Category Archives: Blog

>My opinions about Reggie Bush

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>   As everyone knows, the topic of the week has been Reggie Bush and what has been happening with what is going to happen to the Heisman Trophy and yesterday it was resolved.  On Tuesday afternoon, Bush announced that he will forfeit his Heisman Trophy.  On Wednesday afternoon, the Heisman Trust announced that the award will be vacated and NOT go to Vince Young, who finished second that year in the Heisman voting. 

   Unlike voting for other events, the Heisman Trophy is an award that is based off of a player’s performance that entire year.  And there is no doubt that Reggie Bush put up stats that were more than deserving of the Trophy.  Now, if the award had been handed out after the National Championship Game, it may have gone the other way, after the incredible game Young had against Bush’s Trojans in an upset win.  Bush accumulated 789 first place votes; Young had 79.  Would the tally have been different had they done it in mid-January?  Possibly and maybe probably, but there is no doubt that the 1,740 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 4788 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns earned him the award.  Oh, did I mention ZERO fumbles????

   Reggie Bush did the right thing.  He gave up an award that should never been his.  I know earlier I made it sound like he deserved it and in 2005-2006 he did.  But that was 2005-2006.  At the time, nobody but Bush and his family knew about the money and gifts that he chose to accept.  So at the time, it made sense to award him the trophy.  But now with all of the allegations (and apparently truths) that have surfaced, they have shown that in actuality Bush should have been declared ineligible to play, therefore nullifying all of the stats and awards he earned that season.  Your numbers don’t count if you shouldn’t even be allowed to step onto the field.  But as the Heisman Trust said, it’s five years later.  There is no way to re-do the vote.  The best thing to do is keep the award vacated.

   The people to truly feel sorry for in this case are the current players at USC.  Many of them probably came to USC because of Bush and the success they saw the team have while he was there.  But now those players who came to follow in his footsteps are paying for his transgressions.  To me and many others, it’s an unfair thing that the NCAA Has done, but the university will have to live with the consequences, whether they knew what was going on or not.  Going to a bowl game is one perk many players look forward to when they commit to a school and the fact that many of the current players won’t have that opportunity for two years is something that will hurt recruiting.  Not to mention the loss of 30 scholarships over the next three years.

   The sad thing is that this happens much more than we all know of, but not everyone gets caught.  It’s become a game of ‘if you can do it w/o getting caught, continue doing it.’  You would think that stories like this would give other athletes thoughts of stopping all of this because of all of the trouble it can cost them, but they also see that if they do do it, it most likely won’t effect them or the school until they are long gone. 

   But again, the issue was the Heisman Trophy and what to do with it.  Reggie Bush did the right thing.  And so did the Heisman Trust…

>Week 2 Observations

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>Week Two was one that many had circled on their calendars because of some of the perceived “big-time” matchups.  But more about those later.  Some of the earlier games turned out to be pretty good.

  • West Virginia provided for the first drama of the weekend when they faced off with in-state rival Marshall.  Down 21-6 with six minutes left, the Mountaineers rallied for a 24-21 OT win.  They scored the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion with 12 seconds left in regulation.  
  •  Minnesota continued to struggle with teams from the FCS, as they lost to South Dakota 41-38.  Junior Dante Walker, making only his second start at quarterback for the Coyotes, accounted for 433 yards, three passing touchdowns and two more rushing for South Dakota, which is just in its third year as an FCS program.
  • A week after being upset by North Dakota State, Kansas needed to bounce back against Georgia Tech.  And bounce back they did, as the Jayhawks hung on for a 28-25 home win.  The win snapped an eight-game losing streak.  Freshman QB Jordan Webb threw for 179 yards, three TDs, and one interception in his first career start, while freshman RB James Sims ran for 101 yards and a TD in his college debut. 
  • Last week, I told you to watch out for stud freshman Marcus Lattimore.  Well, he more than lived up to the hype in South Carolina’s 17-6 win vs. Georgia.  He rushed the ball an astounding 37 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns.  Welcome to the SEC.
  • The biggest upset of the week belonged to James Madison who upset Virginia Tech 21-16.  The win against the Hokies, the team’s second loss in five days, is just the second win for a lower-level opponent against a ranked team.  Quarterback Drew Dudzik led the Dukes with two rushing touchdowns and also threw a 77-yard bomb for the team’s first score.
  • Michigan-Notre Dame is the one prime game that actually ended up being pretty good, going down to the last seconds.  Denard Robinson continues to look like the real deal, but might need to not carry the ball as much.  He finished the game with a QB – school record 502 yards total offensive yards, including 252 rushing yards on 28 carries.  He also happened to score with 27 seconds remaining to win the game and earlier had the longest run in Notre Dame Stadium history, an 87-yard touchdown.
  • Ohio State-Miami was supposed to be one of the big games.  Well, it got a little out of hand, thanks to Jacory Harris’ four interceptions.   OSU used a 33-10 outburst in the second and third quarters to erase a 7-3 deficit after one quarter.  Terrelle Pryor threw for 233 yards and a TD and ran for 113 yards and a TD as the Buckeyes improved to 27-2 at home under Jim Tressel against nonconference opponents. Dating back to last season, Harris has five touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the Hurricanes’ last five losses. 
  • Florida State also  laid down a big one as they came to Oklahoma and got throttled by the Sooners 47-17.  It was 44-7 after three quarters.  Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns against a defense coached by his coaches brother, Mark Stoops.  The Sooners won their 32nd straight game at Owen Field, extending the nation’s longest home winning streak.  Jones finished 30 for 40 without an interception. His 321 yards by halftime were the second-most in a half in Oklahoma history, behind only 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford’s 350 in the first half of a 79-10 blowout against North Texas in the 2007 season opener.
  • Mark Ingram missed his second straight game, but Alabama didn’t miss a beat yet again, as they beat visiting Penn State 24-3.  Trent Richardson bruised the Nittany Lion defense Saturday night, gaining 93 of his 144 rushing yards after contact with a defender.  He also had a touchdown.  Freshman quarterback Robert Bolden struggled in his first road start, completing 13-of-29 passes for 144 yards and two interceptions. 

>College Football Week 1 Observations cont’d.

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  • Jacksonville State is this year’s Appalachian State after their double overtime win over Mississippi.  The Gamecocks were down 31-10 at halftime, but scored five touchdowns in their next six possessions, including outscoring the Rebels 21-3 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.  After trading touchdowns in the first overtime, Jax St. went for two in the second overtime and was rewarded on a play that looked like it would go nowhere as QB Coty Blanchard looked as if the play would go nowhere.  But he lofted a pass to RB Calvin Middleton and gave the Gamecocks the upset of the weekend.  The loss ruined the debut of Jeremiah Masoli, the controversial transfer from Oregon who was ruled eligible on a decision appeal just days prior to the game.
  •  Kansas State’s Daniel Thomas looked like he is going to be a force to be reckoned with after he rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA.
  •  Kenjon Barner rushed for a career-high 147 yards and scored five touchdowns, all in the first half, as Oregon rolled to a 72-0 win over New Mexico.  The Ducks rolled up a school-record 720 yards on the way to its biggest win ever over a FBS opponent.  
  •  Jacksonville State wasn’t the only FCS school that upset a FBS school.  North Dakota State shocked Kansas 6-3, ruining Turner Gill’s debut as Jayhawks coach.  The Bison shut out Kansas for the last three quarters and held their opponents to 293 total yards.  While those 293 yards were 130 more than their opponents had, North Dakota State did just the right things to keep Kansas on a slide from last season, where they lost their last seven games of the year.
  •  Leading up to game-time, the LSU-UNC game looked to be a let-down because of how many players UNC left at home.  Well don’t let the Tar Heels know that, as they woke up in the fourth quarter and made Tiger fans worry about their 31-10 halftime lead.  UNC had the ball down seven on the LSU six with a second left, before a T.J. Yates pass fell incomplete, allowing LSU to escape with a 30-24 win.  The Heels were able to shut out the Tigers in the second half.  
  •  In recent years, East Carolina has been known for a defensive team, but it was the offense that pulled out their crazy 51-49 win over Tulsa.  In his first start as a Pirate, QB Dominique Davis lofted a 33-yard Hail Mary pass to 6’8 Justin Jones as time expired and catapulted East Carolina to the win.Davis threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns.
  •  If anyone continues to say Boise State is a “Cinderella” or an overrated football team, they must not have seen Monday’s game.  Yes, the Broncos got off to a 17-0 lead and held only a 20-14 lead at the half.  Yes, they gave up the lead and had to rally for a last-minute touchdown to win, but it is how they did it that was impressive.  You could tell the team wasn’t rattled by the pressure put on them, as they drove down the field calmly and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:09.  The defense then shut down Tyrod Taylor, who had been carving up the Bronco defense, and secured a win that strengthens their resume as they try to look to become the first school from a non-automatic BCS qualifying team to play for the National Championship.

>College Football Week 1 Observations

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  • SEC teams better be very, very scared.  South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore looks like he is the real deal.  Yes, he rushed 14 times for only 54 yards, but his two touchdowns and the speed he showed coming off of his rushes will be something that Gamecock fans should get used to.  The schedule gets harder than Southern Miss, but he looks as if he can live up to his high ranking he was given coming out of high school.
  • Utah won its 18th straight game and continually looks as if will be a force to reckoned with as they prepare for their exodus to the Pac 10.  Their upset win over Pittsburgh showed again how stout their defense might be.  However, if the Utes are to continue winning, they will need to learn to be able to keep a lead.
  • USC looks as if will be dominant again of offense, but their defense looked suspect against a mediocre Hawaii team.  While the offense set records, the defense gave up 588 yards, which was even more than the Trojans gained (544).  Matt Barkley went 18-for-23 for 257 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions.  Marc Tyler overtook Allen Bradford for the running back spot and showed he was worth the promotion after rushing for 154 yards on 17 carries.  
  • The Illinois-Missouri game turned out to be better than expected.  Illini QB Nathan Scheelhaase looks legit and had an impressive debut in his first ever collegiate game.  His running ability will be something opponents will have to watch out for, as he has speed and moves like a running back or wide receiver.  Missouri quarterback recovered from a slow start and looked very impressive, completing 34-of-48 passes for 281 yards.  Receiver T.J. Moe looks like he might be the next in a long line of successful wide outs for the Tigers.
  •  Florida looks as if it might still have some kinks to work out.  Their offense looked dreadful against a MAC team that won a total of two games last year.  They had only 44 yards through three quarters.  
  •  Robert Bolden, Penn State’s first freshman starting quarterback since 1992, had a very impressive debut, completing 20-of-29 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns.  He will have a tougher matchup this week though, as the Nittany Lions face off with Alabama.
  •  Sophomore Denard Robinson made his first game as a starter a memorable one, becoming the sixth quarterback since 2005 to run and throw for 185 yards or more.  His 197 rushing yards were the most ever by a Michigan quarterback in a single game.  His style of play looks to fit more of Rich Rodriguez’s style than last year’s starter Tate Forcier.  

>Football Preview: Missouri

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>  In the early 2000’s, an eight-win season would be considered a great success for the Missouri Tigers.  But that isn’t the case anymore and for a fan base that now expects nine wins or more, last season’s 8-5 season could have been seen by some as a disappointment.  But unlike last year, when the Tigers were one of the youngest teams in the country, the team brings back 16 starters and many others who have seen the field in their days in the Black and Gold.

   Offense – The team brings back seven starters from last year’s squad, most notably quarterback Blaine Gabbert.  But it is replacing who the offense lost that will define the season.  Last year’s top two receivers, Danario Alexander and Jared Perry, both have moved onto the NFL.  The team will also be without two-year starting running back and co-captain Derrick Washington, as he has encountered some legal problems that have caused him to be permanently suspended. 

   As of right now, Gabbert is the star of the offense and deservedly so.  He is only the most recent quarterback at a school that has had some of the best quarterbacks in the nation since 2002.  Gabbert is coming off a sophomore year where he threw for 3,593 yards, 24 touchdowns and only nine interceptions, despite playing with a severely injured ankle for half the season.  As was the case last year, the quarterbacks will be very inexperienced behind Gabbert.  Gabbert’s backup is a true freshman from Texas, James Franklin, who has impressed coaches so much that he has moved past returning players Jimmy Costello and Ashton Glaser to win the backup role.  In fact, Glaser, a redshirt freshman, has also moved past Costello, who was Gabbert’s backup last season.  The team also has Gabbert’s younger brother, Tyler, who will be another highly recruited true freshman in the fall.

   The loss of Washington can be one that is devastating to the Tiger offense.  It could also be a blessing in disguise, as it will give Mizzou an opportunity to see some of the younger players.  The team will look to sophomore Kendial Lawrence or De’Vion Moore to carry the load.  Lawrence was a Parade All-American in his senior year of high school and rushed for 219 yards as a true freshman.  Moore is coming into his junior year after backing up Washington last year as well.  He rushed for 258 yards and a touchdown in 2009.  The other two players on the depth chart are true freshmen Henry Josey and Marcus Murphy.

   Replacing Perry and Alexander will be key for the Tiger offense.  The two helped combine for 66 percent of the receiving yards lost.  But the cupboard isn’t bare in Columbia.  The team does return numerous players who saw action last year, as well as a cast of young players who will be looking to make their mark.  Wes Kemp started all 13 games for the Tigers last year and caught 23 balls for 418 yards and three touchdowns.  The only other player with starting experience, Jerrell Jackson, is coming off of wrist surgery.  Jackson, however, is the team’s top returning receiver after he had 37 catches for 458 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore T.J. Moe will be the other starter in the Missouri spread attack.  The Tigers also have redshirt freshmen L’Damian Washington and Jaleel Clark, sophomores Rolandis Woodland and Gahn McGaffie, as well as highly regarded true freshmen Bud Sasser and Marcus Lucas.  The Tigers will be young at the receiver position but quite talented.  The team is also one who uses the tight end in the spread offense and numerous players who have seen playing time return there as well.  Michael Egnew will be looking to make his first start of the year as he replaces last year’s starter, junior Andrew Jones.

   Defense – The defense returns eight starters from last year’s team, one which finished 26th in rushing defense.  The team does lose linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, but the teams’ recruiting has prepared them to overcome such a great loss.

   End Aldon Smith, is back for his second time around in a Tiger uniform, and he’s looking to build on his redshirt freshman season from a year ago that saw him earn Big 12 Defensive Freshman & Newcomer of the Year, as well as 1st-Team Freshman All-American honors. Smith ended his freshman season with 64 tackles, including team-high totals in tackles for loss (19) and sacks (11.5). The sack total broke the MU single-season sacks record of 11.0 set in 2000 by All-American DE Justin Smith, who has been in the NFL for a decade now. Smith’s sack total led all of the NCAA’s freshmen in 2010, and ranked 9th among all players.  Dominique Hamilton started 12 games last year and pitched in with 46 tackles.  The other two starters on the line figure to be Terrell Resonno and Jacquies Smith.

   Replacing Weatherspoon’s 111 tackles will be no easy task, but the Tigers will look to sophomore Zaviar Gooden, who saw action in all 13 games last season.  Gooden has improved his speed this offseason and hopes to provide Missouri a spark at the third linebacker position.  Andrew Gachkar returns as another linebacker after finishing second on the team in tackles with a career-high 80, in 2009.  The middle linebacker position looked to be a battle between Luke Lambert and Will Ebner, until Ebner

   The defensive secondary boasts five players who have started games in their Missouri careers.  Of those five, four are seniors.  Jasper Simmons returns at the free safety position after finishing fourth on the team with 73 tackles, three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.  Corner Carl Gettis started every game last year for the Tigers, on the way to 61 tackles, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.  Fellow senior Kevin Rutland started opposite of Gettis in all 13 games.  He came up with 47 tackles and a team-high two interceptions.  Kenji Jackson and Jarrell Harrison split time at the strong safety spot and it looks as if they will continue to do the same in 2010.  Harrison was in on 47 tackles and three passes broken up.  He also chipped in with two tackles for loss, an interception and a sack.  Jackson, on the other hand, had 41 tackles, one for loss and one pass broken up.  A good but also potentially bad thing for the secondary is that there is little experience behind the starters, as most are either sophomores or redshirt freshmen.

   Recruiting – Missouri signed 23 recruits in it’s 2010 class and nine of them will play this year. James Franklin checks in as the backup quarterback after having a stellar career in the state of Texas, a state Missouri has recruited very well.  He comes in after being ranked no lower than No. 11 on any quarterback list.  As a senior, he threw for 2,360 yards, rushed for 1,282 yards and accounted for 41 total touchdowns.  Marcus Lucas and Bud Sasser are both third on the depth chart at receiver positions and deservedly so.  Lucas comes in as a four star recruit and, despite being blanketed his senior year, still managed to come up with 38 catches for 819 yards and nine touchdowns.  Sasser finished with 64 catches for 1,250 yards and a school-record 24 touchdowns.  The only defensive player getting playing time will be defensive back E.J. Gaines. He had a monster senior season, as he ran for 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns and caught 20 passes for 400 yards, while also starring in the secondary by making 72 tackles and 2 interceptions.  This is after a junior season where he had 89 tackles and five interceptions and a sophomore year when he had 88 tackles and five picks as well.


   Schedule – As they have for the majority of the decade, the Tigers start the season with a game against Illinois in St. Louis.  This, however, will be the last game of the Arch Rivalry for the foreseeable future.  The team then gets its next four games at home, while preparing for the rough stretch of the season.  The four games include tilts against McNeese State, San Diego State, Miami (Ohio) and Colorado.  The Tigers have a good shot at being 5-0 as they head to a grueling four-game stretch which will ultimately decide what type of season it will be.  The stretch starts off with a game at Texas A&M before the Homecoming game against Oklahoma.  Did you know Missouri is home to the first-ever Homecoming?  The team finishes the rough stretch with away games at Nebraska and Texas Tech.  The Tigers then finish with a home game against Kansas State, a road game at Iowa State and the traditional regular season finale against Kansas in Kansas City.

>Preview: Louisville

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>  After going to bowl games from 1998-2006, the Cardinals will look to get back to that plateau under new coach Charlie Strong.  Strong comes to the Big East after serving as Urban Meyer’s defensive coordinator at Florida.  Strong inherits a team that brings back 15 starters.

   Offense – Nine of those starters comes from the offensive side of the ball and look to improve in 2010.  The biggest question on offense will be at the quarterback position.  Three players who saw action as starters last year all return for the upcoming season, but who will take a stronghold on the position will still be unknown.  Adam Froman has the most experience after recording seven starts and throwing for 1,354 yards and six touchdown passes with five interceptions.  Justin Burke battled injuries and threw for 654 yards and three scores.  Will Stein threw for 450 yards in his two starts.

   Victor Anderson, Bilal Powell and Jeremy Wright give the Cardinals a very deep backfield. Anderson was the Cardinals’ leading rusher despite missing most of the season due to injury. After rushing for 1,047 yards in 2008, Anderson was hampered by a shoulder injury that limited him to 473 yards and five touchdowns. 
Powell rushed for 392 yards and four touchdowns last season. He looks physically ready to be a force in the league and throughout the country. Wright is another talented running back who will fight for playing time.

    The Cardinals are extremely thin at wide receiver with only six scholarship players returning. Senior Doug Beaumont is the premier receiver of the group, having caught over 100 passes for 1,265 yards in his career.
In 2009, Beaumont’s numbers dipped to 38 catches for 465 yards after catching 62 passes for 750 yards in 2008.  Senior Troy Pascley caught just four passes for 35 yards a year ago. Sophomore Andrell Smith is a big wide receiver who will need to step up and be a guy the Cardinals can count on. Knowing the lack of depth, Strong and his staff, signed six wide receivers in this recruiting class.

   Defense – The defense brings back six starters from last year’s squad.  There is inexperience on each of the line, linebacker and secondary units.
 
   A lot of the questions, surrounding the 2010 Cardinals sit with the development of the defensive line. Strong has emphasized that to play winning football teams must be strong upfront. After 15 spring practices, the Cardinals are still trying to find answers along the defensive line.  The spring showed that the Cardinals are going to need a lot of different combinations of players to step up if the defense is going to be successful. This group will be very young and inexperienced, but there is talent to build upon.

   Junior Greg Scruggs moved inside this spring to play tackle, but also did play some defensive end.  He started all 12 games in 2009 and came up with 21 tackles, five and a half of which were for loss. Senior Tim High bulked up and improved his conditioning, and will be needed to take snaps along the defensive line. Coming from Hutchinson Community College, Randy Salmon will be counted on heavily in the fall to be a playmaker upfront.  The Cardinals have some pretty good depth at the defensive end positions with senior Malcolm Tatum and junior William Savoy returning — both of whom started games in 2009. Tatum recorded 29 tackles in his first season, while playing both tackle and end, while Savoy was second on the team with five sacks. Both players will have to take on an expanded role for the Cardinals to be successful. Despite limited action, Savoy has recorded six sacks in his first two seasons.

   The Cardinals do have some talented linebackers returning in seniors Brandon Heath and Antwone Canady, but it is a unit that does lack much-needed depth. Heath, who will play the weakside, recorded 48 tackles and a pair of interceptions, including one for a touchdown, while Canady, who will be in the middle, was credited with 34 stops. Heath also had three and a half sacks.  Senior Eugene Sowell and red-shirt freshman Jacob Geffrad also worked at the weakside in the spring. At the strongside spot, junior Dexter Heyman moved back to linebacker after working at defensive end last season. Heyman played a little at linebacker as a freshman, before moving to defensive end in 2009. He had seven tackles and a fumble recovery last season.

   The secondary also has a lot of question marks entering the fall. One question that has a good answer is senior Johnny Patrick, who played all 12 games a year ago. He recorded 53 tackles and was tied for second on the team with a pair of interceptions. A pair of red-shirt freshman Zed Evans and Champ Lee will compete behind Patrick for playing time. Senior Bobby Burns, who played quite a bit last season, will compete for reps at the other corner spot, with Darius Ashley, who made the move to defense in the spring. Burns had nine tackles and a pick last year.  At free safety, sophomore Shenard Holton has an opportunity to be a leader on defense. He played a lot towards the end of the year and showed that he has the potential to be an impact player for the next three seasons.

   Recruiting

   Schedule – The team starts off the season with two home games against in-state teams, Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky.  They then travel to Oregon State and Arkansas State before having a three-game homestand.  They welcome Memphis, Cincinnati and Connecticut to Papa John’s Stadium in consecutive weeks.  They then end the season with three of the final five games on the road.  They start with road games at Pittsburgh and Syracuse before hosting back-to-back games against USF and West Virginia before traveling to Rutgers to end the season. 

>College Football Previews: Kansas

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>   Two years after going 12-1 and getting an Orange Bowl win over Virginia Tech, the Jayhawks are looking to rebuild under new coach Turner Gill, who takes over for Mark Mangino after Mangino resigned amid mistreatment rumors.  Gill comes from Buffalo after having turned one of the worst teams in college football into a conference champion.

   Offense – Despite returning eight starters, it may be the four that they lost that will be the most crucial.  Gill will have to replace departed seniors quarterback Todd Reesing, wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier and running back Jake Sharp.  It will be interesting to see how the team responds to Chuck Long’s scheme.

   The loss of Reesing hurts the Jayhawks the most.  Reesing threw for 3,616 yards on his way to breaking numerous school passing records.  He leaves Kansas as the school leader in career passing yards (11,194), career attempts (1,461), career completions (932), career touchdown passes (90) and total offensive yards (11,840).  The returnees, however, only threw for a combined 38 yards in 2009.  That’s not to say that there won’t be any depth at the position tho.  Kale Pick was four of five passing for 22 yards, while adding 167 rushing yards on 14 carries as a backup in 2009. Quinn Mecham is a junior college transfer who threw for 3,091 yards and 40 touchdowns at Snow Junior College in 2009. He is already on campus and will participate in spring practice. A trio of quarterbacks redshirted as freshmen in 2009 including Christian Matthews, Jacob Morse and Jordan Webb.

   Toben Opurum led the team in rushing as a freshman, rushing for 554 yards and nine touchdowns in 2009.  Rell Lewis saw limited time running for 72 yards on 13 carries. Angus Quigley, a running back at KU until playing linebacker last season, returns to his original position after gaining a medical hardship. Quigley ran for 309 yards in 2008.

   The Jayhawks lost the two most productive wide receivers in school history in Dezmon Briscoe, who declared for the NFL draft after his junior campaign, and Kerry Meier. In 2009, Briscoe caught 84 passes for 1,337 yards and nine touchdowns, while Meier pulled in 102 balls for 985 yards and eight scores. Johnathan Wilson had been the third option in his career and pulled in 35 receptions for 449 yards in 2009. Bradley McDougald started six games as the fourth wide receiver and caught 33 passes for 318 yards last year. Tertavian Ingram saw action a year ago and had two catches.  Daymond Patterson, D.J. Beshears, Erick McGriff and Chris Omigie ,a pair of redshirt freshmen all could make an impact.

   Defense – A mix of experience and youth returns on the defensive side of the ball for Kansas, including seven starters. Among the returnees are All-Big 12 Honorable Mention players in defensive end Jake Laptad and linebacker Drew Dudley. Linebacker Huldon Tharp and safety Lubbock Smith earned Freshman All-America honors in 2009. Chris Harris has been a regular in the secondary for the past three seasons. In all, five of the top eight tackle leaders from 2009 return.

   All-Big 12 Honorable Mention players in defensive end Jake Laptad had 49 tackles, including a team-high 12 for loss and six and a half sacks. Quinton Woods, who saw limited time with four tackles, is the only other end with experience. Inside, John Williams started the final seven games of 2009 at tackle after moving from the offensive line. He replaced Richard Johnson in the starting lineup, but Johnson returns this season as well.

   Last season Kansas used two linebackers in its 4-2-5 alignment and two of the main three players in last year’s rotation return. Drew Dudley was second on the team with 88 tackles last year, while Huldon Tharp made 59 stops as a true freshman en route to earning some Freshman All-America honors. Justin Springer has been a key reserve and last year had 25 tackles.

   The 2009 secondary was a team effort as 10 different players started games during the season. KU lost two long-time regular safeties in Darrell Stuckey, who led the team with 93 tackles, and Justin Thornton, who registered 80 tackles in 2009. Chris Harris leads the returnees. Harris has played safety and cornerback in his career and last year was third on the team with 84 tackles, while leading the team with nine passes broken up. 

   Recruiting – The Jayhawks signed a class of 18 in 2010, including 10 on the offensive side of the ball.  Of those 10, four are wide receivers.  Of the eight defenders, four are on the line.  Kansas was able to pull Brandon Bourbon out of Missouri and boy did they get a player.  On his way to being named the 3A Player of the Year, he amassed a school record 2,531 yards and 34 touchdowns.  He finished his high school career with 5,551 rushing yards.  On defense, the stud is linebacker Ed Fink.  He registered 149 tackles and eight sacks as a senior. 

   Schedule – This year’s schedule is relatively tougher than last year’s as two of their four nonconference opponents qualified for bowls, including a BCS bowl game.  Three of the team’s nonconference games are in Lawrence, as North Dakota State and Georgia Tech come to Lawrence, before the Jayhawks

>College Previews: Iowa

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>   The final results of the 2009 season were an 11-2 overall record and a second place Big Ten (6-2) finish. The Hawkeyes finished in the Big Ten’s upper division for the eighth time in nine years. The 11 wins equal the most (2002) wins ever by an Iowa team. Iowa finished seventh in the final rankings of both major polls. It was Iowa’s highest season-ending rank since 1960 (third). And, Iowa has now won successive January bowl games after an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech.

   Offense – Iowa brings back six starters from last year’s squad, including quarterback Ricky Stanzi.  The team averaged 23 points per game, eight more than their opponents.

   Stanzi has passed for 4,373 career yards to rank sixth on Iowa’s all-time list. Last season he was 171-304 for 2,417 yards and 17 touchdowns.  He will have to cut down on his interceptions, however, as he threw 17 in 2009.  Sophomore James Vandenberg (6-3, 212) replaced Stanzi following the ankle injury he suffered in the team’s first loss of the season vs. Northwestern. His performance in the overtime loss at Ohio State and
the season ending win over Minnesota were impressive as he completed 42 of his 87 passes and had two touchdowns.

   The Hawkeyes began 2009 spring practice with sophomores Jewel Hampton and Jeff Brinson the top two contenders for the starting slot. Hampton was injured during the summer and Brinson played sparingly, because of injuries, in three games (one rush for seven yards). The Iowa running back situation was thin the rest of the season with redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, true freshman Brandon Wegher and senior Paki O’Meara left to carry the load. Robinson and Wegher also suffered injuries during the 2009 season that forced each to miss at least one game. But, the result turned in by the two freshmen was impressive. Robinson rushed for 834 yards, scored five touchdowns and had a 4.6 yards per carry average. Wegher rushed for 641 yards and a freshman record eight touchdowns.

   Senior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos was a second team all-Big Ten selection last year. He, along with junior Marvin McNutt, will be Iowa’s number one receivers.  Johnson-Koulianos led the way with 45 catches for 750 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 16.7 yards per catch.  McNutt started five games, caught 34 passes for 674 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season as a wide receiver.  He had previously been a quarterback.  Listed behind McNutt are sophomore Keenan Davis and senior Paul Chaney, Jr. Davis caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman. Chaney was injured and missed the final seven games of the 2009 season. He caught seven passes for 50 yards before the injury.  They will be looking for a replacement at tight end after Tony Moeaki graduated.  He caught 30 balls for 387 yards and four touchdowns last season.

   Defense – As usual, the defense was quite good last year.  They surrendered a mere 15 points per game and had 21 interceptions, fifth-most in the nation.

   The defensive line looks to be the strongest unit on defense, as it brings back all four starters, including All-American candidate defensive end Adrian Clayborn.  He had 70 tackles last year, including 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. He also forced four fumbles.  Anchoring the starting end spot on the other side of the line will be junior Broderick Binns. He had 63 tackles in 2009.  Seniors Karl Klug and Christian Ballard are the returning starters at defensive tackle. Ballard has career tackles. Klug had 65 tackles last year, along with 13 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Ballard also had nine tackles for loss.

   Gone from last year’s linebacking unit is first team all-American Pat Angerer (258 career tackles) and all-Big Ten outside linebacker A.J. Edds (226).  Senior Jeremiha Hunter is Iowa’s lone returning starter at linebacker. The all-Big Ten candidate has 25 career starts and started all but the Minnesota game last year. He was Iowa’s second leading tackler in 2009, for the second straight year, with 89 tackles.

   The defensive backfield returns three of four starters in 2010.  The 2009 pass defense was rated first in the Big Ten after allowing only 153 yards a game. That figure ranked fourth in NCAA statistics. The team’s 21 interceptions ranked second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.  Senior Brett Greenwood returns at the free safety position. A second team all-Big Ten selection, he had 55 tackles and three interceptions last year.  Tyler Sash returns at strong safety. He was named third team 2009 all-American by the Associated Press and first team all-Big Ten. Sash was Iowa’s third leading tackler with 85 tackles. He intercepted a team leading six passes.  One cornerback spot should be anchored by Shaun Prater. He totaled 41 tackles and two interceptions last year.

   Recruiting – The Hawkeyes bring in 21 student-athletes in its 2010 class, including four linebackers.  Only seven of the recruits are on the offensive side of the ball.  Linebacker Christian Kirksey comes in after having a monster senior season.  He finished his senior campaign with a whopping 163 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions.  Defensive back B.J. Lowery comes in after putting up impressive numbers in his senior season as well.  His senior season saw him in on 128.5 tackles and four interceptions.  Jim Poggi comes in as a linebacker after putting up huge numbers as a senior too.  His 2009 season saw him collect 137 tackles, 12 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions.  C.J. Fiedorowicz comes in trying to replace Moeaki at tight end.  Coincidentally, both are Illinois products.  He had 44 catches for 921 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. 

   Schedule – The Hawkeyes face seven of their 12 opponents at home in 2010.  The Hawkeyes open with four of their first five games at home. Eight of the 2010 opponents appeared in bowl games last year. Three of the four non-conference games will be played in Iowa City.  They start out with home games against Eastern Illinois and rival Iowa State before traveling to Arizona.  The team then faces Ball State before starting Big Ten play by hosting Penn State.  The PSU game is followed by a bye week and a trip to Michigan.  The last six games of the year including road games at Northwestern, Indiana and Minnesota, while home games are against Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin.  So the team’s three biggest conference games (Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State) are all at home.

>Football Previews: Houston

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>The Cougars finished the season at 10-4 and made their fifth straight appearance in a bowl contest in 2009. 

   Offense – As the nation’s No. 1 team in total offense (563.4 ypg.), passing offense (433.7 ypg.) and scoring offense (42.2 ppg.) in 2009, the Cougars return nine starters from this record-breaking squad, including senior quarterback Case Keenum, who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting and was a finalist for several other national honors.

   Keenum, enters his senior season as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and is on the cusp of setting every Houston, Conference USA and NCAA total offense and passing marks. In 2009, Keenum became only the second quarterback in NCAA history to throw for at least 5,000 yards twice (Texas Tech’s Graham
Harrell is the other), tossing for a career-best 5,671 yards and 44 touchdowns. His 5,671 yards were over 1,400 more than the second place finisher and he has amassed 13,741 total yards in his Cougar career.  His 12,905 passing yards are about 4,000 less than all-time leader Timmy Chang. Keenum has thrown a touchdown pass in 30 straight games. 

   Not many teams in America can boast they have back-to-back Freshmen of the Year in their backfield.  The Cougars tout sophomore Charles Sims (2009 winner) and junior Bryce Beall (2008 winner) at running back, and both could be considered first-team running backs in Conference USA. Last season Sims burst on to the scene by rushing for 698 yards and nine touchdowns while hauling in 70 passes for 759 yards,
while Beall—once year removed for rushing for 1,247 yards and 13 scores—added 670 yards and seven touchdowns and had 32 catches for an additional 311 yards.

   The Cougars became only the fourth team in NCAA history to have three wide receivers with over 1,000 yards receiving. Throw in Keenum’s 5,000- plus yard passing and UH was only the third team to have the 5,000-yard passer, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000-yard receiving quartet. C-USA Newcomer of the Year James Cleveland led the Cougars in receiving with 104 catches for 1,214 yards and 14 touchdowns; this, despite missing two games with injuries. He is joined in the four-receiver set by juniors Tyron Carrier (91 catches, 1,029 yards, seven touchdowns) and Patrick Edwards (85 catches, 1,021 yards, six touchdowns) as well as senior Kierrie Johnson (16 catches, 237 yards).

   Defense – Brian Stewart assumes the role of Defensive Coordinator this year and plans to take advantage of the Houston speed and athleticism on defense to put non-stop pressure on opposing offenses with his new 3-4 scheme. Stewart has six returning starters to work with in 2010.

   Sophomore Zeke Riser and junior David Hunter return to battle for their spots. With the change in schemes, Riser holds on to one defensive end spot while Hunter shifts outside to man the other end spot.  Hunter finished the year ninth on the team in tackles with 57.  Of those eight and a half were for loss and four sacks.  He also contributed with four pass breakups as well as three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles, both of which were second on the team.  Riser had 36 tackles, three and a half for loss, two and a half sacks and two fumble recoveries.

   With 259 total tackles in two years as a starter, junior linebacker Marcus McGraw has developed into one of the premier defenders in C-USA. Inserted into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2008, McGraw has started 27 straight games and should add to that streak in 2010. He will man one inside spot while redshirt
freshman George Bamfo is listed at the other. Bamfo should be a nice compliment to veteran in the middle.
Sophomore Phillip Steward is slotted in at one outside spot, and after a trial by fire a year ago he should be a top-line defender this year. Another sophomore, Kelvin King III, is listed as the starter opposite Steward,
making the move this spring from defensive end to linebacker.

   Houston has two returning starters in the secondary, senior cornerback Jamal Robinson and junior free safety Nick Saenz.  Saenz finished third on the team in tackles with 114 and should be the leader in the
secondary again this season. Robinson had 58 tackles, and a team-high five interceptions.  He also added eight passes broken up and five tackles for loss.  Heading into 2010, senior Loyce Means appears to have nailed down the other cornerback slot and his experience as a part-time starter over the past two seasons should help.

   Recruiting – The Cougars bring in 26 recruits in 2010, highlighted by two quarterbacks and four linebackers.  Terrance Broadway comes in from Louisiana as a rivals.com four-star player, as well as the fifth-best dual threat quarterback.  In his senior year, he threw for 2,140 yards and 20 touchdowns.  The other quarterback comes from Texas powerhouse Southlake Carroll.  In 2009, David Piland threw for 2,668 yards and 20 touchdowns.

   Efram Oliphant and Austin Wilson lead the four-man linebacker group.  Each was a three-star recruit by rivals.com and had over 100 tackles as seniors.  Oliphant finished his final season with 125 tackles, six sacks and 11 tackles for loss.  Wilson had 108 tackles (60 solo), 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions.

   Schedule – Houston opens the year with four of its first five games at home.  The first two are against in-state rivals Texas State and UTEP.  The UTEPSMU and Memphis.  That’s followed by two home games against UCF and Tulsa before finishing with road games at Southern Miss and Texas Tech.  In all, nine of Houston’s 12 teams are in the state of Texas.

>Football Previews: Georgia Tech

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>   The 2009 season was one of firsts for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.  It marked their first-ever BCS appearance, first outright ACC title since 1990 and their first-ever win in Tallahassee against Florida State, amongst other feats.  Despite losing some key pieces to the team, the Jackets will be looking to make it back to the lofty heights they did last season.

   Offense – The Ramblin’ Wreck has adapted to Paul Johnson’s spread option offense by producing the highest rushing totals in school history the past two years.  Half of that outstanding duo, quarterback Josh Nesbitt, returns after running back Jonathan Dwyer left for the NFL.  In fact, their 295.4 rushing yards per game was the highest in the ACC and second-best in the nation.  Their total offense (442 yd/g) and scoring offense (33.8 ppg) totals were both best in the ACC and 11th best in the nation.

   Nesbitt returns for his senior season after rushing for 1,037 yards in 2009.  His rushing total was the highest for a quarterback in Tech history and second highest in ACC history.  His 2,069 career yards rushing make him the most prolific rushing quarterback in Tech history and ranks him second in ACC history.  Despite only attempting 162 passes and completing 71, Nesbitt threw for 1,701 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Combining his rushing and passing totals, Nebitt accounted for over 2,700 yards and 28 touchdowns.

   Despite losing their leading rusher in Dwyer, the team does return some experienced backs in Anthony Allen and Marcus Wright, each of whom played in all 14 games last season.  Allen returns from last year’s spot at the A-back position after rushing for 618 yards and six touchdowns.  Wright was Dwyer’s main backup and rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns.  Allen will look to combine with Nesbitt to become the second consecutive Jackets to each rush for over 1,000 yards after Dwyer and Nesbitt did it last year.

   Unfortunately for Nesbitt, his favorite target in 2009, Demariyus Thomas, left for the NFL, leaving a very young wide receiver core for the upcoming season.  Last year’s second and third-leading receivers return, but they combined for only 14 catches and two touchdowns.  The coaches feef that Stephen Hill has to be a star.

   Defense – The defense got a major overhaul in the offseason, bringing in three new coaches, including defensive coordinator former Virginia head coach Al Groh.  Groh brings in a new system however, as he favors the 3-4, so it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to the change.

   The linebacker and defensive back units comes back as the strongest parts of the defense.  The linebackers are led by Brad Jefferson and Steven Sylvester, who finished first and eighth in tackles, respectively.  Jefferson racked up 95 tackles, including eight for loss and had two forced fumbles.  Sylvester was in on 40 tackles, four for loss and three sacks.

   The defensive backfield returns three of four starters from last year squad, including both cornerbacks.  One of those corners, Jerrard Tarrant, was a pain for opposing receivers after coming up with 58 tackles, which was fourth on the team.  He also added a tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a team-high six passes broken up.  His partner across the field, Marcus Butler, wasn’t far behind him in all of the stat categories either.  Butler finished with 45 tackles, four and a half for loss, two interceptions and three passes broken up.  Mario Edwards returns at one safety spot after starting the last five games of the year.  He contributed to the cause with 36 tackles and two passes broken up.

   The defensive line also returns three starters, including both tackles, Ben Anderson and Logan Walls, as well as end Anthony Egbuniwe.  Walls led the returnees with 25 tackles, three for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.  Egbuniwe was right behind him with 19 tackles, two and a half for loss, one and a half sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.  Anderson was in on 15 tackles, five for loss and two sacks.

   Recruiting – The Yellow Jackets bring in 18 kids in this year’s signing class, including 14 from Georgia.  They bring in a bunch of studs of defensive studs, including two linebackers and a defensive back.  Jeremiah Attaochu had a monster senior season where he had 118 tackles and 14 sacks.  They stole Quayshawn Nealy out of Florida after he had 121 tackles (85 solo), 25 tackles for loss, two interceptions and five sacks.  Corner Louis Young comes in after being ranked in the top 20 of cornerbacks nationally by both scout.com and rivals.com.  One offensive player to keep an eye on is Tony Zenon, who finished his senior season with 2,264 yards and 27 rushing touchdowns.

   Schedule – Georgia Tech starts the season with a home game against South Carolina State before going on the road for consecutive games at Kansas and North Carolina.  Three of the next four games are as home as they host N.C. State, Virginia and Middle Tennessee State.  They travel to Wake Forest between the N.C. State and Virginia games.  The team’s next five games will most likely be their toughest stretch as they travel to Clemson, Virginia Tech, host Miami and Duke, before finishing the season with their annual rivalry game against Georgia, this time in Athens.