Tag Archives: LSU

What We Learned Week 3

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  • Geno Smith went to complete 34 of 39 passes for 411 yards, moving past Marc Bulger (8,153) to set the school record for career yards passing (8,191).  He also has thrown for 734 yards and nine touchdowns. All while only throwing nine incompletions in two weeks.  Yes, the same number of incompletions as touchdowns.  Just like RG3 last year. Continue reading →

What We Learned…Week Two

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  • Utah State broke a 12 game losing streak to in-state rival Utah.  The Aggies hadn’t beaten Utah since 1997, and not in Logan since 1996.
  • With it’s win over UConn, NC State is now 9-1 in weeks after a loss, ranging back to 2010
  • Minnesota scored 16 points in the first quarter against New Hampshire. The Golden Gophers hadn’t scored that many points in the opening quarter since 2005 (20 points vs Florida Atlantic). Last season, Minnesota only scored more points once all last season (20 points in second quarter of season finale against Illinois.
  • The last Ohio State quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a game was Art Schlichter against Illinois in 1978.  Braxton Miller did it Saturday.
  • Penn State starts 0-2 for first time since 2001 and just the 5th time in the last 45 years.
  • Before Sam Ficken went 1-for-5 on field goals for Penn State, the last player to miss four-or-more FG in one game was Josh Zahn of UAB. Zahn was 2-for-7 at Tennessee on 9/25/2010.
  • Auburn “accumulated” -2 pass yards in the first half at Mississippi State. The Tigers are the second team this season to have negative pass yards in a half; Northern Illinois netted -1 pass yard in the second half vs Iowa last weekend. The Tigers last had negative pass yards in a half in 2005, when they had -2 pass yards in the second half vs Alabama.
  • Mississippi State’s win included numerous firsts. The victory broke a string of unsavory trends for the Bulldogs. They had lost 10 out of the last 11 against Auburn — including four straight — and hadn’t won an SEC opener since 1999.  It was also coach Dan Mullen’s first victory against the SEC Western Division’s best four teams. He was 0-12 combined against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn until Saturday’s breakthrough.
  • Miami started playing games in 1926, but Saturday’s loss was just the sixth time that the U ever allowed 50 points in a game.
  • Collin Klein now has 5 career games with at least 3 rush TD and 1 pass TD. Since 2000, that is the most of any FBS player.
  • Marcus Lattimore records his 33rd career TD (30 Rush, 3 Rec), tying the school record by George Rogers and Harold Green.  He has played in only 22 games.
  • Clemson’s DeAndre Hopkins is the first player this season with three receiving touchdowns in a game this season, and he did it before halftime. The last player with three receiving touchdowns in a half? West Virginia’s Tavon Austin, who did so in the first half against Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
  • Second straight year the Sacramento State Hornets have beaten a Pac-12 opponent on the road in the last play of the game.  They defeated Oregon State last season.
  • Through two games this season, Notre Dame has turned the ball over just twice, eight fewer than the 10 turnovers the Irish committed at this point last season.
  • Denard Robinson finished with his 3rd career game with at least 200 yards passing and 200 yards rushing. That’s the most of any FBS player since 2000.. one more than Vince Young had.
  • Denard Robinson is the 4th player in FBS this season with multiple 50-yd Rush TD in the same game, joining Duke Johnson, Davon Johnson, and Johnathan Franklin. He is the only Michigan player to do it since at least 2004. Robinson’s longest run in Week 1 against Alabama was 9\nine yards.
  • Denard Robinson now has three career rushing TD of at least 70 yards. That is tied for the most among all active FBS players.
  • Matt Barkley passed for 187 yards and 6 TD, becoming the first FBS player since at least 2000 to have 6+ pass TD and fewer than 200 passing yards in a game.
  • If it seems that no lead is safe in college football, the schools on this list can surely relate. Texas A&M, Memphis, Kansas and Nevada all blew halftime leads on Saturday and are among the the teams that have seen the most halftime leads evaporate since the start of the 2011 season.
  • Florida stepped up its defense after halftime Saturday. Texas A&M averaged 5.8 yards per play in the first half with 28.3 percent of its plays gaining 10 yards or more. In the second half, the Aggies averaged 2.8 yards per play, and managed just one play that gained 10 yards or more. All six of Texas A&M’s second-half drives ended in punts, including four “3 & outs.” The Aggies had no punts in the first half.
  • For a second straight week, Michigan State held an opponent without an offensive touchdown.  The only two touchdowns the Spartans have allowed this season have some on interception returns.
  • Iowa State beat Iowa 9-6 for its first win in Iowa City in 10 years.
  • This was Iowa’s first loss under Kirk Ferentz when they held a team to fewer than 10 points. Before today, they had been 33-0 in such games.  Iowa State didn’t score in the second half.
  • Wisconsin’s last regular season non-conference loss came in 2003 at home against UNLV. It’s last regular season non-conference ROAD loss came in 2001 at Oregon.
  • With Wisconsin’s, Nebraska’s and Illinois’ losses to Pac-12 teams, Big Ten schools are 5-26-1 at Pac-12 schools since 1993 (the year Penn State joined the Big Ten).
  • After showing some signs of rust last week in a 35-21 victory over North Carolina State, Jimmy Hunter caught three touchdowns — the first time since 2003 that a Tennessee receiver ended up with that many in a single game.
  • Tennessee exceeded the 500-yard mark in total offense for a second straight week. The Vols hadn’t gained 500 yards in back-to-back games since 2000.
  • The win is Louisiana-Monroe’s first over a ranked team since joining the FBS in 1994, and it is the school’s first over an SEC team since defeating Alabama in 2007.  The Warhawks are 4-34 against the SEC, with their only other win coming against Mississippi State in 1995.
  • It is also the Sun Belt Conference’s first win over a top 10 team.
  • Six players ran for touchdowns as Georgia Tech (1-1) had 712 total yards, the second-highest total in school history, including 469 yards rushing. The Yellow Jackets had a school-record 768 yards in a 66-24 rout of Kansas in 2011.
  • LSU has won 39 straight against non-conference opponents in the regular season, tying a Football Bowl Subdivision record first set by Kansas State. Next weekend, the Tigers play Idaho, another non-conference opponent, and the game is at home, where LSU has won 19 straight.
  • Mississippi defeated Texas-El Paso 28-10, improving to 2-0 for only the second time in 10 seasons.
  • The Bowling Green Falcons improved to 4-0 in season openers under head coach Dave Clawson.
  • The Ohio Bobcats (2-0), who opened with a win over Penn State, have won eight of nine dating back to last season.
  • Damien Williams’ rushing total of 156 yards was the most for a player in his first game at the Sooners’ home field, and he became only the fourth player at the school to eclipse 100 yards rushing in each of his first two games. Adrian Peterson was the last to do it, in 2004.
  • Casey Pachall and Trevone Boykin combined to complete all 17 passes for TCU — the most in FBS history without an incompletion.
  • Gary Patterson was presented a crystal ball in recognition of his 110th career victory — one more than former school-record holder Dutch Meyer, who led the Frogs to their only AP national championship in 1938. Patterson is 110-30 overall with 10 shutout victories one game into his 12th season.
  • Houston and Louisiana Tech combined for 1,291 yards of offense and 78 first downs in a game that lasted four hours and eight minutes.
  • SMU intercepted seven passes and recovered two fumbles by Stephen F. Austin.
  • Northern Arizona’s win over UNLV was Northern Arizona’s (1-1) first win over an FBS team in 25 years.
  • Oklahoma State freshman Wes Lunt threw for 436 yards, fourth-most in school history and the Big 12 record for a freshman, and connected with Tracy Moore for four touchdown passes

Week 2 Observations

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  • Brandon Weeden rewrote the Oklahoma State record book against Arizona with 42 completions on 53 pass attempts. He finished with 397 passing yards, narrowly missed throwing for 400 yards for the 4th time in his career. Continue reading →

>NCAA Softball Tournament Part 2

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>The next Regional may be the most balanced.  The Missouri Regional has three teams in the top 20 RPI rankings.

Regional # 9: Hosted by the University of Missouri

Missouri – Coming off of a dream season that saw them make the College World Series, the Tigers will be hosting a Regional for the second year in a row and will be joined by Illinois, DePaul and Creighton.  Illinois and DePaul were in Missouri’s Regional last year as well.  Missouri is coming off of a loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game, but has won 10 of its last 13 games and 19 of its last 22.

The Tigers have faced 15 NCAA Tournament teams, including Alabama, Arizona and Michigan, amongst others, in non conference play, going 13-11 against those foes.  While the record may not be sparkling, the team did take two-of-three from Alabama, split with Arizona and defeated Michigan.  Most of their struggles came as they were trying to recover from the loss of star pitcher Chelsea Thomas for the season, but they have obviously regrouped nicely and ended the regular season on a high note.

After losing some of their big boppers from last year, one would have thought that the offense would not be as prolific as last year.  But thanks to a junior transfer and a couple freshmen that has turned out not to be true.  Rhea Taylor, as she has been her first two years, continues to be the table setter for the Tiger offense, leading the entire Big 12 with a .455 average and 41 steals.  Taylor has 134 career steals in three years, a Mizzou record.  Freshman Jenna Marston is only two players below with a .389 average and 55 RBI.  Ashley Flemming and Marla Schweisberger are tied for the lead in home runs with nine, while frosh Nicole Hudson has eight, Taylor seven and Marston five.

The Tiger pitching staff took a big hit in mid-March when ace Chelsea Thomas went down with an arm injury.  After the injury sophomore Kristin Nottelman and senior Jana Hainey were thrown into the fire more than they had originally planned.  Nottelman brings a 19-7 record to the tournament and Hainey checks in at 10-2.  Nottelman has struck out 135 hitters on the year.

Illinois – Illinois is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight (both in Columbia). The Illini are 5-6 all-time in the tournament, going 4-2 and reaching the Regional Final in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. That year the 48-team field consisted of eight six-team regionals and was prior to the era of the Super Regionals. Illinois has the fewest losses (6) of any team in the tournament, tied with Washington and Michigan.  The Illini have won 16 of their last 17 games. The only loss in that stretch has come to DePaul. The Illini won 12 straight prior to that meeting and ended the season winning four in a row.

The Illini have faced nine NCAA Tournament teams, compiling a 4-6 record against those teams.  The team was scheduled to face Regional opponent Missouri in the Missouri Invitational, but the game was cancelled due to weather.  Of the Regional opponents they have only faced DePaul, whom they lost to on May 6th.

Illinois is led by three hitters who are all hitting above .400.  Danielle Zymkowitz leads the team in average at .421 and has swiped 35 bases.  Meredith Hackett provides the power for the Illini, knocking 15 round trippers and leading the team in RBI with 55. Hollie Pinchback and Ashley Conrad add nine homers each and the aforementioned three are three of five players who have over 30 RBI.

Monica Perry and Pepper Gay make up a formidable 1-2 punch on the mound.  Perry has gone 23-5, while Gay has a 16-1 record.  Perry has struck out 163 and boasts a 2.30 ERA, while Gay has struck out 105 and has a 1.53 ERA.

DePaul – DePaul is headed back to the “Show-Me State” for the NCAA Championship tournament.
Last year, the Blue Demons advanced to the NCAA regional finals before losing to Missouri 1-0 on the Tigers’ home field.  This is the fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance for DePaul and 13th in the last 14 years. They have a 1-0 record against Illinois in NCAA tournament play and are 3-1 against Missouri. They have never played Creighton in the NCAA tournament.

This year the Demons have played a total of 13 tournament teams and gone 10-12 against them.  One of those 10 wins, however, includes a victory over the defending champs Washington Huskies.  They also have a win over 16th seeded Hawaii.

Sam Plese leads a Demon offense that has six players hitting over .300, with a .356 average.  The offense is pretty balanced however, as three hitters have over 30 RBI.  All three lead DePaul in homers as Tara Voss leads the team with nine and Becca Heteniak and Brittney Yniguez have seven each.

As with other teams, the Demons have a solid two pitchers leading their staff.  Heteniak is also a stud on the mound and if she gets hot, it will be tough for teams to beat DePaul.  She leads the team in wins (20), ERA (1.77) and strikeouts (204).  Her partner in crime, Bree Brown, has had a nice coming out party in her freshman year, going for an 16-5 record and 2.43 ERA.  She adds an impressive 186 strikeouts.

Creighton – Creighton makes its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance when it travels to Columbia, Mo., for regional play this weekend.  The Bluejays are making their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight years and the seventh under head coach Brent Vigness.  


Creighton is 23-5 over its last 28 games after starting the season 14-16.  They are 2-8 against NCAA Tournament opponents this year.

Creighton leads the MVC with a school-record 66 home runs this season.  Renae Sinkler has an impressive 24 home runs, which is fourth in the nation and is enjoying the greatest offensive season in Creighton history, as she also owns school-records with 58 runs, 58 RBI and 144 total bases this season.  
The Bluejays are led by a pitcher, Tara Oltman, who has been one of the best pitchers in the nation all four of her years as a starter.  She enters the postseason with school and MVC career records in wins (118), strikeouts (1,076), appearances (185), starts (141), complete games (126) and innings (1,049.2).  She was named the MVC Tournament MVP, going 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA, pitching every inning of the event. Oltman has a 22-12 record, 1.62 ERA and 281 strikeouts on the year.