NCAA Football 2006

[Mav]

I did watch most of the Oklahoma vs. Oregon game. Oklahoma really choked during the last 3 minutes of the game but they were robbed of the opportunity to stop the bleeding and hold on for the win. An onside Oregon kickoff with 1:22 remaining in the game was clearly touched by an Oregon player before the ball advanced 10 yards but no flag was thrown. Oregon recovered the ball and although the kickoff was reviewed the replay official said there wasn't conclusive evidence to overturn the ruling on the field. I saw the replay a few times and it was clear that Oregon touched the ball after it progressed about 9 yards.

 

So much for instant replay fixing bad calls on the field.

Meh, my highschool tackle, the one who provided tons of pancakes for me to run behind, plays for Oregon now, so I'm happy for them.

[Jeff]

Unbelievable how Michigan lit up Notre Dame at South Bend, 47-21. I didn't get to watch the game but it sounds like the Michigan defense dropped the hammer on Notre Dame and caused a lot of Fighting Irish turnovers.

I know, I couldn't believe they were up by so much when I heard the score. I didn't get to watch it either because my high school team played at Ford Field yesterday (and won ) it was sweet.

[Jae Onasi]

I was delighted that Ohio State won and is now 3-0. The defense shut Cinci down very nicely in the 2nd half. I was a little surprised that OSU scored as few points as they did in the first half, but I missed a lot of the game so I'm not sure what the deal was there.

Laurinaitis (linebacker) is doing some terrific things and he's only a sophomore. Barring any major injuries, he's playing well enough that I see a good possibility of NFL in the future for him. I know he needs more experience at the college level, but he has great talent for someone as young as he is.

On to Penn State next week.

[Char Ell]

WEEK 4

- Arizona State: Very disappointing loss @ Cal, 49-21. I'm not real upset that ASU lost because I think Cal is the better team but ASU made way too many mistakes and got thumped. I don't know if anyone is aware of the QB controversy that enveloped the ASU football team just before the season started. Anyway, the ASU coach had initially named senior Sam Keller as the team's starting QB. But then something happened and he changed his mind and named sophomore QB Rudy Carpenter. That decision isn't looking so good right now...

 

- Michigan: not a stellar performance against Wisconsin, especially with Henne throwing three interceptions. But at least Big Blue got the job done, 27-13.

 

An amazing comeback by Notre Dame @ Michigan State. I didn't watch the game but saw the score at halftime and thought for sure Notre Dame was on their way to a second loss and completely dropping out of the top 25. So was it a matter of Michigan State choking or Notre Dame stepping up their level of play?

 

Isn't it next week that the first BCS rankings come out?

[Jae Onasi]

OSU's now 4-0 with the 28-6 win over Penn State. I'm a very happy camper.

Laurinaitis got another interception--very cool.

I was suprised OSU got no points in the first half, but the offense was a little sloppy, though they did get themselves together in the 2nd half.

[RaV™]

Troy may have himself a heisman by the end of the year. I hope he gets it, because Brady sure as hell wont.

[Arátoeldar]

OSU's now 4-0 with the 28-6 win over Penn State. I'm a very happy camper.

Laurinaitis got another interception--very cool.

I was surprised OSU got no points in the first half, but the offense was a little sloppy, though they did get themselves together in the 2nd half.

 

While you guys won. It was until the last three minutes that the game was no longer in doubt. If you look at the stats for the game they were pretty even. You can kiss the Heisman Trophy goodbye. It won't be coming to Columbus Ohio.

[mimartin]

While you guys won. It was until the last three minutes that the game was no longer in doubt. If you look at the stats for the game they were pretty even. You can kiss the Heisman Trophy goodbye. It won't be coming to Columbus Ohio.

 

I wouldn't go that far. If you look at last years race, your right one game can kill your Heisman chances (Texas atm game for Vince Young), but have one bad game early enough in the season and voters tend to forget it or forgive it.

 

This was a weird week for college football. The Longhorn game was stopped due to lightning. They made us evaluate our seats and seek cover, but the storm basically went around the stadium and after about an hour and a half they resumed play. Although ¾ of the fans did not wait for play to resume (best seats I’ve ever had for the 4th quarter). Texas won, but the problems Ohio State exposed are still there and they only have two more weeks till ou. The injury bug also bit them hard on Saturday.

 

So was it a matter of Michigan State choking or Notre Dame stepping up their level of play?

 

IMO Michigan State choked. I don’t mean the players, but the coaches became way too conservative after they built the big lead. It was a really entertaining game between a school I dislike (Michigan State) and the one team I hate (ND) (I couldn’t lose).

 

@Bimmerman CU did you proud this last weekend. They gave Georgia all they wanted and then some. Too bad they couldn’t hold on another 46 seconds, but still a really good effort. Playing that way against Georgia in Athens was really impressive and shows that the team has not given up on the season or its new coach.

[Arátoeldar]

IMO Michigan State choked. I don’t mean the players, but the coaches became way too conservative after they built the big lead. It was a really entertaining game between a school I dislike (Michigan State) and the one team I hate (ND) (I cocouldn lose).

 

Unfortunately for MSU fans they have a history of chocking. They could have beaten PSU last year but they chocked.

[Char Ell]

I've got to agree with mimartin. I don't think Troy Smith has ruined his chances at a Heisman Trophy just yet. All I've heard from TV commentators and various reports points to Brady Quinn and Troy Smith as being the early Heisman favorites. Based off the number of interceptions Quinn has thrown so far this season I don't think he is a very strong Heisman candidate anymore.

 

Besides, what other player is out there proving his case for the award?

[Jae Onasi]

I don't know who'll get the Heisman this year, but the Bears better draft Laurinaitis in a couple years.

[Bimmerman]

Well, the Buffs surprised the hell out of us. We thought we were going to lose badly, and almost won. That was a shocker. Now if only they can actually win a game....

[Jae Onasi]

Woohoo, Ohio State!!

38-17 over Iowa!

 

I wish I got to see more of the game.

Laurinaitis got _another_ interception this game. Troy Smith is doing very well, too.

The sports guys are saying 'the only team left that can beat them is themselves'.

[Char Ell]

^^^

I think the "sports guys" are forgetting about Michigan. There is no doubt though that Ohio State has a fairly favorable schedule the rest of the way and seem to be firing on all cylinders. The Game will be at the Horseshoe this year so that is also in OSU's favor.

 

Michigan got a fast start in their game against Minnesota yesterday but then put the offense on cruise control during the second half. Disappointing that they didn't keep the pedal-to-the-metal throughout, especially considering last year's loss to the Golden Gophers at The Big House.

 

Arizona State has proven, once again, that they can't hang with the big boys. ASU got overwhelmed by Oregon on boths sides of the ball with a resulting 48-13 clobbering at home. Ugh. Definitely not the rebound performance I expected and hoped for after last week's pummeling at the hands of Cal. ASU has a bye this week and then faces USC. Even though USC is undefeated IMO they haven't been real solid wins. However chances are ASU will lose to USC in two weeks and be 0-3 in Pac 10 play. I do expect the team to bounce back and finish with a record good enough to get them into a minor bowl, like the Sun Bowl, as that is what ASU usually does.

 

At least we don't have to worry about the TCU Horned Frogs going undefeated and making a claim for the national title. BYU broke TCU's 13-game winning streak on Thursday.

[Char Ell]

The first BCS rankings are out!

1. Ohio State
   
2. USC
   
3. Michigan
   
4. Auburn
   
5. West Virginia
   
6. Florida
   
7. Louisville
   
8. Notre Dame
   
9. Texas
   
10. California
    

 

Looks like the season finale between Michigan and Ohio State is shaping up to be a national title doozy. Michigan needs to beat Iowa next week and then should have no problem winning its remaining games until the last game @ OSU. I think USC is poised to lose at least one game between now and the end of the regular season so we could very well see #2 Michigan vs. #1 Ohio State on November 18.

 

Arizona State lost to USC as expected. At least it wasn't a total blowout like the previous two games had been.

 

Any comments on the melee in the Florida International vs. Miami game? So far I've heard Miami has suspended eight players and FIU has suspended nine. I'm sure we'll here more about this as the week progresses and the conference and university officials have had more time to review what happened. I saw some of the clips and the whole thing looked like one jumbled mess to me. I find it hard to believe things got that far out of hand so quickly.

[Jeff]

Looks like the season finale between Michigan and Ohio State is shaping up to be a national title doozy. Michigan needs to beat Iowa next week and then should have no problem winning its remaining games until the last game @ OSU. I think USC is poised to lose at least one game between now and the end of the regular season so we could very well see #2 Michigan vs. #1 Ohio State on November 18.

That would be awesome I know Michigan has the talent to beat OSU, but I guess we'll see in a few weeks.

[Bimmerman]

CU won 30-6 over Texas Tech, ending a ridiculous losing streak. WE WON!!!

 

My happiness cannot be expressed in words right now....

 

And I am very very glad we won't get to be bent over by Ohio State, although I'd gladly see OSU-Michigan.

[Jae Onasi]

That would be awesome I know Michigan has the talent to beat OSU, but I guess we'll see in a few weeks.

 

Sure, if you can get someone on defense to actually touch Smith and stop Wells, Pittman, and Gonzalez. Then you need 87 Offensive guys to stop Laurinaitis, who has got to be one of the best defensive college players I've seen in awhile--certainly one of the best true sophomores.

 

Go Bucks!!!!

[JediKnight707]

W00T!!!!! Buckeyes!!!!!

Hehe, I jumped on the bandwagon when they had Maurice Clarrett (shame about him too) and I've been a semi-faithful follower I'd put money that they'll win this year.

[Char Ell]

Sure, if you can get someone on defense to actually touch Smith and stop Wells, Pittman, and Gonzalez. Then you need 87 Offensive guys to stop Laurinaitis, who has got to be one of the best defensive college players I've seen in awhile--certainly one of the best true sophomores.

My oh my Jae Onasi. Getting a little carried away, aren't you?

 

However I will refrain from trash talk on the pending clash known simply and best as "The Game" until Nov. 11.

[mimartin]

CU won 30-6 over Texas Tech, ending a ridiculous losing streak. WE WON!!!

 

That one surprised me too. Congratulations! CU may have a shot at OU without Peterson.

 

 

Way to go Miami. Thanks to the fight between Miami and FIU last Saturday October 14, 2006 the NCAA is going to get involved setting “standards” to curb the violence.

 

My suggestions are:

 

1. 5 game suspension for any player that ran out on the field from the sidelines during the altercation.

 

2. Fire all the coaches on both teams and they are not allowed to coach a NCAA team for 10 years.

 

3. Any player that uses a weapon (swinging helmet)… that should be a criminal matter and the police should sort it out. Needless to say his/her scholarship is revoked and he/she is not allowed to play on any team under NCAA jurisdictions ever.

 

4. Any player on the field at the start of the altercation and took part in the fight, but didn’t use a weapon or other wise try to inflict permanent bodily harm should get a 1 to 3 game suspension.

 

What the NCAA is suggesting is punish everyone and every team for what a few are responsible for.

 

1. Restricting post game celebrations. (What I love about the college game over the pro game is the emotions and restricting the emotions brought about after beating your rival is not the answer.)

 

2. Set appropriate sanctions for player that do fight. (Sorry NCAA, but fighting is a part of football. Football is an emotional sport and fights will occur and have occurred since its creation. You should be concern with limiting the brawls and the players that use weapons. Why should schools that handle this type of problem in house have to be subject to your lack of vision? You don’t see Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Texas, Norte Dame or most other NCAA school allowing such behavior. If it would have happen at any one of the schools I mentioned, I have no doubt that those players scholarship would have already been revoked and the coach fired, along with the athletic director. The same thing can be said about most NCAA schools as well as most high schools.)

[Jae Onasi]

They definitely need to do something about the post game celebrations. It's getting way out of hand all over the country.

After the OSU win over 'that school up north' last year, OSU students in Columbus trashed a bunch of cars and set fires all over the place and vandalized I don't know how much property, all off campus, to 'celebrate'--and OSU played up north that year.

 

I think there should be stiff penalties for fighting--these guys are strong enough that they can do some serious damage to each other if they start brawling. If the NCAA doesn't do anything, the only other choice is to call the cops and have everyone fighting arrested for assault and battery, and since it's all on tape, it's not going to make it too hard on the DAs.

 

I'm actually surprised the NCAA didn't have some standards already.

[Char Ell]

I'm glad someone decided to weigh in on the fiasco that was the FIU vs. Miami game last Saturday.

1. 5 game suspension for any player that ran out on the field from the sidelines during the altercation.

I think this is a suitable punishment.

2. Fire all the coaches on both teams and they are not allowed to coach a NCAA team for 10 years.

Way too harsh. I really don't think Larry Coker or the FIU coach were egging their players on last Saturday. IMO the coaches should suffer punishments similar to the players. Their culpability in these incidents should be assessed and they should be suspended 1-5 games without pay. If a coach's team is involved in another fracas during the same season then dismissal of the coach should definitely be on the table as a possible punishment. But why punish a coach for something his players did and ban him from coaching an NCAA school for such a long time? It just seems too harsh to me.

3. Any player that uses a weapon (swinging helmet)… that should be a criminal matter and the police should sort it out. Needless to say his/her scholarship is revoked and he/she is not allowed to play on any team under NCAA jurisdictions ever.

Criminal prosecution should always be considered when the law is broken. I think it's always a difficult thing to do though when football is involved though. When I stop and really consider it I see assault & battery happening all throughout the course of a football game, heh-heh-heh. Unless permanent damage was maliciously inflicted by one player on another then I think it's best to let the NCAA and the respective school and conference handle the disciplinary action.

Restricting post game celebrations.

I wonder how the NCAA would enforce this? Are they talking specifically about restricting what the players can do after the game is over? All that really needs to be addressed there is the disparaging antics like planting your school's flag on the 50-yard line of your opponent's field for example. If they want to restrict the fans' post-game celebrations then they better start providing a lot more security for crowd control. Many schools have tried different tactics to keep their field goal posts from being torn down, with varying degrees of success.

[mimartin]

They definitely need to do something about the post game celebrations. It's getting way out of hand all over the country.

After the OSU win over 'that school up north' last year, OSU students in Columbus trashed a bunch of cars and set fires all over the place and vandalized I don't know how much property, all off campus, to 'celebrate'--and OSU played up north that year.

 

I wonder how the NCAA would enforce this? Are they talking specifically about restricting what the players can do after the game is over? All that really needs to be addressed there is the disparaging antics like planting your school's flag on the 50-yard line of your opponent's field for example. If they want to restrict the fans' post-game celebrations then they better start providing a lot more security for crowd control. Many schools have tried different tactics to keep their field goal posts from being torn down, with varying degrees of success.

 

Yea, I don’t think I made that one clear. They are talking about the players post game celebration. I don’t see how they could enforce the fans celebration although from what Jae wrote about Ohio State maybe the police should look into it a little better. I agree something should be against the rules, but knowing the NCAA the will take it way to far. Something like outlawing players slapping high five with fans or ever singing their school’s fight song.

 

I go to all Longhorn home games and most of the better away games (although I didn’t make the trip to Columbus last year, but heard they were a rather nice lot). I’ve seen a few altercations, as there always will be when you get 89,000 drunks together, but for the most part I’ve never seen anything really bad. We’ve always been taught to act like you’ve won before. We also went though some very lean years in the 80’s and 90’s so we are not going to rub it in to the other team (not too much anyways). Nothing happened after Texas won the National Championship last year. There were no fires, wide spread vandalism or riots, just lot of drinking and yelling. Even when the Houston Rockets won their first NBA Championship (the first championship of any kind in Houston since the old AFL days in the 1960’s) nothing happen in Houston, but a huge traffic jam and a lot of drinking and yelling. Those kind of things just do not happen here, maybe it’s the fact that the person next to you might be armed.

 

Way too harsh. I really don't think Larry Coker or the FIU coach were egging their players on last Saturday. IMO the coaches should suffer punishments similar to the players. Their culpability in these incidents should be assessed and they should be suspended 1-5 games without pay. If a coach's team is involved in another fracas during the same season then dismissal of the coach should definitely be on the table as a possible punishment. But why punish a coach for something his players did and ban him from coaching an NCAA school for such a long time? It just seems too harsh to me.

 

Your right, my suggestion is a little too harsh, but to me the coach should be punish for what his/her team did. The coach is the leader of the team (or a least should be) and should have control and respect of their team. In high school and college he/she is also a teacher and should teach his/her player respect for the game and the other players. To me once is one time too many and the punishment should be enforce right away. Also again I was not clear about this; this should only for future incidences. It would be unfair to Coker and the other coach (don’t know his name) to be subject to any NCAA rules made up after the fact.

 

Also since this is their livelihood I believe 3 years would be more appropriate and I also mean all the coaches, not just the head coach. Every member of the staff is responsible for making sure nothing like this ever happens again during a NCAA game. If they know the consequences before the fact, maybe they will do a better job of enforcing team rules or a least trying to teach sportsmanship.

[REDJOHNNYMIKE]

Indiana beat #1 OHIO STATE!!!!