Oregon headed into what was supposed to be a challenge in the Pac-10, and the Ducks rolled out of Los Angeles with a 21-point win over and over-rated USC team.
Oregon, plain and simple, is the best team in the country right now. I’m not saying they’ll win the national championship. But if it were played on October 30, I’d say they could beat anyone. The potent offense the Ducks possess puts opponents in a tough situation. Stop the run (OK, slow down the run, there’s no stopping them) and they’ll beat you with the pass. And vice versa.
LaMichael James is the only person not named Cam Newton in the Heisman Trophy discussion, and quarterback Darron Thomas continues to improve for the Ducks.
Oregon faces two more difficult road tests in the Pac-10, but if they continue to play like this, they will be in the BCS National Championship Game.
Stock up
Nebraska – A couple of weeks ago, this team suffered a devastating loss to Texas, one that could have derailed their season. But since that loss, the Huskers have rebounded nicely, including Saturday’s 31-17 win over previously unbeaten Missouri. Roy Helu, Jr. had a huge day for Nebraska, which is not totally out of the national championship race at this point.
Baylor – OK, three weeks ago, if I had told you that Baylor would go to Austin and beat Texas, you would have called me crazy. But that acutally happened on Saturday, and it wasn’t a fluke. The Bears, behind quarterback Robert Griffin, controlled the game against the Longhorns, and went home with a 30-22 win. Baylor leads the Big 12 South and controls its own destiny into the Big 12 Championship Game.
Iowa – The Hawkeyes proved that they are still in the mix for the Big Ten title on Saturday, thumping previously unbeaten Michigan State, 37-6. Iowa has lost only once in conference play, and still has a game against Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium (Nov. 20), where they could claim at least a portion of the conference title.
Tulsa – The Golden Hurricane did something that no one expected on Saturday, winning 28-27 at Notre Dame. Most experts figured that the Fighting Irish, facing an internal tragedy, would come out and play well in honor of their fallen videographer. Instead, quarterback Dayne Crist was injured, and Tulsa was able to take advantage. Coach Todd Graham, one of the nice guys in the game, deserves a win like this.
Syracuse – The Orange are 6-2 for the first time since 2001 after Saturday’s 31-7 thumping of Cincinnati. And Syracuse finds itself just a half game behind Pittsburgh in the Big East standings. Having already lost to the Panthers, Syracuse must win out and hope that Pitt falls at least once so that the Orange can claim a share of the Big East title.
Stock down
West Virginia – The Mountaineers make the stock down list for the second week in a row. It’s inexplicable that this team is not at the top of the Big East standings. The Big East is NOT a tough conference. There are no ranked teams in the conference. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are two of the best teams. And WVU can’t compete with Connecticut? That’s a problem.
Florida State – The Seminoles had a huge opportunity on Thursday night to basically claim the ACC’s Atlantic Division by beating N.C. State. Instead, Jimbo Fisher’s squad blew the lead late, and lost to the Wolfpack. Now, Florida State has a tenuous lead in the division, with division games remaining against Clemson and Maryland.
Michigan – The Wolverines opened the season with five straight wins, and appeared to be on the right path. Denard Robinson was the front-runner for the Heisman, and Rich Rodriguez appeared to have saved his job. Four weeks later, Michigan is 5-3, having suffered three straight losses, and a season of promise is turning into the same old Michigan (Rodriguez Era only). Michigan still faces Illinois, visits Purdue, hosts Wisconsin and visits Ohio State. They need to find one win to be bowl eligible. Rodriguez might need two wins (at least) to save his job.
Clemson – The Tigers should not have lost to Boston College on Saturday. They clearly have better talent (minus Montel Harris, of course), but Kyle Parker and his team simply should not have lost this game. Clemson is now 4-4 on the season, and they need to find two more wins to be bowl-eligible. Clemson hosts N.C. State, visits Florida State and Wake Forest, then hosts South Carolina. Could be tough sledding for Dabo Swinney’s team.
Miami – OK, so it’s pick on the ACC week. But Randy Shannon’s Hurricanes are better than this. A Virginia team that had only beaten FCS members Richmond and VMI, as well as pathetic Eastern Michigan, should not beat a ranked opponent. But that’s what the Cavaliers did to the Hurricanes on Saturday. The ‘Canes need to regroup for their final four games, so they can get to the best bowl available to them.
Statistical Studs – Week 9
Roy Helu, Jr., Nebraska – Think about the 1980’s and 1990’s, and how many times Nebraska ran the ball. Roger Craig, Turner Gill, Eric Crouch, etc. On Saturday, Helu outdid them all, rushing for a school-record 307 yards as the Huskers beat Missouri. Helu had three touchdowns, and they covered 66, 73 and 53 yards.
Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M – Tannehill connected on 36-of-50 passes for 449 yards with four touchdowns as the Aggies beat Texas Tech, 45-27. The 449 yards is a school record for passing yards in a game at Texas A&M.
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma – Staying in the Big 12, Broyles set an Oklahoma school record with 208 receiving yards, in a 43-10 win over Colorado. For the game, Broyles caught nine passes, including three touchdown passes (16, 81 and 64 yards).
LaMichael James, Oregon – James continues to stay in the Heisman Trophy race, as his team stays in contention for the national championship. In Saturday’s 53-32 thumping of USC, James carried 36 times for 239 yards and three touchdowns. This guy is the best running back in the nation, without question. The Heisman Trophy should come down to a race between James and Auburn’s Cam Newton.
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas – OK, so Mallett was only facing Vanderbilt, but he still had a huge game. Mallett passes for a school-record 409 yards and three touchdowns as the Razorbacks beat the Commodores 49-14 in Nashville. Mallett completed 27-of-44 passes and hit on three touchdowns in the game.
Games I’ll Be Watching in Week 10
No. 4 TCU at No. 6 Utah
No. 5 Alabama at No. 12 LSU
No. 13 Arizona at No. 10 Stanford
No. 17 Arkansas at No. 18 South Carolina
No. 22 Baylor at No. 19 Oklahoma State
Showing posts with label Syracuse Orange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syracuse Orange. Show all posts
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
South Carolina Upsets Alabama In Week 6 Clash
So, Alabama is human after all. Despite being virtually handed the crystal football trophy by some experts, the Crimson Tide proved its mortality on Saturday, losing to South Carolina 35-21 in Columbia.
Many times in an upset, there are fluke plays that allow the underdog team to pull out a victory. That was not the case in this game. South Carolina dominated the line of scrimmage in this game, outrushing Alabama 110-36 and sacking Tide quarterback Greg McElroy repeatedly.
Steve Spurrier got by far his biggest win as coach at South Carolina, and he now hopes that his Gamecocks can build on this win and compete for the SEC East title.
Meanwhile, Alabama coach Nick Saban must get his troops focused on cleaning up the mistakes that cost them this game. Alabama faces a tough schedule down the stretch, with games at LSU and against Auburn. Those two teams, along with Alabama and Arkansas, are all in the SEC West race.
Stock up
Michigan State – The Spartans went into the Big House on Saturday with their head coach in the press box, still recovering from a heart attack and a blot clot. Despite being on the road and facing adversity, the Spartans beat Michigan 34-17 to move to 6-0 on the season. Michigan State beat Michigan for the third straight time, the first time that has happened since the 60’s.
LSU – Les Miles has been called “The Hat” because of the way he wears his cap. But while many people are poking fun at Miles by calling him that, his hat just might be magic. Miles and his Tigers pulled out another huge victory on Saturday, beating Florida 33-29 in the Swamp. Included in the game-winning drive was a fake field goal, with the kicker running for the first down (after picking the ball up off the turf).
Florida State – The Seminoles were impressive again on Saturday, crushing Miami 45-17 on the road. Quarterback Christian Ponder continues to lead the offense, which appears to be getting better each week. Running backs Jermaine Thomas and Chris Thompson provide a tough duo for opponents to stop. The Seminoles are in the driver’s seat in the ACC Atlantic Division at this point in the season.
Purdue – The Boilermakers were on the verge of seeing the 2010 season go down the tubes after losing to Toledo two weeks ago. But Coach Danny Hope used last week’s open date to rally his troops, and whatever he did, it worked. Purdue went on the road and beat No. 25 Northwestern 20-17 in Evanston. Quarterback Rob Henry rushed for 132 yards for Purdue, which handed Northwestern its first loss of the season.
Syracuse – Guess who’s 4-1? Has anyone noticed the Orange? Granted, the schedule hasn’t been great so far. Syracuse has beaten Akron, Maine and Colgate. But Saturday’s Big East win at South Florida was impressive. We’ll find out if the Orange are for real over the next two games, when they host Pittsburgh then visit West Virginia.
Stock down
Arizona – The Wildcats were unbeaten, ranked in the nation’s Top Ten, and facing an unranked conference opponent at home. That doesn’t sound like a disaster scenario, but it was. Arizona trailed for nearly the entire game and lost, 29-27 to Oregon State in Tucson. Arizona now falls off the pace in the Pac-10 race, and faces a daunting schedule that includes trips to Stanford and Oregon.
Florida – Say what you will about Tim Tebow, but the guy was a winner. And that’s not a knock on John Brantley or any of the current Gators. But over the last four years, if the game was close at the end, you just knew Tebow and the Gators would pull it out. But in 2010, the Gators just don’t have the same finishing ability. Florida has now lost two in a row and finds itself looking up at South Carolina in the SEC East.
Penn State – It’s not just the fact that the Nittany Lions lost to Illinois on Saturday. They lost badly, falling 33-13 in Happy Valley. That’s two consecutive Big Ten losses of at least 20 points for Joe Pa’s team. At 3-3 this year, Penn State will need to rally to have a winning season. Penn State still has games against Michigan, at Ohio State and against Michigan State.
UCLA – This team went to Austin and thumped Texas? The same team that lost 35-7 at Cal on Saturday? I’m certainly confused by this team, and I would guess that Rick Neuheisel is as well. The good news for the Bruins is that they have this weekend off to regroup. The bad news is, when they play again, they visit Oregon in Eugene.
USC – Speaking of Los Angeles teams, Lane Kiffin’s bunch lost again on Saturday, falling 37-35 at Stanford. No shame in losing to a ranked team on the road. But if you look at the Trojans’ schedule, those first four wins are certainly suspect. Beating Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota and Washington State, teams that have combined beaten only four FBS teams, is not all that impressive. USC still must face Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State and Notre Dame, so they probably aren’t done losing this season.
Statistical Studs – Week 6
Cam Newton, Auburn – Newton had a huge game on Saturday night against Kentucky, rushing 28 times for 198 yards and four touchdowns, while hitting on 13-of-21 passing for 210 yards, as the Tigers held off the Wildcats 37-34.
Randall Cobb, Kentucky – Playing against Newton, Cobb was all over the field, as he usually is. Cobb rushed 11 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns, caught seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, and connected on his only pass for six yards and another TD. For good measure, Cobb returned three kickoffs for 86 yards. He was also the holder on field goals and extra points. And he sold popcorn while the Wildcats played defense (kidding, of course).
Ryan Katz, Oregon State – The Beavers’ signal caller had a huge game as Oregon State won at Arizona. Katz hit on 30-of-42 passes for 393 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for seven yards and another TD.
Anthony Allen, Georgia Tech – Allen rushed 25 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets downed Virginia, 33-21 in Atlanta.
Robert Woods, USC – In a losing effort, the freshman had a huge game for the Trojans. Woods caught a career-high 12 passes for a career-high 224 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the game. The 224 yards surpassed his career total coming into the game.
Games I’ll Be Watching in Week 7
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 18 Wisconsin
No. 12 Arkansas at No. 7 Auburn
Texas at No. 5 Nebraska
No. 20 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
No. 24 Oregon State at Washington
Many times in an upset, there are fluke plays that allow the underdog team to pull out a victory. That was not the case in this game. South Carolina dominated the line of scrimmage in this game, outrushing Alabama 110-36 and sacking Tide quarterback Greg McElroy repeatedly.
Steve Spurrier got by far his biggest win as coach at South Carolina, and he now hopes that his Gamecocks can build on this win and compete for the SEC East title.
Meanwhile, Alabama coach Nick Saban must get his troops focused on cleaning up the mistakes that cost them this game. Alabama faces a tough schedule down the stretch, with games at LSU and against Auburn. Those two teams, along with Alabama and Arkansas, are all in the SEC West race.
Stock up
Michigan State – The Spartans went into the Big House on Saturday with their head coach in the press box, still recovering from a heart attack and a blot clot. Despite being on the road and facing adversity, the Spartans beat Michigan 34-17 to move to 6-0 on the season. Michigan State beat Michigan for the third straight time, the first time that has happened since the 60’s.
LSU – Les Miles has been called “The Hat” because of the way he wears his cap. But while many people are poking fun at Miles by calling him that, his hat just might be magic. Miles and his Tigers pulled out another huge victory on Saturday, beating Florida 33-29 in the Swamp. Included in the game-winning drive was a fake field goal, with the kicker running for the first down (after picking the ball up off the turf).
Florida State – The Seminoles were impressive again on Saturday, crushing Miami 45-17 on the road. Quarterback Christian Ponder continues to lead the offense, which appears to be getting better each week. Running backs Jermaine Thomas and Chris Thompson provide a tough duo for opponents to stop. The Seminoles are in the driver’s seat in the ACC Atlantic Division at this point in the season.
Purdue – The Boilermakers were on the verge of seeing the 2010 season go down the tubes after losing to Toledo two weeks ago. But Coach Danny Hope used last week’s open date to rally his troops, and whatever he did, it worked. Purdue went on the road and beat No. 25 Northwestern 20-17 in Evanston. Quarterback Rob Henry rushed for 132 yards for Purdue, which handed Northwestern its first loss of the season.
Syracuse – Guess who’s 4-1? Has anyone noticed the Orange? Granted, the schedule hasn’t been great so far. Syracuse has beaten Akron, Maine and Colgate. But Saturday’s Big East win at South Florida was impressive. We’ll find out if the Orange are for real over the next two games, when they host Pittsburgh then visit West Virginia.
Stock down
Arizona – The Wildcats were unbeaten, ranked in the nation’s Top Ten, and facing an unranked conference opponent at home. That doesn’t sound like a disaster scenario, but it was. Arizona trailed for nearly the entire game and lost, 29-27 to Oregon State in Tucson. Arizona now falls off the pace in the Pac-10 race, and faces a daunting schedule that includes trips to Stanford and Oregon.
Florida – Say what you will about Tim Tebow, but the guy was a winner. And that’s not a knock on John Brantley or any of the current Gators. But over the last four years, if the game was close at the end, you just knew Tebow and the Gators would pull it out. But in 2010, the Gators just don’t have the same finishing ability. Florida has now lost two in a row and finds itself looking up at South Carolina in the SEC East.
Penn State – It’s not just the fact that the Nittany Lions lost to Illinois on Saturday. They lost badly, falling 33-13 in Happy Valley. That’s two consecutive Big Ten losses of at least 20 points for Joe Pa’s team. At 3-3 this year, Penn State will need to rally to have a winning season. Penn State still has games against Michigan, at Ohio State and against Michigan State.
UCLA – This team went to Austin and thumped Texas? The same team that lost 35-7 at Cal on Saturday? I’m certainly confused by this team, and I would guess that Rick Neuheisel is as well. The good news for the Bruins is that they have this weekend off to regroup. The bad news is, when they play again, they visit Oregon in Eugene.
USC – Speaking of Los Angeles teams, Lane Kiffin’s bunch lost again on Saturday, falling 37-35 at Stanford. No shame in losing to a ranked team on the road. But if you look at the Trojans’ schedule, those first four wins are certainly suspect. Beating Hawaii, Virginia, Minnesota and Washington State, teams that have combined beaten only four FBS teams, is not all that impressive. USC still must face Oregon, Arizona, Oregon State and Notre Dame, so they probably aren’t done losing this season.
Statistical Studs – Week 6
Cam Newton, Auburn – Newton had a huge game on Saturday night against Kentucky, rushing 28 times for 198 yards and four touchdowns, while hitting on 13-of-21 passing for 210 yards, as the Tigers held off the Wildcats 37-34.
Randall Cobb, Kentucky – Playing against Newton, Cobb was all over the field, as he usually is. Cobb rushed 11 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns, caught seven passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, and connected on his only pass for six yards and another TD. For good measure, Cobb returned three kickoffs for 86 yards. He was also the holder on field goals and extra points. And he sold popcorn while the Wildcats played defense (kidding, of course).
Ryan Katz, Oregon State – The Beavers’ signal caller had a huge game as Oregon State won at Arizona. Katz hit on 30-of-42 passes for 393 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for seven yards and another TD.
Anthony Allen, Georgia Tech – Allen rushed 25 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets downed Virginia, 33-21 in Atlanta.
Robert Woods, USC – In a losing effort, the freshman had a huge game for the Trojans. Woods caught a career-high 12 passes for a career-high 224 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in the game. The 224 yards surpassed his career total coming into the game.
Games I’ll Be Watching in Week 7
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 18 Wisconsin
No. 12 Arkansas at No. 7 Auburn
Texas at No. 5 Nebraska
No. 20 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
No. 24 Oregon State at Washington
Monday, March 22, 2010
This NCAA Tournament Truly Provides March Madness
So, I had this dream over the weekend. It was about college basketball, specifically about this year's NCAA Tournament. Crazy things happened. For example, the 12 seed in the East, Cornell, not only beat fifth-seeded Temple in the first round. The Big Red followed that up with a pounding of fourth-seeded Wisconsin.
After that, my dream showed the tenth-seeded St. Mary's Gaels pulling a stunner by upsetting second-seeded Villanova in the South regional.
But the kicker was, get this, that "mid-major" Northern Iowa stunned overall number one seed Kansas in the second round in Oklahoma City, not far from Jayhawk head man Bill Self's hometown. Not only did the Panthers pull the shocker, but they pretty much dominated the game from start to finish.
Funny thing is, I woke up this morning and realized that all of those things actually happened. It was a wild weekend for sure, with four of those so-called "mid-majors" still alive in the Big Dance. Butler survived yet another "mid-major", Murray State, to make it back to the Sweet 16.
Sure, some things about this tournament seemed perfectly logical. The top seed in the East, Kentucky, dominated East Tennessee State and Wake Forest. Syracuse did the same to Vermont and Gonzaga. And Duke rolled through its two games in Jacksonville.
This NCAA Tournament has truly been March Madness. When the action gets underway again on Thursday, who knows what might happen next.
After that, my dream showed the tenth-seeded St. Mary's Gaels pulling a stunner by upsetting second-seeded Villanova in the South regional.
But the kicker was, get this, that "mid-major" Northern Iowa stunned overall number one seed Kansas in the second round in Oklahoma City, not far from Jayhawk head man Bill Self's hometown. Not only did the Panthers pull the shocker, but they pretty much dominated the game from start to finish.
Funny thing is, I woke up this morning and realized that all of those things actually happened. It was a wild weekend for sure, with four of those so-called "mid-majors" still alive in the Big Dance. Butler survived yet another "mid-major", Murray State, to make it back to the Sweet 16.
Sure, some things about this tournament seemed perfectly logical. The top seed in the East, Kentucky, dominated East Tennessee State and Wake Forest. Syracuse did the same to Vermont and Gonzaga. And Duke rolled through its two games in Jacksonville.
This NCAA Tournament has truly been March Madness. When the action gets underway again on Thursday, who knows what might happen next.
Friday, March 12, 2010
This is Why It's Called March Madness
Upsets, near upsets and more have turned Championship Week, literally, into March Madness.
On Thursday, it was the Big East's regular season champion, Syracuse, losing in the Big East quarterfinals to Georgetown. Not a bad loss for the Orange, mind you, but still an upset. Jim Boeheim's team now will sweat a little more on Selection Sunday, hoping to hang on to a number one seed. The Orange have now lost two in a row after taking over the number one spot in the rankings.
Friday started with what looked like an upset-in-the-making, as Alabama raced to an 11-point lead against Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals. However, the Wildcats got their act together in the second half and rallied for a six-point win. The game was a lot closer than most anticipated, and it proved that Kentucky's youth could be a factor this postseason. While the Wildcats have as much talent as any team in the country, much of that talent had never played in a college postseason game until Friday. It will be interesting to see how Kentucky reacts in Saturday's semifinal matchup against rival Tennessee.
Friday evening, it was top-ranked Kansas falling behind in the first half before putting together a second half rally to down Texas A&M in the Big 12 Touranment. The Jayhawks are widely believed to be the best team in the country, but after two lackluster efforts in the conference tournament so far, some are beginning to question Kansas' superiority.
That's one of the great things about college basketball. In conference tournaments, as well as the NCAA Tournament, it's one-and-done. It's not a seven-game series. And in those one-game scenarios, anything can happen. That's why it's called March Madness.
On Thursday, it was the Big East's regular season champion, Syracuse, losing in the Big East quarterfinals to Georgetown. Not a bad loss for the Orange, mind you, but still an upset. Jim Boeheim's team now will sweat a little more on Selection Sunday, hoping to hang on to a number one seed. The Orange have now lost two in a row after taking over the number one spot in the rankings.
Friday started with what looked like an upset-in-the-making, as Alabama raced to an 11-point lead against Kentucky in the SEC quarterfinals. However, the Wildcats got their act together in the second half and rallied for a six-point win. The game was a lot closer than most anticipated, and it proved that Kentucky's youth could be a factor this postseason. While the Wildcats have as much talent as any team in the country, much of that talent had never played in a college postseason game until Friday. It will be interesting to see how Kentucky reacts in Saturday's semifinal matchup against rival Tennessee.
Friday evening, it was top-ranked Kansas falling behind in the first half before putting together a second half rally to down Texas A&M in the Big 12 Touranment. The Jayhawks are widely believed to be the best team in the country, but after two lackluster efforts in the conference tournament so far, some are beginning to question Kansas' superiority.
That's one of the great things about college basketball. In conference tournaments, as well as the NCAA Tournament, it's one-and-done. It's not a seven-game series. And in those one-game scenarios, anything can happen. That's why it's called March Madness.
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