Moments in College Football History

First Down. Send in the Punter.

Have you ever sat through a low-scoring college football game, a defensive struggle with both teams slugging away, unable to gain a clear advantage? Sometimes they are amazing to watch. Defenses dominate, and field position is of primary importance. Tension builds as the game goes on, and the significance of every offensive play is magnified. A field goal can be huge. A touchdown monumental.

For a number of years, beginning in the 80's, Alabama and Penn State played each other regularly. In some of those games there were scoring outbursts, but often the results were like this: 1984, Alabama 6-0. 1988, Alabama 8-3. 1990, Penn State 9-0.

For some reason, I was thinking about those kinds of games the other day, and I wondered... How many punts had there ever been in one game? What's the NCAA record? Want to guess?

Go ahead, guess. I'll wait.

Give up?


Texas Tech in the 1939 Cotton Bowl

On November 11, 1939, Texas Tech met Centenary in Shreveport, Louisiana (Centenary College no longer fields a football team, but their nickname is the Gentlemen or Gents). The game was played in a heavy downpour, and neither team wanted the ball.

To this day, Charlie Calhoun from Texas Tech holds the individual record for most punts in a game. In that one game, he punted 36 times. And 33 of them were on first down!

The two teams combined for 77 punts.

Not surprisingly, the game ended in a scoreless tie.

Upon Further Review (Week 4)

Alleged Experts Getting Stupider

Alleged TV analyst Bob Davie opened the telecast of the Florida-Kentucky game on ESPN 2 by asking,
"How will Florida bounce back from their ten point win over Tennessee?"

Bob, how do you bounce back from a win? Why do the alleged experts continue to treat that game as if it were a loss? Look at the box score. Please. Florida scored more points than Tennessee. The outcome was never really in doubt.

But when Michigan needs a touchdown with 2:29 left in the game to beat Indiana 36-33 in Ann Arbor, ABC's John Saunders later says, "the Wolverines continue to roll...." Really?

Indiana had 467 yards of total offense and scored 33 points. They had more trips into the red zone (5) than Michigan (2), but settled too often for field goals, and that turned out to be the difference in the game.

Meanwhile, Michigan's defense is currently ranked 89th in the nation. In October, they play at Iowa and at Penn State. That's when we'll find out if they're on a roll, John.

(Photo courtesy of ESPN.com)

It's Tough at the Top

Last week was not a good time to be ranked in the Top 10 in college football. Number 4 (Mississippi), 5 (Penn State), 6 (California) and 9 (Miami) all lost. And number 7 (LSU) needed a late goal line stand to preserve a win over Mississippi State.

Mississippi's loss to South Carolina (Thursday) was the 4th time this season that a top 5 team has lost to an unranked opponent.

With drama from the top of the ranks to the bottom, it was another extremely entertaining week in college football. Georgia beat Arizona State 20-17 with a field goal on the last play of the game. Houston's 29-28 win over Texas Tech was really fun to watch. Boston College squeaked by Wake Forest 27-24 in overtime. NC State rallied from a 31-17 deficit to beat Pittsburgh 38-31. Purdue fell behind 17-7, then came back to take the lead, and then choked it away in a 24-21 loss to Notre Dame. Which leads me to...

The Bone Head Call of the Week

Nursing a 21-17 lead with :37 remaining, Purdue stopped Notre Dame on the 2 yard line on 2nd and goal. The Irish had no timeouts left, and almost no option but to scramble to line up on 3rd down and spike the ball to stop the clock. That would leave them one shot at the end zone on 4th down.

For reasons that only he knows, Purdue coach Danny Hope decided, at that moment, to call a timeout. Thankfully, I was watching at home alone, and nobody heard the things I screamed at the TV.

Never mind the chance of a miscue on a hurried shotgun snap to a hobbled Jimmy Clausen. Never mind the idea of making Notre Dame scramble to line up correctly - they had already been called for three illegal formation penalties in the game when they had tons of time to line up.

Oh no. Timeout, Purdue.

I guess he wanted to make sure his defense was organized, but what he did was allow Notre Dame the luxury of running two plays rather than just one.

They needed both of them. The 3rd down play was an incomplete pass, but, on 4th down, Clausen threw a touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph. The Irish win.

After the game, Hope said, "If I looked at the situation again, maybe it wasn’t a great idea."

Ya think?

My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

#4 Ole Miss at South Carolina - I thought South Carolina had a good defense. Then, last week, they gave up 41 points to a previously pedestrian Georgia offense. I also thought Gamecock QB Stephen Garcia was kind of a head case, but he has actually put together a couple of decent performances in a row. Mississippi began this season with huge expectations, and their highest ranking in almost 40 years. Strangely, Houston Nutt's teams seem to do better as underdogs. The Gamecock defense should return to form at home, and help pull off the upset.

#1 Florida at Kentucky - This might be a "trap" game for Florida if they hadn't spent the week fuming about their allegedly sub par performance against Tennessee. Kentucky coach Rich Brooks has returned the Wildcats to respectability, but they haven't beaten Florida since 1986. The Gators will make it 23 in a row.

#9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech - I have to be honest and say that I thought Miami would start the season 0-4, and I was quite happy about it. But somewhere along the way, I started to like Hurricane QB Jacory Harris. His composure on the field is remarkable. The Hokies, on the other hand were extremely lucky to beat Nebraska last week. Virginia Tech's office is not good - 78th in the nation in total offense. I think Miami has too many horses for the Hokies.

Texas Tech at #17 Houston - This should be an extremely entertaining game. Houston signal-caller Case Keenum is 4th in the nation in passing - which would be impressive except for the fact that Texas Tech QB Taylor Potts is 1st. The question is, can either team play defense? I'm going to go with the home team. This would be another huge win for the Cougars.

#6 California at Oregon - There are only four FBS teams that haven't thrown at least one touchdown pass so far this season. Oregon is one of them. A terrific ground game probably won't be enough to beat Cal. The Golden Bears have a terrific back in Jahvid Best, and an accurate passer in Kevin Riley. A Duck win would blow the Pac 10 race wide open, but, while I think they can keep it close, I don't see them beating Cal, not even in Autzen Stadium.

Silly Video of the Week

College football. Nothing else matters...

Upon Further Review (Week 3)

Yay! We Lost!!

I would like to extend a personal congratulations to all the Tennessee fans who are bubbling with joy about not losing too badly. Seriously?

With 11:37 remaining in the game, and Florida leading 23-6, Tim Tebow, rather uncharacteristically, fumbled at the Tennessee 2 yard line. If not for that, the Gators probably take a 30-6 lead (ironically, the same score as last year's game) and no Vols are walking around patting themselves on the back.

But here's what you really need to know. Look at the play-by-play log for the 4th quarter. Tennessee, trailing by 10, got the ball back with 6:01 remaining in the game. They used 3:59 off the clock before calling a timeout with 2:01 left to decide what to do on 4th and 6 (Jonathan Crompton ended up throwing an interception) from their own 49 yard line.

Let me say that another way.

Needing two scores, with 6 minutes left in the game, they burned 4 minutes and didn't even cross midfield.

This is a team that's trying to win? No. This is a team that's happy not to lose too badly. You know who talks about moral victories? Losers.

Defense Anyone?

Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor wasn't spectacular against Nebraska. He completed 12 out of 27 passes, but the last two were the most important.

With just over a minute left in the game, a pass to Danny Coale went for 81 yards to the Nebraska 3. After a sack and an incomplete pass, Taylor threw to Dyrell Roberts in the endzone for the game-winning touchdown.

On the first completion, Nebraska safety Matt O'Hanlon was miles away from Coale. On the second, Taylor was allowed to run around for a full 10seconds before throwing the game winner. Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is known as a defensive guy, but, holy cow, where was the defense at the end of that game?

My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

#14 Georgia Tech at #20 Miami - Miami quarterback Jacory Harris looks like he may become a real playmaker. Does he have the necessary talent around him? Maybe. Georgia Tech has taken four straight from Miami, and, in theory, has the running game necessary to wear down the 'Cane defense. But I think the Yellow Jackets' pass defense is terrible, and that may be the weakness that allows Miami to win.

Tennessee at #1 Florida - This one is easy. This is Lane Kiffin's First Annual SEC Beatdown. Eventually, he will learn to temper his comments when he talks about his conference rivals. There is little doubt that Tennessee will improve under coach Kiffin, but, come on, they were 5-7 last year. There's lots of room for improvement, and they still won't be better than Florida at home.

Florida State at #7 BYU - BYU was Quarterback U back in the 80's. It looks like they have another good one in Max Hall. Even though FSU's pass defense looked terrible in their season-opening loss to Miami, let's face it that was Miami. This will tell us if BYU's win over Oklahoma was just a fluke, and this is exactly the kind of game Florida State wins. The 'Noles are too athletic for the Cougars.

Texas Tech at #2 Texas - The folks at Texas were one play away from a possible shot at a national championship game last year (assuming they would have gone on to win the Big 12 Championship Game), and Texas Tech was the team that completed that big play. Much of the talent from that Red Raiders team has departed, but the Longhorns still have theirs.

#19 Nebraska at #13 Virginia Tech - I'll admit it. I'm not sold on Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor. And I think this is exactly the kind of road win Nebraska needs if they are going to convince anyone that they're "back." The Cornhuskers have yet to beat a top 15 team under Bo Pelini, but I think they get it done on Saturday.

Upon Further Review (Week 2)

I'll get it right this time...

Nobody's Back Until I Say They're Back

After this past Saturday's games, the alleged experts are now telling us that Michigan and Notre Dame are "back.".

ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg even used that as the heading for the Sunday entry on his blog. "Michigan is back."

CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel says in his column, "...for close to four hours Saturday, Notre Dame and Michigan mattered again. And you might want to get used to it. Because they're back."

I'm not denying that it was an entertaining game. The outcome wasn't decided until Michigan regained the lead by scoring a touchdown with just eleven seconds remaining.

But it reminded me of something that CBS TV analyst Gary Danielson said after Ohio State nipped Michigan 42-39 in 2006, and earned the right to play for the national championship. While the other alleged experts gushed about the fearsome display of offense, and dubbed the game an instant classic, Danielson said, "To me, it looked like two teams with no defense."

When the time came to play the Big Game, Ohio State gave up 41 points to Florida while managing just 14 of their own. The Buckeyes had run into a team with a defense.

In Saturday's Notre Dame - Michigan game, the two teams combined to score 72 points and pile up 920 yards of offense. So, I ask you, what will happen when they run into a team with a defense? That's when we'll find out if they're "back."

(Note: Photo from Newsday.com)


A Spectacular Saturday in College Football

I spent about twenty hours watching college football last week, and enjoyed every minute of it. Great games on Thursday and Friday night turned out to be just an hors d'oeuvre for the weekend's main course. It was a spectacular Saturday that clearly showcased the drama and excitement that is college football.

There were the high-profile games that everybody heard about:

USC over Ohio State 18-15

Michigan over Notre Dame 38-34

UCLA over Tennessee 19-15

But there were close, hard-fought, entertaining games all over the place, along with some big upsets...

Georgia Tech survived a furious Clemson rally to win 30-27

Toledo raced past Colorado 54-38

Houston beat Oklahoma State 45-35 in Stillwater

Central Michigan toppled Michigan State in East Lansing 29-27

North Carolina scraped by Connecticut 12-10

Georgia survived a shootout with South Carolina 41-37

Wake Forest scored a touchdown with :02 remaining to beat Stanford 24-17

Missouri scored the last three touchdowns of the game to edge Bowling Green 27-20

Wisconsin needed two overtimes to top a feisty Fresno State team in Madison 34-31

Florida State lucked into two touchdowns in the final :35 to escape Jacksonville State 19-9

Maryland kicked an overtime field goal on James Madison to avoid an upset 38-35

Louisiana-Lafayette upset Kansas State 17-15

Oregon outdueled Purdue 38-35

I love college football.

Silly Video of the Week

I laughed the first time I watched it. So I watched it again. I laughed that time too. At least the kick was good...

My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

Clemson at #15 Georgia Tech - Both teams left room for improvement in last week's wins by nearly identical scores over inferior opponents. Clemson running back CJ Spiller is a bit nicked up, and the Tigers will start a freshman quarterback. If Georgia Tech can secure the ball, after fumbling five times against Jacksonville State, the Yellow Jackets' triple option attack will prevail.

#18 Notre Dame at Michigan - Does anyone else think that the state of affairs in Ann Arbor can best be described as turmoil? Michigan is starting a freshman at quarterback for just the second time since Gerald Ford was president, while Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen seems to have finally gotten a clue. Something tells me that the Irish will win this in a squeaker. Maybe I'm just ready to see Rich Rodriguez get all misty again during the post-game press conference.

South Carolina at #21 Georgia - There is one sure thing about Steve Spurrier; he loves to beat Georgia. This series has turned into a pretty good rivalry, with 6 of the last 8 games being decided by a touchdown or less. South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia has been schizophrenic, looking at some times like a gifted athlete, and at other times like he's just stepped on to the field for the first time. The Dawgs scored a measly 10 points on a very average Oklahoma State defense last week. Is there a quarterback controversy brewing in Athens? Hmmm. I think the Gamecocks find a way to win this one.

UCLA at Tennessee - Neyland Stadium is an intimidating place, and it will most certainly make UCLA's freshman quarterback Kevin Prince a little nervous. If Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin will shut up long enough to notice there's a game going on, the Vols should win this one with strong defense and a solid running attack.

#3 USC at #8 Ohio State - Freshman quarterbacks seem to be an early, recurring theme in this young season. USC will start Matt Barkley Saturday against Ohio State. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are ranked eighth in the country, and what I want to know is, why? Until both teams prove me wrong, I'll continue to pick against the Buckeyes and for the Trojans.


EXTRA POINT - I think Western Michigan has a solid shot at beating Indiana at home. The Broncos aren't bad, and the Hoosiers aren't good. Oregon is a 12 point favorite at home against Purdue. After Thursday's performance, how can the Ducks be double-digit favorites over anybody? I think the Boilermakers keep it close.

Upon Further Review (Week 1)

I'll get it right this time...

Yeah, But Who's in the Trenches?

At the beginning of every season, as they evaluate each team in college football, the alleged experts always overvalue the return of skill players, and undervalue the return of the guys in the trenches. Always, always, always.

In retrospect, it should be no surprise that BYU knocked Sam Bradford out of Saturday's game. Oklahoma lost 4 starters from last year's offensive line, then lost their superstar tight end, Jermaine Gresham, to injury before the start of the season. That's one reason I predicted BYU would give the Sooners a scare. As it turned out, they gave them more than that.

Meanwhile, Colorado State, with college football's most experienced offensive line (125 combined games among the returning starters heading into this season) pushed Colorado's defense all around the field in a surprisingly easy upset in Boulder.

The least experienced offensive lines this year belong to Ball State (with 16 combined starts) and Memphis (18 combined starts). It is interesting to note that the team next in line in terms of inexperience is Oregon, with just 20 combined starts among the returning linemen. Is it any wonder that they were manhandled by Boise State's defense on Thursday?

Oddly enough, the Wall Street Journal has remarkably useful information on the subject of offensive line experience HERE.

A quarterback with great skills becomes very average when running for his life on every play. And a running back with great speed goes nowhere if there are no holes to run through. Before you pick a winner in a college football game, especially early in the season, you have to ask yourself, "Who's in the trenches?"

Where's the D?

After watching Miami beat Florida State in Tallahassee Monday night, the alleged experts would tell us that both teams are back. On ESPN.com, Heather Dinich says:

Miami took the early lead in the conference race, and officially has the slight edge in the race between the two former powerhouses in their quest to return to national supremacy. This game also showed that Florida State and Miami, unlike many of their counterparts in the conference, came prepared to play on Week 1.

I'll tell you what I saw: a game in which both defenses were lousy. The only thing more surprising than the fact that Miami's defense gave up 294 yards passing is the fact that Florida State's gave up 386 yards. The two teams combined for 880 yards of total offense.

ACC fans are clinging to this game as a sign of hope for the league, but let's not forget that Virginia lost at home to William and Mary, Duke lost at home to Richmond, Wake Forest lost at home to Baylor, NC State lost at home to South Carolina, Maryland got pummeled at Cal, and Virginia Tech was slowly overpowered by Alabama in Atlanta.

Miami and Florida State may be carrying the torch for the league, but the torch isn't burning all that brightly at the moment.

My Crystal Ball Says...

...that I know what will happen in this week's key games. Always remember that I'm right, and your team sucks.

South Carolina at NC State - College football 2009 kicks off with a contest between two decent teams. Great things are expected from Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson, who threw 17 touchdown passes with only 1 interception as a freshman in 2008. Oddly, Spurrier's Gamecocks have been winning - when they do actually win - with good defense and a solid running game. QB Stephen Garcia is inconsistent, at best. The teams appear pretty evenly matched, and, with that being the case, I'll take an SEC defense any day, even on the road. Go Cocks.

#16 Oregon at #14 Boise State - Boise State gave us one of the most entertaining college football games ever - their overtime win over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. For that, I will always be grateful (plus I like almost anybody who beats the Sooners). The Ducks have a high-powered offense and the ugliest uniforms known to man. I think the Broncos are for real, especially at home, and should win what promises to be an exciting game.

#13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State - There's a lot of pre-season hype surrounding Oklahoma State. They do have some great offensive weapons, but, if you look at last season's results, they played four good teams and lost each of those games. Georgia's defense let them down last year, and has been a point of emphasis during the offseason. Under Mark Richt, the Dawgs have a 30-4 road record. That's pretty impressive. The Cowboys are favored, but, once again, when in doubt, I'll take the SEC defense.

#5 Alabama vs #7 Virginia Tech (in Atlanta) - Mention the Virginia Tech offense and Hokie fans tell you about Tyrod Taylor. Sometimes he is amazing. Sometimes he makes bone-headed mistakes. He is a gifted runner, but an average passer. Bama is breaking in a new quarterback, but their defense should be ferocious. Once again, give me the SEC stoppers. Roll Tide.

Miami at #18 Florida State - These once-great programs have fallen to a level of consistent mediocrity. I'm quite pleased about that. This year, I think Miami is slightly more mediocre than Florida State. Plus Miami is the road team. Plus I can't wait to watch them start the season 0-4, which I think is quite likely. The 'Noles should win this.


EXTRA POINT - I think Nevada (-14.5) and BYU (-22) will provide slightly better competition for Notre Dame and Oklahoma, respectively. At least one of them will beat the spread.

Oh My, It's September Already...

In the interest of being open and honest, I'd like to admit that I'm far behind in my preparations for the upcoming college football season. It's impossible to responsibly entertain and inform my internet audience without doing significant research. By this point in years past, I'd have already purchased every pre-season publication I could find, spent hours listening to the alleged experts on television and radio, and scoured the internet for tidbits of fact or rumor I might have missed elsewhere. But this year I've done almost none of that.

I've been wondering how I will face my readers when they begin to realize what has happened. My first thought was that I would weep briefly and deny everything, but I see Rich Rodriguez has already used that approach. Then, since we are talking about college football, it dawned on me that I could prepare like I did when I was in school, and attempt to learn in just a few days everything I should have spent the entire semester studying.

After a short time cramming, I can leave you with a few initial observations...

If I had to bet my life on it, I'd take Florida to win every game they play. They have the talent, the experience, the schedule, the on-the-field leadership, and the coaching that make national championships possible.

Others in the running:

Penn State - they play only two teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25, and get both of those teams at home.

USC - they play four teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25, but get all of them on the road. Plus they have to play those pesky Oregon State Beavers. Hmmm.

Texas/Oklahoma - the winner of this game should have a great shot at playing for all the marbles. Oh wait, we're talking about the Big 12, aren't we? This is the league that last year had the folly of its tie-breaking methods fully exposed, and then chose during the offseason to do absolutely nothing about it.

Are there any others in the running? No. The national champion will be one of the five teams mentioned above.

Alabama and Virginia Tech should have great defenses. They will need them. Too many holes and/or inexperience on offense will leave both of them struggling to score points against quality opponents.

Does Ohio State really scare anybody outside the Big 10+1?

I think Mississippi will win the SEC West (they get Alabama and LSU at home), and then get pounded by Florida in the league championship game. Florida lost one game last season. Do you think they'd like a chance at a re-do?

Oklahoma State's key problem, besides a porous defense, is that they are in the same division as Oklahoma and Texas.

LSU will likely lose to Florida and Mississippi.

See? I didn't have to study all summer to figure that out. Besides, I am limited by the NCAA to 20 hours of work each week.