Haskins Overcomes Rough First Half to Lead Heroic Comeback
One of the greatest sights in college football is a White Out at Penn State. Over 100 thousand fans clad in while, all shaking white pompoms. It goes without saying the noisy generated by all these fans can be quite intimidating. The cheers had their desired effect as Ohio State's quarterback Dwayne Haskins looked rattled and off his game, making the offense so ineffective it was hard to watch. The Buckeyes defense picked up the slack holding the Penn State Nittany Lions to 13 1st half points and recovered a very important fumble late in the half. Haskins completed a well timed screen pass soon after for a touchdown that pulled the Buckeyes within 6 heading to halftime. The Buckeyes managed to score a touchdown on the first drive of the 3rd quarter but returned to their sluggish form until halfway through the 4th quarter. By that time, Penn State had a 12 point lead. But Haskins respondee by stepping up his game leading two straight touchdown drives, the second being a game-winning march down the field starting at their own 4 yard line. The Buckeyes strode out of the Nittany Lions' stadium having overcome the white noise.
Notre Dame Makes a Statement
In the cross-regional rivalry between Stanford and Notre Dame, one team emerged with gusto. That team was Notre Dame whose imposing 38-17 triumph stated the case that they belong in the playoff discussion. A major part of Notre Dame's rise in recent weeks has been the stellar play of quarterback Ian Book. In the past two weeks he has passed for over 600 yards and 6 touchdowns after being named the starter over the incumbent Brandon Wimbush. The Fighting Irish will need to keep on winning to remain a playoff team by the end of the year, starting with a ranked matchup against Virginia Tech on Saturday Night.
Tumultuous Result of Quarterback Battle at Clemson Leaves Tigers Vulnerable
The big story for Clemson heading into last week's game against Syracuse was their quarterback situation. After a battle that raged for 4 weeks of the regular season between freshman Trevor Lawrence and senior Kelly Bryant, Head Coach named Lawrence the starter going forward. In a hasty and selfish decision Bryant decided to transfer the day after he learned the news. That disappointing decision would hurt the Tigers against the Syracuse Orange.
Syracuse also came into the game undefeated and proved how capable they were by bottling up Lawrence and Clemson's talented running backs, allowing only 7 points in the 1st half. Meanwhile, their offense led by senior quarterback Eric Dungey scratched together 16 points. Making matters worse for the Tigers Lawrence went down after a hard hit just before the half and left the game with concussion-like symptoms.
It was now up to inexperienced freshman Chase Brice to come in and be the hero. The stable of running backs behind Brice helped him out, helping the Tigers to two field goals in the third quarter. But after a Syracuse touchdown early in the fourth quarter, things were looking desperate for the Tigers. Fortunately, the Tigers responded quickly with a quick drive containing two good completions by Brice and a long touchdown run by Travis Etienne.
Then, after a great effort by the Clemson defense, the Tigers got the ball back with 6 minutes to play. Starting at their own 6-yard line Clemson drove the length of the field, moving the ball largely on rushes by Etienne and his fellow running back Tavean Feaster. Brice came through as well, completing a critical pass on 4th and 7. Etienne ran the ball into the end zone with 41 seconds left in the Tigers would go on to pull off a narrow victory that keeps them in the hunt for the playoffs. Whether they can live up to that will depend on how quickly Lawrence returns from his injury.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Friday, September 28, 2018
Week 4 Headlines 2018
2018's (First?) Week of Chaos
The one certainty in college football is its uncertainty. On any given Saturday, a team viewed as strong or nearly unbeatable lets overconfidence get the best of them, performing below their usual standards. Or sometimes they simply suffer a defeat because their opponents play well enough to pull off an upset.
One of the most exciting occurrences in college football is when a bunch of these unexpected results burst onto the news on the same weekend! Week 4 of 2018 was one such week. Six top 25 teams lost last weekend, 5 of them in major upsets to unranked teams. Most shockingly, the winless Old Dominion Monarchs took down Virginia Tech by a 2 full. touchdowns 49-35. Also saddled by a 0-3 record, the Purdue Boilermakers nonetheless defeated a highly regarded Boston College team 30-13 with a impressive defensive effort.
In the southeast, Kentucky moved to 4-0 with a startling 28-7 smackdown of 14th ranked Mississippi State. And rounding out the upsets were Texas Tech's 41-17 defeat of Oklahoma State and Texas' 31-17 hard-fought victory over TCU. The question is: will 2018 contain a 2nd week that will flip our expectations upside down.
Oregon loses to Stanford at Autzen Stadium
Fans of the Oregon Ducks always pack the confines of Autzen Stadium to the max, making the atmosphere very loud for opposing teams. But just like in 2012, Oregon gave up a late lead at home in a big game against Stanford and lost. All Oregon had to do was kneel down 3 times to win, but instead they opt for a running play and the runner fumbles the ball while unnecessarily pushing for a few extra yards. Stanford uses the opportunity effectively, moving the ball far enough to set up for a field goal which kicker Jet Toner converts to send the game to overtime. Stanford gets the ball first in overtime, scores a touchdown, and prevents Oregon from doing so and notches a monumental win. So, now the Ducks are unranked once again. Perhaps they should choose a more fearsome team name.
The one certainty in college football is its uncertainty. On any given Saturday, a team viewed as strong or nearly unbeatable lets overconfidence get the best of them, performing below their usual standards. Or sometimes they simply suffer a defeat because their opponents play well enough to pull off an upset.
One of the most exciting occurrences in college football is when a bunch of these unexpected results burst onto the news on the same weekend! Week 4 of 2018 was one such week. Six top 25 teams lost last weekend, 5 of them in major upsets to unranked teams. Most shockingly, the winless Old Dominion Monarchs took down Virginia Tech by a 2 full. touchdowns 49-35. Also saddled by a 0-3 record, the Purdue Boilermakers nonetheless defeated a highly regarded Boston College team 30-13 with a impressive defensive effort.
In the southeast, Kentucky moved to 4-0 with a startling 28-7 smackdown of 14th ranked Mississippi State. And rounding out the upsets were Texas Tech's 41-17 defeat of Oklahoma State and Texas' 31-17 hard-fought victory over TCU. The question is: will 2018 contain a 2nd week that will flip our expectations upside down.
Oregon loses to Stanford at Autzen Stadium
Fans of the Oregon Ducks always pack the confines of Autzen Stadium to the max, making the atmosphere very loud for opposing teams. But just like in 2012, Oregon gave up a late lead at home in a big game against Stanford and lost. All Oregon had to do was kneel down 3 times to win, but instead they opt for a running play and the runner fumbles the ball while unnecessarily pushing for a few extra yards. Stanford uses the opportunity effectively, moving the ball far enough to set up for a field goal which kicker Jet Toner converts to send the game to overtime. Stanford gets the ball first in overtime, scores a touchdown, and prevents Oregon from doing so and notches a monumental win. So, now the Ducks are unranked once again. Perhaps they should choose a more fearsome team name.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Headlines Week 3 2018
Back-and-forth Affair Under the Lights in Dallas
In a marquee matchup inside the gleaming edifice of Dallas Cowboys stadium, the Ohio State Buckeyes battled the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs. It was truly a tale of two halves. When it mattered most, the Horned Frogs defense was suffocating in the 1st half, allowing the Buckeyes offense to score only 3 points. The TCU offense, led by quarterback Shawn Robinson, constructed a pair of touchdown drives that would give them the lead heading into the half. The lone Ohio State touchdown in the 1st half came when Buckeyes defensive end Nick Bosa sacked Robinson deep in his own territory and forced him to fumble. The ball was barely recovered in the endzone for a touchdown by Ohio State.
The Horned Frogs extended their lead on the running back Darius Anderson's 2nd rushing touchdown of the game. After that, however, the Buckeyes took control. Ohio State scored 3 touchdowns in a period of just under 4 minutes, the most exciting of which was a long reception from the arm of quarterback Dwayne Haskins to the hands of excellent receiver Parris Campbell. The more pivotal one, though, was an interception return for a touchdown by defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones. The Horned Frogs kept the game close with a long touchdown pass of their own, but Ohio State pulled away for good when Haskins sauntered into the endzone for a score at the end of a efficienct drive. And so, yet again, the Buckeyes departed the magnificent stadium with a huge victory.
I also have to tell you the story behind Dwayne Haskins. Ten years, he and his family visited the Ohio State campus. Upon touring the area showcasing the past glories of Ohio State sports, young Dwayne expressed his desire to one day attend college there. When his father inquired further as to why he wanted to be a Buckeye, Haskins declared, "I'm going to play quarterback here someday." Quite a vivid reason to dream big and try your hardest to achieve it.
The Annual "Battle of the Tigers" Comes Down to the Final Play
The yearly contest between the Auburn Tigers and the Tigers of Louisiana State University usually provides college football enthusiasts with one of the best games of the year. Aside from the obvious similarities, both teams compete in the hotly-contested SEC West division, often have championship hopes, and have fiercely loyal fan bases. Can you spell, R-I-V-A-L-R-Y!
These important division matchups are won or lost in the trenches, a term for the game-long shoving match between each teams' offensive and defensive lines. Looking at the final rushing stats, the result of that was basically a draw.
LSU quieted some of initial enthusiasm of the Auburn home crowd by taking a 10 point lead halfway through the 2nd quarter. Then, Auburn roared back with two rushing touchdowns to jump ahead 14-10 going into halftime.
Auburn jumped further into the lead at the end of a two minute drive when quarterback Jarrett Stidham completed a short TD pass to receiver Darius Slayton. After that, the LSU defense tightened up, refusing to surrender any more points. This allowed LSU to storm back in the final 20 minutes of play. They scored first on a field goal by Cole Tracy and then leapt to within 2 points after a long touchdown pass and catch from quarterback Joe Burrow to receiver Derrick Dillon.
Beginning with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game, Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, led his team on a methodical, 14 play drive receiver that included a clutch 4th and 7 completion to Dee Anderson. Later in this critical drive, a pass interference call on Auburn guaranteed LSU would at least get a chance for a last second field goal. Kicker Cole Tracy, who had missed a long field goal in the first half, came on to attempt a 42 yarder with 2 seconds to go. Tracy became the hero on campus for the next week when he nailed the kick right down the middle. With that, the LSU Tigers are now the top challenger to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC West.
The Struggle of First Year Head Coaches
In the current world where fans expect results quickly, there are plenty of fan bases dissatisfied with their first year head coaches.
Let's start with Kevin Sumlin at Arizona who is 1-2 after two head-scratching losses where the offense played poorly, followed by a easy win over a weak opponent. Then you have Willie Taggert at Florida State whose team got manhandled in a big opening game against Virginia Tech, barely defeated little known Samford, and then got blown out by Syracuse.
Scott Frost, who coached UCF to an undefeated season last year, has yet to secure a win at Nebraska. His Cornhuskers have suffered two close losses, the first in a well-fought rivalry against Colorado, which I wrote about in Week 1, and an upset loss to the Trojans of Troy, Alabama. However, that result is more understandable when you know that the Trojans marched into LSU's home stadium and upset them last season as well.
Most surprising is Chip Kelly's terrible 0-3 start at UCLA. He is a well-regarded former NFL head coach, originally viewed as one of the best of the new coaching hires. But the college game is very different from managing professionals. His Bruins were even listed as underdogs against the Fresno State Bulldogs, a team from a weaker conference. When the Bruins lost that game on Saturday, Vegad was proved right.
The one bright spot has been Herm Edwards at Arizona State. He is best known as an NFL analyst and had not coached in 10 years! But he is sitting comfortably at 2-1, mainly because one of those victories was a superb upset of #13 Michigan State.
In a marquee matchup inside the gleaming edifice of Dallas Cowboys stadium, the Ohio State Buckeyes battled the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs. It was truly a tale of two halves. When it mattered most, the Horned Frogs defense was suffocating in the 1st half, allowing the Buckeyes offense to score only 3 points. The TCU offense, led by quarterback Shawn Robinson, constructed a pair of touchdown drives that would give them the lead heading into the half. The lone Ohio State touchdown in the 1st half came when Buckeyes defensive end Nick Bosa sacked Robinson deep in his own territory and forced him to fumble. The ball was barely recovered in the endzone for a touchdown by Ohio State.
The Horned Frogs extended their lead on the running back Darius Anderson's 2nd rushing touchdown of the game. After that, however, the Buckeyes took control. Ohio State scored 3 touchdowns in a period of just under 4 minutes, the most exciting of which was a long reception from the arm of quarterback Dwayne Haskins to the hands of excellent receiver Parris Campbell. The more pivotal one, though, was an interception return for a touchdown by defensive tackle Dre'Mont Jones. The Horned Frogs kept the game close with a long touchdown pass of their own, but Ohio State pulled away for good when Haskins sauntered into the endzone for a score at the end of a efficienct drive. And so, yet again, the Buckeyes departed the magnificent stadium with a huge victory.
I also have to tell you the story behind Dwayne Haskins. Ten years, he and his family visited the Ohio State campus. Upon touring the area showcasing the past glories of Ohio State sports, young Dwayne expressed his desire to one day attend college there. When his father inquired further as to why he wanted to be a Buckeye, Haskins declared, "I'm going to play quarterback here someday." Quite a vivid reason to dream big and try your hardest to achieve it.
The Annual "Battle of the Tigers" Comes Down to the Final Play
The yearly contest between the Auburn Tigers and the Tigers of Louisiana State University usually provides college football enthusiasts with one of the best games of the year. Aside from the obvious similarities, both teams compete in the hotly-contested SEC West division, often have championship hopes, and have fiercely loyal fan bases. Can you spell, R-I-V-A-L-R-Y!
These important division matchups are won or lost in the trenches, a term for the game-long shoving match between each teams' offensive and defensive lines. Looking at the final rushing stats, the result of that was basically a draw.
LSU quieted some of initial enthusiasm of the Auburn home crowd by taking a 10 point lead halfway through the 2nd quarter. Then, Auburn roared back with two rushing touchdowns to jump ahead 14-10 going into halftime.
Auburn jumped further into the lead at the end of a two minute drive when quarterback Jarrett Stidham completed a short TD pass to receiver Darius Slayton. After that, the LSU defense tightened up, refusing to surrender any more points. This allowed LSU to storm back in the final 20 minutes of play. They scored first on a field goal by Cole Tracy and then leapt to within 2 points after a long touchdown pass and catch from quarterback Joe Burrow to receiver Derrick Dillon.
Beginning with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game, Burrow, a transfer from Ohio State, led his team on a methodical, 14 play drive receiver that included a clutch 4th and 7 completion to Dee Anderson. Later in this critical drive, a pass interference call on Auburn guaranteed LSU would at least get a chance for a last second field goal. Kicker Cole Tracy, who had missed a long field goal in the first half, came on to attempt a 42 yarder with 2 seconds to go. Tracy became the hero on campus for the next week when he nailed the kick right down the middle. With that, the LSU Tigers are now the top challenger to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC West.
The Struggle of First Year Head Coaches
In the current world where fans expect results quickly, there are plenty of fan bases dissatisfied with their first year head coaches.
Let's start with Kevin Sumlin at Arizona who is 1-2 after two head-scratching losses where the offense played poorly, followed by a easy win over a weak opponent. Then you have Willie Taggert at Florida State whose team got manhandled in a big opening game against Virginia Tech, barely defeated little known Samford, and then got blown out by Syracuse.
Scott Frost, who coached UCF to an undefeated season last year, has yet to secure a win at Nebraska. His Cornhuskers have suffered two close losses, the first in a well-fought rivalry against Colorado, which I wrote about in Week 1, and an upset loss to the Trojans of Troy, Alabama. However, that result is more understandable when you know that the Trojans marched into LSU's home stadium and upset them last season as well.
Most surprising is Chip Kelly's terrible 0-3 start at UCLA. He is a well-regarded former NFL head coach, originally viewed as one of the best of the new coaching hires. But the college game is very different from managing professionals. His Bruins were even listed as underdogs against the Fresno State Bulldogs, a team from a weaker conference. When the Bruins lost that game on Saturday, Vegad was proved right.
The one bright spot has been Herm Edwards at Arizona State. He is best known as an NFL analyst and had not coached in 10 years! But he is sitting comfortably at 2-1, mainly because one of those victories was a superb upset of #13 Michigan State.
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