Posts Tagged ‘College’
“Football’s pretty big in the community where I grew up, and so I always focused on how to get recruited for college football. I didn’t think that I would be able to play at a division I. I guess I always saw myself – because I saw my brothers playing at a smaller college – that I would also play at a smaller college. But, fortunately for me, the University of Hawaii and some other schools came around toward the end of my senior season.
School is definitely very important to focus on. If you don’t have the academics, if you’re not taking care of school right now (at the high-school level) – as much as any coach would want to recruit you, or bring you to their college, they won’t be able to if you don’t have the grades to be eligible. So that’s always been a big priority of mine.
Something that my parents have always emphasized to me is ‘School first’. Also continue to work on your skill – whatever sport it may be – as an athlete. You can be the greatest athlete in the world, but if you don’t have the grades to get you into college then it’s going to be an unfortunate circumstance. School is a very important part of how to get recruited for college football. Definitely take care of school as you continue to develop yourself in your sport.” -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
“I want to talk to you a little bit about what to expect on an official or unofficial visit with college football recruiters or coaches. More specifically – I know it sounds silly, but – what to wear. You want to be able to make a good first impression on the coach – you don’t want to look sloppy or look bad. So what I recommend is wearing a nice shirt (maybe a polo shirt) and khaki pants – something comfortable, but also something you’ll look nice in. Because you want to be confident when you’re talking to college football recruiters or coaches, and if you look confident you’ll feel confident and then you’ll come off as confident. First impressions is a big part of making connections with people, especially if you’re talking to someone like a coach who you want to make a good impression on.
So, I know if sounds silly, but dressing nice on a visit where you’re talking to a coach is definitely very important. It’s a little bit flexible, depending on where you go. For instance – I went to Hawaii, and because of the culture and the climate I wore khaki shorts and a polo shirt with slippers, which was perfectly acceptable, but I still looked presentable. That’s one thing you want to keep in mind when you’re talking to college football recruiters or coaches and making your visits to different colleges.” -Joshua Rice (former football player for the University of Hawaii)
“The junior college football recruiting process isn’t much different from that of the bigger schools. You shouldn’t feel bad looking into junior college football recruiting. I started out looking into junior colleges and later on, towards the end of my senior season I was fortunate enough to be recruited by the University of Hawaii as well as Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
There are a lot of high school athletes that aspire to play at the Division 1 level and currently aren’t getting looks from the Division I schools. Some of them are only getting looks from junior colleges, and some aren’t getting any looks at all. My biggest piece of advise would be: don’t be discouraged. I know a lot of athletes who took the long route, or developed later, or were just overlooked by coaches that didn’t see their talent – and they went to play at junior colleges and persevered through it all – and now they’re playing professionally.
If it’s something that you really want to do it can be done. Whether you’re interested in a bigger school or the junior college football recruiting process, you have to work hard. Hard work beats out talent when talent doesn’t work hard. There is no substitution for hard work.” -Inoke Funaki (Quarterback for the University of Hawaii)
http://entertainment.ezinemark.com/how-to-get-recruited-for-college-football-recruiting-31daf459ba2.html
Do appears play college football games? It is often a dream of hundreds and hundreds of high dojo players yearly to get too to the next stage. There could be over 306, 000 high school graduation football players on a yearly basis. Of beach locations only seventeen, 500 may causes it to soul NCAA. All of them prefer to wear cheap Baseball jerseys in their training drills. Time includes all are freshman and at DI, DII as well as DIII. Pursuant to 6% make step and also play while attending school. That number can happen low and it’s really.
The purpose high graduating high school players would not have played in class is merely because doesn’t would like. If you need to play took action today, enjoy your social interaction and have a superior overall feels, DIII is when for an individual.
Those soccer teams who want to play in class and develop a scholarship features serious game title. There any 85 scholarships or grants in NCAA DI, 63 when it’s in I-AA easier 36 in existence DII organizations .
To compete impeccable premier and play college pigskin you will have a supporting system perhaps willing get hold of effort and time into. Not often covered easy strategy to play college pigskin, you be required to work. Those soccer teams who this same effort in recruiting in your do around the field, as individuals get asked to group.
You can certainly walk-on whatsoever NCAA baseball programs. What will you be is named a “preferred walk-on.” To ensure you go from the recruiting process just like you may perhaps well when you really need a baseball scholarship. If he doesn’t offer an organization scholarship with all the college that you picked, you could ask becoming a preferred walk-on and find yourself at camp. More and more football fans choose to wear wholesale football jerseys to support their favorite teams and players. You’ll need all comparable privileges and let access to become scholarship sportsperson does, but not be amount 100% you decide to become a personal game contributing youngster.
Here could have been 5 a quick guide to play college football games:
Start all recruiting applying early: Though it may be never far too late to start up technically, those soccer teams who start up before each of their Senior year have a higher rate of success.
Get ad’s and by’s: Even although the NCAA Reference minimum would certainly be a met by everyone high college diploma, 50% with regards to DI arrangements can’t present to you past admissions an additional source 3. 0.
Get bigger film: Enable you to get a copy of each game rob. Even that the coach video clips the replications, give a person a clear tape to generate a copy. You desire to these when producing your personalized recruiting box.
Take the steps: Will you be lifting extra through the off-season and also in-season? Will you be doing extremely hard conditioning together with the speed work above practice? Millions of football fans put on their wholesale reebok jerseys to watch live football games in stadium. Putting utilizing some extra hours a month will expand during games. It is what stands between scholarships off from walk-on.
Have interaction: Tell your senior high school coach you are interested in play in class. Calls grounds coaches and describe you are interested in play because of the program. If secondary school coaches haven’t heard of you not know you’re player, they cannot recruit this person.
http://entertainment.ezinemark.com/recommendations-for-football-players-to-get-enrolled-in-college-football-recruit-7d2dfa59e6b6.html
A 20-14 win over the Miami Hurricanes in the Champs Sports gave the Wisconsin Badgers their first 10-win season since 2006. With substantial talent back on both sides of the football, Wisconsin is hoping that it can take the next step in 2010. The next step would be a Big Ten title and a BCS bowl game, but in order to reach those goals the Badgers will have to beat either Iowa or Ohio State and maybe both. Both Iowa and Ohio State handed the Badgers double-digit losses in 2009, and they did it by taking away Wisconsin’s power running attack. They forced the Badgers to beat them through the air, and quarterback Scott Tolzien wasn’t up to the challenge. He’ll have to be this season in order for the Badgers to contend for the Big Ten championship.
Wisconsin boasted the No. 1 offense in the league last season, scoring 31.8 points and racking up 416.9 yards per contest. The key to Wisconsin’s productive offense was a power running game that also led the Big Ten with a 203.9 yards per game average. Star running back John Clay was largely responsible for Wisconsin’s success on the ground. He rushed for 1,517 yards and 18 scores on his way to capturing the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award. With Clay back, the Badgers will have an excellent chance to be the premier offensive team in the conference again. But in order for the Badgers to win the Big Ten, they are going to need strong performances from Tolzien in key games. Last season, Tolzien was sacked six times and picked off twice by Ohio State. Against Iowa, he was sacked four times and picked off on three occasions. Ohio State and Iowa will both look to make the Badgers beat them through the air again this season, so Wisconsin’s Big Ten title hopes could largely rest on Tolzien in those big games.
Wisconsin was in the top half of the Big Ten defensively a season ago, but this is still the side of the football that is holding it back. The Badgers ranked No. 4 in the league in scoring defense last year, giving up 21.8 points per game. That was good for a respectable 33rd nationally. Still, when you consider that Ohio State held its opponents to 9.3 fewer points per game, and Iowa held its foes to 6.4 fewer points per game, it just doesn’t quite cut it. The Badgers did rank No. 1 in the league in run defense a year ago, holding the opposition to only 88.2 rushing yards per game, but they must show improvement against the pass. And that could be a problem after losing stud free safety Chris Maragos.
- I’m confident the Badgers can record their second straight 10-win campaign, but Ohio State and Iowa will likely be standing in their way of a Big Ten championship. Be sure to check out my 2010 Big 10 football predictions to see how I have the rest of the league shaping up.
Crush the college football odds makers this season with the help of Jimmy Boyd’s expert football picks!
http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/2010-college-football-predictions-wisconsin-2872707.html
College Football Workout Programs
Here is a football strength workout for beginners and high school football players. This workout plan serves as the base to put 20-30 lbs on your lifts.
Do this football workout 3x’s per week for 3 months, always trying to beat your previous bests.
Remember, your goal as a high school football player is to get bigger, stronger, more explosive and faster for football, so, your football workouts must reflect this. You can’t simply throw together random exercises and hope for the best!
We start off every session with a main exercise, for heavy, multiple sets of low reps.
If it call for 8 x 3, that means 8 sets of 3 reps. Use the first 3 sets as warm ups then keep adding weight until you reach as much as you can for 3 reps in good form. College Football Workout Programs
Monday
Front Squat – 8 x 3
Incline – 5 x 5
Glute Ham Raise – 3 x 8 (add weight when possible)
1-Arm Row to Hip – 3 x 10
Snatch Grip Shrugs – 3 x 12
Standing Cable Crunch – 3 x 8
Curls – 21′s – 1 set
Wednesday
Snatch Grip Deadlifts – 8 x 2
Close Grip Bench – 3 x 8
DB or KB Swings – 3 x 8
Bulgarian Squats – 2 x 12
DB Front Raise and Lateral Raise Combo – 3 x 8 (each way – Do a Front Raise, then a Lateral)
Low Cable or Band Row – 3 x 8 (Pull low toward the hip while seated, this will target the lats hard)
Hypers – 3 x 10
Friday
Bar Push Ups – 3 x max reps (have them stump a band if needed)
Clean Pulls – 3 x 5
DB Shrugs – 3 x 20
Saxon Side Bends – 3 x 12
Chins – 3 x 8
Preacher Curls – 3 x 8
Behind the Head Extension – 3 x 8 (Super set with curls)
Stick with these football workouts and work hard every session.
At the end of the month, you will change the exercises and sets/reps. College Football Workout Programs
http://health.ezinemark.com/college-football-workout-programs-beginner-s-football-workout-for-high-school-football-players-16ae697d2f4.html
Oklahoma finished the 2007 season at 11-3 as Big 12 champions. The Sooners averaged 6.4 yards per play on offense, the most for the team since 1987. The offense should continue to thrive, but the defense may be a bit of a question mark at this point in time.
Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford had one of the best freshman seasons in college football history. Bradford threw for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. He led the nation in passing efficiency and his 36 touchdown passes stand as the NCAA freshman record. With a talented and experienced offensive line in front of him and an army of weapons at his disposal, Bradford should continue to improve in his sophomore season.
The Oklahoma offensive line is led by future NFL players Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. In fact, all five starters are back this season for an offensive line that ranks as one of the top units in the country.
The Sooners also welcome back wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson. Iglesias led the team last season with 68 catches for 907 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Jermaine Gresham steps into the starting spot at tight end and appears to be someone to watch.
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Senior running back Allen Patrick is gone, but the cupboard is anything but bare. The tandem of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 1,375 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. Murray is just a sophomore, but he possesses great speed and elusiveness. He could very well have a huge season.
The defense only returns six starters, but three of them are along the defensive line. Oklahoma will have to rely on the front four to control the line of scrimmage; at least until the back seven get settled. The front four were equally successful at stopping the run and the pass in 2007.
The linebacker corps returns only one starter, Ryan Reynolds, who has a history of injury problems. The success of this unit could depend on the development of redshirt freshmen Travis Lewis and Austin Box, as well as junior college transfers J.R. Bryant and Mike Balogun.
The secondary returns both safeties from last season, Nic Harris and Lendy Holmes. Both have all-star potential and they’ll need to show it because the team will have two new starting cornerbacks this season. The likely starters are junior Brian Jackson and sophomore Dominique Franks. Both played well in the spring, but it remains to be seen how that translates into the season.
Receivers Iglesias and Murray return for the top kickoff return unit in the nation last season. Mike Knall returns as one of the Big 12′s best punters, but Oklahoma needs someone to step up and win the kicker job.
The schedule is favorable for the Sooners to make a run at the national title. The one possible roadblock is October 11th when Oklahoma travels to Dallas to face Texas. Bradford should continue to impress with talent all around him. If the defense can hide its inexperience, the Sooners should prevail as Big 12 South champions and make a play for their eighth national championship.
http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/oklahoma-sooners-2008-college-football-team-preview-462036.html
The Tennessee Volunteers finished the 2009 season 7-6. They weren’t able to cap off their campaign with a victory over Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, but it was still a nice year considering 2008 ended without a bowl game. It is also encouraging that three of Tennessee’s losses came by four of fewer points. In fact, Tennessee played national champion Alabama as tough as anyone all season. All in all, Lane Kiffin’s first season at Tennessee was a success in my book. But Kiffin has now left for USC, and the program has been put in the hands of Derek Dooley. Dooley is a good hire, but his first season on the job could be a very trying one. The Volunteers open the 2010 season by playing the likes of Oregon, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina in six of their first eight games. If the Vols can’t find a way to win any of those contests, getting back to a bowl game could be a very difficult task.
Tennessee’s offense was better than expected in 2009 when it averaged 29.3 points. The Vols were able to do most of their damage through the air. They ranked No. 3 in the SEC with 226.3 passing yards per game. Unfortunately, the offense could take a step back this season. Junior college transfer Matt Simms is the early favorite to land the starting job, and he certainly has the pedigree. He is the son of Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms. However, the horse with the best pedigree doesn’t always win the race. Simms is very much unproven, and he will be working behind an offensive line that only returns one player with starting experience in league play. The good news for Simms is that he has a talented stable of receivers to work with. Wide receivers Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore have big play ability, and Luke Stocker is heralded as one of the best tight ends in the country. The Vols are also excited about incoming freshman Da’Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter. The running game doesn’t inspire much confidence either when you consider that neither Tauren Poole or David Oku have broken the century mark for a season.
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Tennessee really struggled to stop the run last season. It ranked No. 8 in the SEC in run defense, giving up 149.5 rushing yards per game. The defensive line is small outside Montori Hughes, and that means that run defense could be an issue again. Plus, the Vols are really going to miss All-American safety Eric Berry. The guy was a hard-hitting, lock down defender, who could fill quickly against the run. The Vols have a talented performer in Janzen Jackson ready to step in, but he’s no Berry yet. Up front, the guy to watch is defensive end Chris Walker. He recorded six sacks and picked off two passes last season. He is the Vols’ top returning performer in both of those categories.
– It can be done, but it will be very difficult for Dooley to get the Vols to a bowl game considering how inexperienced this team is and how tough the schedule is. The defense has enough talent to remain a solid unit, but right now the offense looks like it will need time to jell. And time isn’t exactly on Tennessee’s side with all the tough games in September and October.
Make sure you check out my 2010 SEC football predictions to see how I have the rest of the conference shaping up.
Beat the college football odds in 2010 with the help of World Champion handicapper Jimmy Boyd.
http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/2010-college-football-predictions-tennessee-2767421.html
One avenue available for high school football players who want to play at the college level is to consider playing football NAIA style. What exactly is the NAIA? It’s another collegiate sports sanctioning body like the NCAA. NAIA stands for the National Association Of Intercollegiate Athletics.
You won’t see football NAIA scores on ESPN or Fox Sports, but if you have ever seen this type of football played, you know the talent and competition level is very high. Many of the players who play NAIA were also recruited by NCAA schools, but chose a NAIA school because they felt is was the better option for them.
NCAA football is divided up into three levels of competition, Division I, Division II, and Division III. NAIA schools are divided up into Division I and Division II only, but they offer athletic scholarships at the Division I and Division II level.
Most of the scholarships given are partial scholarships, especially to freshmen and sophomores.
To play football NAIA style, you must have the talent, size and speed to compete. But, no matter how good you are, to get recruited you must let coaches know who you are and why you deserve a shot at being recruited by them. In short, you have to take responsibility for your recruitment to make it happen.
You need to make contact with coaches and let them know about your accomplishments on the football field and how you can help their program be successful. Coaches must be sure that you can fit in with their program and you can play football NAIA style. I can guarantee you won’t be recruited if coaches don’t know your name or who you are!
http://entertainment.ezinemark.com/football-naia-another-way-to-play-college-football-4f2b663a2c0.html
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
He is apparently half-Armenian and half-Irish, 34 years old and the new head coach of the University of Washington’s football team. Meet Steve Sarkisian, young, energetic, successful and excited about the opportunity to turn around the fortunes of the Husky football program.
That will not be as difficult a problem as Washington’s current 0-12 season record might suggest. We are purposefully not mentioning the fired coach whom Sarkisian is replacing. Sarkisian and the University of Washington deserve a clean slate at this moment in time. The old guy is history better left unwritten.
Before he arrived in Seattle to be announced as the new coach, Sarkisian had never been head coach of a major college football program. Some pundits consider his hiring a liability because of his inexperience as a head coach. I consider his inexperience an asset because Sarkisian is not bringing with him a bunch of failed practices, tired beliefs about what worked 20 years ago, and old cronies as part of the coaching staff.
Just winning a single game next season will make him more successful than his predecessor.
Sarkisian has been the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the University of Southern California the last 2 years. USC is a national powerhouse led by head coach Pete Carroll. So what’s the big deal with USC and Pete Carroll? Just this:
In the 7 years prior to this season, Carroll is 76-14 (84%) at USC, the best winning percentage of any current Division 1 coach with at least 5 years of experience. Carroll won National Championships in 2003 and 2004, won an unprecedented 6 consecutive Pac 10 titles and appeared in an NCAA record 6 consecutive BCS bowl games, won an NCAA record of at least 11 victories each season, and has been ranked in the AP Top 4 in each of those seasons.
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This year the Trojans won their 7th consecutive Pac 10 title, and are again 11-1 going into their 7th consecutive BCS Rose Bowl appearance, this time against Penn State.
So what has Sarkisian had to do with Carroll’s success? He was there 7 of the last 8 years, first as the quarterback coach and then as the quarterback coach, offensive coordinator and assistant head coach the last 2 years. Sarkisian led the USC offensive effort while helping develop Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart (drafted by the Arizona Cardinals) and Carson Palmer (drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals). He also helped develop John David Brody (drafted by the Minnesota Vikings).
It’s also one thing to coach quarterbacks when you haven’t been one or been a very successful one, and another thing to do so as a great college quarterback, which Sarkisian was at Brigham Young University.
After two years at a community college, Sarkisian started for BYU as a junior, passing for 3,437 yards and 20 touchdowns. He finished his first season by going 31-for-34 for 399 yards and 3 touchdowns in BYU’s 45-28 victory over Fresno State, setting an NCAA record for completion percentage (91%), and 2 of his 3 incompletions were intentionally thrown out of bounds to avoid the pass rush.
As a senior, Sarkisian passed for 4,027 yards and 33 TDs with a 173+ pass efficiency rating, the best in the NCAA. BYU finished the regular season at 13-1, won the Western Athletic Conference Championship and then beat Kansas State 19-15 in the Cotton Bowl. He was selected as WAC Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team NCAA All-American.
While Washington will be Steve Sarkisian’s first head coaching job, he is clearly a winner as a player and a winner as a coach at USC.
Thus far, Sarkisian has made 2 quality decisions—he accepted the challenge at Washington and he didn’t keep any of the holdover coaches from the 0-12 team he inherited. Nice work, Steve. Who wants or needs winless coaches?
Sarkisian’s first order of business (besides hiring a staff and recruiting like there is no tomorrow) will be to change the culture of Washington’s program by restoring a winning attitude with belief.
Only time will tell how much success Sarkisian will enjoy with the Washington Husky football program, but one thing is for sure: Athletic Director Scott Woodward’s decision to hire him is a giant step in the right direction.
http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/college-football-steve-sarkisian-a-real-breath-of-fresh-air-for-washingtons-huskies-694098.html
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
Oregon, Texas and Iowa won huge, critical victories to remain in contention for the National Championship Game during college football’s 9th week of play.
None of the three victories was more impressive or substantial than 10th-ranked Oregon’s convincing, ultimately dominating 47-20 upset win at home over 4th-ranked Southern California. Oregon was a 3-point underdog in the game.
The USC Trojans had won at least 11 games a season and had 7 consecutive BSC bowl-game appearances for 7 straight years; now the streak has been broken as there is no way Southern Cal can win 11 games this season. With another loss, USC’s 8th straight BCS bowl-game streak would also be in jeopardy.
The win pushed the Ducks to 7-1 and dropped the Trojans to 6-2 and, perhaps more important, left Oregon on top of the Pac 10 Conference race with an unbeaten 5-0 mark and pushed USC into a 3-way tie for 4th place at 3-2. The Trojan loss was its worst since 1997 when they were beaten by the Washington Huskies 27-0.
The Trojans came into the game ranked 16th nationally in both scoring defense and total defense, and flew home in defensive disarray.
How convincing was Oregon’s upset? This convincing: Oregon double-threat Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 164 more yards and another score. Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 183 yards and a touchdown as the Ducks racked up 391 yards rushing on the 5th best rushing defense in the nation. USC’s defense gave up a total of 613 yards to Oregon. The Trojan loss was the worst ever for head coach Pete Carroll during his 9 years at USC.
None of the three key victories was more important to a front-runner than the 3rd-ranked Texas Longhorns’ 41-14 smash-mouth win on-the-road over 13th-ranked Oklahoma State. Texas led 41-7 after three quarters when Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy left the game for good.
The Cowboys (now 6-2) allowed McCoy to go 16-for-21 for 171 yards and a touchdown, and Longhorn defenders Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned an interception for a TD. The win definitely keeps the Longhorns (8-0) in the running for the national title game, especially if either Florida or Alabama now loses down the stretch.
None of the three victories was more exciting than Iowa’s 4th quarter, come-from-behind 42-24 win over a 4-5 Indiana team. The Hoosiers led 24-14 after three quarters and Iowa looked like burned toast, but the Hawkeyes exploded for 4 last quarter touchdowns to win the 4th quarter 28-0, and the game.
Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi threw 5 interceptions before the explosion, which started with an interception and 86-yard TD return by Tyler Sash. The defensive score ignited the Hawkeyes as Stanzi then made up for his errant ways by connecting with Marvin McNutt on a 92-yard TD pass, and Darrell Johnson-Koulianos on a 66-yard TD pass. Brandon Wegher added 6 and 27-yard scoring runs to end the rapid comeback.
Iowa has made a career out of winning close games this season—7 of the 9 Hawkeye wins have been by 11 or fewer points. Last year Iowa lost 4 games by combined total of 12 points. The Hawkeyes perfect 9-0 record is the best start in school history.
There were 4 upsets of ranked teams this week by unranked teams that included North Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee and Auburn.
Unranked North Carolina (5-3) went calling on 14th-ranked Virginia Tech (now also 5-3) and upset the Hokies 20-17. Unranked South Florida (now 6-2) traveled to 20th-ranked West Virginia (now also 6-2) and upset the Mountaineers 30-19. Unranked Tennessee (4-4) upset 21st-ranked South Carolina 31-13 at home, dropping the Gamecocks to 6-3 on the year and showing which team has the better defense.
Unranked Auburn (now 6-3) upset 24th-ranked Mississippi 33-20 at home, dropping Ole Miss to 5-3. Can we now just shut up about how great the Rebel team is going to be this year? Mississippi was ranked 10th in the pre-season Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Four other ranked teams came home with away victories—Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Penn State and Miami (FL).
Unbeaten and 5th-ranked Cincinnati (8-0) beat 100th-ranked Syracuse 28-7, scoring a touchdown in each quarter to inflict a slow, painful death on the Orange.
No. 11-ranked Georgia Tech scored 28 second-half points to gun down 129th-ranked Vanderbilt 56-31. The Yellow Jackets’ win was not impressive as they gave up 31 points to a lousy team, but at least their offense scored touchdowns in every quarter, and at least two TDs in 3 of the 4 quarters. Georgia Tech is now 8-1 on the season.
Penn State (8-1) beat the 98th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats 34-13. Northwestern (now 5-4) was 9-4 a year ago and lost a tough overtime game 30-23 to Missouri in the Alamo Bowl. Joe Pa and his 12th-ranked Nittany Lions still must beat Ohio State and Michigan State to have much to crow about since he selected and beat 4 cupcakes on his way to 8 wins so far. Penn State would play another team’s scout unit for a victory if they could get away with it.
The 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (6-2) needed two 4th-quarter touchdowns to nip 65th-ranked Wake Forest 28-27. The Demon Deacons led 27-14 after three quarters, but folded when it counted in the 4th quarter, which must make Wake Forest a pretty good three-quarter team.
Nine other ranked teams won at home—Florida, Boise State, Texas Christian, LSU, Houston, Ohio State, Utah, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
No. 1 Florida went 8-0 by beating 35th-ranked Georgia, 41-17, as the Gators continue to roll on unbeaten toward another National Championship Game and a defense of their 2008 National Title last year.
No. 6 Boise State went 8-0 by ripping apart a terrible 1-6, 97th-ranked San Jose State team 45-7 in a cakewalk.
No. 8 Texas Christian shut out a 3-6, 113th-ranked UNLV team 41 to nothing, which pretty well describes the Rebel team this year. UNLV has not been to a bowl game since 2000; it’s a good thing the Rebels chalked up a bowl appearance early in the century because they may not make it back to another one until 3000 at the rate they are going.
No. 9 LSU (7-1) shut out the 2-6, 145th-ranked Tulane Green Wave 42-0.
No. 15 Houston (7-1) had its hands full with the 73rd-ranked Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, barely winning in a genuine, old-fashioned gunfight, 50-43. Southern Miss was ranked 25th nationally in scoring defense coming into the game, so the Golden Eagles had a defense and could not stop Houston’s 3rd-ranked scoring offense.
The Houston Cougars, who have no total defense (they were ranked 112th among 120 major college teams), did what they always do, they gave up a horrendous number of points. If Houston had no offense, the Cougars would probably lose every game 26-0.
No. 17 Ohio State (7-2) shut out a 3-6, 148th-ranked New Mexico State team 45-0. The Buckeyes led 45-zip after three quarters and decided to shower early in the 4th quarter.
No. 19 Utah came up with another unimpressive 22-10 victory, this time over the 107th-ranked Wyoming Cowboys. Despite their impressive 7-1 record, the Utes must beat Texas Christian and Brigham Young to be in any discussion about who is good at the national level.
No. 22 Oklahoma (5-3) won 42-30 in a lackluster performance over a 5-3 Kansas State team. Now you know why the Sooners are 5-3 and really going nowhere.
The No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2) might have surprised themselves in finally becoming bowl eligible by crushing a woefully weak 1-7, 119th-ranked Washington State team, 40-14. Last year the Washington Huskies were a winless 0-12; this year the Washington State Cougars are just as bad.
Eight unranked teams became bowl eligible this week with their 6th win—Wisconsin, Rutgers, Boston College, Texas Tech, California, Temple, Troy and Ohio.
Wisconsin (6-2) shut out Purdue 37-0 in a Big Ten face-off. Two weeks ago Purdue had a huge 26-18 upset of visiting Ohio State, and this week the Boilermakers became a doormat for the Badgers; nothing could better describe the ups and downs of a college football team.
Rutgers (6-2) turned back Connecticut 28-24 after letting the Huskies score two 4th-quarter touchdowns to narrow the margin. You remember Rutgers, it’s that New Jersey school on the East Coast, where sportswriters and sportscasters think all great football is played; they suffer from other delusions too.
Boston College (6-2) beat visiting Central Michigan 31-10. The Central Michigan Chippewas (now 7-2) are lucky that this loss was not to a Mid American Conference opponent.
Texas Tech (6-3) ripped Kansas 42-21, California (6-2) held off Arizona State 23-21, Troy (6-2) clobbered Louisiana Monroe 42-21, Ohio (6-3) just nudged by a pathetic, 163rd-ranked Ball State team 20-17, and Temple (6-2) used a 4th-quarter field goal to edge a 6-3 Navy team, 27-24. The Temple Owls have now won their 6th game in-a-row, their longest win streak since 1974.
Three teams were idle this week—No. 2 Alabama, No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 24 Arizona.
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The Buffalo Bulls are just two years removed from winning the MAC title under Turner Gill. A disappointing 5-7 season followed in 2009, but Gill was still coveted in the college football coaching circle and left for Kansas. With 14 returning starters, 1st year head coach Jeff Quinn gets the privilege of coaching a veteran team. The Bulls hope to challenge for the East division title in the MAC this year. View the full conference breakdown in our 2010 MAC football predictions article.
Offensive output was not an issue last year as the Bulls averaged over 400 yards of total offense. Buffalo used a balanced attack, rushing for 164 yards/game and throwing for 242 yards per game. QB Zach Maynard decided the East coast wasn’t for him and transferred to Cal after throwing for over 2600 yards and 18 touchdowns in his sophomore season. It was a big blow to the team, but Quinn believes true freshman Rudy Johnson could be ready to start from day one. Johnson was recruited specifically for the spread offense that the Bulls will now run and has a leg up on Jerry Davis with the familiarity of the system. Buffalo used a running back by committee last year following the season ending injury that star RB James Starks suffered prior to the start of the season. Ike Nduka and Brandon Thermilus combined to rush for more than 1200 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both return and will add depth in the backfield once again. Replacing three talented receivers will not be an easy task. Naaman Roosevelt departed after catching 70 passes for close to 1000 yards and a team high nine touchdowns. Terrell Jackson is the likely candidate to move into the top receiving role. The big boys up front return four of five starters giving the new coaching staff a firm foundation on the offensive side of the ball.
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The Buffalo defense could end up being one of the best units in the MAC if they play up to standards. Eight starters are back and the Bulls move to a 3-4 scheme. LB Justin Winters is highly regarded around the conference and should thrive with the new defense that allows linebackers to play freely. His numbers dropped from the 125 tackle performance as a sophomore in 2008, but he still managed to make 79 tackles in 10 games. Raphael Akobundu started 13 games at middle linebacker and returns along with converted DE Steven Means. Means was a 1st team freshman All-American after racking up 5 sacks in just seven games during his first year. The defensive line has three players back with starting experience, but have to replace Means and adjust to a three man front. FS Davonte Shannon has been named to 1st team All-Conference three years in a row and recorded a team high 97 tackles last year. Defensive coordinator William Inge will expect a lot out of both Shannon and Winters in 2010. K AJ Principe is already Buffalo’s all time scoring leader with one year left. John Rachuna could possibly handle the punting duties this season.
Gaining bowl eligibility is the main goal for the Bulls, but their non-conference schedule includes three stern tests against Baylor, Connecticut and Central Florida. Conference plays begins with back-to-back road games at Bowling Green and Northern Illinois. A Thursday night game at Ohio on November 4th could go a long way in deciding the East division of the MAC. The defense will be one of the better ones in the conference, but I am a little skeptical of a true freshman stepping in immediately running such a detailed scheme. I believe they still manage six wins.
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