September 5, 2006
This was one of the best kickoff weekends
in quite some time. Within the many games we got to
see mostly quality opponents take on NationalChamps.net
entire top 25. There was enough action for teams to
be exposed and a few revelations upon which I can espouse.
As we have done every football weekend and will continue
to do, here are the highs and lows as I see them.
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As many expected, Colt is the
real McCoy. The freshman QB who has now taken
Vince Young’s place seems like he has a handle
on the many weapons the Longhorns possess. Freshman
Colt McCoy’s numbers through the air were impressive
(especially his three passing TDs), but even more so
are his running totals (four carries for 38 yards with
one TD), which mean good things for the Texas backfield.
Defenses will have to respect his feet, which will freeze
LBs and safeties just long enough for running holes
to open up and receivers to get open. The Longhorns
don’t appear to have a weakness after allowing
only 95 yards on 47 total plays, but, hey…this
was North Texas. It won’t get much better for
viewers than when Ohio State rolls into town this Saturday.
Speaking of the AP No.1 Buckeyes, they
won their 11th straight opener against Northern Illinois
Saturday. But they allowed the Huskies 151 on the ground
and 343 total yards. That kind of defensive effort won’t
get the job done in Austin, though. The new LBs will
be asked to step up more than they just did. A repeat
performance by the new corps will have that balanced
Longhorn offense waltzing into the endzone regularly.
The Buckeyes are likely to try and win a shoot-out if
their defense doesn’t have much luck, which seems
inevitable with Texas’ latest developments. Still,
McCoy hasn’t seen much besides the Green Meanies’
94th-ranked defense. Ohio State and Texas will likely
play a close game. It will all come down to Texas’
defense and how well they stop Troy Smith and Ted Ginn,
and the possibility of coach Mack Brown suspending
CB Tarell Brown could impact the proceedings.
Notre Dame let Georgia Tech go out 10-0
before finally gaining a lead with 6:33 left in the
third quarter. Also the final score, the Irish took
it to 14-10 when hometown guy Darius Walker (Lawrenceville,
Ga) got them six on a 13 yard scamper to secure the
win. Walker and the other Irish backs could only muster
a 3.5 ypc average, and it seemed that the Yellow Jacket
defense did its homework and was playing at mid-season
form against Charlie Weis’ heavily favored crew.
The tandem of QB Reggie Ball and senior phenom receiver
Calvin Johnson seemed like they could keep Tech up to
the task as the two succeeded against any coverage ND
threw at them. Ball’s feet were another weapon
Weis & Co. had trouble containing. But it was Brady
Quinn and his top WR tandem of Jeff Samardzija and Rhema
McKnight that proved more valuable, combining for 14
receptions and 182 total yards to take the Irish downfield
as needed. Quinn’s feet wound up part of the difference,
too, with his five runs for 28 yards keeping many drives
alive. Though a senior, the Irish’s first-time
starting PK Carl Gioia kept it close by missing his
only tries from 42 and 36 yards in the second and fourth
quarters, respectively. It is lucky for Notre
Dame that in most of their toughest upcoming
challenges this season, they do not face a quality dual-threat
QB like Ball. But home tilts with Penn State and Michigan
in the next two successive weeks are not without their
own challenges. The Ramblin’ Wreck get two more
home tune ups before the ACC onslaught begins, though
with Virginia also coming into Bobby Dodd, Tech has
their first four at home before ending the month against
Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech. If Ball can keep his
play as consistent as he did this past week, GT can
really go far.
Many saw the huge pile of Cal flop
the Golden Bears laid during their trip to Knoxville.
Tennessee proved that they are back with a vengeance
(64 rushing yards allowed) and that last year was a
fluke. California came in ranked ninth and left with
their tails between their legs after the Vols went out
to a 35-0 lead and then played mostly reserves late
in the game. Tennessee lost no yards on 41 rushing attempts.
Phil Fulmer’s men will surely shoot up the polls,
at least passing the spiraling Bears around the 16-18
slot. Unlucky for Cal is that they get a Minnesota team
coming off of a 44-0 win over Kent State. Lucky for
them is that the game is in Berkeley, and that the Gophers
gave up 132 rushing yards to KSU. Now, the vaunted Bear
running game can likely find the bite it was lacking
this past week.
USC didn’t lose a beat with new
QB Josh David Booty and their new-look backfield. After
former coach Lou Holtz picked Arkansas to win the matchup
against the Trojans, the end result of 50-14 turned
into a pig roast. Pete Carroll kept his hand close to
the vest by running it 42 times out of their 80 plays,
spreading the wealth amongst his RBs. Unknown freshman
Emmanuel Moody had a team-high 58 yards on seven carries.
The home team squandered five turnovers, basically giving
the game away by asking their experienced defense to
remain on the field for 35:19 against Booty. USC gets
a week off before Nebraska comes to town. The
Cornhuskers are more of a test, though their
49-10 win over Louisiana Tech says little.
Oklahoma has its work cut out for them
after barely sneaking by UAB 24-17 in Norman. The Blazers
held the ball for over 35 minutes, seemingly doing what
was needed to pull off what would have been OU’s
second consecutive season-opening upset loss. But the
difference was all-American Adrian Peterson. Obviously
poignant about getting ‘AD’ the rock, Peterson
subsequently touched the ball 11 straight times in three
different drives that covered OU’s entire third
quarter output. The first drive started after the Sooners
stopped UAB’s first drive of the half and got
a great 27 yard punt return from Reggie Smith so they
could start from their opponent’s 39. Peterson
followed by carrying it six times in a row, ending with
a four-yard romp for the score that put Oklahoma ahead
for their second lead of the day. After Peterson lost
a fumble on their next drive, OU then had a one play,
69-yard drive that was a completion from newly promoted
starting QB Paul Thompson to AD that put OU ahead 21-17.
They had a lead they would hold until the final gun.
The Sooners go to Oregon for a game September 16th that
will really test them, and the Oklahoma team we just
saw barely get by an upstart C-USA squad will not even
allow them to compete with the Ducks. Oregon, coming
off of a 48-10 romp over Stanford, gets a stubborn Fresno
State squad to tune up even more for the Sooner game.
It just looks like a long, hard year for Bob
Stoops and the boys.
The Monday night battle between FSU
and Miami was one for the ages. The defensive struggle
was another classic, with the Noles getting only one
rushing yard on 25 carries and the Canes only getting
one more yard than that on their 26 tries. The Seminoles
came back from a 10-3 halftime deficit and won on a
late field goal try, which is usually a situation that
precedes a State loss (those who have followed the series
know what I mean). The difference was FSU’s receivers,
who came through with big catches in clutch situations
in the second half. Miami could muster only 17 total
yards after halftime. Dating back to last year, Miami
has now lost three of their last four games,
the worst span since they lost three straight in 1999,
and they haven’t scored any points in the second
halves of any of these losses. Still, with only one
loss in 2006 and a schedule that looks favorable, the
Canes only need to stay with just that one loss to remain
in the national title hunt. FSU has the inside track
if both teams finish with one loss, but that would mean
they face each other in a rematch for the ACC title.
I have to apologize for not doing my
homework. In my editorial last week concerning the new
play clock rules, I went overboard with my opinions
because I was misinformed about how many situations
will now see the clock ticking away. The only times
the play clock will run differently from past seasons
are (1) when the ball changes possession on kicks, (2)
after a first down, and (3) after penalties. It will
not run after an incomplete pass, as I reported. My
error was in not checking the actual rule book and then
going by the word of other unofficial websites as my
research. Games were not nearly as disrupted and/or
altered by the new rules like I and others thought they
might be. Hey, if I muddy the waters via my irresponsibility
as a sports journalist, I had better do all I can to
quickly clear everything up.
Lagniappe
Utah,
which was touted as one of this season’s best
mid-majors, had a rather weak showing versus BCS-aligned
UCLA. Out-dueled 17-0 in the second half after going
into halftime trailing only 14-10, the Utes showed that
last year’s 38-10 Emerald Bowl win over Georgia
Tech didn’t get them permanently back to anywhere
near their quality of play seen under (now two years
departed) head coach urban Meyer…Texas Tech looked
good under new QB Graham Harrell in their 35-3 victory
over SMU. His 34-for-49, 342 yard, five TD performance
was as impressive in his first start as was the Red
Raider defense in allowing only 189 total net yards
to the hapless Mustangs…Colorado hadn’t
played against a non I-A opponent since 1965, and
after losing 19-10 to Montana State in Boulder, they
might want to avoid them for another 40 years. Dan Hawkins
was trying to become only the second Buffalo coach since
1932 (Rick Neuheisel was the first) to win his debut…Speaking
of struggling programs, Syracuse has to be the one that
has taken the worst dive of any former top contender.
The Orangemen looked terrible in their visit to Wake
Forest, losing 20-10 as they earned only 11 first downs,
136 total yards and went 1-for-11 on third down tries.
The coaches can be blamed, but board members up there
have to start looking further (at the athletic director)
if this trend continues…Pittsburgh is a program
that is teetering on the verge of respectability
and detriment. The Panthers routed visiting
Virginia 38-13, showing off a deep passing game that
was nowhere to be found in last year’s 5-6 squad.
But the Cavs are now rebuilding after struggling to
7-5 in ’05, so the jury is still out on whether
this is the Pitt squad we will continue to see…Fresno
State held on in a pivotal WAC matchup against Nevada
to pull out a 28-19 win Friday night. After they almost
beat USC last year, they kept losing and finished 2005
at 8-5 and with four consecutive losses. The Bulldogs
have their work cut out as they have a home rematch
with Oregon, the same powerful Duck squad that handed
them their first loss a season ago…Fresno kept
its awing punt game alive, allowing only one return
yard on its four punts. In 2004 and last year, they
allowed 27 and 40 return yards on punts, respectively…Keep
an eye on the Georgia-South Carolina game - the winner
takes the inside rail in the SEC East race…WVU
TB/FB Owen Schmitt continued his yardage guarantee,
gaining 38 yards (and losing none) on his six carries
this past week to help his team win 42-10 over in-state
rival Marshall. So far in his 54-carry I-A career, Schmitt
has yet to lose a yard…Michigan continued its
dominance over the SEC with a 27-7 home win against
Vandy. The Wolverines are 22-5 -1 all-time against
SEC squads. This week made 194 consecutive
times that Michigan Stadium had more than 100,000 attendees…
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