What we've learned in this week in college football: Week 5

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Miami is an elite team.
There are a lot of knocks you can make on the early-season schedule that the Hurricanes have played. Not the least of those is that they beat an Oklahoma team that was without its top offensive weapon. On top of that, Florida State proved they were overrated by playing three and a half horrid quarters of football in a loss to Boston College. Georgia Tech doesn't look to be as strong as advertised. But even if you look past the fact that the three teams they beat in their first four games haven't quite lived up to billing, you'd still be hard-pressed to find a team that has played a more difficult schedule in the early going. 3-1 against four teams that were ranked at the time you played them should be worth more than a No. 11 ranking. Apparently the pollsters are more impressed with beating up on FCS teams and weak FBS teams.

USC's defense is the real deal.
And just like that, USC ended any shot Jahvid Best had at the Heisman. The Trojans held the vaunted Cal offense to just three points on 286 yards of offense and kept them scoreless for the first three quarters. With that, the USC defense silenced quite a few doubters who thought the team was talented, but too young. Instead, people now have to realize the USC is a team that just reloads with NFL-caliber talent every year. The defense has allowed no more than 15 points in a game all season. But none of the teams the Trojans played have had the kind of clout the Golden Bears possess.

LSU will continue being overrated as long as it keeps winning.
LSU is still ranked No. 4 after their unimpressive 20-13 win over another overrated team in Georgia. The LSU offense still spends most of its time looking lost and without an identity, scoring a mere six points over the first three quarters before a frantic fourth quarter. Jordan Jefferson was sacked five times, bringing his total on the season to a ghastly 13. LSU's offense is ranked just behind Duke with 28.8 points per game and fans can't be feeling good heading into this week's matchup with Florida.

Some pollsters do care that Boise State plays a horribly weak schedule.
When you play in the WAC, you can't afford a weak out of conference schedule and get away with it. But Boise State still scheduled the Championship Subdivision's UC-Davis and beat them in not-so-impressive fashion and it cost them a spot in the polls, dropping them from fifth to sixth. As a whole, teams that the Broncos have played this year have gone 7-16 and four of those wins are owned by Oregon, whom they beat in the first week.

Notre Dame is still one of the most entertaining teams to watch on Saturday.
Still not impressing anyone who does any voting, the Fighting Irish are 4-1, thanks to three straight come-from-behind victories against Michigan State, Purdue and Washington. Certainly not the most impressive resume of wins, but you cannot dismiss the entertainment value. On top of the heroics, the Irish offense has been outstanding, even without Michael Floyd. Jimmy Clausen is the highest rated passer in the country and has one of the highest yard per attempt averages. As a team, the offense is 10th in the nation in total offense. Granted, the defense being 50th in scoring defense helps make games interesting, too. It will be interesting to see how the Irish handle their biggest test of the season in USC after this week's bye. Odds are stacked well against them, but it's surely going to be more fun to watch than the 38-3 affair last year.

The Big Bad Bruins Are Back

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Bruins played the Carolina Hurricanes last night for the first time since the Canes knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Both were coming off disappointing first game losses and looking to rebound.

Right from the drop of the puck the B's came out flying. Just four minutes into the game Marc Savard scooped up a rebound and put it past Cam Ward to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins kept the pressure up and eight minutes later scored again after Zdeno Chara took a shot from the point that Cam Ward kicked out and was put right back in by Michael Ryder making it 2-0 Bruins. It would take just 38 seconds for the Bruins to put in another one as Black Wheeler deflected one past Ward. The play would be reviewed and it showed that the puck did go off Wheeler's skate, but he had not kicked it so the goal stood.

The second period started out just like the first with the Bruins keeping the pressure on, but Carolina also got some of their own pressure. Then with a little less than ten minutes gone in the period Marco Sturm got his first of the year and his first since returning from an injury that kept him out of almost all of last year.

Just two minutes later the Bruins scored again. This time it was Dennis Wideman making it 5-0 and the third pp goal of the game for the B's. With the Bruins in total control they seemed to get off their game a bit and Carolina got their first goal of the game as Scott Walker deflected a shot pat Thomas which was eerily similar to his game winner in last year's Game 7.

That goal seemed to spark the Bruins who once again got the pressure back on Carolina and scored again as Shawn Thornton put a quick one past Michael Leighton who had replaced Cam Ward.

With the game well in hand you knew things were going to get out of hand very soon. Then it happened. With under a minute left in the period Milan Lucic checked Jay Harrison into the boards and Harrison decided he wanted to go with Lucic. It was a great fight with both landing punches, but Lucic landed the better as he opened Harrison up pretty good.

The very next play Andrew Alberts hit Marco Sturm into the boards up a little high, Sturm had sustained head injury last year and Savard took offense to this as he went right over to Alberts and started to throw a few punches although Savard still had his gloves on. Then everyone jumped in and pretty soon there was four guys in each penalty box.

The Bruins would get the final goal of the game as Matt Hunwick got his first of the season making it 7-2. The game had one more scrum as Shawn Thornton fought Andrew Alberts with Thornton getting the best of the punches in.


News and Notes
It was the first time the Bruins had seven different goal scorers in a game since Jan. 18, 2003.

The Bruins had 21 shots in first period which was more than all three periods of the opener, 20 shots.

The Bruins honored longtime broadcaster Fred Cusick, who passed away on September 15th at the age of 90. Cusick was the Bruins' Radio broadcaster from 1952-1970 and TV broadcaster from 1971-1997. During the first media timeout of the second period, the TV booth was dedicated at the "Fred Cusick Broadcast Booth." His trademark “Scoooore!” still gives me chills.


Who's next?
After 2 games in 3 nights the B's don't play until Thursday. The Anaheim Ducks visit the Garden for their only appearance in Boston this season.

Finally! The Dodgers get the job done

Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Maybe I just predicted the Dodgers would win last night because I am a Dodgers fan. Maybe I predicted they would win last night because Joe Torre is their manager and is a proven winner. You know what, it doesn't matter because the Dodgers finally wrapped up the NL West Division as they beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0 on Saturday night. That wasn't the only thing they clinched last night. They also clinched the best record in the National League to secure home field advantage throughout the NL portion of the playoffs. For Joe Torre this is the 14th straight year he's lead a team to the playoffs.

The man who should get most of the credit from last night is Clayton Kershaw. The 21 year old phenom was fantastic. While he didn't earn a decision, he did pitch 6 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits and 10 strikeouts. It's hard to imagine he's only 21 and posted an 8-8 record with a 2.79 ERA this season. Torre will be relying heavily on the young lefthander as they enter the playoffs. It looks like Randy Wolf will take the mound for game 1 and be backed up by Kershaw in game 2. After that, Joe Torre has yet to decide who the 3rd and 4th starters will be. He will have to pick from All Star Chad Billingsley, (my best bet for the 3rd spot), Jon Garland and Vincente Padilla. If I was making the decisions, I'd go with Billingsley and Garland hands down.

How will the recent offensive struggles affect the Dodgers in the playoffs? One has to be a little worried that Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney, Russel Martin and Orlando Hudson have all hit under .200 the last week of the regular season. One could also say they all went into a slump at the same time, and the time off before the playoffs will refresh and refocus the lineup. My guess is the latter will hold true. This lineup is too good, and too deep to not break out of the team wide slump.

You can wait for my prediction later this week!

Week 4 NFL Picks: Bank on Patriots winning

By Dan Shouse

Fan Fanatic Sport Staff

This should be easy. Anybody can pick the winners of NFL games each week, right?

Plus, it's not like I am picking against the point spread, so lets get to it.

Take it to the bank, here are your Week 4 winners in the NFL.

Patriots 21 Ravens 17

You can say I am picking this game with my heart, not my head, but I am not totally sold on the Ravens just yet. Yes they are 3-0, but two of the wins were against the Browns and Chiefs. Hardly what I would call playoff teams. The Ravens' other win came on the road in San Diego, a game the Chargers could have won if not for a couple of Phillip Rivers picks and a questionable call - running the ball with Darren Sproles on 4th-and-1 on the final drive deep in Ravens territory.

This is the week the Patriots look like the Patriots again.

Bears 24 Lions 7

Lions start up a new losing streak. Too bad the Lions can't play the Redskins every week

Bengals 34 Browns 10

If Derek Anderson was not the answer last season, why does Mangini think he will be this yea?Bengals build off last week's last-second win over the Steelers with an easy win this week.

Colts 30 Seahawks 17

Seahawks don't have the weapons to keep up with the Colts in Indy. Manning and the offense continue to produce.

Giants 27 Chiefs 6

Brandon Jacobs left, Brandon Jacobs right, Jacobs up the middle. Expect a big day on the ground for the G-Men again this week against the Chiefs. You won't see any offense from a punchless Chiefs team led by Matt Cassel.

Redskins 6 Bucs 3

Watching the Lifetime Movie Channel will be more entertaining than watching this game. Give the Redskins the win because they are at home.

Titans 20 Jags 14

Titans keep Maurice Jones-Drew in check and pick up their first win.

Texans 44 Raiders 6

How miserable must Richard Seymour be in Oakland? Check out JeMarcus Russell's numbers. They almost make Ryan Leaf look like an Hall of Famer.

Saints 40 Jets 20

The Jets will blitz, but Drew Brees will still have a big day. Jets drop their first game of the year in the Big Easy.

Bills 21 Dolphins 13

The Dolphins 2008 season must feel like a long time ago. T.O. has a big day, and helps keep the Dolphins winless, and the media off his back. For now anyway.

49ers 24 Rams 0

Mike Singletary's defense should have no problem with the Rams. St. Louis was bad enough with Marc Bulger, they will not be any better with Kyle Boller under center.

Cowboys 17 Broncos 14

With Felix Jones out, and Marion Barber banged up, the Cowboys may struggle a bit, but they will still have enough to get past the Broncos.

Chargers 27 Steelers 21

Phillip Rivers and Vincent Jackson have been a pretty good tandem this season. Chargers win on Sunday night, as the defending champs fall to 1-3.

Packers 24 Vikings 23

The Pack ruins things for Favre on Monday Night Football. Last week Favre was the hero. This week he will be the goat, as a late interception leads to the game-winning field goal by Mason Crosby.