A Look At The College Football Landscape:

Auburn wins first national championship since 1957 with 22-19 thriller over Oregon

Posted Jan 11, 2011 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jan 11, 2011 at 02:05 AM

GLENDALE, Ariz.—Auburn’s first BCS Championship and the second college football national championship in school history came down to a simple twist of fate.

Michael Dyer’s spinning, twisting recovery from an apparent tackle produced a game-changing 37-yard run late in the fourth quarter, and then he made an almost identical play to give the Tigers the ball inside the 1-yard line and set up Wes Bynum’s 19-yard field goal as time expired, giving Auburn a thrilling 22-19 victory over Oregon in the BCS Championship Game on Monday at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Dyer, named the games outstanding offensive player, ran for about eight yards when he appeared to be pulled down by Oregon safety Eddie Pleasant as Auburn tried to get in scoring position after Oregon had rallied to tie the game with 2:33 left to play.

Almost everyone on the field stopped after Dyer rolled over Pleasant, including Dyer, but the Auburn bench yelled for him to keep running because the whistle never blew. Dyer took off, racing all the way to the Oregon 23 before he was tackled by Oregon’s John Boyett.

After a lengthly replay review, the call was upheld after replays seemed to show Dyer’s knee never touched the ground.

“I just tried to keep my feet moving and make a play,” said Dyer, who had 144 yards on 22 carries.

Three plays later, on a third down at the Oregon 17, Dyer broke into the secondary where he was again met by Pleasant, again rolled over him and this time rolled into the end zone with 10 seconds left in the game. Officials ruled it a touchdown, but this time the replay review showed Dyer’s knee touched the ground inside the 1-yard line.

After quarterback Cam Newton took a knee and ran the clock down to two seconds, Auburn took a timeout and Bynum kicked the game winner that turned the Tigers’ half of the stadium into pure bedlam.

Auburn claimed its first national championship since 1957.

“Fifty-three years, this is for you,” Clearwater native and Auburn head coach Cam Newton said as he turned to face the delirious Auburn crowd. “War Eagle!”

The shootout many expected between two of the nation’s highest-scoring teams never materialized. After a scoreless first quarter, Auburn took a 16-11 lead into halftime. It was 19-11 to start the fourth quarter after Bynum kicked a 28-yard field goal.

Auburn’s defensive line contained Oregon’s vaunted running game and Doak Walker Award winner LaMichael James. Oregon averaged 303 rushing yards a game during the regular season, and James led the country in rushing yards.

Against Auburn, the Ducks managed just 75 yards on the ground and James was limited to 49 yards on 13 carries.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our defense,” Chizik said. “Those guys played their butts off.”

Outland Trophy winner Nick Fairley, the defensive player of the game, had three tackles for loss, a sack and a key fourth down stop at the goal line to prevent an Oregon score.

“As a defense this year, we bent a lot, but we never broke,” Fairley said.

Oregon basically abandoned the run in the final 6 1/2 minutes as it tried to rally from the 19-11 deficit. After five straight passes on one possession, the Ducks ran James and he was stuffed for a four-yard loss.

“The matchup of their defensive line against our offensive was really the game-changing thing about this football game,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. “Nick Fairley proved he’s a great player.”

Oregon’s defense gve the Ducks one more chance when linebacker Casey Matthews forced Auburn quarterback Cam Newton to fumble and cornerback Cliff Harris recovered, giving Oregon the ball at its own 45-yard line with 4:54 remaining in the game.

Quarterback Darron Thomas hit D.J Davis for a 29-yard gain on fourth down to the Auburn 11 with 4:09 left.

Thomas, who was 27-of-40 passing for 363 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, hit James with the short shovel pass three plays later to make it 19-17, then hit Jeff Maehl for the two-point coversion that tied the score at 19-19 with 2:33 remaining.

“I’m really proud of my players,” Kelly said. “I love them. We’ll be back.”

Thomas also threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to James in the second quarter that, along with a two-point conversion, gave Oregon an 11-7 lead.

Heisman Trophy winner Newton was 20-of-34 passing for 265 yards with two touchdowns and zan interception. He also ran 22 times for 64 yards and was sacked twice as Oregon’s defense mostly limited his effectiveness on the ground.

The Tigers tackled James in the end zone for a safety in the second quarter to cut Oregon’s lead to 11-9, and Newton found Emory Blake for a 30-yard touchdown pass that gave Auburn a 16-11 halftime lead.

Oregon’s Rob Beard opened the scoring with a 26-yard field goal early in the record quarter.

It was the fifth straight BCS Championship for a team from the Southeastern Conference and the SEC is now 7-0 in BCS title games overall.

A stadium-record 78,603 watched the game and bowl officials said another 20,000 watched it on a huge television screen by the north parking lot.

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ESPN not very ‘sensitive’ to concerns about taking BCS title game off free TV

Posted Jan 10, 2011 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jan 10, 2011 at 07:24 PM

GLENDALE, Ariz.—The BCS Championship was not available on broadcast television for the first time ever Monday night, but ESPN was not apologizing for that, or anything else associated with its telecast of the college football national championship game.

Instead, senior executives for the cable sports giant prefer the word “sensitive.” As in, “We’re sensitive to it.”

With more than 100 hours dedicated to the showdown between No. 1-ranked Auburn and No. 2 Oregon—including 20 straight hours on ESPNU leading up to the game—Burke Magnus, the senior vice president at ESPN for college sports programming, insisted the decision to put the BCS games, including the championship, was on its flagship channel was good for hardcore sports fans.

“In addition to television, obviously, we’re covering the games on ESPN radio,” Magnus said. “We are distributing the games internationally. They are being offered on our digital platforms like ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile Television.

“We think the totality of our coverage and the sort of surround approach we’re taking to BCS content has offered fans more access to these games than ever before.”

Magnus dismissed the notion that putting the national championship on cable would deny those without it the opportunity to see the game.

“It is an issue that we’re mindful of, but at the same time, the approach we take is to try and make content available as widely as possible,” Magnus said. “And we really believe based on our research that people will find a way, whether that is to go to a friend’s house, whether that’s to go to a sports bar or restaurant to watch the game.

“We’re sensitive to it, but at the same time, the numbers bear out that people watch events as much on cable as anything else.”

The BCS championship is not the first major sporting event to migrate to cable, Magnus pointed out. Portions of the NCAA basketball tournament will be on cable this year and early rounds of the British Open, as well as the NBA conference finals, and American and National League championship series in major league baseball all are televised on cable.

None of those, however, are events where champions are decided.

Last year, the BCS championship was broadcast on ABC (like ESPN, owned by Disney) and tagged as “ESPN on ABC,” but it was important to ESPN that it take ownership of the title game this year and cement its dominance in college sports programming.

“Nonetheless, we were sensitive to it,” Magnus said.

Just not sensitive enough to deliver the game over free public airwaves.

ESPN also added Alabama coach Nick Saban as an analyst for the 3-D telecast of the game, along with former Florida coach Urban Meyer. The decision to use Saban, in particular, incensed many Auburn fans who couldn’t stomach the thought of the coach of their most bitter rival analyzing their national championship game.

ESPN, as you might expect, was “sensitive” to that but decided to use Saban anyway. Ed Placey, the network’s senior coordinating producer for college football game coverage, said Saban’s expertise as the coach of the 2010 national champion Crimson Tide trumped those concerns.

Many Auburn fans remained displeased.

“I haven’t personally heard any of those reactions, but I’m aware of them,” Placey said the day before the championship game. “We knew it was coming. Someone with Nick Saban’s credentials and certainly coming off a national championship and a person who, as most of Alabama knows and most of the country knows, is a straight shooter and someone that’s going to be candid and passionate and tell it like it is, those are the people that we want a part of our broadcast.”

There likely are many who follow LSU and the Miami Dolphins who might dispute the description of Saban as “a straight shooter and someone that’s going to be candid.”

Saban abruptly left LSU to become coach of the Dolphins in 2004, then bolted Miami for Alabama two years later, despite repeated denials. His exit from the Dolphins was met with so much outrage that eventually he was forced to issue a public apology for his “professional mishandling” of the situation.

No doubt Saban, too, was “sensitive to it.” Perhaps he and ESPN are a good fit, after all.

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SEC, Pac-10 bragging rights at stake in BCS? Forget about it

Posted Jan 9, 2011 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jan 9, 2011 at 04:49 PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Don’t tell Auburn coach Gene Chizik or Oregon coach Chip Kelly they are representing their conferences when their teams square off Monday night in the BCS Championship Game.

They aren’t buying it.

Chizik dismissed the notion that Auburn might feel pressure to uphold the Southeastern Conference’s run of four straight BCS national championships (Florida in 2007, LSU in 2008, Florida in 2009 and Alabama last year).

While acknowledging the SEC has been on an impressive run, Clearwater native Chizik said the Tigers are motivated by something closer to home.

“The pressure of this game comes from so many different directions, if you let it,” he said. “There’s no more pressure than the pressure that we feel as a responsibility to Auburn and our people and our family. We’ve got one pressure: We want to win this for ourselves.”

Later Chizik tried to clarify that he didn’t mean just the members of the current team.

“When I say ourselves, I mean the whole Auburn family,” he said, including 1983, 1993 and 2004 teams that didn’t get the chance to play for a national championship.

“I’m talking about the people that decided to travel and come out here that don’t have a ticket. I’m talking about the people that have followed Auburn football and come up to you and say ‘I haven’t missed a game in 55 years.’ ... I’m talking about the Auburn family and everybody that cares to carry the flag.”

Kelly was even more direct.

“We are not playing for the Pac-10, I can tell you that,” he said. “We’re playing for Oregon. It is Oregon versus Auburn.”

“I will never stand up in front of my team and say we are carrying the flag for nine other teams, or whatever. We are worried about just our team and our preparation.”

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Bellotti won’t be an objective analyst for BCS Championship

Posted Jan 9, 2011 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jan 9, 2011 at 04:45 PM

SCOTTDALE, Ariz.—Mike Bellotti will be an ESPN studio analyst for the BCS Championship Game, but he knows better than to pretend he doesn’t have a rooting interest in the outcome when top-ranked Auburn faces No. 2 Oregon on Monday night.

Bellotti, after all, was the Ducks’ head coach from 1995 through 2008. He’s Oregon’s all-time leader in wins (116). He hired Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator and named Kelly as his own replacement, and he recruited most of the players on the Ducks’ roster.

“I’d like to see Oregon win, obviously,” Bellotti said during ESPN’s pregame media session Sunday. “That’s not any secret. I live in Eugene, Oregon, and I have to say that, or I can’t go home.”

Bellotti admitted it feels “surreal” to work as a broadcast analyst involving a team he coached and developed so recently.

“It’s probably a little bit better that it’s the national championship,” he said with a smile, looking like a proud grandparent. “It’s very pleasing to see them in this situation. I obviously have an affinity and a kinship with the the Oregon program because I did recruit those young men and the coaches and everybody else.”

No doubt because of his close ties to the Ducks, Bellotti fielded the vast majority of questions white sitting on a panel that also included Kirk Herbstreit, Jesse Palmer, Erin Andrews and two ESPN executives.

ESPN hoped to use the media session to trumpet its 20 straight hours of programming leading up the game, the 3-D broadcast available in some markets and the delivery of programming on television, radio, Internet and moble devices, but most of the questions were about the Ducks and what they needed to do to beat favored Auburn.

Bellotti, who ironically began his ESPN career working last fall as an analyst on the Auburn and then the Oregon spring games (“maybe a long time ago somebody knew this match was going to happen,” he joked) said there is a key difference the teams’ high-powered offenses.

“Oregon reads plays,” he said. “Auburn calls plays.”

Bellotti explained that Oregon’s spread attack is based on quarterback Darron Thomas reading the defense and deciding where to go with the football, while Auburn will call a set play from the sidelines.

“Oregon is determining by what the defense does who is going to carry the ball, so the defense has the ability to influence the offense’s choices. The ability for Auburn to what we call ‘sugar it,’ change the look, morph into different defenses just prior to the snap is going to be one of the keys,” he said. “On the other side of the ball, Auburn does not read. They call plays which means they still have the idea anybody can carry the ball, but it is a called play.”

Ultimately, though, Herbstreit said the game at Univerity of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., might answer a couple of familiar questions.

“What means more, statistics or strength of schedule?” he asked. “And it may help settle that age-old debate about how good the SEC is versus everybody else. Is that the toughest conference in the nation? Odds are, it proably is because of the fact that they have won so many national championships. But Oregon is better statistically, by quite a bit. Will that hold up in the game? That’s the one thing you can’t do on paper. You have got to play the game to find out. It’s going to be interesting to see.”

All the ESPN analysts on the dais said they were hoping for a close, exciting game, but only Palmer would make a prediction. He said he thought Auburn would win because he hasn’t seen a way any team can stop Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

Palmer admitted he’s 2-2 in his BCS bowl game predictions so far this season, so you can’t exactly take that pick to the bank. Heisman Trophy winners also are just 2-6 in BCS Championship games.

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Title game coaches won’t endorse or decry BCS system

Posted Jan 9, 2011 by Aaron Knox

Updated Jan 9, 2011 at 02:27 PM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Does the BCS system work? Don’t ask the two head coaches preparing their teams for Monday night’s BCS Championship Game.

Auburn coach Gene Chizik and Oregon’s Chip Kelly both were non-commital when asked point blank Sunday if they think the BCS system to determine a college football national champion “works.”

Chizik was the defensive coordinator for the undefeated 2004 Auburn team that was denied a chance to play for the natonal championship by the BCS scoring system. This year, his 13-0 Tigers stand atop the BCS standings.

“I have been on both sides but usually if you go back, more times than not, the BCS formula has been right on,” Chizik said during the final press conference before Monday’s game at Univesity of Phoenix in nearby Glendale. “Am I saying there is a better way to do it? I don’t know.”

Chizik said there is no consensus on a playoff format, or even the number of teams that would be involved, so there is no clear-cut alternative to the BCS system that combines polls and a variety of computer-based data to rank the top teams in the nation.

“There’s all kinds of ideas on how to get (playoffs) done,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s that one perfect idea yet that everyone can come to agreement that this is the way to do it. Until you do that, I feel like the BCS has, again, more times than not, got it down the rght way.”

Kelly is in his first BCS title game with the 12-0 Ducks. He said he doesn’t worry about things he can’t control and doesn’t really care if the BCS system works or not.

“I’ve got no idea, seriously,” he said. “We’re playing Cam Newton and I’m more worried about trying to tackle him than straighten out what system people consider right (or) not right. I don’t know. Just tell me what the rules of the game are and I will play by it.” 

Then, though, Kelly provided a hint that he may not be in love with the current system.

“Let me put it this way,” he said before proving an analogy and wry smile that drew laughter. “I don’t agree with the speed limit, but I’ve got to follow it.”

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In the SEC, the East is least so far

Posted Oct 20, 2010 by Scott Brown

Updated Oct 20, 2010 at 12:41 AM

The look on Urban Meyer’s face late last Saturday night, when Chas Henry’s last-ditch field goal against Mississippi State strayed right to ensure Florida’s third straight loss, pretty much told you what remained of the Gators’ hopes for the 2010 season.

As if that wasn’t already clear enough after the 31-6 loss to Alabama on Oct. 2 or the home loss to LSU and Les Miles - Les Miles! - in between.

The bad news for UF fans, obviously, is that the Gators are in disarray. Offensive identity, anyone?

The good news is that the rest of the SEC East could be even worse.

How else to explain Steve Spurrier and South Carolina, the sexy pick to finally claim the division after just upsetting then-No. 1 Alabama, melting down late at Kentucky to fall to 2-2 in the league? The Gamecocks led 28-10 at halftime, but clearly lost confidence when freshman running back Marcus Lattimore left in the third quarter with an injured ankle.

Even after 21 straight UK points, though, Carolina only trailed 31-28 and could easily have forced overtime facing 4th down at the Kentucky 20 with 11 seconds left. But Spurrier being Spurrier/Stephen Garcia being Stephen Garcia/Carolina being Carolina, the Cocks went for the win. Garcia flailed a duck of a pass into the end zone that was intercepted to secure the upset and UK’s biggest win since toppling No. 1 LSU in 2007.

Amazingly, that 2-2 SEC mark is good enough for South Carolina to technically be in first place in the East. Everyone else, apart from 1-2 Vanderbilt, has at least three losses.  The Gamecocks and Commodores face off this weekend, and while it’s probably not realistic to expect Vandy to stay in the East race (even this year), we’ll know a lot more about where Carolina (Lattimore included) sits as a contender after its trip to Nashville.

Georgia itself was 0-3 in the league before finally coming to life against Tennessee and Vandy the last two weeks. UGA, which visits Kentucky Saturday, seems to be gradually rallying around redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, a Plant High graduate who was basically handed the starting job when fellow prize recruit Zach Mettenberger was arrested on two counts of sexual battery in May and subsequently banished from the city of Valdosta, Ga. for his actions. No word on whether he stands to be hanged at sunrise should he return.

The Dawgs and Florida both sit at 2-3, which could add another layer of intrigue to their annual rendezvous in Jacksonville next week provided UGA can avoid the same fate Carolina suffered in Lexington this Saturday. Georgia, deservedly written off after those consecutive dismal September showings against South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State, could actually put itself in fine position with wins the next two Saturdays, though a trip to Auburn looms Nov. 13.

Even Kentucky, still only 1-3 after upsetting Carolina, can’t yet be written off completely, given Saturday’s date with Georgia followed by a trip to Starkville with Vanderbilt and downtrodden Tennessee in store late in November. Only Trey Burton and Florida have managed to dominate the Wildcats, who lost by a touchdown to Ole Miss and took Auburn to the closing seconds. And who better than a coach named Joker (Phillips) to win this mess of a division?

Finally, there’s 0-3 Tennessee, which hosts Alabama Saturday and is clearly a long way from contending under new coach Derek Dooley. Even the Vols’ timing is askew, as they’d clearly be better off rebuilding in a year when Florida was typically running roughshod through the East anyway, rather than when a shot in December’s conference title game was so abjectly attainable.

Meanwhile this weekend, in the world of relevant college football, No. 6 LSU visits No. 5 Auburn, a match carrying the sort of panache Florida-Tennessee or Florida-Georgia would have offered in years past. Each is unbeaten, and the winner will take a major step toward winning the rugged SEC West, given that seventh-ranked Alabama has already lost and faces both later in the season.

Les Miles’ penchant for snatching comically difficult victory from the jaws of pedestrian prosperity is already legendary, and LSU has the top defense in the SEC. But Auburn has a Heisman Trophy frontrunner in quarterback Cam Newton, who was a Gator before, well, logging out of Gainesville, and the Tigers can lean on a huge home crowd edge that has already helped them through numerous close scrapes this year.

Alabama, which fell out of the headlines after its 14-point loss in Columbia, will get a badly-needed week off after facing Tennessee Saturday before heading to Baton Rouge on Nov. 6.

The next week, South Carolina visits the Gators, a game many pointed to before the start of the season as likely to determine the winner of the East. That may well still prove to be the case, but the division’s collective futility to date was hard to imagine.

Whoever does eventually claim the East will likely be a heavy underdog in Atlanta on Dec. 4. Consider this: the SEC East is 2-10 versus the West so far this season. And it’s not a recent phenomenon. For all his brilliance, national titles and legendary players, Urban Meyer is 11-10 against the West at Florida (three losses to Alabama and LSU, two to Auburn and, perhaps most gallingly, one each - at home - to the Missisippi schools).

UF is off this week, which is probably a bit of a mixed blessing: the time off physically is obviously needed, but who wants to dwell on three straight losses? Meyer himself certainly doesn’t have a history of taking defeat well.

On the other hand, Florida could move even more firmly back into the East hunt without lifting a finger Saturday. A fourth trip to Atlanta in Meyer’s six seasons is still a strong possibility. For Gator fans, there remains hope that 2010 could be more than just the regular season and a third-tier bowl.

The question is, does that look like such a good thing right now?

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Gators-Tide not only marquee game of weekend

Posted Sep 29, 2010 by Scott Brown

Updated Sep 29, 2010 at 02:07 AM

Week 5 of the college football season offers several appealing matchups, as could be expected from the onset of October. Locally (and perhaps even nationally), Florida’s first trip to Alabama since 2005 is generating plenty of headlines, and understandably so. It isn’t every week, after all, that CBS deems a game worthy of prime time. There are, however, plenty of other tilts on Saturday that will play a huge role in telling the tale of the 2010 season, and we’ll discuss them once we’ve covered the obligatory.

Florida at Alabama

Urban Meyer has often mentioned that ‘05 trip to Tuscaloosa while a rookie Gators coach (ending in a 31-3 dismantling at the hands of the Tide) as his true introduction to SEC football, and a sign of what it would take to succeed in the country’s preeminent league (signing Tim Tebow five months later didn’t hurt that cause, either, naturally).

This time around, of course, Alabama is riding high: the defending national champion, a consensus No. 1 in the polls and sporting a daunting running game led by Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. And for the time in 18 years - since the first SEC Championship Game, a 28-21 win that vaulted Bama to a national championship game victory over Miami - the Gators take on Alabama as an underdog.

But it’s not like Florida is swimming with the Vanderbilts and Georgias (hey, lose three in a row and this is what you get) of the world itself. UF is 4-0, No. 7 in the AP poll and delighted about what it saw from true freshman quarterback Trey Burton against Kentucky last Saturday night. Burton accounted for six total touchdowns (five rushing), and it will be interesting to see how Meyer and staff use him in combination with starter John Brantley. The red zone is the obvious area of expertise for Burton, but how often will the Gators even be in that part of the field against the Tide?

The ideal scenario, of course, would be for Brantley to have the type success Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett had early against the young Bama secondary last Saturday, then hand the reins to Burton to turn potential field goals into touchdowns. But as usual, the Gators have offensive talent all over the field, so their options are varied.

Conversely, there’s no secret to what Alabama will try to do: pound the ball with Ingram and Trent Richardson, and make enough plays with senior QB Greg McElroy and phenomenal WR Julio Jones to keep the Florida defense honest. That formula has led to 18 straight victories (including last December’s 32-13 pasting of Tebow and Florida to win the SEC championship), and there’s no reason to think Nick Saban will change by Saturday.

Most people figure there will be a rematch between these two in a couple of months regardless of Saturday’s outcome, but that may be a risky assumption: Auburn and LSU, after all, are still undefeated themselves, and if Bama falls to the Gators earning a third straight trip to Atlanta will be perilous. Florida can probably better handle a loss in Tuscaloosa, but South Carolina will have a realistic shot at the SEC East crown if the oddsmakers are right about this one.

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Stanford at Oregon

It’s not often that a Pac-10 game not involving USC generates a buzz anywhere east of Las Vegas, but this one is doing it, and it’s easy to see why. The No. 4 Ducks are playing like the memory of last year’s Rose Bowl loss still perturbs them, racking up Nintendo-style offensive numbers over their first four games. No. 9 Stanford has largely done the same, embarrassing name programs UCLA (35-0) and Notre Dame (37-14) along the way.

The reality of the BCS (and the national lack of respect for the Pac-10) suggest that the loser of this Saturday night game in Eugene will have little or no chance reaching of the title game, especially since the conference still doesn’t have its own championship game (not yet, anyway). Jim Harbaugh has given the Cardinal a decidedly Michigan-like physical persona, and the story of this game will likely be told in whether Stanford’s brawn or Oregon’s speed prevails.

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Oklahoma vs. Texas

This one, of course, lost plenty of luster when the Longhorns laid an egg last week in Austin against UCLA (and fell to No. 21 in the AP poll as a result), but the winner of the Big 12 South will likely come once again from this rendition of the Red River Rivalry, especially since UT has already beaten Texas Tech.

No. 8 Oklahoma has looked alternately dominant and shaky so far, embarrassing Florida State in Norman but squeaking past Air Force and Cincinnati since then. Quarterback Landry Jones hasn’t been the problem, but the Sooners defense is showing its youth and a strong running game could pose real problems.

Fortunately for OU, the Texas offense is in mid-identity crisis, trying to magically become a run-first unit after years of catering to the passing talents of former QB Colt McCoy. Successor Garrett Gilbert is solid and deserves more respect than he’s getting from his coaches, but he likely won’t be counted on unless the Longhorns fall behind early. Given recent results, that might happen anyway.

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Tennessee at LSU

This matchup would have been a lot more intriguing a handful of years ago, but it’s still interesting because of the Volunteers’ recent problems and the fact that these two don’t get together very often (twice every five years).

Derek Dooley inherited a chaotic situation in Knoxville, and it’s no huge risk to say things will get considerably worse before improving. He simply doesn’t have the talent to compete in the SEC right now (evidenced by last Saturday’s embarrassing overtime escape against ... Alabama-Birmingham). Dooley, however, is everything that predecessor Lane Kiffin isn’t: patient, team-oriented and determined to do things the right way.

LSU, by contrast, could have the exact opposite problem: stockpiles of talent but dubious leadership. Talent-rich Louisiana annually provides plenty of skilled players to Baton Rouge (along with surrounding states), but Les Miles continues to draw fire as the Tigers’ offense struggles and losing streaks to key rivals build up (of course, a certain former coach’s success with one of those rivals makes things worse as well).

Some feel that losses to Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama once again this year could spell the end for Miles. If that’s the case, beating up on a weakened Volunteers squad is crucial for LSU, and exactly the sort of opportunity it seems to have mishandled in recent years.

 

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AP Top 25: Sept. 27

Posted Sep 29, 2010 by Scott Brown

Updated Sep 28, 2010 at 11:04 PM

	Rec.	Pts	Pv
1. Alabama (57)	4-0	1,496	1
2. Ohio State (2)	4-0	1,431	2
3. Boise State (1)	3-0	1,356	3
4. Oregon	4-0	1,276	5
5. TCU	4-0	1,269	4
6. Nebraska	4-0	1,158	6
7. Florida	4-0	1,132	9
8. Oklahoma	4-0	1,095	8
9. Stanford	4-0	891	16
10. Auburn	4-0	858	17
11. Wisconsin	4-0	852	11
12. LSU	4-0	804	15
13. Utah	4-0	790	13
14. Arizona	4-0	722	14
15. Arkansas	2-1	721	10
16. Miami	2-1	597	19
17. Iowa	3-1	503	18
18. Southern Cal	4-0	466	20
19. South Carolina	3-1	406	12
20. Michigan	4-0	396	21
21. Texas	3-1	374	7
22. Penn State	3-1	199	23
23. N. Carolina St.	4-0	163	-
24. Michigan State	4-0	146	25
25. Nevada	4-0	120	-

Others receiving votes: West Virginia 62, Florida State 51, Missouri 51, Air Force 32, Kansas State 27, Oklahoma State 24, Clemson 9, UCLA 9, Oregon State 7, Northwestern 4, Houston 3.

 

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Week 2 signals the season’s true beginning

Posted Sep 8, 2010 by Scott Brown

Updated Sep 8, 2010 at 10:32 PM

For those who wondered if football season would ever arrive, let there be no doubt: it has, and for the college fan, Saturday will almost be January in September. That’s because a number of matchups have a unique bowl game feel, and others have huge implications for several local teams.

We’ve weeded out the Duke-Wake Forest duds to provide you an overview of the must-see moments of Week 2 of the college season:

Georgia at South Carolina, noon

Will anyone in the SEC East make a serious run at Florida for the divisional title? If so, it will probably be the winner of this one. The Tampa angle is obvious: Plant High grad Aaron Murray, who produced four touchdowns against Louisiana-Lafayette in his college debut last week, will start at quarterback for the Dawgs against Jefferson product Stephen Garcia.

Georgia’s problems here are numerous: Murray will be without top receivers A.J. Green and Tavarres King, both serving suspensions. Green, of course, is a potential first-round NFL draft pick, but apparently sold a game-worn jersey to an agent and is in the middle of sitting out at least four games as a result. His presence in Columbia would be invaluable for Murray’s first road start and first SEC game.

It also doesn’t help that the Gamecocks look ready to finally make a charge in Steve Spurrier’s sixth season behind Garcia and freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, both of whom accounted for two scores against Southern Mississippi last Thursday.

Plus, UGA hosts No. 14 Arkansas next week, and could be essentially out of the East race with a pair of losses in the next 10 days.

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USF at Florida, 12:20

You can imagine that the Gators have heard plenty from Urban Meyer about the Bulls’ trip to Tallahassee last September. A 17-7 win over FSU seemed like a program-defining moment at the time, and though USF ended up in Toronto (??) for its bowl game and looking for a head coach soon afterward, an enormous statement was made regarding the state’s balance of power.

Will the Bulls break through again in their first-ever meeting with UF? Not likely, but this is the post-Tebow era we’re talking about, and if even the nation’s second-best school named Miami can make the Gators look shaky, Skip Holtz and his new squad should have a chance.

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Rays at Blue Jays, 1:05

Yeah, this isn’t a football game, but it should be part of your viewing plans Saturday, and remember the last time the Rays played a matinee in Toronto? Does the name J.P. Arencibia ring a bell? How about a 17-11 score? Doesn’t that sound like football, anyway?

That was the outcome on Aug. 7, when James Shields turned his head more often than John Edwards at a commencement address as he watched home runs rocket out of Rogers Centre in a painful memory for Rays fans. Not trying to jinx the hometown team, but just be mindful that there’s a history here.

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Florida State at Oklahoma, 3:30

This one, particularly, evokes bowl game memories, especially from the dearly departed Orange Bowl stadium. Still, Oklahoma certainly didn’t look like the 10th-best team in the country Saturday, fending off Utah State 31-24 in the final minutes after allowing 341 passing yards.

FSU toyed with Samford, 59-6, and Jimbo Fisher has to be giddy at the thought of quarterback Christian Ponder taking on the Sooners secondary (and facing competition that will give him an idea of what type team he really has).

The Seminoles’ chances rest on containing running back DeMarco Murray, who had 208 yards for OU on Saturday - and, of course, keeping their composure in one of the country’s toughest venues for visiting teams.

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Miami at Ohio State, 3:30

This is arguably the most intriguing game of the weekend. Will Miami’s athleticism be too much for OSU’s brawn? Will the Buckeyes wear UM down and rattle Jacory Harris?

The opening week of the season didn’t offer many clues as they both pasted overmatched opposition (Florida A&M and Marshall, respectively), but talk of Miami’s defense moving closer to the program’s glory days has been intensifying.

A lot of that will depend on which Terrelle Pryor shows up for Ohio State. The one who befuddled Oregon in the Rose Bowl will be nearly impossible to top. However, the one who often looked lost in the regular season against Big Ten defenses last year will likely be baited into costly mistakes by the fast Hurricanes.

Of the marquee games Saturday, this one should have the most spectacular plays.

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Michigan at Notre Dame, 3:30

Both teams, coming off dismal 2009 seasons, had wins Saturday over decent opposition. Michigan was never threatened by Connecticut, and the Fighting Irish and new coach Brian Kelly looked outright competent in controlling Purdue in Plant graduate Robert Marve’s first game with the Boilermakers.

Homefield advantage is always a factor in this series, but you have to wonder if Notre Dame’s retooled defense will be ready for UM dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson (hey, he can’t complain about not getting enough practice time under Rich Rodriguez).

Either way, be prepared for the hype that will accompany the winner of this being 2-0.

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Oregon at Tennessee, 7

OK, this one really isn’t in quite the same class as the other games mentioned, but it’s not lacking in subplots either. Oregon humiliated New Mexico 72-0 last week, and may not be missing much flash after all due to the departure of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (the cynic would include the punch of former running back LeGarrette Blount, but would we stoop to that?).

Tennessee was famously jilted by vagabond coach Lane Kiffin last winter, and is looking at a long bottoming-out process under replacement Derek Dooley (to say nothing of courtesy calls from the NCAA).

The Vols posted a shutout last week as well (albeit over Tennessee-Martin) and will at least have a raucous Neyland Stadium crowd hoping to make Dooley’s true debut a winning one. He’s clearly dedicated to doing things the right way, unlike his predecessor, and could use a big upset.

Well, given UT’s various injuries, controversy, coaching transition and general sense of chaos ... good luck with that.

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Penn State at Alabama, 7

If you like your college football old school-style, try topping this one (yeah, Michigan-Notre Dame qualifies here as well, but does the modern version have anything to rival the visage of Joe Paterno? We think not). The Tide dusted off San Jose State last Saturday, and PSU had no trouble with Youngstown State.

No. 1 Alabama will likely be without both MVPs of the BCS Championship Game: defensive lineman Marcell Dareus, suspended for illegal dealings with an agent (sound familiar?) and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Mark Ingram, hobbling after minor knee surgery.

The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, will be depending on true freshman quarterback Robert Bolden. Against the defending national champions. In Tuscaloosa. On national television. Against a Nick Saban defense.

Anything can happen, of course, but kids barely eight months out of high school don’t typically fare well in these situations.

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So there you go, the best that early September has to offer in college football. Some teams who look great on Saturday will fizzle out by November, and some who lose will get it together in time to scrape together a solid 2010 season.

But if you’re dedicating one Saturday this fall to the couch and the remote, you’ll be really, really hard-pressed to pick a better one than this.

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Ex-Gator Newton, UF tackle Howard honored by SEC

Posted Sep 6, 2010 by TBO.com

Updated Sep 6, 2010 at 02:45 PM

Cam Newton, who originally signed with Florida, rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns while completing 9-of-14 passes for 186 and three scores in Auburn’s 52-26 win against Arkansas State to earn this week’s SEC offensive player of the week.
 
The honor was announced this morning.
 
Newton accounted for 357 total offensive yards and five touchdowns, both highs in the SEC in Week One. His 171 rushing yards were a school single-game rushing record by a quarterback, breaking the previous mark of 160 held by Phil Gargis in 1974.
 
The rushing total were the most in a debut by an Auburn player since Rudi Johnson’s 174 rushing yards against Wyoming in 2000.
 
Florida tackle Jaye Howard was honored as the defensive lineman of the week. The senior from Apopka had five total tackles, including 2.5 sacks in Florida’s 34-12 win against Miami (Ohio).
 
The 2.5 sacks were for a total loss of 17 yards and was the first multi-sack performance of Howard’s career.
 
The Gators host South Florida at 12:21 p.m. on Saturday.
-DAVID JONES, Florida Today

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