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September 27, 2006
My "AP" Ballot - Week 4
With the release of the MRI, you might think that I wouldn't still be posting a human ballot. No such luck MRISports fans. I still have an opinion, and one that differs a lot at times from my computer.
First off, you aren't going to see me placing Missouri as the #5 team in the country, no matter how good their defense is. They still have to prove to me with my eyes that they can beat some of the top teams in the Big XII South before they get that honor. That doesn't mean they can't. I am just not sure about them yet to have them any higher than #21. Of course, the actual AP voters and I have been proven wrong time and again by my computer, so maybe I should start to listen.
Ohio State keeps the top spot despite a lackluster game this weekend. Auburn is up to #2 followed closely by USC who struggled through their win against Arizona and gives me even more reason to believe that they may be beatable in the PAC-10 this season. Florida is up one spot to #4, but the SEC isn't the only league with two teams in the Top 5. Michigan joins the lead pack for week 4 thanks to a very big scare given to West Virginia.
Here are my "AP" rankings for Week 4:
- Ohio State
- Auburn
- USC
- Florida
- Michigan
- West Virginia
- Virginia Tech
- Louisville
- Oregon
- Texas
- LSU
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Oklahoma
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Tennessee
- Nebraska
- Cal
- TCU
- Missouri
- Rutgers
- Georgia Tech
- Florida State
- Boise State
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 26, 2006
Heisman Watch - Week 4
As I looked at the statistics from the games and thought about what I had seen from Saturday afternoon and evening, a thought struck me. The Heisman Hype has awesome power.
You may be thinking that this was a given. However, let me throw you an example. Not to take anything away from Brady Quinn's performance on Saturday night, but if you just go by pure statistics, Quinn should have no business being in the Heisman race. You may be thinking that is crazy, but I can prove it to you.
Pick a number in your head where Quinn is in quarterback rating in Division 1-A. You have it? Ok.
If you have anything above 40, you are wrong. How is that for shocking? Quinn is no better than the 43rd best passer in the league by quarterback rating at this point in the season.
"Well he throws for a lot of yards," you are thinking. "That must count for something." Sure it does. He is sixth overall, but that comes because he throws the ball more than all but 3 quarterbacks in the league. That leaves him 59th in yards per passing attempt, not a stat that stands out. And on top of that, we have always in years past dismissed quarterbacks like a Tommy Chang at Hawaii, or anyone at Texas Tech for that matter, because we said their numbers were a product of the system. What is to say that Quinn is not a product of the new Notre Dame Charlie Weis system and that the only real number that means anything in terms of his stats is the yards per attempt?
Quinn is only one touchdown pass behind the leaders, and has only thrown four interceptions, but overall, his numbers don't stack up near the top. And that is where the hype around him and his on-field leadership abilities are going to have to carry the Golden Boy to the award if he still hopes to win.
His comeback on Saturday night will go a long way towards making that happen, but he does not move all the way to the top after this week. He is firmly in the top tier after his performance though.
After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 4:
- Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 27 car., 128 yds, 3 TD vs. Middle Tennessee State - Oklahoma needed a win in a bad way after the debacle that was the Oregon game. Peterson helped the Sooners to do just that. The yardage may not look very impressive, but Peterson is sure picking up the scoring numbers and providing a huge spark on offense that is even helping Paul Thompson become a real quarterback. He takes over the top spot this week after another average week by a large number of the candidates. Now, it is a matter of staying power, and that will take a big day against Texas in two weeks.
- Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 12/22, 115 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT vs. Penn State - Ok, Brady Quinn fans, here is your chance to complain. Quinn lit up the Penn State defense, and Smith looked just average against them. However, if I didn't move Quinn out of the top five after his dismal performance against Michigan, I feel like I can give Smith the benefit of the doubt this week. He loses the lead for now, just by proving he is human, but has a chance to come back still.
- Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 22 car., 198 yds, 4 TD vs. Indiana State - Before you go complaining about why he is third, let's talk about Mr. Wolfe. He is currently the leading rusher in Division 1-A, and is leading by almost 200 yards. Now, I know you are going to say that he is doing it against inferior competition. Think back though to the first game against Ohio State, the #1 team almost unanimously across the country. Wolfe only managed almost 300 yards of offense on his own in that game. That is definitely not against inferior competition. Now Wolfe just has to hope that his 2-2 Huskies squad comes around so he will have a chance to touch the ball a lot more and stay in this race.
- Brady Quinn (QB ND): 20/36, 319 yds, 5 TD, 1 INT vs. Michigan State - As stated above, it is amazing what a little hype and some leadership skills can do for you. Quinn's interception looked like it was going to seal the loss for Notre Dame. Quinn never gave up though and he climbed back into the game and also into the Heisman race.
- Chris Leak (QB Florida): 15/26, 267 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT vs. Kentucky - Leak is the ultimate in slow starters. The Florida offense just takes about two quarters to get going, but when they do, look out. Referencing the numbers discussion that I had on Quinn, Leak is the 4th highest rated passer in Division 1-A. And yet, I am still placing him 5th for now. I think he needs to show a little bit more against the tough defenses of some of the SEC teams coming up on his schedule to move any further up the line.
- Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 24 car., 80 yds, vs. East Carolina - Steve Slaton finally found a team that was his equal on Saturday. He finally didn't run for over 200 yards or some insane like amount on only 6 or 8 carries. The Pirates tested Slaton and came out the better, even if they lost the game. Slaton will need to bounce back quickly. The Big East schedule is not so difficult where he will have a chance to prove himself against a great defense time and time again. He may have lost any momentum he had and his chance to go to NYC.
- Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 23 car., 91 yds, 1 TD vs. Wisconsin - At least Hart broke the end zone with his sub-100 yard rushing performance. He is clearly the only player on the Wolverines that will get consideration at this point. Sure Mario Manningham has caught 5 touchdowns in the last two weeks, but receivers have a steep hill to climb and unless he goes off for three more next week, Hart's name will be the only one appearing on ballots.
- Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal): 17 car., 124 yds, 2 rec., 33 yds, 1 TD vs. Arizona State - Cal used the passing game that was almost non-existent against Tennessee to help them beat Arizona State this weekend. Lynch was a big part of that, catching one of the four touchdowns from Nate Longshore to help in the win. He also averaged over seven yards a carry on the ground which is sure to be demoralizing to the defense. Lynch didn't start the season strong and is still trying to catch up, but a multi-dimensional performance like this sure helps.
- JaMarcus Russell (QB LSU): 17/23, 198 yds, 2 TDs vs. Tulane - It doesn't take much to beat Tulane, but JaMarcus Russell did more than enough as the LSU Tigers bounced back from their tough loss to Auburn last week. Russell has been very consistent all season, but hasn't yet impressed enough to move up to the top five. Right now, he isn't even the best quarterback in his conference. Russell has to hope to make up the loss somewhere along the way so that LSU might have a chance to take the SEC West and get himself to the SEC championship and earn another game in the voters' minds.
- John David Booty (QB USC): 24/39, 179 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT vs. Arizona - Booty is going to be hurting after this week. He loses his top receiver Dwayne Jarrett for the next two to four weeks and will have to find someone else to pick up the slack. Jarrett was definitely supporting Booty's numbers and candidacy. He now will have to be more creative to hope to not fall out of this list.
Outside chances: Erik Ainge (Tennessee)
Dropped from my watch list:
- Teddy Ginn, Jr. (Slash Ohio State): 2 rec., 15 yards vs. Penn State - Ginn had some return yards too, but I already warned last week that he was in danger. When you only total 15 yards on offense, you are going to have trouble staying in the Heisman watch. Ginn is still one of the top scorers in the league, but you need to do more than catch five yard passes to win the award.
- Chad Henne (QB Michigan): 18/25, 211 yds, 2 TDs, 3 INTs - Henne is back off the list. I might have been too quick to pull him back on originally. After his slow start, he had a brilliant game against Notre Dame. However, this week, he was back to his shaky ways. Sure 18/25 looks nice, but three of the misses were into the other team's arms. The Big Ten schedule doesn't get any easier for him, so he better watch out that this doesn't become a pattern if he wants the undefeated showdown with Ohio State at the end of the season.
Heisman-like Performance
This week's player: Ian Johnson - RB, Boise State
Line: 29 car., 178 yards, 2 TD vs. Hawaii
Boise State seems to always have issues when they play Hawaii. Still, they managed another win on the blue turf at home and Ian Johnson was a big part of it, rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson wasn't the only part of the Boise State offense that was working as his quarterback Jared Zabransky also put up big numbers. Johnson is the same back that had five touchdowns against Oregon State earlier this season, something that almost earned him the Heisman-like Performance then. Instead, he gets it a few weeks later for a game that is definitely more meaningful for his team this season. Johnson is only a sophomore, so we may be hearing big things about him over the next few years as he competes with Steve Slaton and Jonathan Stewart to be the top running back in the country.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2006
MRI Football 2006 - Rankings Week 1
The ratings are back, and I am just waiting for the complaining to begin. Not only is Notre Dame outside of the Top 25, they are below two teams that they beat so far this season: Georgia Tech, and also this week's victim, Michigan State. Oklahoma is still rated above Oregon, even with the Ducks being undefeated. Purdue is the only team without a loss not in the Top 25. It just doesn't get any better than this.
Seriously though, there are good reasons for all of these. Look at Notre Dame's defeat compared to the two wins over Georgia Tech and Michigan State. Those weren't exactly convincing victories, were they, even if thy were maybe key to Notre Dame's continued success this season. Oklahoma was robbed of a victory in Oregon, and they have also played one more game so far. It will be interesting to see what happens once they are back even in games played after next week. And Purdue hasn't exactly looked sharp in their wins against a soft schedule. Purdue's opponents included one Division 1-AA opponent who they struggled to beat, and they rest of the teams have a combined record of 3-9.
You want to know what it takes to be #1? Then just look at Michigan. Other than a little bobble to start the season against Vandy, they have been convincing in all of their wins, and hold the top spot in the rankings. USC holds a familiar spot in the rankings at #2, exactly where they ended last season. Auburn and LSU, who last week played to a 7-3 finish tie up spots #3 and #4 for the SEC. The small loss by the LSU Tigers was enough to keep them in contention for the MRI title at this point in the season. Coming in at #5, we have a surprise for you. A very good defensive squad at Missouri is holding the final spot in the Top 5. The Tigers are probably one of the more underrated teams this season, being under the radar for the so far. It will be interesting to see if they can keep this up entering conference season this upcoming week, and potentially contend for the Big XII North title.
| And Now the Rankings | |||||
| Other Teams People Might Care About | |||||
| Last Place this week: Utah State (0-4) at -44.74. | |||||
| Conference rankings this week: Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, PAC-10, Mountain West, ACC, C-USA, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt | |||||
The MRI Rankings are copyright 2006 by MRISports.com. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 9:00 PM | Comments (1)
September 21, 2006
Oklahoma - Oregon Officially Jumps the Shark
The term "Jump the Shark", for those of you not already familiar with it, normally refers to when a television show or idea has reached the end of its useful life. It refers to an episode of "Happy Days" when the Fonz decided to jump a shark on water skis. After that episode, most fans of the show decided that Happy Days was all downhill from there. And so, the phrase was created and has stuck ever since.
Now, jumping the shark is not normally applied to sports, although I think a few fans might argue that college football officially jumped the shark when the three letters B-C-S were introduced. I think the controversy in the game between Oklahoma and Oregon has actually gone far enough to officially have jumped the shark.
Why? Because Bob Knight decided he needed to weigh in with his two cents.
You may be thinking that the story had outlived its usefulness when it first broke. We had fans making their own video compilations of the incident, highlighting the errors in the replay booth and on the field. We have had news media on both sides, and even in neutral territories taking their stands. We even had the president of the University of Oklahoma, David Boren, calling for the game to be wiped clean and the officials to be suspended for the entire season.
However, as college football stories go, nothing can get much worse than when a basketball coach at another university feels it is necessary to laugh in the face of Oklahoma because he claims that their school did the same thing to him. Don't let it be said that Knight doesn't know how to hold a grudge I guess, since he is still steamed over a loss by his team to the Sooners back in 2003. Two clock errors in a January game between Texas Tech and Oklahoma allowed the Sooners to ultimately win the game against the Red Raiders. After that game, Knight called for Oklahoma to forfeit the game as replays of the incident clearly showed the errors.
Now, he seems to think that maybe Oklahoma is getting a taste of their own medicine.
"Maybe now those people at Oklahoma understand what I was talking about," Knight told The Oklahoman."Had Oklahoma forfeited that game against us like I suggested, they would have gotten far more positive publicity out of that than if they had gone to the Final Four that year. Now I guess the 'duck' is swimming in the other pond."
It is hard to blame Oklahoma for being upset in this incident. Having watched the game, even at full speed, you can clearly see the issues with the calls both on the field and in the booth. The PAC-10 has taken action against the officials, suspending them for one game. Oklahoma has even threatened to pull out of a game in 2008, with Washington, in Seattle, because of the PAC-10 policy on having its conference officials be used when a non-conference game is held in a PAC-10 stadium. As if they think that these same officials would be assigned the game, and possibly the same incident would happen again. I say, go right ahead. Hurt your strength of schedule by scrambling to find an opponent for two years from now. See how you like your championship hopes then. Idle threats probably aren't going to change an entire conference's mind on their policy.
The story started to get a little iffy for me when the death threats starting rolling in against the replay official. I know fans are upset, but this is only a football game. No one is going to be hurt in the long run because of a blown call. No injuries or permanent harm came to someone on the field because of the call. Even if there had been, there is still no reason to take this out on a man by threatening his life repeatedly. It has gotten so bad that the replay official has had to ask for a leave of absence for the rest of the season.
Even after that, the story hadn't hit its low point.
Today was the official date. Bob Knight has no business still carrying a grudge about what happened to him back in 2003. To weigh in on this story when it occurred in a sport that was totally separate from his own and when the situation was much different than his, I find that just wrong.
Coach Knight, your team has over 30 chances during the season to make an impression on a committee that decides who plays in a tournament with 65 teams. In the 2002-3 season when this occurred, your team finished 18-12 against Division I opponents. And no, you didn't make the tournament (for full disclosure, the MRI did have Texas Tech in, the committee just didn't see it that way). But, honestly, at 19-11, with an extra win over the eventually conference tournament champions, do you think your resume would have been that much better to have gotten you in? And who is to say that you couldn't have done more in the other 11 games that you lost to prove your case to the committee.
College football doesn't run like basketball, Mr. Knight. Teams almost have to go undefeated to get to the championship game in the BCS era. And even if they do, teams can sometimes get left out. There are no playoffs. There is no large tournament including almost 20% of the teams. There is only one game with two participants. I see no problem with Oklahoma being upset in the this matter, or complaining (though maybe asking for the game to be wiped out was going a little far). I do have a problem with you, Mr. Knight, laughing in their face because of it. We have constantly seen complaints about you not being mature as a coach. I think you have just proven it once again.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (2)
September 19, 2006
Heisman Watch - Week 3
Let's be honest. If you haven't made an impression by Week 3 of the season, you aren't winning this award. Using that criteria, I have narrowed my official list down to 13 names (including one which I had previously dropped from the list). Three players lost their shot permanently this week.
Well, maybe I should say semi-permanently considering that I brought back Chad Henne to the list this week. I know, I know. He looked fairly average in his first two games this year, but his overall numbers are what is keeping him in the running right now. That, and his amazing performance against Notre Dame when he looked like a different player out there on the field. That was the Henne that everyone was expecting to see for the last two years plus two games, and he finally arrived in a big time way.
That said, Mr. Henne didn't make the top 10, since it was only one game. His is in Heisman Watch list purgatory, hanging out with Erik Ainge and JaMarcus Russell, two quarterbacks of losing teams who until this week sure looked like they could make a statement in the Heisman race.
And I am sure everyone is anxious to know where the Mighty Quinn is sitting this week. Brady, he of the three interceptions, feel to #5 behind the strong performances of three running backs and another solid week by Troy Smith.
After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 3:
- Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 21/30, 205 yds, 2 TD vs. Cincinnati - It took a while for Troy Smith to find his game against the Bearcats, but it turned into another solid performance. You can forgive him for that too. It is a little difficult to get hyped up for a game against Cincinnati after the great performance that Smith and the Buckeyes turned in against Texas last Saturday night. He was able to take most of the 4th quarter off against the Bearcats which held back his numbers, but Smith was still the best leader of the week.
- Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 21 att., 195 yds, 2 TD vs. Maryland - I think it is safe to say that the nation took notice of Slaton on Thursday night. He had 149 yards in the first quarter and after that, it was just a question of if he would top 200. Slaton put his performance square in the minds of the voters. Now he has to make sure he doesn't disappear the rest of the season. Remember this guy is still a sophomore too, which could hurt him for winning this year, even if he is the best player in football.
- Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 34 car., 211 yds, 1 TD vs. Oregon - Peterson's team may have lost the controversial game in Oregon, but Peterson wasn't the reason. He was a huge spark on offense for the second straight week and continues to rack up huge numbers despite being the focus of the defenses he faces.
- Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 24 car., 263 yds, 2 TD vs. Buffalo - Yes, it is Buffalo, but still an amazing performance. Wolfe is going to have a lot of games like this against the MAC, and Buffalo is the worst of the bunch. Given the week that many of the contenders had, you can't keep him out of the upper tier.
- Brady Quinn (QB ND): 24/48, 243 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT, 1 bad fumble vs. Michigan - The golden boy of the Golden Domers took a big hit in his quest for the Heisman and the National Championship on Saturday. Maybe the best news for Quinn in his quest for the award was that many of the other leading candidates also had soft weeks. Quinn pulls in at the end of the top tier, but just barely.
- Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 31 car., 124 yds, 1 TD vs. Notre Dame - In a game that was dominated by Henne and the passing game, Michael Hart had a very solid performance, helping to run the clock down and keep Notre Dame from getting their defense off the field. Hart wasn't dominant enough to move up into the upper five, but if he keeps hanging in there, he might be by the end of the season.
- Chris Leak (QB Florida): 15/26, 199 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT vs. Tennessee - For a while, it looked like Leak might drop all the way out of the top ten but he sure turned on the leadership in the second half of this game. For such a big game on the road, in a very tough environment, Leak sure showed a lot of poise. You would think the quarterback of a team that won would be higher in the rankings, but I think seven is a pretty good spot right now. He is set up perfectly for a big run once he and the Gators get deep into the SEC season.
- Teddy Ginn, Jr. (Slash Ohio State): 5 rec, 34 yds, 2 TD vs. Cincinnati - I am starting to get bored with Mr. Ginn. Yes, he is exciting when he touches the ball. Yes, he is the fast. But when you barely catch any yards, and only score touchdowns on short passes, where is the flair? He is close to falling off the list, and I am thinking that most voters would say the same with impressive performances elsewhere.
- John David Booty (QB USC): 25/36, 257 yds, 3 TD vs. Nebraska - I have to admit that I didn't think this guy would come to much. USC was sure replacing a lot, but maybe that is helping him as the defense has no idea where to look. Of course, it helps when you have a receiver like Dwayne Jarrett. Its only been two games, but he sure looks like he belongs on this list, and even if he doesn't make it to the top this year, he still has one more year to show his stuff.
- Marshawn Lynch (RB Cal): 6 car., 112 yds, 1 TD vs. Portland State - After a slow start to his season against Tennessee, Lynch has started to turn it on just in time for the PAC-10 to start. He didn't play long against Portland State, but he made the most of his time on the field, including a 71 yard scamper. He didn't have quite the explosive performance that Slaton did when West Virginia routed their opponent, but Lynch is back in the game.
Outside chances: Erik Ainge (Tennessee), Chad Henne (Michigan), JaMarcus Russell (LSU)
Dropped from my watch list:
- Kenny Irons (RB Auburn) - Two weeks in a row without gaining 100 yards. Yes, it was against two very good defenses, but Heisman winners overcome that. Sorry, Mr. Irons, this is not your year.
- Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech) - He started with a great game against Notre Dame and has just fallen off the face of the Earth since. He was very much outshined by Reggie Ball on Saturday. No award for him.
- Zac Taylor(QB Nebraska) - I always feel bad when I knock someone off this list. Taylor just didn't have it against USC, and while he didn't throw any interceptions in the loss, he just isn't going to be able to compete with the rest of the list without a couple of huge games when the Big XII season starts.
Heisman-like Performance
This week's player: Lester Ricard - QB, Tulane
Line: 16/23 passing, 304 yards, 4 TD vs. Mississippi State
While last week, there were several possible choices for this honor, this week, there were very few. Ricard is the big winner this week, beating a Mississippi State defense that had looked very good over the first couple of weeks. Four touchdowns is nothing to scoff at, and Tulane was the underdog coming into the game. Sylvester Croom must be scratching his head, wondering what happened. Tulane had lost eight games in a row coming into the game, and marked their first win on the road against an SEC team since 1989. The Green Wave did have to hold off a late run by the Bulldogs, but came home with the win. Considering all that happened to Tulane in the past year, you have to give a big hand to Ricard and Tulane on their big achievement.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2006
Duquesne Players Shot, Suspect Still At Large
It is not often that Duquesne gets any press in the MRI. They haven't finished in the Top 25 in my basketball rankings yet, and they most definitely haven't made the tournament since the MRI started.
And yet, it has been quite some time since we have had a tragedy like this one where multiple members of a single team are involved. The last one in my memory was the plane crash back in 1999 which took the lives of half of Oklahoma State's basketball team midway through the season.
Five Duquesne basketball players were shot coming out of a school sponsored party early on Sunday morning. The suspect fired into a crowd after approaching the players and then following them as they walked back towards the campus. The suspect is still on the loose. Shawn James, one of the injured players, relayed the story of shooting to Andy Katz of ESPN.com earlier today.
One player remains in critical condition while two others are still in the hospital. The other two players were treated and released.
Not that it is of any importance at a time like this, but basketball practice is set to begin on October 13. Given the nature of the injuries, it appears that Duquesne may be without the services of at least two of the players for a significant amount of time. Two of the injured players were transfers and would have had to sit out the season under NCAA rules.
Here's holding out hope for the remaining hospitalized players and that the police capture the shooter soon.
Posted by bmiraski at 6:00 PM | Comments (0)
My "AP" Ballot - Week 3
The MRI is still one week away but here is my second installment of my AP Ballot. Yes, I know I missed last week, which means a lot of teams have jumped around quite a bit. Ohio State holds on to the top spot, but the team in second should look familiar. You can't argue with the leadership that John David Booty has brought to USC. In their two games, they have taken down a great young Arkansas team, though granted, not by as much as last year, and a very good Nebraska team. Play like that might have them rolling to another undefeated season and a chance to have the "Rose Bowl West" in Arizona. Auburn had a close game, but defense is going to win a lot of teams a couple of games on the season. I round out my Top 5 with West Virginia and Florida.
Here ere are my "AP" rankings for Week 3:
- Ohio State
- USC
- Auburn
- West Virginia
- Florida
- Louisville
- Michigan
- Georgia
- Virginia Tech
- Oregon
- Texas
- LSU
- Iowa
- Oklahoma
- Notre Dame
- Tennessee
- Clemson
- TCU
- Arizona State
- Nebraska
- Cal
- Rutgers
- Florida State
- Boston College
- Boise State
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 8:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2006
Week 3 - So Called Separation Saturday
Cheer, cheer for Ol' Notre Dame. Wake up the Echoes.... Oh, wait. Hail to the Victors! The hype surrounding Charlie Weis, Brady Quinn, and the rest of the Fighting Irish may have come to a crashing halt on Saturday afternoon in South Bend. Chad Henne threw his hat back into the Heisman race with his performance leading the Michigan Wolverines over their biggest non-conference rival, 47-21.
Quinn did not do wonders for his own Heisman aspirations in the game. He threw three interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown, and another that almost found the end zone. He also fumbled late in the fourth, another miscue that led directly to seven points by Michigan's defense. Quinn did total up 232 yards through the air, but until the third quarter, the aggressive Wolverines defense shut down the pre-season favorite for Mr. Everything.
The Irish need to regroup quick or they could go 0 for the state of Michigan next week when they face the offensive powerhouse that is Michigan State. The Spartans have averaged 45 points a game over the last two weeks, and a lot of that has come through the air, an area that Michigan exposed as being still very vulnerable for Notre Dame.
More thoughts on the week that was Separation Saturday:
- It is just all about the fundamentals sometimes in college football. For example, there is a reason that coaches practice the tip drill with the defenses. Case in point, Michigan's initial interception of Brady Quinn in what was a definite set back for the Irish's title hopes. Prescott Burgess took a pass off of the fingers of an Irish receiver 32 yards for the opening touchdown of the game less than a minute into the action. Craig Steltz had a similar big play for LSU against Auburn stalling a Plainsmen drive. His interception did not result in any scoring for the Tigers though and LSU did not manage to defeat the other SEC Tigers.
- Speaking of fundamentals, the kicking game has been very important over the last two weeks this season. Last week, Wake Forest won on a blocked field goal against Duke. This week, after Oklahoma's Garrett Hartley had gone four for four in the game against Oregon, he was called in to kick the game winner with two seconds on the clock. And wouldn't you know, Ducks' linebacker Blair Phillips got a big paw up and blocked the kick. The win by Oregon preserves what is now a 24-1 record against non-conference opponents at Autzen Stadium under head coach Mike Belotti. The sole loss? Against Indiana - Not what you expected, I am sure, especially considering that the Hoosiers lost this week to Division 1-AA Southern Illinois, the 5th top division team to go down this season.
- To continue the kicking theme, did you catch the Florida State-Clemson game? Florida State not only blocked an extra point which they returned for two points, they also blocked a field goal in the second quarter. That one was returned for the first Seminole touchdown of the game. Let's just say there weren't a great deal of Groza Award nominees making headlines this week.
- Not to pick on Indiana, because they weren't the only team to have trouble with a Division 1-AA team this weekend. North Carolina, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, and Arizona, all struggled more than they probably should have against their purchased foes. Sure they got a win and didn't add to the list of big name losers, but they didn't impress anyone doing it. Some thought that North Carolina could at least challenge for the ACC Coastal division title this season. It is not going to happen when you struggle to beat lowly Furman.
- It's called adding insult to injury. LSU cornerback Jessie Daniels made sure he let Auburn kicker John Vaughn knew that the Tiger defense was coming after him. After Vaughn put a 26 yard field goal attempt off the left upright, missing what would have been the first score of the game, Daniels ran by him on the field...and then patted him on the helmet while celebrating the stop. Don't let it be said that LSU-Auburn isn't a fierce rivalry when a missed kick, Vaughn's 6th in two years in that game, warrants that type of reaction.
- Steve Slaton sure took out his revenge on Thursday night against Maryland. He was originally offered a scholarship by the Terrapins before Ralph Friedgen pulled it off the table, thinking he had too many running backs coming to the school already. Something tells me that Friedgen took away the wrong scholarship. Slaton had run up over 200 yards against Maryland before losing 10 on his last four carries. For comparison, Maryland's rushing game only tallied 122 yards in the game with no individual rusher gaining over 50.
- The Big Ten had better get its act together. Sure, the entire conference won during its opening week for the first time ever. The next week of the season didn't go quite as well, especially with Penn State getting blown out, and Northwestern losing to New Hampshire. Week 3 looked like it was going to be even worse. Iowa struggled through most of its game against Iowa State, even with Drew Tate back under center. Ohio State took a quarter to get rolling. Even Michigan State was down 10-0 before coming alive to beat Pittsburgh. Add into that Illinois's terrible loss to Syracuse and and the conference which many were saying would be very difficult again this season, has looked very vulnerable over the opening quarter of the season. With conference season beginning next week, we will learn a lot more about how these teams will do against one another, but right now, teams with the possibility of drawing Big Ten teams in bowls are licking their chops.
- According the game notes for the Florida - Tennessee game, Galen Hall is the only coach in University of Florida history to begin his career with four-straight wins over Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State. They are going to have to change that verb to "was" after Urban Meyer became just the second coach to pull off the feat with a very close victory on Saturday. The Florida Gators triumphed over Tennessee despite some questionable decisions by the referees, 21-20. While neither team looked very polished in the game, it was clear that Chris Leak and Meyer's squad were the team more ready for the challenge. With the victory, Florida takes the early lead in the SEC East. Both teams get a much easier game next week. Tennessee takes on the Thundering Herd of Marshall, and Florida draws another conference foe in Kentucky.
- Louisville was the sleeper pick by many to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers and take the Big East title. They sure looked like the real deal Saturday, as they took out Miami, 31-7. However, if they are going to take that title, it won't be the team that everyone expected taking the field each week to do it. It won't be Michael Bush, who broke his leg in week 1. It won't be Brian Brohm, who left Saturday's game with an injured thumb and will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. Instead, Louisville will rely on Kolby Smith, George Stripling, and Hunter Cantwell, to lead them to the title. The good news for Louisville is that over the next six weeks, they have two bye weeks. And after the second bye week? They face West Virginia on a Thursday night. Brohm could be back to lead his team against the Mountaineers, which would be a big lift for the team looking to be the spoiler.
In Case You Missed It
- Ivan Maisel was impressed with Steve Slaton and West Virginia, but with reservations.
- John Canzano felt Oregon needed to make a statement and they sure did, but it was close.
- Apparently punting is the most dangerous position OFF the field.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2006
Music 101
Tom Hammond apparently didn't study Music Appreciation when he was in school at Kentucky. He has spent the entire game since it happened claiming that Michigan's Mario Manningham ran into a tuba player on the sidelines.
Tom...
This is a Clarinet. 
This is a Tuba.
Manningham ran into a girl carrying the former, not the latter, when he scored his third touchdown of the game against Notre Dame. I know you are upset about the Irish losing, but come on man. Do those instruments look at all alike?
If you want a great video of someone running into a brass instrument player, here you go. By the way Tom, I believe he hits a Trombone here. Maybe you can call it as him hitting someone with a drum.:
Posted by bmiraski at 5:05 PM | Comments (0)
Fumble!!!
You think turnovers aren't important in who wins a game? Here is the turnover ratio for the teams that lost their games on Thursday and Friday night.
- Tennessee Tech: -4. Lost to Middle Tennessee State, 44-0
- Maryland: -4. Lost to West Virginia, 45-24
- Kansas: -5. Lost to Toledo in 2OT, 37-31
Kansas's loss is even worse, since one of their turnovers actually came during the overtimes, and stopped an almost certain score.
Next time your team doesn't hold onto the football, you know what is to blame for your loss.
Posted by bmiraski at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)
SEC Notebook
In the midst of all the great games over the weekend, the SEC is beginning its conference season in full force. With Auburn - LSU and Florida - Tennessee matching up today, the top spot in both conference divisions will be on the line. The losers of each of those games have a tough road to the SEC championship and the BCS bowls.
A couple of thoughts on the SEC before this weekend of seriously intense games kick off:
- It is interesting that Steve Spurrier will not be starting Chris Smelley at quarterback this weekend. Former starter Blake Mitchell was arrested earlier this week and suspended from playing on the team. Charges against Mitchell were dropped on Friday, but Spurrier is still keeping Mitchell on the sidelines. He stated that Mitchell was probably not going to be used much in the game against Wofford, even if the incident hadn't occurred. Mitchell is nursing some injuries and has had trouble moving the offense this season for the Gamecocks. Instead, Syvelle Newton will line up under center. Newton has seen some reps at the quarterback position and has the Gamecocks only passing touchdown this season. However, Smelley didn't look bad against Mississippi State when he came in against that very good defense. So the question remains as to why you wouldn't start the freshman against a team from Division 1-AA. It is not like Wofford should pose too much of a challenge for South Carolina. And if they did, it is never too late in that game to switch to Newton at quarterback if needed. But why not get Smelley some confidence at quarterback in a game which should be a simple win for the South Carolina? Arkansas used the same thought process in starting Mitch Mustain at quarterback last week when they played Utah State, a game they won 20-0. Mustain will be back under center this weekend against Vanderbilt, in a game that matters much more. Apparently Chris Smelley isn't ready for prime time in the eyes of Steve Spurrier. It will be interesting to see how much work he gets today in what should be an easy win.
- Speaking of Mustain, this note from ESPN's Insider rundown of the SEC before the week began:
In particular, first-year offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wants to run more of his hurry-up, no-huddle attack as Mustain becomes more comfortable.
It might just be me, but didn't Mustain play under Malzahn in high school just last season? I understand that the game changes a bit in college, but Malzahn scheme probably hasn't changed that much. The ESPN article does say that Mustain is not used to lining up under the center as he took most of his snaps in high school from the shotgun, but it seems to be that that is a weak excuse to use for dumbing down an offense that a quarterback should know very well at this point. Look for Dareen McFadden to still get a large number of carries this week against the weak Vanderbilt defense. The Commodores have given up an average of 190 yards a game on the ground in their first two contests. - Joe Tereshinski is out at quarterback for Georgia after injuring his ankle against South Carolina last weekend. Freshman Matt Stafford will take over as he did last weekend. Stafford could be the starter over the next four years if things go well while Tereshinski is out. That would put him up there with David Greene in Georgia quarterback lore. Greene might want to keep an eye on his SEC records if Stafford is able to turn around a performance that saw him throwing 3 interceptions in a back-up role against the Gamecocks.
- The biggest obstacle to Tennessee wining this week might not be Florida. Instead, it is the injuries that the Vols are trying to overcome. Starting corner Inquoris Johnson is out after undergoing surgery this week for some pretty horrific injuries suffered during Tennessee's game against Air Force last weekend. The word is that Inky may never play football again after the surgery repaired torn blood vessels and nerve damage in his shoulder area. This could open up an already strong passing game for Florida. Starting running back Arian Foster might also be out after spraining his ankle. If Foster is out, the Florida defense will be able to concentrate on stopping Erik Ainge and the pass a bit more. And defensive tackle Justin Harrell postponed his surgery on torn bicep muscles to play in this game. It might be just me, but I think he is going to need those muscles to get around the offensive line of Florida and pressure Chris Leak. All these injuries could make for a long day in Knoxville, and a big day for Chris Leak's Heisman hopes.
To close, a little humor from an email sent to me by Blogcritics Sports Editor, Matt Sussman, even if it has nothing to do with the SEC:
Oh God. Syracuse plays Illinois. Failure never looked so orange.
Enjoy the games.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2006
Why Did This Take So Long?
The whole story about Reggie Bush and his family taking money bothers me. I don't doubt the research of the Yahoo! writers who have broke the story. I am sure they have their sources and they have the documentation trail to back it up.
And let's be honest here. None of the alleged extra funding affected Bush's performance on the field, or the performance of the USC team. They still would have been the dominant team that they were and I would still have given the Heisman trophy to Bush last season.
However, what does bother me is the method in which this story is being released, and how it has been so slow to evolve over the past five months.
The first time we heard about the money was right before the draft. Back then, the story only involved Bush's parents getting a house for "free". This is the same house they mysteriously vacated soon after Bush graduated from USC and was about to be drafted #2 overall by the New Orleans Saints. The story involved a man who claimed that he and Bush's step-father had gotten together with the idea of starting a sports marketing firm around Bush. That deal fell through somewhere down the line, but meanwhile, Bush's step-father, mother, and brother, all lived in the San Diego home owned by the potential business partner.
And while all this was bandied about, no one really wanted to look deeper. USC disassociated themselves with the whole thing. The PAC-10 did say that they started an investigation back in April, but strangely, with the release of the new allegations on Thursday, the PAC-10 said that they did not have the documents that the Yahoo! writers have, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen said that, to his knowledge, the conference did not have information regarding Yahoo's report on Reggie Bush.
How is that possible? If you were investigating someone since April, wouldn't you have worked to get any documentation you could to help you in that investigation? Wouldn't you go to the people who have broken the story to get any information that could help that investigation? Instead, it seems that the PAC-10 has dragged its feet on the matter. I understand that Reggie Bush no longer plays for USC, or in the PAC-10, or even in the NCAA, but 5 months seems like enough time to have gathered the same information as has been gathered by the two Yahoo! reporters.
Let's add to the strangeness of the report. Why was this broken by two sports reporters at Yahoo!? With something this big, wouldn't you expect the first word of these allegations to come from ESPN, the "World Wide Leader"? That would only make sense to me. Yahoo!'s sports department has far less reach and manpower than ESPN. So, what enabled these two NFL reporters to get the scoop on the story before the company with the largest team of sports coverage in the business?
And why did the story not grow after the first airing of it in April by the Yahoo! reporters? If I were in charge at ESPN, I would have assigned at least one reporter from my staff to conduct his own investigation, not just to report the story as it was revealed by a rival company. However, after the draft concluded and Reggie Bush was taken by the Saints, you barely heard of the story again. Until now, that is.
So why didn't ESPN look further into the matter? Why didn't this story grow and evolve day after day, with news of these new payments and special gifts coming to light day after day, much like the story about the Duke Lacrosse players did on ESPN?
I have a theory, and this is only my speculation, but it is an intriguing thought. What if ESPN knew of the allegations but did not report them because of how this would reflect badly on the network? I know that we all have heard of allegations of special gifts to many top athletes in all sports which don't go reported, but I think this might be a special case. I know this is far fetched, but let's look at ESPN's coverage before we dismiss it outright.
1. ESPN labeled Bush's USC team as the "Greatest Team Ever" during the season when Bush's family was allegedly taking these payments - How could this not be a factor? ESPN repeatedly hyped this team. They covered every one of the players on the team to an extreme, especially Bush, as he worked towards the Heisman. How could they not notice that maybe things weren't as they seemed with his family? And could it be that they didn't report it because all of a sudden, a huge piece that they had worked so hard to make the cornerstone of their NCAA football reporting last season, would fall away. I know from other comments by reporters at the station, that a lot of times, these pieces are put together long before they take air. A good example is all of the pieces on Barry Bonds when he finally caught Babe Ruth. So, what is to say that they didn't want to scrap this in favor of a story that might have been just as big? I don't know. But I think there are other factors that play in.
2. ESPN shows a great deal of USC's football games - Chances are that if this story came out, and some sanctions were handed down on USC, one of them would be that their football games can not be shown on television. Now, this is a huge hit to the school, because it makes it difficult to schedule high profile teams, who want to be on television, and it causes them to lose out on the revenue associated with that television money. Eventually, that also trickles down to recruiting, and harms the team, which just places the program into a downward spiral. Now, look at the flip side of that. USC is one of the schools with a great national reach on television. If all of sudden, ESPN is not able to show those games, they lose that audience and they are without one of the biggest draws to the station. Seems to me that this is a big loss for the network as no other PAC-10 football team has the draw of the Trojans and they would not be easily replaced.
And then there is the third reason:
3. Bush was a target of ESPN to help promote their network - Come on, we have all seen the commercials. Bush convinces one of the guys in his fantasy football league to draft him first. And then Bush turns right around and drafts Larry Johnson, which he knew to do because of? Oh yes, his ESPN Mobile phone. I think the fact that I can recall the commercial speaks to the marketing power, not only of the network, but of Reggie Bush. Who says that ESPN didn't want to tap into that marketing power, and therefore, withheld the information about the extra funding?
I know all of that is just speculation, but it speaks to some possibilities as to why ESPN would not report the story, or dig deeper after they were beaten to the scoop by Yahoo!
By far, the luckiest group in the whole matter is USC and its players and coaches. While you may think that this can't possibly be good for them, because they might lose their championship and be put on probation because of the allegations, I contend the opposite. Because the PAC-10 stated back in April that they are opening the apparently slow investigation, USC is forbidden from commenting on the matter. They are only able to talk to the NCAA and PAC-10 about the matter, saving them from distractions and helping them to focus on their current season.
Something doesn't seem right about how this has unfolded to the fans of college and NFL football. It came out at times designed to get the most coverage by the national media, and at other times, the story seemed to be swept under the rug by not only ESPN, but all of the media outlets around the country. No one seemed to still be pursuing this except for Yahoo!, and even they held off their further findings until 5 months had passed.
There is something wrong in that, something that turns my gut and makes me wonder. I guess, as a fan, and a writer, I will just have to wait and see.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2006
Playing David
Smaller football teams don't always get their due and that is probably an understatement. That said, I am guessing that most college football fans, outside of possibly Northwestern fans, don't know who Ricky Santos is. I don't blame them. He has played one game this season, against the Wildcats. Oh, and he plays for Division 1-AA New Hampshire.
I can guarantee that a few people across the country, including those same Northwestern fans, took notice of Santos last Saturday. Santos led the New Hampshire Wildcats to a win over their bigger Wildcat brethren 34-17.
Santos threw for 206 yards, ran for 34 more, and was involved in all 5 of the team's touchdowns in the win, throwing two and running in the other three. Santos's performance made even the MRI take notice, almost placing him as the "Heisman-like Performance" in the Heisman Watch for Week two. However, since Santos can't officially win the award, I didn't select him, but I thought his performance warranted at least a little discussion.
Santos did earn Division 1-AA Offensive Player of the Week honors and also inclusion into the discussion for National Player of the Week. The National Player of the Week is an award sponsored by USA Today, and normally only Division 1-A players are among the five finalists. It is rare for a player from Division 1-AA to even get into the "Five That Just Missed the Cut". Santos wasn't able to win despite a grass roots effort on the New Hampshire website asking all fans to vote for him. The award went to Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, made several key plays in the Buckeyes' win over Texas. Just being on the list though is a big honor for a player on a team that won't get major coverage again unless they make it to the Division 1-AA finals.
The New Hampshire victory was the fourth time this season that a lower division club has pulled an upset against Division 1-A, adding Northwestern to a list that already includes Colorado, Duke, and New Mexico. With four wins, the lower division has doubled its total from last season, in 21 less games. With thirteen games, coming this weekend, they have multiple chances to continue to add to that total, especially with some of those games coming against the worst teams in Division 1-A.
If it seems like the media is taking more notice of these wins this season, it might be because of how poor those lower division teams did last season. The 2005 season saw the lowest number of games cross division in the last three years, probably as a result of what happened to Auburn two years ago. The Tigers were forced into games with lower level opponents at the last minute, possibly costing them a chance at the National Title. Another reason may be that this is a change in the trend which has seen the lower league winning a smaller percentage of its games against the big boys each season.
Going back to 2003, Division 1-AA teams won 13.89% of their games against the top Division. The next year, it was down to 10.71%, and last season, a paltry two wins led to only a 3.70% winning percentage. So far this season, they are winning 9.3% of their games, so compared to last year, it sure must seem like a windfall for the teams that actually have a playoff system.
Division 1-AA teams suffer at times from lack of funding, lack of scholarships, and lack of facilities, but one thing it doesn't lack is the ability to pull off upsets. Here's the official MRI watch for one more team to pull off the big upset this season. And if percentages are any indication, that is most definitely an understatement.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)
Notre Dame Bias?
It isn't like ESPN needs more advertising for their site. However, I just wanted to point out the results of their "Most Exciting Saturday Game" poll that they are currently running on their website. The results are very telling about what people think about their football.
Auburn and LSU dominant the SEC region, with only Tennessee and Florida like their contest which should be big in the SEC East and telling about Tennessee. Miami and Louisville is only important in the state of Kentucky and the West Virginia fans want to know about the upstart Cardinals. And Nebraska and their Big 12 opponents are the only ones concerned about their game with USC, other than those on the West Coast.
So it seems like other than in areas which are directly affected by four of the games, the rest of the country just wants to see Notre Dame. I guess it helps that they are playing Michigan...
But wow, is the country polarized in their picks.
Posted by bmiraski at 3:55 PM | Comments (1)
September 12, 2006
Heisman Watch - Week 2
You could see that some off weeks by the Heisman favorites to open the season was on their minds during their second week contests. Brady Quinn stepped up strong. So did Adrian Peterson and Michael Hart. It was a matter of keeping the momentum strong for others. Troy Smith led his team over the then #2 Texas in impressive fashion, using the speed of his receivers against the Longhorns' slower secondary to pull out not only a victory big big numbers again.
Looking further down the list, some dark horses are very much starting to emerge. Garrett Wolfe doesn't look like he is going away, and Erik Ainge, who no one was discussing pre-season, is putting up huge numbers. His performance against Cal was enough to get him on the watch list. Now, with the close win over Air Force, he is firmly planted in the second five. A nice game against Florida this week, and we might be talking Top 5.
After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 2:
- Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 269 yds, 2 TD vs. Texas - Smith looked very impressive once again leading the top rated Buckeyes to a win over Texas. His biggest obstacle to the award might be trying to better Brady Quinn's number each week, especially when Quinn looks like he did on Saturday. Smith still leads this race right now, but it is much closer than last week.
- Brady Quinn (QB ND): 287 yds, 3 TDs vs. Penn State - Quinn never really fell out of the talk around the award, but there were still some whispers after his first game if Notre Dame had reverted in the second year, much like they did in Ty Willingham's second season. Quinn came right back in game number two and embarrassed Penn State. His passes were much too accurate for the Penn State defenders. Every time that his receivers had a step on the defense, Quinn fit the ball right in. No question, that was a Heisman performance.
- Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 8 att., 105 yds, 2 TD vs. Eastern Washington - Slaton only played the first two series against Eastern Washington, otherwise, he might have had 500 yards rushing in the game. The numbers look like an average performance for Slaton against a weak team until you see he only needed to get 8 touches to earn those numbers. Weak name recognition is going to hurt him as we move forward, but this was definitely a performance to keep him near the top. A strong performance this Thursday is also key.
- Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 24 att, 196 yds rushing, 2 TD - Northern Illinois may not have started the MAC season like they wanted, but Garrett Wolfe still looked unbeatable. 8.2 yards per carry is just wrong. Like Slaton, Wolfe, is going to have a tough time going forward, because he plays in the MAC.
- Chris Leak (QB Florida): 352 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT vs. Central Florida - Anyone who thought that maybe Chris Leak was a flier of a pick for the Heisman is probably rethinking that now. Leak is finally becoming comfortable with Urban Meyer's offense and it is showing on the field. If it weren't for the huge performance by Garrett Wolfe, I would still have Leak fourth on my list.
- Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 165 yds, 2 TD vs. Washington - Peterson looked more like himself this week as Oklahoma broke away late to take down Washington. Peterson was a big part of that win. Both of his touchdowns came late in the game. He is climbing back up my list, but still has two running backs ahead of him based on performance so far.
- Michael Hart (RB Michigan): 116 yds rush, 3 TD vs. Central Michigan - Despite having to take almost an hour off during the game, Hart never got cold and was the strongest part of the Michigan offense on Saturday. Hart has shown over the last two years that he is the most valuable player on the Wolverines. More performances like these and Michigan will be looking at the Big Ten title.
- Teddy Ginn, Jr. (Slash Ohio State): 5 rec., 97 yds, 1 TD vs. Texas - This is just in, Ted Ginn is fast. He once again showed that speed against Texas in a very nice win for the Buckeyes. I am surprised he didn't get the ball more considering how much faster the Ohio State receivers were compared to Texas's defensive backfield, but when the entire team looked quicker, they could spread the ball around well. Ginn still suffers from being at a receiver position and from not having broke a big return yet.
- Erik Ainge (QB Tennessee): 333 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT vs. Air Force - Everyone who reads this page knows that I am neither a Tennessee or an Ainge fan, but he is looking like a different player over the first two weeks of the season. Ainge will continue to be on this list if he continues to put up numbers like this. The real test will be how he does against Florida next week.
- Kenny Irons (RB Auburn): 69 yds vs. Mississippi State - After last week, when Irons was the top guy for the Tigers, he stepped back this week and Brandon Cox moved into the top role for Auburn. A sub-100 yard game is going to make his quest for the trophy difficult, especially with the other big backs on the list..
Outside chances: Marshawn Lynch (Cal), Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech), JaMarcus Russell (LSU), Zac Taylor (Nebraska)
Dropped from my watch list:
- Chad Henne (QB Michigan) - Another unimpressive game to start the season. That makes two which is two too many for getting the Heisman.
- Drew Tate (QB Iowa) - Hard to do this, but when you miss an entire game, it makes it that much more difficult to win the trophy. It is too bad because Tate had such a nice first game performance. I might rethink this at a later week, but he will have to put up some huge numbers to move back into contention.
Heisman-like Performance
This week's player: AustenEverson - QB, Ohio
Line: 23/31 passing, 322 yards, 3 TD vs. Northern Illinois
There were all sorts of choices for this honor in the second week, many of them from the MAC. If it wasn't for Austen Everson, Garrett Wolfe and the Huskies would have been celebrating an opening conference victory. Instead, Ohio takes the early lead in the conference. Everson was deadly with several long strikes to his receivers and he had the answer for everything that Wolfe and Northern Illinois put on the board. In a game that was back and forth, the team with the better leader at quarterback definitely came out on top.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
September 7, 2006
My "AP" Ballot - Week 1
As in years past, the first release of the MRI rankings won't occur for a few more weeks. That doesn't mean that I can't weigh in on how I see the top teams being ranked prior to that. A new feature on MRISports.com is "My 'AP' Ballot". I am not a voter for the AP poll (yet), but this feature will show how I would have the teams ranked if I did get the call to submit my opinion.
That said, here are my rankings for Week 1:
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Auburn
- Notre Dame
- West Virginia
- USC
- Florida
- Florida State
- Louisville
- Tennessee
- Iowa
- LSU
- Clemson
- Georgia
- Nebraska
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Miami
- Michigan
- Virginia Tech
- Texas Tech
- TCU
- Boston College
- Arizona State
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 5, 2006
Goal #1: Establish the Run
Here's a thought for you. Unless you go to a pass happy school like Hawaii or Texas Tech, one of the goals of almost every coach in football is to establish the run. Some schools, like Navy, take this to the extreme. Navy finished their game Saturday with only 6 passing attempts for 6 yards. However, they ran the ball 70 times in their triple option attack totalling 403 yards. You could say that they accomplished Goal #1.
That being said, Monday night might have set the course of football game planning back about 150 years. Charlie Jones (pictured) was the leading rusher in the Miami - Florida State game, gaining 27 yards on the ground, including the only touchdown for the Hurricanes. However, based on the way that college football rushing statistics are calculated the box score for the game had the following totals:
Florida State: 1 yard on 25 attempts
Miami: 2 yards on 26 attempts
If you are slow at math, that is a grand total of three yards rushing for the game - not exactly what I would call blowing up the record books. For comparison, the other 115 Division 1-A schools that played this weekend averaged a little over 150 yards rushing. The twenty-nine Division 1-AA schools that played top division teams even averaged 71 yards on the ground, and 26 of those schools lost, most by double digit totals.
Granted, Florida State and Miami are supposed to have two of the top rushing defenses, and the weather was less than spectacular in Miami on Monday night. Miami was also missing their leading rusher from last season, Tyrone Moss, who was suspended for the contest.
Still, three total yards is far from something you would expect for two teams that both have National Title aspirations and are ranked in the Top 15 in the country. Things should improve with each team's next game. Florida State takes on Troy while Miami draws Division 1-AA Florida A&M.
Posted by bmiraski at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
Heisman Watch 2006 - Week 1
If you want to have any shot of winning the Heisman Trophy, you have to start hard out of the gate. Most teams make it easy on their players, scheduling "gimmee" games early in the season, allowing their players to rack up some impressive statistics early, even if they do come against teams that are less than impressive. The first week of this season was no different for the most part. Teams like West Virginia and Iowa placed their players into games where the numbers were coming early and often.
This year though, a few teams didn't go so easy on their players. Notre Dame went against giant killer Georgia Tech, and Cal immediately went on the road against Tennessee and ran into a buzz saw. As a result, any numbers put up by players in those games are even more impressive.
The pre-season favorite, Brady Quinn looked fairly average until the second half, which hurts him for this week's ratings. It will be interesting to see if this was a blip on the radar or a sign of things to come for Notre Dame.
After watching all the top performers for the week, here is how I would rank the contenders coming out of Week 1:
- Troy Smith (QB Ohio State): 298 yds, 3 TD vs. Northern Illinois - You have to wonder if Jim Tressel is thinking about how different last season would have been if Smith had started against Texas. Sure, Ohio State had more than just that loss, but Troy Smith is the real deal. From the opening snap, he looked perfect behind center. It took me a couple of quarters before I wondered if Smith even had an incomplete pass. If Smith plays this way all season, Ohio State will be back in Arizona for their bowl, and it will be for the crystal football.
- Steve Slaton (RB West Va.): 203 yds rush, 2 TD vs. Marshall - It may be the game that got the least attention across the country and not even the review shows covered this until late night, but Slaton had the top rushing day in college football. Slaton needs to have more high profile games if his performances are going to turn the voters' heads, but this was a great start for him.
- Brady Quinn (QB ND): 256 yds pass, 22 yds rush 1 TD - As I mentioned, Quinn didn't look very good throughout the first half, but led a late drive of 80 yards which at least got the Irish on the board before half time. The second half was much improved, but he still didn't find the end zone with his arm. He can't continue to have that happen if he wants to go home with the Heisman award. It does seem fitting that he had this poor game against a team that used to be coached by John Heisman himself. Maybe this was the old coach's way of telling Quinn he is going to have to work for this award.
- Chris Leak (QB Florida): 246 yds, 3 TD vs. Southern Miss - It took him a while to get going, but Chris Leak turned in a performance for the Gators. A lot of his early gains came on short passes but the offense opened up as the game went on. Tim Tebow saw some time in the game, even scoring a rushing touchdown, but Leak showed the leadership needed to keep starting for now. And his performance earned him a spot on the Heisman Watch list.
- Drew Tate (QB Iowa): 225 yds, 3 TD vs. Montana - Yes, it's Montana, but Tate was surgical in his passing attack. Three touchdowns is nothing to sneeze at and he was the best quarterback through the early games on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if Tate can keep this up when they finally play a decent team in two weeks - Iowa State.
- Garrett Wolfe (RB Northern Illinois): 172 yds rushing, 115 yds rec, 1 TD - You play against Ohio State and still get numbers like he did, you have to have talent. He was the only player for Northern Illinois who didn't look super slow against the Buckeyes. Wolfe should have no problem rolling over his MAC opponents this season, and leading Northern Illinois into the MAC championship game.
- Kenny Irons (RB Auburn): 184 yds rush, 1 TD, 38 yds rec - It could have been over 200 yards rushing but Auburn was rolling over Washington State. Irons was the key to this win though as quarterback Brandon Cox was pretty average. It will be interesting to see what Irons can do against the defenses in the SEC, as we saw the Pac-10 defenses have a long way to go.
- Adrian Peterson (RB Oklahoma): 136 yds rush 1 TD, 69 yds rec 1 TD - It was tough to drop him this far, but Oklahoma and Peterson stuggled for the second straight year in an opening game. Quarterback Paul Thompson was adequate, but this is a very different team without Rhett Bomar behind center. Peterson is still the best athlete in the game right now, and this ranking should change as the season goes on. His speed was huge in the receiving touchdown and he still has the ability to make defenses miss. But, all told, he was the 4th best back for the opening week.
- Calvin Johnson (WR Georgia Tech): 110 yds, 1 TD - Georgia Tech gave Notre Dame everything they had, and still came up short. Johnson was a big part of that and could have been used more. He should continue to be a big part of that offense given that Reggie Ball looks like an improved passer. He may get lost in the shuffle with all the guys still above him on this list.
- Teddy Ginn, Jr. (Slash Ohio State): 4 rec., 123 yds, 2 TD vs. Northern Illinois - Ginn only touched the ball seven times during the game, but that was enough to get him onto this list. If there is any question he will be in the minds of Heisman voters all season, you must have missed his performance here. He has definitely matured since last season and as long as he doesn't disappear like last season, he will be in the hunt. The only issue he might have in getting votes is that his quarterback is going to touch the ball that much more.
- Sidney Rice (South Carolina) - Shut out by Mississippi State and he's a sophomore
- Michael Bush (Louisville) - After rolling up huge 1st half numbers, Bush broke his leg in the third quarter and is lost for the year to Louisville. That is not only a crushing blow to his Heisman hopes, but also to Louisville's chances at the Big East title.
In addition to the Top Ten, each week, I will be highlighting a player outside of the public eye, who had a Heisman-like performance. Who knows? One of these guys might continue to do well each week, moving them into the Top Ten here. Most often, these players will be from the conferences outside of the top six, as players playing elsewhere will have a tough time getting the exposure they need to win the award.
This week's player: Dwayne Wright - RB, Fresno State
Line: 26 carries, 158 yards, 3 TD vs. Nevada
Wright was the main focus of the offense for a Fresno State team which was starting an entirely new backfield. Wright sat out most of last season with a knee injury and it was a big question as to whether he could come back. He proved that he could, rolling up on the Nevada defense. The Wolfpack was supposed to have one of the top front seven in the WAC, but certainly didn't show it. Wright will continue to be the focal point of the offense and it looks like Fresno State should have no worries at the running back position.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 7:00 AM | Comments (1)
September 4, 2006
Mustain Era Begins at Arkansas
It didn't take long for Mitch Mustain's Saturday night performance to translate into a change in the depth chart at Arkansas. Head Coach Houston Nutt announced at his press conference on Sunday that Mustain will be given the starting quarterback job against Utah State on Saturday. Former starting quarterback Robert Johnson will move to wide receiver for the contest.
"We are asking [Johnson] to go to wide receiver right now. He’s accepted that with class and we are going to go with Mitch right now (at quarterback). We are going to get him ready," said Nutt during the press conference.
Mustain entered the game to a chorus of cheers by the fans on Saturday against USC. Even the smallest gain in yardage kept re-energizing the crowd. When Mustain ran in a touchdown on his first series, the largest crowd ever for a game at Arkansas was jumping up and down, despite the very lopsided score against them.
Nutt seems to indicate that the scoring drive played a large part in the decision to make the change at signal caller. "He gets in the game and can execute and take us down the field. I just feel like, at this time, you have to give him a shot.”
Nutt didn't comment during the press conference about the lack of communication between Johnson and Mustain on the sideline. He did repeatedly state that Johnson took the decision showing a lot of class. One has to wonder if we will see more work between the two with Johnson being added into what is already a strong receiving core featuring Marcus Monk and Damian Williams.
Nutt is making the change for the game against Utah State, a team which was blasted in their first game against Wyoming, 38-7. Right now, the switch doesn't look like a big risk. If Mustain can gain even more confidence in this game, even against the weak opponent, it could translate to big things for the Razorbacks in the SEC.
Obviously, there was a lot to work on following the loss to USC, but coach Nutt remained optimistic.
"We have a good football team. There is a lot of difference between this year and last year if you watch the film. The score doesn’t really indicate it but it was much closer then that."
Posted by bmiraski at 5:45 PM | Comments (2)
Week 1 - Time to Show What You're Made Of
The big time showdown between Miami and Florida State is still to come tonight, but it is never too early to recap the week that was. The first week served to answer a number of questions, and perhaps raise a few new ones. Teams like Ohio State, Texas, and USC, showed that there may be little drop off since last season, while teams expected to do well, like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and TCU struggled through their first weeks.
Notre Dame's performance was probably the biggest surprise. While the defense was the big question coming into the season, it was the offense that struggled against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jacket defense was giving Brady Quinn fits, causing him at times to revert back to some of the bad habits that Charlie Weis had worked so hard to correct in the Heisman hopeful's game. The better offense on the night seemed to belong to Georgia Tech, with Reggie Ball, Tashard Choice, and Calvin Johnson looking like the real deal. Until the last drive of the first half, it looked like this was an upset in the making. However, Weis and Quinn did not want to be denied. Quinn led a final drive just before the half, going 80 yards capped off by a five yard scamper by the senior quarterback. The winning score was provided by Darius Walker, who totaled 99 yards on the ground. The defense did their job in the second half, blanking Georgia Tech and looking much improved over the poor secondary that plagued last season's squad. They will need their secondary in top form when they face Penn State next weekend. The Nittany Lions received a strong opening performance from quarterback Anthony Morelli, who threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns in Penn State's victory.
A few more thoughts on the first weekend of action, with the biggest game of the weekend still to come:
- Any question of whether Colt McCoy could run the Texas offense might have been answered by the Longhorns first game against North Texas. McCoy threw for 177 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for another score as Texas rolled to victory, 56-7, against North Texas. Of course, the Longhorns were playing against North Texas, predicted to be one of the worst teams in Division 1-A this season. They will face a much bigger test against Ohio State next week. Given the way they played this week, that game will definitely live up to the hype.
- Michigan went 7-5 last year, and lost their bowl game against Nebraska, in a game where they were heavily favored. That meant that this season needed to be even better for the boys in blue. Unfortunately, their first game looked sluggish. Chad Henne was inaccurate and didn't get help from his receivers on a number of his passes. Michael Hart, however, did look like the back that he was before and after his injury last season. If Michigan hopes to succeed this season (and fulfill my pre-season pick), they are going to need to continue to get great games from Hart, and Henne will need to step up.
- It seems that every year, my pre-season picks are derailed by Tennessee. Last season, the Vols beat LSU after trailing by three touchdowns at halftime and ruined any shot LSU had of reaching the title game (although the Tigers still took the SEC West). This season, they didn't wait until week 3 to make me look silly. Their opening game against Cal was my undoing with the Vols winning, 35-18. Erik Ainge looked like a different quarterback leading Tennessee. He still made some mistakes, one leading to an interception that was Cal's best scoring chance in the first half, but in general, he was much improved leading the Vols. Robert Meachem was his favorite receiver, hauling in 2 touchdowns along with gaining over 180 yards. Marshawn Lynch didn't have much of a chance to show why he is a pre-season Heisman candidate and Nate Longshore looked like a very un-Tedford-like quarterback, with tentative footwork and inaccurate passing. With the loss, Cal can still win the Pac-10 but their National Title hopes might be over. The Bears need to improve quickly though if they hope to beat any of the teams in the Pac-10, including Oregon and USC who both looked very impressive in their opening weeks.
- The theme of the game was supposed to be redemption but that isn't the way it turned out for Arkansas, and they may have made their season a little more difficult for themselves. USC jumped all over the Razorbacks last season, 70-17, and Arkansas was looking to get a little revenge. The game didn't work out for them, as they still lost, 50-14. The game was a little different this time around. Arkansas was able to hang with USC early and didn't fall into the 28-0 hole that they did in 2005. The talent at USC just proved to be too much over the course of the game, even with the strong defensive performances from Sam Olajubutu and Chris Houston. John David Booty threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Arkansas fans got a look at freshman Mitch Mustain in the loss and greeted him with wild cheers when he took the field. The final few series led by Robert Johnson were soundly booed until he was replaced by the highly touted recruit. Mustain led a single scoring drive for Arkansas, running in the touchdown from four yards out. He did also throw one interception in the loss. The performance was not appreciated by Johnson. Mustain was given the cold shoulder on the sideline by the veteran quarterback each time he left the field. This could be big news in the coming weeks and it will be interesting to see how Houston Nutt handles the obviously volatile situation at that position.
- If there was any doubt in your mind who the #1 team in the country was, you probably don't have much doubt any more. Ohio State dismantled Northern Illinois, a team that was the pre-season pick to win the MAC title by many experts around the country. Heisman hopefuls Troy Smith and Ted Ginn connected early to get Ohio State up by two touchdowns and it was fairly simple from there. The Ohio State defense, called into question because of the loss of 9 starters, showed that it was up to the challenge also. The only player on Northern Illinois who had consistent success against the Buckeyes was Garrett Wolfe. Wolfe was able to gain.. It seemed like just getting to the secondary was the key for Wolfe and the Huskies. They were unable to do it often enough though to get anything resembling an offense together. The real test for the Ohio State defense will come next week against Texas.
- The biggest blow to any team's hopes this season came on Sunday night. Michael Bush, who had been tabbed as a likely Heisman contender and top first round draft pick, was having a great opening game. He had totalled 128 yards on the ground and scored three of Louisville's touchdowns before tragedy struck. Kentucky defender Wesley Woodyard rolled over Bush's leg while tackling him during the third quarter. Bush was helped off the field on a cart while the stunned crowd looked on in silence. He was replaced mostly by George Stripling who performed well for the Cardinals, gaining 90 yards and scoring twice in the game. Stripling will have big shoes to replace over the course of the season. Louisville was expected to contend for the Big East title with West Virginia. Without Bush's legs carrying them, that task will get a great deal more difficult.
- It gives new meaning to laughing all the way to the bank. When the NCAA expanded the schedule to 12 games over the summer, a number of schools scrambled to fill that last slot. It meant some huge pay days for smaller schools in Division 1-A and also some in 1-AA. Even if they weren't added late to the schedule, you can bet that the folks at Montana State, Portland State, and Richmond were not counting on winning the games they were paid to take on the road. Montana State won a tough battle against Colorado on Saturday afternoon, 19-10, sealing the victory with a fumble recovery on a kick off late in the fourth quarter. Richmond waited until prime time to pull their upset, beating cellar dweller Duke, 13-0. Portland State was victorious over New Mexico in their opener, 17-6. I am sure that all three teams not only appreciated the win, but the money too.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 5:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 1, 2006
Thoughts from Opening Night
Opening night has come and gone, and while most of the games were of no consequence for the National Title race, there was still a little to be learned from the first night of the season.
- Of the bottom four teams in the MRI last year, two managed to start the season with a win. Of course, it helps when two of those teams play. Yes, Buffalo and Temple had a thrilling contest last night which ended with a touchdown run by Buffalo's James Starks in overtime. The final score, was 9-3, which is a sign that the season is going to be very long for both these teams who couldn't even manage to score against each other. The other win was by New Mexico State over a 1-AA team. Kent State was not as lucky, drawing Minnesota in their first game and turning the ball over 6 times in their 44-0 loss.
- Northwestern paid fitting tribute to their late coach, Randy Walker, by defeating Miami (Ohio), 21-3. Walker was formerly a player at Miami and was coach of the Red Hawks before coming to Evanston and coaching the Wildcats. Walker left Miami as the all-time winningest coach at the school and new Northwestern coach, Pat Fitzgerald, called the win "appropriate" for coming against Miami, where Walker was such a fixture. Fitzgerald also praised the focus of his players. If you are going to choose one team to cheer for this season, other than your own, it should be the Wildcats, who definitely are playing for more than themselves this year.
- The SEC season started early this year in Starkville, where Steve Spurrier and South Carolina visited the Mississippi State Bulldogs. South Carolina ended up on top for the game, but my call about Mississippi State's defense may not be too far off.
The Bulldogs managed to hold the Spurrier offense to less than 300 yards and only 15 points in the game. Not bad for a team that was one of the worst defenses in the SEC last season. They didn't take long to make an impact, intercepting the first Blake Mitchell pass of the game, the first of many big plays for linebacker Quinton Culberson.
Mitchell went down late in the first quarter, forcing true freshman Chris Smelley into the game and he was repeatedly pressured by the experienced Bulldog defense. Despite a number of freshman mistakes, leading to delay penalties and missed snaps, Smelley completed a long pass to Kenny McKinley early in the 2nd which led to South Carolina's first points on a field goal.
Even when Mitchell returned in the second quarter, he felt the pressure from senior defensive end, Michael Heard. The defense also managed to shut down highly touted receiver Sidney Rice, who finished with no catches after his touchdown in the third quarter was overturned on replay. In the end, it took a trick play from Spurrier and the Gamecocks to finally break the game open with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State's defense wasn't the only group making noise on Thursday night. South Carolina's squad, coached by Tyrone Nix, chased Bulldog quarterbacks all night and surrendered only 161 yards for the game while sacking the quarterback five times. Mississippi State sophomore Michael Henig rarely had time to set and throw against the Gamecocks, and even when he did, he had difficulty finding an open receiver. Henig only completed two passes for nineteen yards before being lifted due to injury for red shirt freshman Tray Rutland.
Rutland provided a spark to the offense that was missing with Henig. He was able to gain space with his legs, allowing him to complete a number of short passes that earlier in the game wouldn't have happened. Unfortunately, when Rutland went long, he got into trouble, tossing a long interception early in the third quarter and another on the drive following South Carolina's touchdown. Rutland should still be able to step in for Henig, who has a broken collarbone, and help Mississippi State compete. He is still a year away from being really good, but when he gets there, the SEC might want to look out.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 4:00 PM | Comments (0)
Conference Title Predictions
With the opening kick-off of Boston College and Central Michigan last night, the college football season has officially begun. With that, it is time for me to weigh in with my picks for the season.
Last year, I wasn't quite correct about the National Title game, although I still claim that a certain Katrina had something to do with that. The two teams I wanted to play still did, only it was in the Peach Bowl, and the game wasn't as great as I thought it would be. All fans across the country were still treated to an awesome final game between Texas and USC. While Mack Brown got to hoist the trophy last season, this year will most likely not lead to a repeat after having lost his star quarterback, Vince Young.
We should have a new champion come January, and I am going on the record with my picks for who should be in the running for the ADT Trophy at the end of the season.
ACC Atlantic Division: Florida State - The Seminoles are the trendy pick for the ACC title, and for good reason. They managed to pull a shocker last year and make it to the BCS bowls, and all of the talent from that team is back. Look for the Noles to be in the National Title hunt all season.
ACC Coastal Division: Miami - The Hurricanes ended their season very poorly against LSU last year. However, this year is not last year. Kyle Wright should be more consistent and ready to go. Unfortunately for the Canes, they are missing their top running back Tyrone Moss for the first game of the year against Florida State, and that may cost them National Title hopes.
ACC Champ: Miami - I think the addition of Moss for the championship game will have Miami heading to the BCS bowls. The match-up between Florida State and Miami will be something to watch. It is entirely possible that Florida State gets to this game undefeated. That may be enough to have two ACC teams in the final 8.
Big East: Louisville - The Cardinals have consistently been on the verge. They lost to Miami two years ago which kept them from making history back then. Last year, two losses, including a three overtime loss to West Virginia, kept them away from the big bowls. Brian Brohm and Michael Bush should provide enough offense for them to go to the top this season. They also have 7 starters back on defense. All those thinking West Virginia has an easy road to the top better look a little bit South for the true champ.
Big Ten: Michigan - You would think I would have learned by now. Each season, I take Michigan and each year, they fail to live up to it. Well, I am going with it again, and a healthy season from Chad Henne and Michael Hart should make sure that I am correct this year. I think the loss of too much defense for Ohio State could be their undoing, especially against this offense. Look for Michigan to be in the Rose Bowl this year.
Big XII North: Nebraska - Anyone who watched the Cornhuskers beat Michigan last season in the Alamo bowl knows that Bill Callahan's team may have finally taken to the West Coast Offense. They return 15 starters overall and should be the class of the North. Of course, this division has been tough to call over the last three seasons.
Big XII South: Oklahoma - Prior to the dismissal of Rhett Bomar and JD Quinn, Oklahoma was my National Title winner. They are still dangerous, even with Paul Thompson at quarterback. The reason - Adrian Peterson. Thompson will have to show improvement over last season's opening games when he struggled and teams were able to concentrate on Peterson. Oklahoma's defense returns nine of their starters and with Texas rotating signal callers, it should be their division.
Big XII Champ: Nebraska - Maybe I am drinking the red Kool-aid, but I think this is the year for Nebraska. And this would be a renewal of one of the best rivalries in all of college football.
Conference USA champ: Central Florida - The turnaround job that George O'Leary has done in Miami is amazing. From 0-11 to a bowl game in one season, and almost a conference championship is something to be proud of. This is the year that O'Leary gets Central Florida over the top and to the championship. They defeat UTEP in the championship game.
MAC Champ: Northern Illinois - They may not beat Ohio State to open the season, but the Huskies are becoming an perennial power in the MAC. They should be able to beat Akron in the championship game and get to another bowl game
Mountain West: TCU - Everyone thinks that the Horned Frogs can be a BCS party buster this season. I am not too sure about that, but the Mountain West should be an easy run for TCU. They have senior leadership in the backfield and should be able to build on last year's amazing run. The season could come down to whether they can beat Utah on the road in early October.
Pac-10: Cal - Just a reminder, USC lost Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and LenDale White. I think a lot of people have forgotten this. While they still have one of the best receiving corps in the game, they are missing the entire starting backfield from last year, and that should lead to a drop off. It won't be far, but it should still be there. That means Marshawn Lynch and Cal should be able to finally take the title this season. In fact, I think Cal could be all the way to the championship game this season. A road test against Tennessee early will be tough, but the Bears will be able to overcome the challenge. Look for USC to possibly still be in the BCS party, taking on Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
SEC East: Florida - For more info on why I think Florida...
SEC West: Arkansas - This has been called my one crazy pick for the year. Of course, that was by someone who hasn't seen my other picks. For more info on why I think Arkansas...
SEC Champ: Florida - Urban Meyer works his magic and Florida is into the BCS. Despite getting to the championship game, I am not sure Arkansas will be able to get the BCS numbers to break in. Look for Auburn to get some BCS love.
SunBelt Champ: Louisiana-Lafayette - Does it really matter? They get a nice trip to New Orleans for their troubles, and a few hundred thousand dollars for getting beat up by LSU, Texas A&M, and Houston.
WAC Champ: Fresno State - All signs point for Boise State to returning to glory this season and last night, they held Sacramento State to only 82 yards. However, I am going with Fresno State to take the championship this season. Paul Pinegar may be gone, but they still have a very good defense. Despite crashing after last season's defeat by USC, Fresno State should have the talent and the drive to take the title again.
With the champions chosen, that leaves only Bowl Predictions, so here is what the BCS Bowls should look like this season.
Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska vs. Ohio State
Orange Bowl: Louisville vs. Florida State
Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Notre Dame
Rose Bowl: USC vs. Michigan
BCS Championship Game: Cal vs. Miami - Yep, I am taking Miami to make it to the title game again, which most likely means that they will be playing in the Peach Bowl for a second straight year. There is no good way to predict what will happen here. I am fairly sure on Cal making the title game, but the second place team is tough. I debated selecting Florida for the spot, but I wasn't sure that they would get the votes in the polls. Miami is a poll darling, and that should be enough. If you are asking why not Notre Dame, I just think the schedule is too difficult for them to get to the final game of the year with anything less than 2 losses. Two losses will definitely not get them into the championship game, but it should get them a BCS berth.
As for a champion, I can't call it. I don't want to mimic some of the other analysts who seem to think that Cal will take it all this season. I can't be that confident, but I also am not sure that Miami will be able to beat the offensive power of Cal. So, for now, let's call for an overtime game and it will come down to a kicker. It seems only appropriate for a game involving a school from Florida.
Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)