to disaster, but they escape - big time - with a win in Lincoln.
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Huskies may be keeping Steve Slaton in relative check, but that's not the case with Pat White who's running right over UConn on what's shaping up to be a big West Virginia win. On only 13 carries, White had 102 yards and a TD, includiing runs of 45 and 30 yards to set up Mountaineer scores. West Virginia has a comfotable 20-3 lead right now and it seems only inevitable that they'll add to it with regularity in the second half.
The reaction to the Miami-FIU brawl that broke out in Saturday’s third quarter was met with universal disappointment by some of the Big East coaches Monday. Played numerous times on highlight shows around the country for the past two days, just about everyone in college football had a chance to watch the transgressions of the Hurricanes and Golden Panthers and no one liked what they saw.
There’s no argument that the Big East isn’t what it used to be without the likes of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College. But the conference is garnering some respect around the country with improved play and some non-conference wins, especially over the hated ACC.
So Wake Forest and Auburn are no longer undefeated after suffering losses earlier this afternoon. Is it shaping up to be one of those days? I think so.
Should we now look forward to a winner take all, Armageddon-esque game between Michigan and Ohio State Nov. 18? I think so. With Ohio State’s easy schedule from here on out. Michigan’s slate is more than manageable until the season finale meeting. So the only teams that are going to defeat Ohio State and Michigan is Ohio State and Michigan. It only seems inevitable - considering the way these two teams are playing - that the winner is going to play for the national championship. Consider:
It doesn’t get much worse than 2-9 finish in Year 1 for a coach taking over a former Pac-10 perennial power. But Tyrone Willingham has gotten his Huskies off to a surprising start in Year 2 with Washington staked out to a 3-1 record. With wins already over San Diego State, Fresno State and UCLA, it didn’t take long for Willingham to surpass 2005’s win total.
There was no official moniker for this Saturday, but Survival Saturday was more than fitting. I think it’s safe to say that we saw that there really isn’t an overly dominant team out there right now.
The top unbeaten teams - Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Florida and Auburn - didn’t have particularly inspiring performances today. And some other top tier teams hung on in their respective games after facing some stiff competition from their opponents early on like Virginia Tech, and most notably, Georgia. But they all survived, and national championship and BCS berth hopes are still intact for nearly all who entered the weekend with big time postseason hopes.
Where to start on a Saturday like this, I’m not sure. There was measuring stick game after measuring stick game all over the country and several teams rose to the occasion in the seven games that featured ranked teams against each other.
The Wolverines are off to one heck of a start in a must-win game for Lloyd Carr. Turnovers are just killing the Irish as they find themselves down 20-7. We'll really see what kind of coach Charlie Weis is soon, I guess. I don't think its possible for Brady Quinn to have worse first quarter stats than he has and the Irish right now have more penalty yards than rushing yards. Things better pick up soon.
Some have called it the most important game in Louisville history. But as the Cardinals get ready to host Miami Saturday, coach Bobby Petrino isn’t buying it.
It should be pretty clear now who the No. 1 team in the nation is. Ohio State, behind quarterback Troy Smith, showed the country they are the best team with a 24-7 win over the Longhorns on the road and I think it's safe to say we learned some things from this game.
The rules changes went over without any major gripping or complaining from the majority of Big East coaches Monday. No one felt the rules were a hindrance or a pain, but some noticed more of a difference than others.
Well, a win’s a win and that’s what the Irish got Saturday. It wasn’t pretty and the offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but Charlie Weis’ squad got the job done. They won and survived, lived to face Penn State next without a loss hanging over them and still one of the favorites to make it to the national championship game. For that, they should be satisfied. For other reasons, there should be concern.
Since the season is officially here, I figured it was time to do what everyone else around the country has done: make the obligatory predictions. This way, I’m on the record and I’ll be able to look back in amazement about how poorly - or precisely - I predicted things would pan out.
One quick note -- the esteemed position of media day golf tournament winner went to a team that boasted Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen on its four-member squad. Unfortunately, my own pick of Virginia's Olsen and Virginia Tech's Beamer finished out of the money, but I did get this snap of Olsen coming off the course Monday afternoon...
The players are long gone, the coaches aren't far behind them, and I myself must bid the Sawgrass adieu, headed for Jacksonville airport with notebooks and recorders full, and the distinct feeling that the end of August is looming large.
It's a little known but well-observed fact that the Bowden family's DNA includes an entire gene dedicated to dealing with the media. Both FSU coach Bobby and his son, Clemson coach Tommy, found their interview tables mobbed during the coaches' afternoon interview session.
If your intrepid reporter only had a golf game to speak of beyond the putt-putt course, she would have been up two hours ago to catch a shuttle to the Marvin "Skeeter" Francis golf outing. Personal pick for matchup of the day: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, who is playing in a group with Cavalier quarterback Christian Olsen. A nice little battle for the Commonwealth could ensue.
No one says growing up is easy, so it’s no surprise that the ACC’s 2005 expansion still casts a shadow over the conference football previews. Especially the divisional alignment, between the Coastal and Atlantic divisions, which still makes more than a few helmeted heads spin.
Looks like we won’t be spending the afternoon outside by the pool. As thunderstorms start to roll over the Sawgrass, but the news inside is mostly spinning sunny. After the players’ interviews, in the cautiously or freely optimistic eyes of the ACC’s best players, each team has a crack at success this season. Sure Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech know they’re the teams to beat, sure N.C. State and Virginia and others know that their recent shine is starting to dull, but everyone’s got the words “we can” on their lips in the interviews.
The nominations for Best Performance By A Player In Group Interviews are in, and Florida State's representation has stolen the show. Senior linebacker Buster Davis and senior running back Lorenzo Booker brought the best-organized comedy routine I've seen in a while to the first session of media day interviews.
The nominations for Best Performance By A Player In Group Interviews are in, and Florida State's representation has stolen the show. Senior linebacker Buster Davis and senior running back Lorenzo Booker brought the best-organized comedy routine I've seen in a while to the first session of media day interviews.
