THIS
WEEK'S VERSION OF THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN
The
mastermind BYU trio: Head Coach Gary Crowton,
Offensive Coordinator Mike Borich, and Quarterbacks
Coach Robbie Bosco. Some of you may remember Robbie
Bosco from 1984 when he led BYU to its first and
only national championship. Whatever the formula
is here, other programs may want to take note.
Despite losing quarterback Brandon Doman and running
back Luke Staley to the NFL, the Cougars, the
2001 NCAA total offense leaders, had 615 yards
of total offense last night against Syracuse.
The Cougars also lost All-American Candidate Ben
Archibald at the tackle spot due to a season ending
injury. It is firmly believed that this trio of
coaches could find a way to make Nebraska become
a legitimate passing threat.
With
Wake Forest’s loss to Northern Illinois
in an overtime tussle last night in Dekalb, IL.,
the ACC has fallen off the map in the early going
of 2002. After Virginia suffered an opening season
loss to Colorado State last Thursday, the nationally
ranked #4 Seminoles followed suit by escaping
with a narrow victory against unranked Iowa State.
The lack-luster defensive display was enough to
send Florida State reeling with the poll voters
as the Seminoles won but dropped a spot behind
a team that hasn’t even played yet. This
weekend’s games show ACC’s Clemson,
Duke, and Maryland as underdogs and North Carolina
as less than a touchdown home favorite against
MAC opponent Miami of Ohio. If the odds-makers
prove correct, a few bowl games may want to consider
renegotiating a few of those 4th and 5th place
conference tie-ins.
Syracuse
Sun Dial – Last season the Orangemen looked
quite stellar while closing out the season with
a sound thrashing of Kansas State in the Insight.com
Bowl. 14 starting position losses later, the team
from upstate New York looks to be in for a really
long season.
This
week's best cross-sectional match-up belongs to
Mississippi State at Oregon. The Ducks are at
home and will do battle with more than the Bulldogs.
The nation is curious to see Joey Harrington’s
replacement, Jason Fife. The South is curious
to see if MSU still resembles last year’s
3-8 team. Tied for first is the Washington/Michigan
battle in the Big House. The ESPN GameDay crew
will be in attendance. Gosh, it’s good to
hear that GameDay music Saturday morning.
Oklahoma
Defense – Much hype has been made about
this 2002 Sooner defense. NationalChamps.net has
opened a new line for the Tulsa over/under, which
is set at 3 points. If the Golden Hurricane can
score more than a FG then we lose.
The Tappa Kegga Civil Awards – You may want
to make sure you have a refrigerator full of mind
numbing liquids for this weekends worst intra-state
match ups. A board game of Scrabble or Rockem
Sockem Robots may seem more interesting:
- Eastern Michigan at Michigan State:
Last year’s 2-9 season for the EMU Eagles
is sure to be put to the test. Dare we say 1-11?
- Southern Univ. at Tulane:
We had to add the Univ. to the end of Southern’s
name just in case you didn’t know it was
a typo.
- Florida A&M at Miami FL:
This one is so hot that it’s not even on
the board. Las Vegas lists the game as N/L (No
Line), which here really stands for Nothing Like
It. This game is part of your ESPN GameDay package
simply due to the fact Hurricane fans need to
know just how good this brand new secondary is
for the defending national champions. Don’t
leave your recliner to get chips and soda in the
first quarter or you might miss watching them
play!
- North Texas at Texas: A DirecTV
5-star PPV game. Get your $30 out now while supplies
last.
- Northern Arizona at Arizona:
No comment. I need to digress…
HAVE
AN ENJOYABLE LABOR DAY WEEKEND EVERYONE!
Editor’s
Notes - Media Scope
Here
is a new type of coverage for us here at NationalChamps.net.
Each week of the 2002 College Football season
I will try and shed some light, both good and
bad, on the media coverage itself. It is unfortunate,
especially for me, but I can watch only one TV
at a time since I can only afford what this job
provides for me – one TV at a time. This
means that I will try to cover as much as possible
with my one-man set-up (no satellite dish or digital
cable). Many of you will see more and/or different
coverage, depending upon where you live. Therefore,
I will try to make my insights, observations,
and critiques from the every-man perspective rather
than from a media-centric one that I just don’t
have. I wish we could all be at every game…but
since that’s impossible, the next best thing
is to make sure the televised games are optimally
covered. This e-column will let them know that
we know better - that is, we know better coverage
from the crappy coverage that sometimes infiltrates
the airwaves. Let us know what you think: e-mail
us or post you ideas on our message board.
Week 1 –
Thursday August 29, 2002 – ESPN at 7:30pm
Syracuse vs. BYU in Provo, Utah
Coverage Team: Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and
Mike Tirico
This
game went off well paced and produced. A few major
production glitches toward the end didn’t
make this broadcast a failure by any means. The
announcing team worked well together, with youngster
Kirk Herbstreit adding extra depth and dimension
to seemingly flat sequences. The boys accurately
showed the parity in BYU’s first drive,
revealing how seven receivers were thrown to and
three back utilized in the opening Cougar scoring
drive. This well-identified, multi-pronged attack
eventually was responsible for over 500 yards
of offense. Also sharp was a point made during
an unsportsman-like conduct penalty called on
senior DT Jeff Cowart in the third quarter. Herbstreit
fairly commented on how unfairly this was being
applied. After a sack, Cowart pumped his fist
on his chest rather benignly. Herbstreit pointed
out how the officials this year would be cracking
down on extra-curricular celebrations to try and
curb a growing trend at the college level. He
didn’t question the validity of the call
as it happened in this game. But he made sure
to outline how teams like FSU, Miami and other
perennial TOP 25 programs also need to be held
to this same ultra-sensitive standard of conduct
the big boys rarely follow. The CBs for Syracuse
played off the line too often in the first half,
often getting beat for first downs constantly
– a fact we all knew thanks to these guys.
They also noted how much more success Syracuse
had once they tightened up in the second half.
And ultimately the announcers prompted us to how
crossing routes employed by BYU then succeeded
against the tighter corner play of the Orangemen.
Missed information graphics were verbally presented
and embellished, so nothing was lost. The booth-team
gets a B+.
As
good as the chatter was, the production truck
and ESPN home crew fared worse to get a C- for
inexcusable mistakes.
Behind-the-camera personnel were late coming back
from commercial breaks twice(!) late in the game.
With 3:37 left in the fourth quarter, ESPN rejoined
coverage from commercial in the middle of a third
and 10 play; then they did it again during a play
just 30 seconds later, which consequently was
a TO that the viewers only got to see at the ending
of the play, after the TO occurred. Luckily, the
game was decided by then, so really, no harm,
no foul here. This was accentuated by truck’s
failure to have any quality replay of the second
quarter botch/faked punt. When the announcers
pointed out the punter’s completed pass
was up-ended by a penalty for having too many
men downfield, there was no attempt to provide
the viewers a decent black-board type breakdown
with a replay for reference. A big special team’s
gainer came back with no visual embellishment
for us viewers..ouch in today’s world of
technology. One bright spot was the good visual
provided to show BYU’s second quarter run
for an apparent TD. The sneak into the end-zone
seemed to be six points on replay. But officials
called the ball out on the one yard line…
is this the year the NCAA needs replay, too? Hopefully,
production ends will shape up and we can look
forward to Thursday night coverage as much as
Saturday’s.
ESPN2 at 10pm
San Diego State vs. Fresno State in Fresno, Ca.
Coverage Team: Chris Marlowe and John Cooper
Even with the flurry of scoring at the end, this
game wasn’t worth watching from a football
respect, sorry to say. The coverage team and production
crew did an adequate job with no major glitches,
except for the game itself. There were too many
bad plays that the announcers tried to make seem
not-so-bad. Dropped passes, passes hitting umpteen
players in the back/butt/head, and missed INTs
made even the passing game boring and unwatchable.
If Fresno has this much trouble with San Diego
State, CSU and Utah should have field days versus
the Bulldogs. If you enjoyed watching this game,
this is hopefully as bad as it will get, so maybe
your chin is up when you realize competitive MWC
play begins soon…..please, soon! Give the
whole team a B- for above average coverage of
a below average level of football.
Not even the setting sun could make this broadcast
worth watching. Kudos for trying to give us two
games on an August Thursday, but even ESPN should
know how to keep us wanting rather than force
a boring watching experience this early into the
season. Isn’t that why we have professional
baseball? And without baseball, don’t games
such as this define just how boring broadcast
sports can become without us tuning out? More
College Football is good, don’t get me wrong.
This was just an unlucky choice so early in the
year. When it’s good, it’s good, but
when it’s this boring, bad football should
be tuned out. Click.
AWARDS
FROM THE OPENING CLASSICS
BEST
TEAM PERFOMANCE: Ohio State
Ranked #13 in the AP Poll, the Buckeyes lived
up to their role this past Saturday in a home
rout of Texas Tech. The running game was superb,
the passing and patience of quarterback Craig
Krenzel (11-14 for 118 yards) was a pleasant sight,
the defensive back coverage against one of the
nation's premier passing schemes did exceptionally
well early on in the ball game, and the run defense
dominated statistically. Never to be considered
overachievers in the rushing department, the Red
Raiders played the part by rushing for 31 yards
on 20 carries. Ohio State looks primed - the patience
and poise of starting QB Krenzel could prove to
be a difference between good and great. And there
is much rejoicing in Columbus.
BEST
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE: Maurice Clarett
With so few games this opening preseason classic
weekend, the Buckeyes make a clean sweep in the
NationalChamps.net team/player awards. We talked
about freshman Maurice Clarett last week in our
EDGE Breakdown segment. In his first game as a
collegiate athlete, straight out of high school
as the 'Mr. Ohio Football Award winner', the 230-pound
tailback worked his way for 175 yards rushing
and three touchdowns on the evening. Some credit
gets handed to the offensive line as the Buckeyes
rolled up 317 yards on the ground. People in Ohio
know their football, they knew who Maurice Clarett
was at this time last season, and just in case
they didn't know yet, they definitely know now.
Early in the third quarter, after his 45-yard
scamper for a touchdown, the attending crowd of
100,037 started a chant that Buckeye opponents
are going to become familiar with: "Mau-rice!
Mau-rice!"
BEST
GAME TO WATCH: Florida State vs. Iowa State
If any of you turned this one off late in the
second quarter after Florida State took a commanding
31-7 lead, you blew it. The gritty play of Iowa
State and the superb running/passing skills of
Seneca Wallace were worth every watching moment.
The Cyclones battled back for a chance to tie
the game with just :04 seconds left and the ball
in Seneca Wallace's hand - the score tells the
rest. But the #3 ranked Seminoles were lucky to
crawl out of this one alive. If there was a comeback
award given out at the end of the season, this
game would be your first nomination. Coming in
a close second was the game not many fans got
to see across the nation. The Thursday night season-opener
came down to the next to last play of the game,
when Virginia quarterback Marques Hagan fumbled
the ball away at the half yard line with ten seconds
left.
BEST
SURPISE: Fresno State QB Jeff Grady
The junior quarterback, who replaced David Carr
-the top pick in the NFL draft, completed 21 of
his 42 passes for 262 yards in Wisconsin on Friday
night at Camp Randall. Grady injured his hip just
before halftime and coaches were forced to abandon
play-action calls. "He was very immobile,"
Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill said. "He
had a gutty performance. He played on one leg."
What also should be mentioned is that the inexperienced
quarterback had to do without the services of
his well know wide receiver, Bernard Berrian,
who went down early with a knee injury. Fresno
State coaches may want to consider fine-tuning
the running game, as the Bulldogs hampered Grady's
cause with a paltry 34 yards on 19 carries. Ugh!
And the Wisconsin defensive front lost every single
starter from last year with the exception of one
man. The Bulldog scouting report on Wisconsin
was either ignored or incorrect.
OXMORON
OF THE WEEK: Florida State defense
|
SIXX
THOUGHTS
The
More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Eight months ago we were sure of one thing –
Nebraska’s program was quickly going downhill.
And after this first weekend, things really have
not changed. So, has Florida State’s defense
improved, as it is supposed to have during the
off-season? Hmmm.
Memorial
Stadium, 7:45
The
debut of Nebraska's new field general, Jammal
Lord, arrived with much anticipation. Although
he did what was expected, I could not help but
notice how unimproved the rest of Nebraska seems.
Not only did the offense still look unimaginative,
but the execution was shaky as well. Even though
48% of the offense is now catching balls for the
St. Louis Rams, it still is no excuse for the
lack-luster performance from Nebraska’s
OL and All-Big 12 running back Dahrran Diedrick
in the first half.
Defensively the Huskers did have some shining
moments, and they have at least three difference-makers
(Dejuan Groce, Demorrio Williams, and Chris Kelsay)
in each of their respective units. Still, how
much stock do we put in their 10-point defensive
performance? Remember - they were playing a very
young, below average Pac-10 team, but give them
credit. Many folks thought maybe this ASU offense
was going to go into Memorial Stadium and make
the Cornhuskers look silly for the first 30 minutes.
But in a bizarre twist of events, it was the Arizona
State defense that seemed strong in giving up
only 10 first half points. Unfortunately for the
Sun Devils, their own mistakes were their undoing
in a strong performance from the Nebraska special
teams. Before you knew it the floodgates were
open and the Huskers rolled to what was overall
an unimpressive 38-point victory by the #8 team
in the country.
Arrowhead Stadium, 8:30
Bobby's
boys came out lock, stock, and barrel, with guns-a-blazing.
They were ready to let everyone know that this
team was not only determined to prove last year's
problems were solved, but that this team is legitimately
back to its old mid 90's form. That is, until
we saw second-quarter cracks in the Nole’s
armor. Before you knew it, the invincible Seminoles
were not looking so unstoppable. In fact, the
Cyclones' second half momentum was turning this
season-opening classic into exactly that, a Classic!
So much so that the blow-out predicted by FSU's
Chris Rix was turning into football's version
of ‘Rocky’. Fortunately for FSU, Anquan
Boldin's big-play-ability is back, and it was
the difference in a 31-yard touchdown strike.
That score gave Florida State a much-needed 14-point
cushion that would end up being just enough to
hold back the Balboa-like Cyclones.
So
what are we supposed to think as fans after watching
what could easily end up being one of the better
games of the year? FSU's defense did not improve,
like most thought it would, and this problem is
starting to look like a lack of talent rather
than just a lack of experience. Again, FSU’s
DL failed to apply consistent pressure on the
QB. The defensive backs struggled to cover an
average group of WRs. Anyone who thought this
Nole team was National Championship material might
want to reconsider that opinion. As for those
who are ready to bury Bobby's boys - I'd be cautious
of gloom and doom predictions. This team has obviously
shown some improvement in its offense (a sturdier
Greg Jones, a healthy Anquan Boldin, and a more
efficient Chris Rix). These factors/players should
help this offense be more consistent than last
year. Pessimistic Nole fans have no worries, mate.
Even if the defense fails to improve as the year
wears on, this team is still on track to be BCS-bowl
bound. Expect the Noles to be that much harder
to beat now that they have felt a little humility.
Sixx
Thoughts
I
don’t have an AP vote myself, but if any
voter is reading this, I strongly suggest giving
Iowa State a Top 25 ranking, even at 0-1. I know
they lost and an "L" will be in their
result column. But it’s not hard to realize
the 2002 Cyclones are not only a good football
team, but better than at least five or six teams
that are grossly overrated, yet in many preseason
Top 25 polls.
1.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that
not much will change this 2002 college football
season -
I predict that Chris Simms will not improve or
even be close to becoming Heisman-material. I
don't care how big or strong his arm is. But he
is a good QB and that is the best compliment he
will ever get from me.
The
same goes for Carson Palmer, who has been living
off of high school hype as well for his five-year
stay at USC. And don’t expect Oklahoma's
offense to be much improved, as most think. They’re
as vulnerable to a loss as they were last year.
2.
Don't expect Florida to fall off the face of the
earth. In fact, bet that they will find themselves
in the top 5 sometime before this season is over.
3.
When you turn your tube on to the Michigan/Washington
game this weekend, don't be surprised if you see
yet again a team being out played, but still finding
a way to win
4.
I know it was just Arkansas State, but that game
was just more proof that Ronyell Whitaker is probably
the third best defensive back at Virginia Tech.
5.
It's still a few weeks away, but if Marshall's
Byron Leftwich can win at Virginia Tech, I will
proclaim him the nation's best QB. Ken Dorsey
and Rex Grossman can take a back seat.
SIXX.
There has been lots of talk about who is over-rated
and who is under-rated. The reality is the polls
are pretty much right. The problem comes when
comparing a #2 team is to a #5 team. To make things
easier, let me break it down simply: Teams #1,
#2, and maybe #3 (Texas) are presently head and
shoulders above teams from #4 to #12 - there really
is not that much difference between #4 and #12!
Hopefully, this clears up any confusion about
the rankings and the (il)logic they pose.
|