Florida coach is a bully

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Florida football coach Urban Meyer needs to be cut down to size. Or cut-blocked, in football terms.

The hot-headed Mr.-Know-It-All coach verbally assaulted a member of the media and actually threatened him while at spring practice.

Apparently, Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy Fowler wrote an article, quoting Florida WR Deonte Thompson who called QB John Brantley a "real quarterback."

I guess it was a shot at former Florida QB Tim Tebow (who I still think is going to be a bust at quarterback in the NFL -- keep reading Fan Fanatic Sports for more opinion on Tebow as the NFL Draft approaches in late April). Remember, Tebow and Meyer had a father-son relationship during Tebow's career with the Gators.

I guess Thompson really didn't take a shot at Tebow, but instead meant that Brantley is more of a prototypical QB that Tebow.

But the written word can be interpreted in so many different ways.

Whatever.

The journalist was doing his job, however. He quoted an athlete. It's not his fault that people that read his article thought Thompson was attacking Tebow.

So for Meyer to confront the reporter on the sideline and try to intimidate him and make his look like a fool in front of everyone, sort of gives you a sneak peek into Meyer's character.

Meyer obviously used his power as the king gator to try to minimize and bully the reporter.

Obviously, Fowler did nothing wrong. He wrote what was said. Yes, he did his job. It's not his fault that people read things different ways.

What really bothers me is that Meyer lashed out and told Fowler, "If that was my son, we'd be going at it right now."

Now that's a threat and totally uncalled for.

But wait. Everything's OK now, Meyer later requested a meeting with Fowler and I guess Fowler said everything is fine between the two now.

Reporter's view: Say everything is fine, considering you have to cover Meyer's team all season and need access to the coach and players throughout the season in order to do your job.

Yes, Meyer flew off the handle. I get it, he was sticking up for his player.

But he went about it the wrong way. He tried to bully a reporter, threaten him mind you.

It's totally uncalled for.

I've never been a fan of Meyer before -- he's always rubbed me the wrong way -- and you can bet he's lost more fans -- maybe not in brainwashed Gatorland -- in the country.

It would be real nice to see Meyer got on ESPN and say sorry to Fowler on national television. But I'm willing to bet that won't happen.

Like most coaches, they like positive press but scurry or try to sweep things under the rug when it's negative.

No hiding from this Urban, what you did was classless, uncalled for and it makes me sick.

Time to lower standards? No way

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's been said many times over the past few years.

"Notre Dame should lower its expectations."

It's a notion that has gained steam and has reached its pinnacle given the recent struggles of the Irish. We could go through all of the trials and tribulations over the last couple of decades, but they have been pretty well documented. In a nutshell, Notre Dame is 91-66 since Lou Holtz retired. The Irish had lost nine-straight bowl games before winning the Hawaii Bowl after last year's 6-6 regular-season finish. 2007 was the worst year in Notre Dame football history. Etc, etc, etc.

Now another chapter in the story of Notre Dame football appears to be very close to the end. Going into the 2009 season, a veteran team with a vaunted offense and a reasonable schedule was expected by many Irish fans and outsiders alike to be a major part of the BCS conversation. In fact, the general consensus was that nothing short of a BCS berth would save Charlie Weis' job. And even after a heart-wrenching loss to USC, Notre Dame still looked pretty good in that regard. But after getting out-played in back-to-back weeks by Navy and Pittsburgh, it looks as if the ride only has three more stops before Weis gets off.l

After a third-straight disappointing season, the echoes that once seemed to have been awoken have been drowned out by that chant once again: "Notre Dame should lower its standards."

The basic premise of the argument is that the landscape of college football and the sociology of America itself has changed in such a way that Notre Dame can never regain the prominence and dominance it once had over the sport and that based on this, the university and its fans should not expect so much out of its program.

The argument used to be that Notre Dame should lower its academic standards in order to attract a larger number of top-notch prospects. Now the argument has turned to Notre Dame should just give up on being a premier program.

There's only one way to describe this line of thinking, whether you are a fan or the biggest Notre Dame hater on the planet. That kind of talk is excrement from a bovine that happens to be male. Forget politics, forget sociology, forget the landscape of modern college football. Any program, regardless of size, success (both recent and historical), or affluence is striving towards the same goal - excellence. If you are in charge of a sports team and you are not, you don't deserve to keep your job.

You can hate the attention that the Fighting Irish get from the press. You can hate their exclusive contract with NBC. You can hate Lou Holtz and his senile, lisp-ridden ramblings. You can hate the (false) perception that Notre Dame gets preferential treatment by the BCS. You can hate the fact that they remain an independent. Don't hate Notre Dame for continuing to want to be the best and don't blame them for continuing to try. That's the business they are in.

Red's Rants: Auburn has its man...let's be colorblind and let it go, please

By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Tuned into Outside the Lines yesterday afternoon to find a segment that was particularly frustrating to watch.

Let's be honest, ever since the show went to a daily afternoon slot, they've been stretched thin for ideas. That's why you see them doing features on Bobby Reid transferring, why Rick Barry can't get a job, and the guy Danny Almonte struck out for his perfect game "getting redemption" (huh?). But this one struck a nerve with me a little bit, and not just because Paul Finebaum (Luv Ya Blue!) was a panelist in its ensuing roundtable discussion.

OK, so last December, Auburn University forced Tommy Tuberville outta the head post after a turbulent season. They had the choice of hiring Turner Gill, a guy with an excellent track record as an assistant at Nebraska and who turned Buffalo from a Division 1 afterthought to a MAC champion; or Gene Chizik, who had back-to-back undefeated teams as defensive coordinator (Auburn 2004, national champ Texas 2005) but went just 5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State -- an admittedly tough place to win.

Auburn went with the latter, sparking national outrage about potential racial undertones. Gill had been denied a year earlier at his alma mater, Nebraska, over Bo Pelini, who is 15-5 midway through his second season at the helm and has put fear back in the famed "Blackshirts" defense. Charles Barkley at the time called the school racist, and in this segment the Buffalo athletic director thinks Gill was screwed. ESPN's Mark Schlabach at the time went on air and suggest -- through his head coach sources, of course -- that Gill was not hired because he's married to a white woman.

(OK, call me a hypocrite if you must...I contributed research to a Bob Hohler report in the Globe back in 2006 on minority coaching hires in college football. I'm just calling this how I see it)

I understood the hire -- there's no question Gill could do a great job, but they went with the safety -- but at the same time questioned it. Would his familarity with the south in recruiting help him pull together a strong enough recruiting class in just two months? He's went out and proven us wrong, putting together a Top 20 class on signing day and sparking the Tigers off to a 5-0 start.

Could Gill have done the same? Sure. But that's not the point of this column.

Why, ten months later, are we still pointing fingers and playing the race card? Why, Mr. Finebaum, are you suggesting looking into Nebraska's "racist" hire? Why is race still an issue here?

Or how bout Kevin Blackistone suggesting that the track records of DeWayne Walker (1-4 at NM St.) and Mike Locksley (2-3 at New Mexico) will work against future minority candidates? That's the most racist crap I've ever heard. Sorry Mr. Gill, New Mexico State sucked this year, so we don't think you're the right fit at Notre Dame.

I don't get it.

I'm sorry, I thought in this age of Obama we were supposed to be colorblind in our discussion of race. And by colorblind, I don't mean "bitterly play the race card after somebody loses out on a tough call". What if Ray Lewis played the race card after all the questionable calls the Ravens got in their loss Sunday? Would we be lauding him for his "boldness", or lambasting him? Something tells me the latter.

Let's all do ourselves a favor and put this one to rest, before it gets REAL ugly.

***

So this is the "Blackshirt" defense Pelini was brought in to revive. Have you ever seen such a quick twist of fate than the Huskers' 27-point fourth quarter rally? And how about Ndamukong Suh for top five NFL Draft pick next spring?

On Suh...the ESPN announcers pronounced him as "Mr. Suh" a handful of times last night. Get it right, people, it's N-D-A-M-U-K-O-N-G. Duh.

***

Baylor over Oklahoma this week. Period.

What we learned this week in college football

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Week 4 of the college football season is in the books and here's the lessons we learned.

Ole Miss was, indeed, overrated.
Most of this has been covered already, but just to reiterate the point, No. 4 Ole Miss lost to an unranked South Carolina team in embarassing fashion. Remember that until Jevan Snead threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass, the Gamecocks had dominated for three quarters. Had USC been able to capitalize on three red zone trips with touchdowns instead of field goals, this one could have been a lot uglier.

Penn State is not a championship calliber team.
Year after year Penn State plays one of the softest schedules in college football and is considered a terrific football team bound for BCS glory. Then they lose one of their perceived cupcake games and it all unravels. This year is no different. For the second straight year, Iowa may have disrupted Penn State's hopes for a championship. Any team that can apply decent pressure will be able to disrupt the Nitany Lions' spread offense and Iowa exploited that flaw.

There is life after LaGarrett Blount for Oregon afterall.
The Oregon offense lost what was perceived to be its best player in its opening day loss to Boise State, but the Ducks have gone 3-1 without him, including putting up 42 points against sixth-ranked California. While scoring on Cal shouldn't be all that surprising, holding the Golden Bears to three points is. Jahvid Best was held in check after scoring five touchdowns a week ago. Looks like the Pac-10 just might be a three-team race.

Tim Tebow is not God.
Contrary to what the media might like to tell you, Tim Tebow is not the second coming. Tebow was knocked out of Saturday's blowout win at Kentucky with a concussion and is uncertain for next week's game against LSU. For many, it would only be sweet justice that the team touted as the best in the land for beating up on the likes of Troy and Charleston Southern would be without its best player for its first game against a real opponent.

Notre Dame isn't a Top-25 team, but it sure is fun to watch.
Love them or hate them, the Irish have been party to some of the most entertaining games in college football this year. Saturday night's 24-21 win over Purdue marks the third straight time a Notre Dame game was decided within the last minute. This time, a hobbled Jimmy Clausen, who didn't play pretty much the entire second half, came in with his team down and led them on a 13-play, 72-yard drive to take the lead with 24.8 seconds remaining.

The ACC is way to close to even venture a guess at a champion.
Florida State can't decide whether or not they're a good team. Miami proved they're vulnerable. Despite this week's big win, Virginia Tech still has major question marks. Georgia Tech is back in the Top-25, but has lacked consistency. The only thing for certain in this conference is there's a lot of uncertainty. One thing to note is that all the teams in this discussion are in the Coastal Division. Boston College and Clemson lead the Atlantic at this point and neither can be considered a team to beat. Both already have one conference loss. Clemson lost to Georgia Tech by a field goal, but then topped Boston College, holding the Eagles to 49 total yards. Boston College came off of that loss and beat Wake Forest in overtime, but gave up 500 yards in the process.

Ole Miss proves what we all knew all along

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It was the worst-kept secret in football, but the Rebels were bound and determined to try to keep fooling everyone.

But the truth finally came out. Mississippi is a fraud.

Based solely on the promise of talent and two wins over hapless teams, the Rebels were never ranked lower than eighth in the AP poll and anyone outside the state was wondering how it could be.

Now Ole Miss has been exposed. Some will claim that South Carolina is an up-and-coming team in the SEC and still others will say that any team in the SEC has to be considered dangerous. Neither of which are actually true.

USC did give Georgia all they could handle and beat Mississippi, but also had a great deal of trouble with North Carolina State in an ugly 7-3 game and Florida Atlantic even had them nervous.

Ole Miss, and specifically quarterback Jevan Snead, is overrated. In fact, some of Snead's worst games in his career have come against teams that were considered extreme underdogs.

Bottom line is this - with a game on the line and a chance to win, good teams find a way. Ole Miss did not. After scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter to even make it a game, the Rebs were unable to capitalize on two more possessions in the final frame and squandered them. They looked most inept on their final drive, where an illegal substitution of all things was the final nail in the coffin, eliminating any real shot at a first down to prolong the drive with 1:22 remaining.

Great teams don't make those mistakes when the game is in the balance. And with that, Ole Miss proved it is not a great team.

What to watch for this week in college football

Two weeks into the college football season and the drama is already building. A pair of true freshmen quarterbacks played the hero last week for their respective teams as USC survived an ugly showing against Ohio State with a last-minute drive led by Matt Barkley, while Michigan knocked Notre Dame out of the Top-25 and jumped in with a touchdown pass from Tate Forcier with 11 seconds remaining. Houston out-gunned Oklahoma State, 45-35. North Carolina got help from Connecticut, winning a 12-10 decision, thanks to a holding call on the Huskies in their own end zone.

So what are the things to look for as we head into Week 3 action tomorrow night?


Miami defense vs. Georgia Tech
Miami's offense will put up points if it gets the football, so the question is how often will they get it. Miami has two ailing starters in their defensive backfield that aren't expected to play, but if there's ever a time for that, this is it. Georgia Tech likely won't pass nearly enough to make that a big factor. The Yellow Jackets have averaged just under 50 rushes per game this season, ranking them ninth in that category. Miami was a middle of the road team in terms of stopping the run last year, but were also playing a boatload of young players. The defense, which has returned eight of those players from last year, held Florida state to 3.7 yards per carry. If Georgia Tech finds holes, works the clock and keeps the ball out of Jacory Harris' hands, they should be fine. However, if the offense fails to do so, the Hurricanes' explosive offense could exploit a defense that is vulnerable to the big play. Three of the five touchdowns GT has allowed this season have been for 20 yards or more.

Matt Barkley's status
After his late-game heroics against Ohio State, Barkley could likely be headed for the sidelines. Barkley suffered a bone bruise in his shoulder and as a result, Aaron Corp has been working with the first-team offense. Corp lost his starting job to Barkley, thanks to an injury of his own during the preseason, but has been dubbed "95 percent healthy." While Corp is a more than capable quarterback, who should handle Washington easily, don't expect a quarterback controversy to start brewing unless Barkley missed another week (unlikely) and even then, he's probably still the better option going into a game that could decide the Pac-10 vs. Cal in Week 5.

Michigan State secondary vs. Notre Dame receivers
Michigan State is certainly not looking incredibly strong in the secondary this season. After a solid game, which you would expect against Montana State, the Spartans gave up 352 yards and three touchdowns through the air as Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour posted a 104.3 passer rating. Notre Dame has a much more talented group. Jimmy Clausen has made it a habit of vicitmizing weak secondaries and so far has passed for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, while not getting picked off once for a passer rating of 196.31. Michael Floyd, who suffered a gash on his knee after landing on the track beyond the end zone at Michigan last week, will be back and at full speed. Notre Dame needs to win this week if it wants any shot at returning to the Top-25.

Fresno State offense vs. Boise State defense
Fresno State has had pretty much as balanced an attack as you could possibly have this season, averaging 255.5 yards through the air and 244.5 yards on the ground. Granted, those numbers have been put up against UC-Davis and Wisconsin, but they're still pretty impressive numbers. On the other side, the Broncos have looked pretty incredible, stopping one of the Pac-10's best runners for negative yardage in their season opener, then holding Miami of Ohio to just 1.5 yards on the ground. Oh, they're not giving up much through the air, either. This is by far the toughest test of the season for the Bulldogs and if they can't do anything against the Boise State defense, you can pretty much guarantee the Broncos the WAC championship and a spot at a BCS bowl.

Urban Meyer vs. Lane Kiffin
There really is no contest here as Meyer has proven himself to be one of - if not THE - the most talented coaches in college football and he's got far more firepower than Kiffin. Tennessee has a whole host of problems, not the least of which is the offense averaged just a mere three yards per play against UCLA. More interesting than anything will be the way the media plays this up after an offseason that included Kiffin accusing Meyer of shady recruiting practices.

Sam Bradford's recovery
Not much has been said this week about his status - in fact, nothing has been said at all - but Oklahoma is almost definitely going to sit Bradford again this week. The Sooners probably feel more comfortable about that decision after Landry Jones tossed three touchdowns against Idaho State last week. Week 4 is a bye, so it only makes sence to give Bradford more time to recover before taking on Miami, which could be a crucial game when it comes down to Oklahoma's hopes for a BCS game. As of Saturday, Bradford said he could not throw without pain in his shoulder, though he could throw if he wanted to.

Can the Big East prove it's more than just a basketball conference?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(Note: As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the WAC and the Big East. This week I tackle the Big East in the last preview of this segment. If you haven't already, check out the past previews.)

It's a conference that has been craving legitimacy for, oh, going on five years?

Since its two best programs decided to jump ship, followed a year later by Boston College, the Big East has been toiling in mediocrity. Could this be the season the Big East steps it up and proves they can be heavy hitters in college football? Not likely, as there doesn't even appear to be anything that could be considered a dominant team.

West Virginia has to be considered the favorite this season, even with the loss of quarterback Pat White. What was a very young defense last year is a year more experienced. For most it's a cliche, but for the Mountaineers, you have to consider the 2008 experience to be some of the best you can have. The defense gave up just 17 points a game, which ranked 11th in the nation. The problem for West Virginia is even with Pat White, the offense was still 73rd in the nation in scoring offense and now must do so with Jarrett Brown, a senior quarterback who has thrown 110 passes in his career and no offensive line in front of him. Behind him is Noel Devine, who brings experience to the backfield, but again, with a weak line in front of him, you have to wonder how far this offense can go.

Pittsburgh is looking to turn a corner this season, but they just might take a step back. 2008 was a major improvement, but the main reason for that success (LeSean McCoy) is now getting ready to suit up on Sundays. Without anything resembling a running back they can lean on this season Brian Stull will have to vastly improve his passing and cut way down on mistakes. The strength on this team, like West Virginia, lies in the defense. While not outstanding, the defense was more than solid and the defensive line figures to be very talented at getting to the quarterback.

South Florida could be the team to watch in the conference. Matt Grothe has turned into probably the best quarterback in the conference and he has a plethora of options to throw to. But the offense around him needs to help out, especially in the backfield. I'm always wary of teams whose quarterbacks are their leading rushers. Mike Ford has to step up and provide another look for the offense or this team runs the serious risk of getting its quarterback killed. If that happens, say goodnight.

Do NOT expect Cincinnati to repeat its success from last season, which included the Big East championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl. This is not the same team. Quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Marshawn Gilyard figure to be a standouts and the offense should once again be solid. The defense, however, is a problem. The Bearcats have to replace all but two of its starters from last year and are switching formations to the 3-4 to accommodate their talent. It's never god when a team has to alter its game plan to make up for the fact it didn't recruit well enough to make its system work.

Connecticut is another team you should expect to fall off the table. Calling themselves the fastest rising programs in college football history, the Huskies are in line for a rude awakening this year. Donald Brown was this team's entire offense and he is long gone. Even with college football's leading rusher, UConn ranked 65th in scoring offense and 63rd in total offensive yards. That doesn't speak volumes for the passing game. They only threw five touchdown passes all season last year. Defense will be the name of the game for the Huskies, who ranked in the top-25 in both yards allowed (6th) and points allowed (22). But even that unit doesn't figure to be as good with the loss of guys like Darius Butler and Cody Brown.

Prediction: West Virginia is the only team in the conference with nine wins and takes the conference title.

Projected Big East Standings
1. West Virginia
2. South Florida
3. Pittsburgh
4. Rutgers
5. Cincinnati
6. Connecticut
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse

Notre Dame's schedule: Built for success or set up for failure?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

There are officially 31 days remaining until Notre Dame football kicks off and only a few days until two-a-days start. Along with that comes more and more buzz surrounding the Fighting Irish. Will this team finally realize its full potential? Will Charlie Weis be able to hold his job? Is a BCS bowl a legitimate possibility for the Irish?

For all the talk of how soft the schedule is, there are quite a few teams that will provide serious challenges for the Irish. While actual preseason polls by the AP and USA Today don't come out a little while yet, some have already gone ahead and made their own and it's interesting to note some of the tough matchups found on this "easy" schedule:

According to CollegeFootballPoll.com, which uses strictly computer-generated projections, Notre Dame has three Top-25 teams on its schedule: USC at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 7 and Pittsburgh at No. 12. It also has both Michigan State and USC going undefeated, so take this as you would any computer ranking, with a grain of salt. Still, many times computers have the advantage of not overthinking things and this particular computer module has been pretty accurate.

At any rate, if you put any stock in these rankings, Notre Dame (ranked 45th by the computer, by the way), faces a total of five teams in college football's Top-50 and seven in the top half, giving them a strength of schedule that ranks 38th. On top of MSU, USC and Pitt, Nevada ranks 33rd, while Boston College ranks 41st. Connecticut comes in at 55, while Stanford ranks 60th.

Outside of these teams, the competition does drop off. But then again, Florida plays Florida International and Missisippi State. Washington, Washington State and Purdue all are all but sure to be wins and while they might be a tad underrated, Notre Dame has dominated Navy with the exception of 2007. So let's just assume (yeah, we all know what that does) that these are four wins in the books. Despite the fact Michigan is ranked 77th, you can't consider any game played at the Big House a definite win, so they don't fall into this category. That leaves the Irish with eight potentially "lose-able" games. Let's take a look at each matchup and what Notre Dame needs to do to win.

USC
Even without Mark Sanchez, the USC offense will be fully charged and ready to give the Notre Dame defense all it can handle. Nine returners, including the entire offensive line will make it a long day for the Notre Dame front seven. The only shot Notre Dame really has in this game is to take advantage of a young USC secondary. The problem with that lies in the fact that though they're young, the Tojans are exceptionally talented on defense. Weis will need to do some serious coaching to try and get Tate and Floyd out on an island in the passing game. Still, it probably won't be enough.

Michigan State
Javon Ringer won't torch the Blue And Gold for 200 yards this year and it's hard to tell exactly what the identity of the offense is going to be this season, making this a very difficult game to break down so early. The key may lie in an improved Spartans' defense. They did not do an excellent job at getting at the quarterback last year and if the Notre Dame offensive line can give Clausen time, it could very well spell victory for the Irish

Pittsburgh
Last year's classic 4OT game was a heartbreaker for the Irish and pretty much the epitome of their season. This year the biggest factor in this game could be turnovers. With LeSean McCoy gone, the Panthers will have to rely on Bill Stull, a quarterback with a career 11-10 TD-INT ratio. Notre Dame did not do much in the way of forcing turnovers last year, but if they are able to put pressure on Stull and force some mistakes, it puts the team in a very good position. If Clausen can also avoid turnovers himself (something he managed to do in last year's matchup, surprisingly), chalk up an Irish victory.

Nevada
Nevada's offense has been well-documented and the Irish's woes in stopping the run last year, while not as well documented, were also apparent. Moving to a 4-3 defense should help with that as the defensive line will be this team's main strength. While the Blue and Gold like to blitz under defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, but will probably have to be more disciplined against a great running team like the Wolf Pack. Offensively, Jimmy Clausen and company will have plenty of chances against the defense that ranked 119th in the league last season. To use a Maddenism, it will come down to who can score more often and given the weapons the Irish have in the passing game in Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph, they have to be considered to have an edge.

Boston College
The Eagles' main strength last year becomes a major question mark this season with the departure of B.J. Raji and Ron Brace and the fact that All-American linebacker Mark Herzlich is not expected to play at all while battling a rare bone cancer. The linebackers and secondary are still solid, but major holes exist on the defensive line. If Notre Dame can generate a running game, something they've lacked the past two seasons, it will make life a lot easier on Clausen. The Eagles most likely will rely on the running game. They probably would have done this with or without Dominque Davis, who was suspended and announced he's transferring, but now the ground game becomes ever-important. The Irish have to remain stout against the run and make the passing game (led by whichever backup wins the starting job) beat them. But let's not forget that Irish teams better than this year's have lost to BC teams worse than this one.

Connecticut
The Nutmegers have just decided rightly not to accept Notre Dame's proposal of a series in which UConn's home games would be played at either Foxboro Stadium or the Meadowlands. They're basically saying they're big-time enough that they don't need Notre Dame. Now's their chance to prove it. However, they'll be trying to do so without Donald Brown and his 2,000-plus yards. Defense will be a huge key in this game. UConn quietly put together one of the best defensive seasons in the country last year. Most notable in regards to this matchup is the fact that they were ninth in passing defense, allowing just 168.2 yards per game. They were also very good against the run, but are much weaker this season on the line, so if the Irish can put together some kind of rushing attack and hold onto the football, they should be able to control this game.

Stanford
Stanford has gotten better each of the past two seasons and looks to continue improving. Throw on top of that the fact that Stanford could have a chance to play spoiler the way they did for USC two years ago and this is a dangerous matchup. If Stanford somehow gets a lead, they can use Toby Gerhart to control the clock. That is, IF Stanford can get the ball back by any other means besides a kickoff. The Cardinal's defense is less than spectacular, ranking in the bottom half of the nation in points allowed and total defense and the offense doesn't figure to be able to put up as many points as they are letting up. If the Irish can get a big enough lead and put the game in Tavita Prichard's hands, they are in a good position.

Michigan
Year two of the Rich Rodriguez experiment will be in full swing and the team's expectations will be the exact opposite of a year ago. Last season the defense was expected to make up for the lack of offense. This season, the offense holds the strength in their experience and having a year or Rodriguez's spread option under its belt. The defense turned out to be dismal last year with a boatload of star power and that is all but gone this year, leaving the cupboard very bare for defensive coordinator Greg Robinson. The Irish would welcome a shootout with the Wolverines and jsut might get their wish.

WAC Preview: Can Boise State grab BCS glory now?

By Chris Maza Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(Note: As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the WAC and the Big East. This week I tackle the WAC. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out past previews of independent Notre Dame, the Big XII and the PAC-10)

It has been an interesting off season for the WAC as it and the Mountain West signed a BCS television contract in July. Along with the signed contract, the WAC sent along a letter with it's "concerns" about the BCS process. But in reality, they are still on the receiving end of one of the biggest screw jobs in sports in the fact that even after signing the contract, WAC teams are still not given automatic BCS bowl consideration. The conference vowed to continue its fight for equality, but how many waves can you make while being part of a $500 million machine?

So Boise State remains the WAC's best chance at busting things open for the WAC. Not that that means very much. The WAC champion Broncos were ninth in BCS polling at the end of the regular season, ahead of Ohio State (who lost to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl) and Cincinnati (who were thumped by Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl). If you weren't paying attention, even with a decent strength of schedule ranking of 56th, undefeated Boise State was relegated to the Poinsettia Bowl, which did turn out to be one of the best games of the bowl schedule against TCU. Still, the fact that it was a great game against another underappreciated team does not take away the sting of such an obvious snub. Especially when you lose that game.

So the Broncos once again will look for legitimacy in the college football ranks. And while their conference schedule gives them little help in that regard, but if they are able to beat a tough Oregon team in their season opener, it will be a pretty good indication that this team can beat teams with top talent.

Defense remains the main strength of the Broncos - they were 10th in the country in points allowed last season - and that is not likely to change, even with turnover in the front seven. Ryan Winterswyk is a young, but active d-lineman who will help solidify the front line and an experienced secondary will jam up receivers, giving the youngsters up front enough time to get at opposing quarterbacks.

Offensively, sophomore Kellen Moore figures to be even better than his first year and a good line and capable running backs will look to take some of the load off Moore's shoulders. That's a good thing, because if the Broncos have a major weakness, it's in the receiving corps. Beyond Austin Pettis, there isn't much there in terms of truly reliable options for the passing game.

Nevada will be an interesting team to watch coming out of the conference with an absolutely explosive offense. Even though they and Hawaii were tied with 5-3 conference records, many make the argument that Nevada was the better team, citing specifically the Wolf Pack's 38-31 victory over the Warriors. This year there will be no doubt who the number two team in the conference is. Colin Kaepernick is an absolute stud, having compiled nearly 4,000 of total offense (2,849 passing, 1,130 rushing) and 39 touchdowns. Also returning is Vai Taua, the man who actually led the team in rushing, believe it or not, with 1,521 yards, good for eighth in the nation. Nevada's problem last year remains its problem this year - defense. Nevada was ranked 150th in points allowed, giving up an average of 31.5 points per contest. The Wolf Pack had the worst defense in football against the pass, which makes life difficult for them when they face good throwing teams on their schedule like Notre Dame, Missouri and Boise State. The good thing is they are a year older, but adding a year to a bad secondary doesn't mean it's necessarily going to be better.

Two teams that could make a major leap in the conference on Fresno State and Louisiana Tech. The killer for Fresno State could be the fact they play a heavier out-of-conference schedule than others, which includes traveling to Wisconsin and Cincinnati. Its strength lies in its defense, which may sound stupid, considering it ranked seventh in the conference last year. However, let's not forget that a multitude of injuries and the fact defensive coordinator Dan Brown was battling cancer had a lot to do with that. Brown died in March of this year. If they can stay healthy and the players buy into the new coordinator's game plan, 2009 could be a much different story. The big question is who will lead the offense for the Bulldogs? If Ryan Colburn turns out to be even a decent quarterback, with the backfield the Bulldogs have, they could be very successful, especially in conference play.

Louisiana Tech might be ready to step into the big time in the WAC. Last year's defense was the best in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points per game. That was good for sixth in the nation, too, by the way. Their 8-5 record earned them a spot in the Independence Bowl, where they beat Northern Illinois by a score of 17 - (you guessed it) 10. While the defense probably won't be quite that good this year with several key pieces missing, the offense should be able to pick up a bit more of the slack this season. With a strong line in front of him, Daniel Porter should find similar success in the running game as he did in 2008, but for this team to get over the hump, Ross Jenkins will have to become a true leader at the quarterback position.

Hawaii has made news recently because head coach Greg McMackin is still stewing about getting trounced on his home field by a disappointing Notre Dame team, so he felt the need to call them a derogatory term. That's pretty much the only reason this team will make headlines this year. The suspension is a joke, as McMackin will still be able to coach on a "volunteer basis," so don't expect the Rainbow Warriors (ironic, isn't it?) to skip a beat in that regard. Where they will be hurting is on defense, where the team returns just three starters. Offensively, they should be fine, having found a competent quarterback in Greg Alexander, who threw 14 touchdowns and five interceptions in the final six games of the year with a 63 percent completion rate. But is that offense good enough to make up for all the shortcomings they will have on defense? Don't count on it.

Prediction: Boise State again takes the conference, but not without a bump in the road at Louisiana Tech, causing them to fall short in their quest for a BCS bid.

Projected WAC standings:
1. Boise State
2. Nevada
3. Louisiana Tech
4. Fresno State
5. Hawaii
6. San Diego State
7. Utah State
8. New Mexico State
9. Idaho

PAC-10 preview: No horses for Trojans to fear this year

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down each of the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the Big East and the WAC. This week I tackle the PAC-10. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out past previews of Notre Dame and the Big XII.)

In 2008, Arizona State was supposed to be the team to knock USC off its pedestal. This year, there can be no such conversation made about any team in the PAC-10.

The freight train that is the USC football program will keep rolling. For those of you keeping score, no team has won more PAC-10 titles, shared or outright than USC. The Trojans have reigned as champions or co-champions for each of the last seven seasons, winning the league outright in three of those years. And there's no reason to think that it's nothing more than a matter of time until they capture their eighth-consecutive title.

For all the talk of how the loss of Mark Sanchez is going to hurt the offense, let's not forget that we're talking about a one-year starter on a program that makes a living off producing top-notch college quarterbacks. And the fact remains that while Sanchez is gone, the majority of the offense that was 11th in the nation in total offense is coming back. The quarterback situation will be one to watch as camp opens, but whoever takes the helm should be someone Trojan fans feel comfortable having under center.

The thing USC fans should be more concerned with is the defense. The second-ranked defense in the land last season returns just two members in 2009 - both in the secondary. USC will have to rebuild its entire front seven, so the unit that was the reason the Trojans were so dominant last year instantly becomes a question mark. Still, the offense still can be one of the best in football, so the defense doesn't have to be unstoppable for USC to find success.

Behind USC, there's a huge drop off with a few teams that should be pretty darn decent, but still have plenty of questions to answer and doubters to win over.

Cal could very well be the second-best team in the conference, thanks largely to early Heisman hopeful Jahvid Best. Best is coming off an outstanding 1580-yard season in which he averaged a whopping 8.1 yards per carry. But beyond him, the offense has a ton of uncertainties. The most compelling of those is whether or not Kevin Riley can shore up a quarterback position that was mired by inconsistency in 2008. The only way he and Best can be truly effective is if the offensive line is up to snuff and that unit is missing key pieces from last year's team. The Bears' strength lies in its defense, which returns eight starters, including a very strong and experienced secondary. Cal faces Oregon and USC back-to-back in its fourth and fifth games this season, so we'll know fairly early exactly where the Bears stand.

Oregon, who some believe is actually a better team than Cal and most certainly boasts a better offense, is also in the mix. Their offense is exciting and explosive with double-threat Jeremiah Masoli under center. LeGarrette Blount, who was one of two Duck rushers to top 1,000 yards last season, also returns. Oregon's problem, however, lies in the fact that the program returns the fewest number of starters of any team in the PAC-10 with five on each side of the ball. The defense is also a liability with a very weak secondary that ranked 111th in the nation in passing defense and doesn't figure to be much better this year.

Possibly the most interesting team to watch in the conference this year will be Arizona. They will have to do without Willie Tuitama's 3,000+ yards, 23 touchdowns and 65 percent completion rate and whoever wins the job has some huge shoes to fill. There are some decent weapons on the offense to help out whoever is decided on at QB, but the defense will have to win games. Arizona had a solid unit last year and has a dominating front four that could push the defense over the top and become a premier unit.

The team that will continue to toil is Arizona State. Last year's 5-7 disaster has to be considered the biggest disappointment in the program's history and one of the biggest in the history of the conference. With stars like Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring and Michael Jones, the offense still ranked 100th in the league. How well will they do now without those three? Odds are not very well.

Prediction: USC runs away with the conference with an 11-1 regular-season record. You could maybe consider the Trojans for a possible undefeated season, but with a tough week 2 test at Ohio State, followed later by road games against two other PAC-10 programs that want to prove their legitimacy (Cal on Oct. 3, Oregon on Halloween), there's a big chance for a hiccup.

PAC-10 Projected Final Standings
1. USC
2. California
3. Oregon
4. Arizona
5. Oregon State
6. UCLA
7. Arizona State
8. Stanford
9. Washington
10. Washington State

It's still OU, Texas, then everyone else in the Big XII

By Chris Maza

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down each of the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the Big East and the WAC. This week I tackle the Big XII. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out last week's preview of Notre Dame.)

Sorry, all you Jayhawks, Cowboys, Huskers and Raiders.

The Big XII is still Sooner and Longhorn country.

While the Big XII will remain one of the most competitive conferences in college football and could possibly be even more competitive than last year, there’s no reason to think anyone but Oklahoma or Texas is going to walk away with the conference title.

Once again in 2009, you can’t have a conversation about the national championship without these two, who are considered by many to be the two of the top three teams in the country. Exactly where they rank is debatable, but one thing is clear – these two teams are clearly in front in a conference full of offensive firepower.

That fact statement in and of itself seems odd to say. Isn’t the Big XII supposed to be a rough-and-tumble conference dominated by defense? Well, times have changed and while several teams still have top-notch defenses, explosive offense is the name of the game.

And how can you talk about explosive offense without first mentioning Sam Bradford? Bradford led the Sooner’s No. 1 ranked scoring offense (51.14 points per game) with the nation’s third-best passing attack. But coming off his 50 touchdown 2008 season, there are questions revolving the Sooners. First off is who is he going to throw to? Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson are gone and there’s not a lot of experience coming in to fill those spots. Also, while Trent Williams will be back, the Sooners are missing four starting offensive linemen from the 2008 squad. Not that OU has to really worry about a lack of talent at any position, but don’t expect them to match last year’s No. 3 ranking in sacks allowed. With the parts missing, Bradford will have to adjust and there’s no reason to think he won’t and Chris Brown - who would have been a sure-fire first-rounder if he opted for the draft – returns to give him support in the backfield. Oh, don’t forget OU returns nine starters on defense, too. OU remains a powerhouse, but the one question still remains: Can they win the big game?

The Texas Longhorns felt last year they deserved to be in the Big XII title game last year and they might have had a valid point, having beaten the Sooners during the regular season. Instead, the Sooners broke a three-way tie in the South with the fifth tiebreaker and eventually won the Big XII championship and punched their ticket to the BCS national championship. This year, Texas wants to make sure this year they don’t leave anything up to statistics. Colt McCoy returns to lead one of the Top-5 offenses in football and the defense remains one of the best in the nation. If there’s one knock on the offense, it’s the lack of a running attack, as McCoy led the team in rushing last year. Still, it didn’t seem to hinder things in 2008. Defensively, the Longhorns boast one of the nation’s best linebacking corps and a solid secondary unit, but the defensive line needs to be totally overhauled. Only if the line can create pressure can the defense maintain the kind of pass defense they had in the past.

Just because there are only two clear contenders for a national championship in the conference, does not mean the rest of the bunch is a collection of stiffs.

Oklahoma State is looking to make a big statement this year with possibly the best offense it has ever had in its history, but doesn’t stand much of a chance of winning the conference. Beating both Texas and Oklahoma for the South division title is an extremely tall task for any team, regardless of how good they may be

.

Kansas, another big offense team, is a quickly up-and-coming team and with Mizzou looking much weaker this year and Nebraska seemingly not quite there yet, the Jayhawks could take the Big XII North.

Nebraska is going to rely on the old way of doing things in the Big XII, relying on its defense to pull out games. They have improved quite a bit and won the Gator Bowl last year, but let’s remember that was against a Clemson team that really wasn’t that good.

Texas Tech is replacing both Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, but it still runs a system that could make a boatload of quarterbacks very successful, making them still a very dangerous offensive team.

Missouri won the Big XII North last year, but will have to move on without Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman and William Moore. While they’ll still be good enough to make some competitive games and maybe make things interesting in the division, there’s just too much turnover for them to be considered a true contender.

When it’s all said and done, it all comes down to the classic rivalry – Texas and Oklahoma. So who’s the best? It’s too close to say definitively, but more question marks seem to revolve around the Sooners than the ‘Horns. It could come down to Oklahoma’s last game of the season, on the road at Oklahoma State. OSU will be in the mix for some serious bowl consideration, making this maybe the most critical matchup of the season for OU, OSU AND Texas.

Prediction: Texas wins the South, Kansas wins the North. Texas wins the conference and carries its 12-1 record into the BSC national championship.

Mountain West, WAC had to do it

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Don't blame the Mountain West and the WAC for joining the BCS.

They fought a valiant battle, but in the end, it was all about survival. Several times over the years, there has been a Boise State or a Utah that has threatened to blow up the BCS once and for all. But it never happened. They couldn't beat it, so they had to join it.

The worst part about the whole thing is everytime a non-BCS team ended up faltering in its quest to screw up the system, the powers that be would say, "See? The system works."

Well, it still doesn't work. Just because it's better than the old corrupt system does not mean that it is a good system.

It is still unbelievable that so many conferences and Notre Dame would be so against the only truly proper way of determining a champion - a playoff. It's something that should happen in college football for two reasons. First, the fans want it.

But secondly, and seemingly more important to conference officials, it would make them more money. Think of the ratings and advertising dollars a playoff would bring in. Think of the borderline fans that would tune it. They do it for college basketball. Why wouldn't they do it for football? Face it, as Americans, we love drama and there's no better place to get great sports stories than in a tournament. Underdogs and upsets are what make sports great. Remember what George Mason's run in the NCAA basketball tournament in 2006 did for college basketball? Even to a lesser degree, having Bemidji State (ranked 16 out of 16 teams in the NCAA hockey tournament) in the frozen four peaked more interest in the event than normal.

But the BCS is the system we have and, well, it's what we're going to have to accept as being around for a long time with it's two biggest opponents joining its ranks.

But what were the MWC and WAC supposed to do? Let their conferences wither and die while the larger conferences bathe in their riches? No. They needed to survive and this was the only way they could. It doesn't make them hypocrites.

Let's just hope that now they're in, they can influence some changes from the inside.

Big Ten Expansion! Keep out Notre Dame?

By Matt Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

"I'm oooooold! And I'm not happy! And I don't like things now compared to the way they used to be." - Dana Carvey as The Grumpy Old Man on SNL

If I were 82 years old and was the winningest coach in college football I guess I would speak my mind freely too. That's what Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno did at an alumni event on Wednesday. Paterno would love to see a 12th team join the Big Ten to help with scheduling and of course a lucrative conference title game. That sounds great to me, the problem is "Joe Pa" wants nothing to do with Notre Dame being that school added.

As a huge Notre Dame fan, I believe this would be the best thing for the school and the conference. Paterno says no, he'd like to see either Rutgers, Pittsburgh or Syracuse join the Big Ten. Penn State joined as the conference's 11th team in 1990, so does he get to choose who becomes the 12th. Paterno said he'd like the Big Ten to add an Eastern school, especially one that plays in the New York media market. That would seem to favor Rutgers. "If I had my choice, someone that can give us the biggest TV exposure in the East," Paterno said, offering as possibilities "Syracuse, Pitt, Rutgers. Not in that order."

The Fighting Irish rejected an invitation to join the Big Ten more than a decade ago for great reasons. At the time they were still a national powerhouse and NBC was paying big bucks to have the exclusive television rights for all home games. Yes Notre Dame has been down for the past decade, excluding the last two Brady Quinn years. But, there is an ebb and flow to college football that Penn State knows very well with a 26-33 record the first five years of this decade and 40-11 the last four.

"There's some pressure, I would suppose, to maybe go back to Notre Dame and ask again, which I would not be happy with," Paterno said. "I think they've had their chance."

Notre Dame is the most polarizing school by far in the country, you either love 'em or you hate 'em. But, the Irish would bring in more recruits to the Big Ten and much larger TV ratings than Syracuse, Pitt, or Rutgers could ever hope for. Does the elderly Paterno realize what kind of a following Notre Dame has worldwide. If he is looking to add a school for TV exposure it doesn't make sense to take a school from the Big East that nobody watches anyways. There is no need to snatch a school that is already affiliated with a conference. Take the independent ND and watch the TV numbers soar for the Big Ten you old fool.

"Progress?! Flobble-de-flee! In my day, when we were angry and frustrated, we just said, 'Flobble-de-flee!' 'cause we were idiots and we didn't know what else to say! Just a bunch o' illiterate Cro-Magnons, blowin' on crusty handkerchiefs, waitin' in lines for our head to burst into flame and that's the way it was and we liked it!" - Dana Carvey as The Grumpy Old Man on SNL