Oregon put up 613 yards of offense against Southern Cal's defense enroute to a 47-20 shellacking of #5 ranked USC. The Ducks, led by QB Jeremiah Masoli and RB LeMichael James made it inside the red zone 9 times out of their total of 11 offensive drives. You make it inside the opponent's 20 yard line that many times, you will come away with lots of points. and the Ducks did. This was the Trojans' worst loss in Head Coach Pete Carol's tenure in Los Angeles.
The ducks now have the inside track to the PAC-10 Title, but if they can win out, and win convincingly as they did Saturday Night, they just might be playing for much more than the PAC-10 Crown. the last time I saw Oregon play, it was the debacle at Boisie St. ending with Ducks RB LeGarrett Blount's TKO of a Boisie St. player. The Ducks were throttled by the Broncos on the blue turf. They looked like anything but a top 25 team.
but give credit to Head Coach Chip Kelly. He suspended Blount for most of the season (Blount may actually be reinstated), which he had to do. However, Ducks quack caller Jeremiah Masoli, RB LeMichael James and the rest of the Ducks picked up the pieces and, unlike Humpty Dumpty, put their season back together again.
Since that blue performance on BSU's blue turf, the ducks have beaten California by 39, Washington St. by 46, UCLA by 14, and Saturday defeated the #5 ranked team in the country by 27. Oregon was ranked #10 before the thrashing of USC. They will most certainly will be ranked in the top 5. Oregon is one outstanding football team that no one, up until now, is talking about.
One big turning point in this game, in my opinion, was win Kelly wanted his offense to try and score before the third quarter ended. He didn't want to interrupt their rhythm and momentum. It was a smart move because the Ducks scored with just 5 seconds left in the third to make the score 41-20 to start the 4th quarter. Many coaches would have just waited till the start of the next quarter, but Kelly wanted to keep attacking and it was a good thing that the Ducks did.
Oregon still has two tough away games against Stanford next week and then Arizona two weeks later. In between those two games, they have the Sun Devils of Arizona St. at home, and of course, the Civil War game with the Beavers in Eugene to close out the season. If the
Ducks keep playing like they did against USC, they will most certainly assure themselves no less than a trip to the Rose Bowl. Realistically, for the Ducks to play for the National Title, they must win out and hope Texas and Iowa loses. The winner between Florida and Alabama in the SEC Championship Game will play for the National Title, so if the Ducks win out, and the Longhorns and Hawkeyes lose one or two games, they would have a very good shot of playing the Gators or Crimson Tide. However, the prospect of Iowa and Texas losing two games is highly unlikely. Iowa might lose a game, but I doubt Texas loses again until their bowl game, if then.
To sum it up, the Ducks will most likely play Iowa in the Rose Bowl. If both Texas and Iowa win out (Texas will probably play Kansas St. or Mizzou in the Big Xll Title Game), the Longhorns will probably get the upper hand because of their more dominating victories than those of the Hawkeyes. Texas would then play either Alabama or Florida in the National Title Game. Nevertheless, what Oregon Head Coach Chip Kelly and his team have done since the debacle in Boisie at the beginning of the year is one of the biggest stories in College Football this year.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Bryan's Harper Gains National Recognition
The Cross Country and Track & Field programs at Bryan College were both reinstated a few years ago. Now, they are producing some of the best runners at the small college level. Bryan Sophomore Runner Bryson Harper was named the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Student-Athlete of the week for leading the Lions to a #1 finish at the Southeastern Classic in Louisville, KY a week ago. The meet contained teams from 22 different schools.
The Pikeville, TN native ran the 8k race in a time of 25:22, earning his team a first place finish and earning Harper a second place finish out of 216 runners. Bryson Harper is only a Sophomore, but already he has had a brilliant career at Bryan. This past Spring during the Outdoor Track season, Harper was AAC Runner up in the Outdoor 1500 and 800 meter events at the AAC (Appalachian Athletic Conference) Championships.
Back on October 4, Harper finished 4th overall in the Music City Carnival 5k with a time of 15:05.98 and finished 5th overall at the Smoky Mountain Twilight Mile with a time of 4:16.73. At the AAC Track & Field Championships last Spring, Harper in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:02.82 and 2nd in the 800 meter event. Before redshirting in 2008, Harper made the AAC Cross Country All-Freshman Team in 07.
The accomplishments of Bryson Harper and his teammates have earned Bryan College a #8 ranking in the NAIA Men's Cross Country top 25, possibly the highest ranking ever of any varsity sport in the school's history. Out of a 10-man roster, the Bryan Men's Cross Country Team has 5 upper class men, meaning the other 5, including Harper, are Freshman and Sophomores. This will hopefully ensure continued success in the years to come for the program as their recent success will draw top notch recruits to Bryan. Congratulations to Bryson Harper and the rest of the Bryan College Men's Cross Country Team. More information on this article can be obtained by going to www.bryanlions.com.
The Pikeville, TN native ran the 8k race in a time of 25:22, earning his team a first place finish and earning Harper a second place finish out of 216 runners. Bryson Harper is only a Sophomore, but already he has had a brilliant career at Bryan. This past Spring during the Outdoor Track season, Harper was AAC Runner up in the Outdoor 1500 and 800 meter events at the AAC (Appalachian Athletic Conference) Championships.
Back on October 4, Harper finished 4th overall in the Music City Carnival 5k with a time of 15:05.98 and finished 5th overall at the Smoky Mountain Twilight Mile with a time of 4:16.73. At the AAC Track & Field Championships last Spring, Harper in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:02.82 and 2nd in the 800 meter event. Before redshirting in 2008, Harper made the AAC Cross Country All-Freshman Team in 07.
The accomplishments of Bryson Harper and his teammates have earned Bryan College a #8 ranking in the NAIA Men's Cross Country top 25, possibly the highest ranking ever of any varsity sport in the school's history. Out of a 10-man roster, the Bryan Men's Cross Country Team has 5 upper class men, meaning the other 5, including Harper, are Freshman and Sophomores. This will hopefully ensure continued success in the years to come for the program as their recent success will draw top notch recruits to Bryan. Congratulations to Bryson Harper and the rest of the Bryan College Men's Cross Country Team. More information on this article can be obtained by going to www.bryanlions.com.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Could Be a Long Day For The Dawgs in Jacksonville
UGA Defensive Coordinator Willie Martinez and his defense have been much maligned all year. Maybe they will have enough motivation and confidence to help Georgia pull off and upset, but that is probably about as likely as the St. John's River drying up.
Yes, the Dawgs have had a week off to get healthy while Florida struggled against Mississippi St. The Gators have struggled in the red zone (inside the opponent's 20 yard line). Tim Tebo is 4 out of 16 passing attemps inside the red zone. However, the Georgia offense has been inconsistent. Starting RB Richard Samuels has not proven himself a consistant ground gainer and is a possible candidate to play LB on the other side of the ball. Caleb King has been hampered by injury for much of the season. Freshman WR Tavaris King has also been injured as well.
There is also the distraction caused by Lineman Vince Vance as he was flagged for a traffic misdemeanor. One broadcaster on a local sports talk show in Atlanta said that the Dawgs' best chance is for All-SEC Wide Receiver A.J. Green to run slant routs and for QB Joe Cox to throw him the ball every time since Green is capable of going up and grabbing it. That would be an interesting game plan. If it succeeds on the first few plays, the Gators may double team Green, leaving other wide outs like Orson Charles and Aaron White open, that is if they can make the crucial catches. The pass could then open up the run. Usually, it's suppose to be the other way around.
I don't have to mention that the Gators have an outstanding defense, one of the best in the country, but I just did. Can the Georgia Offensive Line block like the old Berlin Wall, or Buford Dam. If they can, the Dawgs MAY have a chance. On the other hand , if the line blocks like New Orleans levys, the Gators will have breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack. Walls, levys, rivers drying up, I didn't think I'd be mentioning these things talking about Georgia/Florida in Jacksonville, but I just did.ies
Yes, the Dawgs have had a week off to get healthy while Florida struggled against Mississippi St. The Gators have struggled in the red zone (inside the opponent's 20 yard line). Tim Tebo is 4 out of 16 passing attemps inside the red zone. However, the Georgia offense has been inconsistent. Starting RB Richard Samuels has not proven himself a consistant ground gainer and is a possible candidate to play LB on the other side of the ball. Caleb King has been hampered by injury for much of the season. Freshman WR Tavaris King has also been injured as well.
There is also the distraction caused by Lineman Vince Vance as he was flagged for a traffic misdemeanor. One broadcaster on a local sports talk show in Atlanta said that the Dawgs' best chance is for All-SEC Wide Receiver A.J. Green to run slant routs and for QB Joe Cox to throw him the ball every time since Green is capable of going up and grabbing it. That would be an interesting game plan. If it succeeds on the first few plays, the Gators may double team Green, leaving other wide outs like Orson Charles and Aaron White open, that is if they can make the crucial catches. The pass could then open up the run. Usually, it's suppose to be the other way around.
I don't have to mention that the Gators have an outstanding defense, one of the best in the country, but I just did. Can the Georgia Offensive Line block like the old Berlin Wall, or Buford Dam. If they can, the Dawgs MAY have a chance. On the other hand , if the line blocks like New Orleans levys, the Gators will have breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack. Walls, levys, rivers drying up, I didn't think I'd be mentioning these things talking about Georgia/Florida in Jacksonville, but I just did.ies
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sprint Football: Football The Light Way
In 2006, Mansfield University, an NCAA Div. ll school in Mansfield, PA, dropped its football program as part of a huge slash of budget cuts of up to $1.5 million. Mansfield finished the 2006 season without winning a game. The team hadn't even scored a touchdown in quite some time. Mansfield University President Maravene Loeschke looked at every other alternative she could to keep the program. "I consulted with every one in the world before a made my decision," Loeschke said. "But the bottom line was that if we could not do this well, then we should not do it at all".
However, a year later, Mansfield was back to playing football: Sprint Football. It's football played by lightweight players weighing no more than 172 lbs. It is a sanctioned Varsity sport by the NCAA and six colleges: Army, Navy, Cornell, Princeton, Pennsylvania and the newest member, Mansfield. These six schools make up the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL).
Steve Murray, the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference of which Mansfield is a member, asked MU Sports Information Director Steve McCloskey if he had ever heard of Sprint Football. Murray had seen a piece about it in an NFL Films special.
Sprint Football was founded in the 1930s by the President of the University of Pennsylvania. He wanted to make sure that smaller, talented athletes got a chance to play football. A league was founded in 1934 and it was called the Eastern 150 lb. Football League and it consisted of Cornell, Lafayette, Penn, Princeton, Yale, Villanova and Rutgers. In 1998, the CSFL added the term "Sprint" to describe the speed and quickness of the athletes.
Rutgers, Villanova, Lafayette and Yale would move on to play only conventional football. Navy later joined the CSFL, but the athletes grew as the league shrank. Therefore, the league capped the wight limit to 172 lbs. According to Mansfield SID Steve McCloskey, the same passion and fire that you see with conventional football is the same: "The biggest question you get is are there 11 players per side and if they wear pads and helmets", McCloskey said. "But once you watch it for 10 minutes, you don't see size. You see talented kids playing football. There's the same excitement and pride from these players about running on to the field and representing their school. The only difference is that if you're a 170 lb. kid, you're considered a big guy on the team."
Mansfield's Matt Gant, a wide receiver on the Sprint Football Team, made a catch on a 10-yard slant pattern during a drive that ended with RB Desmen Johnson scoring one of his two touchdowns to lead the Mounties of Mansfield to a 26-14 win over Princeton this past Saturday. This was a far cry from when Gant was a Freshman three years ago. He served as Manager on the football team. Last Saturday, he caught 7 catches for 90 yards as a starting wide receiver. He is also the team's Punter.Gant said that his punts weren't as good as he had hoped for, but that he made up for it with a few receptions. Think about it. If it hadn't been for the inception of Sprint Football, Matt Gant, and several other current players, might not be playing any kind of college football at all.
Sr. Solomon Isom plays Free Safety for the Mounties. He was extremely disappointed that Mansfield dropped its Division ll Football Program, but now realizes the Sprint Football was the best thing for Mansfield. "After doing my own research about it, I knew that Sprint Football would be a more manageable alternative for the University" Isom said. "It's not Division ll Football, but it's something, and something is better than nothing. Everyone is excited about this program."
Sprint Football is apparently much less costly and more cost-effective than traditional football. Now realizing what I (the blogger) now know, I'm surprised that more schools, especially small schools like Mansfield, don't have Sprint Football. This is a very viable option for schools that don't have the funds to field a regular football team. Since all the players on Sprint Football teams are lightweights, that's less pounding and wear and tare on the field. This also gives opportunities for student-athletes who are not big enough to play conventional College Football a chance to experience College Football the "light" way, a type of football that is at their level. Information in this article was obtained from an article written by Gary Brown in NCAA Champion Magazine. You can access that article by going to www.ncaachampionmagazine.com.
However, a year later, Mansfield was back to playing football: Sprint Football. It's football played by lightweight players weighing no more than 172 lbs. It is a sanctioned Varsity sport by the NCAA and six colleges: Army, Navy, Cornell, Princeton, Pennsylvania and the newest member, Mansfield. These six schools make up the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL).
Steve Murray, the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference of which Mansfield is a member, asked MU Sports Information Director Steve McCloskey if he had ever heard of Sprint Football. Murray had seen a piece about it in an NFL Films special.
Sprint Football was founded in the 1930s by the President of the University of Pennsylvania. He wanted to make sure that smaller, talented athletes got a chance to play football. A league was founded in 1934 and it was called the Eastern 150 lb. Football League and it consisted of Cornell, Lafayette, Penn, Princeton, Yale, Villanova and Rutgers. In 1998, the CSFL added the term "Sprint" to describe the speed and quickness of the athletes.
Rutgers, Villanova, Lafayette and Yale would move on to play only conventional football. Navy later joined the CSFL, but the athletes grew as the league shrank. Therefore, the league capped the wight limit to 172 lbs. According to Mansfield SID Steve McCloskey, the same passion and fire that you see with conventional football is the same: "The biggest question you get is are there 11 players per side and if they wear pads and helmets", McCloskey said. "But once you watch it for 10 minutes, you don't see size. You see talented kids playing football. There's the same excitement and pride from these players about running on to the field and representing their school. The only difference is that if you're a 170 lb. kid, you're considered a big guy on the team."
Mansfield's Matt Gant, a wide receiver on the Sprint Football Team, made a catch on a 10-yard slant pattern during a drive that ended with RB Desmen Johnson scoring one of his two touchdowns to lead the Mounties of Mansfield to a 26-14 win over Princeton this past Saturday. This was a far cry from when Gant was a Freshman three years ago. He served as Manager on the football team. Last Saturday, he caught 7 catches for 90 yards as a starting wide receiver. He is also the team's Punter.Gant said that his punts weren't as good as he had hoped for, but that he made up for it with a few receptions. Think about it. If it hadn't been for the inception of Sprint Football, Matt Gant, and several other current players, might not be playing any kind of college football at all.
Sr. Solomon Isom plays Free Safety for the Mounties. He was extremely disappointed that Mansfield dropped its Division ll Football Program, but now realizes the Sprint Football was the best thing for Mansfield. "After doing my own research about it, I knew that Sprint Football would be a more manageable alternative for the University" Isom said. "It's not Division ll Football, but it's something, and something is better than nothing. Everyone is excited about this program."
Sprint Football is apparently much less costly and more cost-effective than traditional football. Now realizing what I (the blogger) now know, I'm surprised that more schools, especially small schools like Mansfield, don't have Sprint Football. This is a very viable option for schools that don't have the funds to field a regular football team. Since all the players on Sprint Football teams are lightweights, that's less pounding and wear and tare on the field. This also gives opportunities for student-athletes who are not big enough to play conventional College Football a chance to experience College Football the "light" way, a type of football that is at their level. Information in this article was obtained from an article written by Gary Brown in NCAA Champion Magazine. You can access that article by going to www.ncaachampionmagazine.com.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Bryan's Simpson Named AAC Female Runer of the Week
Several months ago, I wrote about a female Cross Country Runner who hails from Grayson, GA, part of Gwinnett County, on the northeast side of Atlanta. Her name is Erika Simpson and runs Cross Country at Bryan College, a Christian Liberal Arts school located in Dayton, TN near Chattanooga. Simpson had a fine Freshman season, and is continuing her solid performance as a Sophomore.
This past week, Simpson was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Female Runner of the Week for her efforts in the Southeastern Classic; a meet containing 22 teams. Simpson led the Lady Lions with a time of 20:22 in the 5K race, finishing 37th individually, and netting Bryan an 8th place finish in the 22 team field containing 181 runners.
Erika Simpson is one of the hundreds of student-athletes from Gwinnett County, GA who have excelled both athletically and academically at the collegiate level. For more information on Bryan College Athletics, as well as the school itself, you can go to www.bryanlions.org and www.bryan.edu.
This past week, Simpson was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Female Runner of the Week for her efforts in the Southeastern Classic; a meet containing 22 teams. Simpson led the Lady Lions with a time of 20:22 in the 5K race, finishing 37th individually, and netting Bryan an 8th place finish in the 22 team field containing 181 runners.
Erika Simpson is one of the hundreds of student-athletes from Gwinnett County, GA who have excelled both athletically and academically at the collegiate level. For more information on Bryan College Athletics, as well as the school itself, you can go to www.bryanlions.org and www.bryan.edu.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
EMU Mens' Soccer Finishing Strong With Four Straight Wins; Upsets Conference Leader Roanoke
The Eastern Mennonite University Mens' Soccer Team is probably the hottest team in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), having now won four straight matches with a well-earned upset of conference leader Roanoke by a score of 2-1 this past Saturday on the Maroons home field.
The Royals were out played in just about every phase of the game except on the scoreboard. The Maroons out shot the Royals 25-7 for the game, including out shooting EMU 14-5 in the second half. The Royals virtually were playing on their heels the whole match. However, thanks to EMU Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk's 13 saves, the Royals were able to hold on to the 2-1 victory and will finish no worse than 5th place in the ODAC standings.
The Royals drew first blood when Soph. Forward Muoka Musau served a corner kick into the box where Soph. Midfielder Mitchell Leap headed it into the net to give the Royals the 1-0 advantage at the 15:38 mark in the first half. Roanoke's Michael Stark struck back with the equalizer two minutes later, and the Maroons pressed for the next 10 minutes but could not breech Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk and the Royals Defense.
With just over 3 minutes until halftime, the Royals made a "quantum leap" in the form of their leading goal scorer, Mitchell Leap, who scored the second of his two goals at the 41:55 mark, which proved to be the winning goal. Royals Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk, a Sophomore from Dayton, VA, made a crucial save just before halftime.
Roanoke pushed and pressed the whole second half and nearly tied the game in the 78th minute, but Brunk came up big again with 2 big saves and two more with just 2 minutes left in the game to help preserve the upset win for the Royals. With 13 saves on the day, and several of them at crucial times in the match, Brunk was easily the "Man of the Match". The defeat for Roanoke was their first conference loss of the season.
The win vaults EMU's overall record to 7-5-5 and 5-2-2 in ODAC play. The Royals will wrap up the regular season Tuesday when they take on Randolph College. The ODAC Tournament begins Saturday, Oct. 31.
The Royals were out played in just about every phase of the game except on the scoreboard. The Maroons out shot the Royals 25-7 for the game, including out shooting EMU 14-5 in the second half. The Royals virtually were playing on their heels the whole match. However, thanks to EMU Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk's 13 saves, the Royals were able to hold on to the 2-1 victory and will finish no worse than 5th place in the ODAC standings.
The Royals drew first blood when Soph. Forward Muoka Musau served a corner kick into the box where Soph. Midfielder Mitchell Leap headed it into the net to give the Royals the 1-0 advantage at the 15:38 mark in the first half. Roanoke's Michael Stark struck back with the equalizer two minutes later, and the Maroons pressed for the next 10 minutes but could not breech Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk and the Royals Defense.
With just over 3 minutes until halftime, the Royals made a "quantum leap" in the form of their leading goal scorer, Mitchell Leap, who scored the second of his two goals at the 41:55 mark, which proved to be the winning goal. Royals Goalkeeper Dillon Brunk, a Sophomore from Dayton, VA, made a crucial save just before halftime.
Roanoke pushed and pressed the whole second half and nearly tied the game in the 78th minute, but Brunk came up big again with 2 big saves and two more with just 2 minutes left in the game to help preserve the upset win for the Royals. With 13 saves on the day, and several of them at crucial times in the match, Brunk was easily the "Man of the Match". The defeat for Roanoke was their first conference loss of the season.
The win vaults EMU's overall record to 7-5-5 and 5-2-2 in ODAC play. The Royals will wrap up the regular season Tuesday when they take on Randolph College. The ODAC Tournament begins Saturday, Oct. 31.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
West Virginia Fans, players and Coaches Showed Tremendous Class
Obviously, the University of Connecticut has been through a lot this past week with the tragic death of UCONN football player Jasper Howard, who was murdered last Sunday morning outside of the UCONN Student Union. The Huskies wanted desperately to win their game against West Virginia for their slain comrade.
The Huskies almost pulled it off, but Mountaineers RB Noel Divine scored the winning touchdown for West Virginia with less than a minute left to defeat the Huskies 28-24. However, to me, the real story was the wonderful compassion and class showed by the West Virginia crowd, as well as their players and coaches. They cheered when the Connecticut team came out with Howard's jersey. WVU Head Coach Bill Stewart and his staff embraced Connecticut Head Coach Randy Etzel. The Mountaineer players lovingly embraced and encouraged their Connecticut opponents. Once the game was on, it was dog eat dog, but the love and respect showed to UCONN was beautiful to see.
I know what you are thinking. If UCONN were at Georgia, Iowa, USC or any other program, the fans, players and coaches of that program would have shown the same respect and class. That's probably true. The fact that the WVU family did what they did is commendable and must be recognized. We hear enough stories about players, coaches and even fans coming up short in the area of behavior. The West Virginia University community put football into its proper perspective. The rest of us should do the same.
The Huskies almost pulled it off, but Mountaineers RB Noel Divine scored the winning touchdown for West Virginia with less than a minute left to defeat the Huskies 28-24. However, to me, the real story was the wonderful compassion and class showed by the West Virginia crowd, as well as their players and coaches. They cheered when the Connecticut team came out with Howard's jersey. WVU Head Coach Bill Stewart and his staff embraced Connecticut Head Coach Randy Etzel. The Mountaineer players lovingly embraced and encouraged their Connecticut opponents. Once the game was on, it was dog eat dog, but the love and respect showed to UCONN was beautiful to see.
I know what you are thinking. If UCONN were at Georgia, Iowa, USC or any other program, the fans, players and coaches of that program would have shown the same respect and class. That's probably true. The fact that the WVU family did what they did is commendable and must be recognized. We hear enough stories about players, coaches and even fans coming up short in the area of behavior. The West Virginia University community put football into its proper perspective. The rest of us should do the same.
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