Syracuse Orange

Oct. 22
Pitt 34 ... Syracuse 17---College Football---
Pitt overcame two blocked kicks to force five turnovers and score 27 unanswered points on two Tyler Palko touchdown runs, two Josh Cummings field goals and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Derek Kinder. The Pitt defense helped the cause in the first half on a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown by H.B. Blades, but Syracuse was able to answer with a 21-yard blocked punt for a score.---College Football---
Player of the game: Pitt LB H.B .Blades made 11 tackles, returned one interception for a touchdown and recovered a fumble.---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 9-25, 89 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 23-74. Receiving: RIce Moss, 2-29---College Football---
Pitt - Passing: Tyler Palko, 18-28, 201 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT---College Football---
Rushing: LaRod Stephens, 23-101. Receiving: Derek Kinder, 8-81, 1 TD---College Football---
What to take away from this game: 0 of 12 on third down conversions. That's what Syracuse was. Nine of 18 on third down conversions. That's what Pitt was. Even with several breaks and good momentum early, Syracuse wasn't able to take advantage and got its doors blown off in the second half. It's time to do something, anything at quarterback with Perry Patterson failing to move the ball and turning the ball over three times. With home games against Cincinnati and USF next, the wins have to come now. ---College Football---
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Oct. 15---College Football---
Rutgers 31 ... Syracuse 9---College Football---
Rutgers got out to a 31-0 lead on two touchdown passes from Mike Teel and a blocked punt for a field goal and a fumble recovery for a score from Corey Barnes. Syracuse was awful on third downs unable to keep the chains moving going one of 14 and only managed 238 yards of total offense. ---College Football---
Player of the game: Rutgers DB Corey Barnes made three tackles, returned a fumble for a touchdown, and scored on a blocked field goal attempt.---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 13-24, 167 yds---College Football---
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 19-72. Receiving: Tim Lane, 4-66---College Football---
Rutgers - Passing: Mike Teel, 13-27, 203 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT---College Football---
Rushing: Ray Rice, 17-81. Receiving: Brian Leonard, 4-66---College Football---
What to take away from this game: The Syracuse offense seems to be getting worse. It's not getting anything significant from the passing game, and Damien Rhodes can't handle the entire offense on his own. The Rutgers defense isn't nearly good enough to shut anyone down, but SU wasn't able to make it close at home. It's a shame the defense isn't getting more help; it's playing more than well enough to win in the Big East. LB Kelvin Smith is playing at an All-Big East level. ---College Football---
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Oct. 7---College Football---
Connecticut 26 ... Syracuse 7---College Football---
Terry Caulley ran for two touchdowns, Matt Nuzie connected on field goals of 59 and 35 yards, and and D.J .Hernandez, in for injured starting quarterback Matt Bonislawski, ran for a one-yard score. Syracuse only gained 273 yards of total offense and wasn't able to get into the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter on a 33-yard touchdown pass to Nick Chestnut. ---College Football---
Player of the game: Connecticut RB Terry Caulley ran 23 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns. ---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 10-28, 125 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 20-82. Receiving: Damien Rhodes, 2-25
Connecticut - Passing: D.J. Hernandez, 4-8, 31 yds
Rushing: Terry Caulley, 23-86, 2 TD. Receiving: Jason Williams, 2-20
What to take away from this game: The passing game isn't even close to coming around. Damien Rhodes is trying to do it all by himself, but he needs help from a passing attack that isn't there coming off a ten for 28 performance from Perry Patterson against Connecticut. That would be fine if the ground game was steamrolling over defenses, but it's not close to being dominating. Patterson doesn't have to chuck the ball 50 times a game; it just has to be better on third downs.---College Football---
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Oct. 1---College Football---
Florida State 38 ... Syracuse 14---College Football---
Drew Weatherford threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in the easy Florida State win. The Noles were up 24-0 before Syracuse got on the board with a Perry Patterson two-yard touchdown run. Lorenzo Booker put it well out of reach with a 71-yard touchdown catch. FSU outgained Syracuse 512 yards to 234.---College Football---
Player of the game: Florida State QB Drew Weatherford completed 17 of 26 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns with an interception and ran for a short score.---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 14-25, 189 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dominic Rhodes, 15-44. Receiving: Dominic Rhodes, 4-70
Florida State - Passing: Drew Weatherford, 17-26, 234 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Leon Washington, 9-38. Receiving: Willie Reid, 5-70, 1 TD
What to take away from this game: Syracuse can't play with the big boys if it only averages 1.5 yards per carry. The defense was decent against the Florida State athletes, but not the rock it needed to be to make up for the struggling offense. The defensive line got some decent pressure into the backfield, but FSU QB Drew Weatherford still picked apart the secondary. Meanwhile, the offensive line didn't do enough to keep Perry Patterson clean.
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Sept. 17---College Football---
Virginia 27 ... Syracuse 24---College Football---
Virginia's Connor Hughes hit a 19-yard field goal with one second to play for the win. The Cavaliers appeared to have the game in hand after a 70-yard touchdown run from Michael Johnson, but Syracuse came back on a three-yard Perry Patterson touchdown run and a 27-yard John Barker filed goal. The play of Virginia QB Marques Hagans on the final drive mixing up a few scrambles with some short passes proved to be the difference. Patterson ran for two scores for the Orange; Cedric Peerman scored twice for the Cavaliers.
Player of the game: Virginia QB completed 16 of 26 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions, and ran 14 times for 110 yards. ---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 18-27, 172 yds, 1 TD---College Football---
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 27-79. Receiving: Joe Kowalewski, 8-96, 1 TD---College Football---
Virginia - Passing: Marques Hagans, 16-26, 145 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT---College Football---
Rushing: Marques Hagans, 14-110. Receiving: Deyon Williams, 7-62---College Football---
What to take away from this game: It doesn't come as a shock that Syracuse still has a ways to go before being a top team, but Greg Robinson's crew did a nice job against a top 25 team in Virginia. In time, this will be a defense that can come up with the key late stop. For now, the defense is going to have to fight through some growing pains. The offense showed a sign of life against a good defense, but there needs to be more of a passing game to keep it close against Florida State next week. ---College Football---
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Sept. 10---College Football---
Syracuse 31 ... Buffalo 0---College Football---
Syracuse RB Damien Rhodes ran for four touchdowns on dashes of 27, 50, 54 and one yards, while the Orange defense held Buffalo to 123 yards of total offense and five first downs. SU cranked out 348 rushing yards led by Rhodes' 236. Buffalo's quarterback only completed nine of 27 passes for 73 yards.
Player of the game: Syracuse RB Damien Rhodes ran 28 times for 236 yards and four touchdowns. ---College Football---
Stat Leaders: Buffalo - Passing: Drew Willy, 5-9, 54 yds---College Football---
Rushing: Steven King, 11-20. Receiving: Derrick Dyer, 4-52
Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 10-20, 139 yds---College Football---
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 28-236, 4 TD. Receiving: Tim Lane, 3-62---College Football---
What to take away from this game: O.K., so it's only against Buffalo, but at least the offense knows it can move the ball. RB Damien Rhodes showed why he's good enough to revolve the offense around with his 236 yards and four scores, but it would be nice if Perry Patterson and the passing game showed more of a spark. Considering how well the ground game worked, Patterson should've been better than ten for 20 for 139 yards. For the second straight game, the defense showed the effects of having a coach like Greg Robinson working with it. ---College Football---

Sept. 3---College Football---
West Virginia 15 ... Syracuse 7---College Football---
This wasn't one for the ages. West Virginia cranked out 339 yards of total offense, but turned it over five times. Syracuse only managed 103 yards of offense and took advantage of a turnover for a five-yard Damien Rhodes touchdown run early in the second quarter. West Virginia scored 15 unanswered points with Erik Wicks picking off a pass for the only Mountaineer touchdown. Pat McAfee connected on field goals of 33 and 26 yards.
Player of the game: West Virginia S Erik Wicks made four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception for a touchdown---College Football---
Stat Leaders: West Virginia - Passing: Adam Bednarik, 14-21, 104 yds, 1 INT---College Football---
Rushing: Adam Bednarik, 12-72. Receiving: Darius Reynaud, 6-39---College Football---
Syracuse - Passing: Perry Patterson, 15-31, 85 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Damien Rhodes, 16-55, 1 TD. Receiving: Damien Rhodes, 7-21
What to take away from this game: Well, the defense certainly looked good vs. West Virginia. The offense will be all anyone talks about, and rightly so, as there wasn't anything to rely on. QB Perry Patterson doesn't appear to have improved his passing, Damien Rhodes didn't have any room to run, and none of the receivers stepped up and made plays. Obviously there's some tweaking needed with the new offense, and it had better come fast with Virginia and Florida State coming up soon. ---College Football---
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2005 Schedule ---College Football---
Sept. 3 – West Virginia (7-4, 5-2 in Big East) – Offense: Expect a major step back from Big East's number two offense of last year with almost all the skill positions going through a major overhaul hurt by a woeful lack of experience at quarterback and receiver. The running game will be up to the normally high Mountaineer standards with three good backs (Jason Colson, Pernell Williams and Erick Phillips) operating behind a good, veteran line. The winner of the three-man quarterback derby will have to be razor-sharp until the receiving corps comes around.---College Football---
Defense: The defense had a strong year, but it has to replace some major players including all-everything corner Adam "Pac Man" Jones. Even so, the secondary is the strength of the defense with three solid All-Big East candidates in FS Jahmile Addae, S Mike Lorello and CB Anthony Mims. The front three will be a rock with 295-pound veterans ready to hold the line. The question mark is at linebacker where tough backups have to become reliable starters. There's solid depth everywhere.---College Football---

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Sept. 10 - Buffalo (3-8, 3-5 in MAC) – Offense: The passing attack was one of the worst in the nation, but there's hope for improvement with a decent receiving corps and rising star tight end Chad Upshaw. The key will be for the quarterback situation to work itself out needing one of four prospects to give the attack some desperately needed consistency. The running game has the potential to be good with a veteran line paving the way for three good backs.---College Football---
Defense: Could this be the best defense in the MAC? There are so many veterans that it can't help but be better. The defensive line is big, experienced and very deep at each spot. The 4-2-5 has four good linebackers to rotate while the secondary has as much athleticism as the program has ever seen. Pass rushing won't be a problem from the good ends, while lightning fast CB Gemara Williams will be among the best covermen in the MAC.
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Sept. 17 - Virginia (7-4, 4-4 in ACC) – Offense: The Cavaliers had one of the nation's best offenses ... against average teams. Lack of a deep threat receiver and inconsistency in the backfield led to problems against teams like Miami, Florida State and Virginia Tech. That should change now that quarterback Marques Hagans has a year of starting experience. The big, fast receivers should be better with more of a focus on the passing attack. The ground game will still be outstanding with Wali Lundy and Michael Johnson working behind a line that'll have to find a way to overcome the loss of Elton Brown and Zac Yarbrough.
Defense: The defense won't be quite the killer it was last year, but it'll be strong led by future millionaires Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham on the inside. Even though there aren't the stars of recent Cavalier defenses, there are plenty of great athletes and plenty of good, steady playmakers like Brennan Schmidt on the end and Tony Franklin at corner. There's decent depth everywhere.---College Football---

Oct. 1 – at Florida State (projected finish 8-3, 6-2 in ACC) – Offense: Is this the weakest Florida State offense in since 1981? The starting quarterback situation is a potential mess with Xavier Lee not looking ready for primetime this spring, Wyatt Sexton suspended and Drew Weatherford hurt. The best receivers are true freshmen, and the line doesn't appear to be anything special. What the Noles do have are two fantastic running backs with Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker needing to carry the offense until Lee gets his feet wet. Talent-wise, there's enough here to be explosive after fighting through a ton of growing pains, but the jury is out on whether or not Jeff Bowden is enough of a top-shelf offensive coordinator to be able to lead the attack to a better season after finishing 61st in the nation in total offense.---College Football---
Defense: The linebacking corps is among the best in America and safety Pat Watkins is a first round draft pick, but the rest of the defense is a major question mark after finishing seventh in the nation and fourth in scoring defense. The loss of rising star NG Clifton Dickson to academic problems and CB Antonio Cromartie to a knee injury is a huge hit for the rest of the D. The secondary will turn out to be fine if the star recruits of last year can quickly progress.---College Football---

Oct. 7 – at Connecticut (6-5, 3-4 in Big East) – Offense: All the focus is on the quarterback situation where Matt Bonislawski and D.J. Hernandez will try to replace heart-and-soul leader Dan Orlovsky, but the winner of the derby will be more than capable of putting up big numbers. The backfield is the best in the Big East with Terry Caulley returning from a knee injury to join defending Big East rushing champion Cornell Brockington. The receiving corps is more than solid despite some key losses. And then there's the offensive line. The interior could be a nightmare early, there aren't any true tackles and there's no depth whatsoever.
Defense: Is this the Big East's best defense? It'll be close with a deep and experienced front four and secondary. While the numbers are there as far as good retuning players, the star quality is gone with the departure of LBs Alfred Fincher and Maurice Lloyd along with CB Justin Perkins. Even so, don't expect much of a drop-off from the D that finished 27th in the nation last year unless there's a major fallout from losing five players to suspension due to the shooting of a vehicle window with a pellet gun.
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Oct. 15 - Rutgers (5-6, 2-5 in Big East) – Offense: QB Ryan Hart will once again lead one of the nation's most productive passing attacks with a loaded receiving corps highlighted by Tres Moses and tight end Clark Harris. Can the attack actually produce points on a regular basis? It struggled wildly with consistency and turnovers while getting nothing from a ground game that averaged 2.5 yards per carry and 83 yards per game. There's way too much experience in the backfield to have a repeat disaster.---College Football---
Defense: It's an interesting mix of talents and strengths with a great group of ends led by Ryan Neill and an experience linebacking corps, but there has been little in the way of overall results. With many newcomers to the mix last year in key spots, things got rocky finishing 104th in the nation in total defense and 88th in scoring D. The biggest area of improvement should be the secondary where Derrick Roberson and Joe Porter are good looking corners who should be over most of their struggles.---College Football---

Oct. 22 – at Pittsburgh (9-2, 6-1 in Big East) – Offense: There will be a slight shift in the offense from Walt Harris West Coast offense to more of a balanced, running style under offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh. Even so, there are more than enough weapons to have an explosive air attack with QB Tyler Palko, WRs Greg Lee and Joe DelSardo, and a fantastic tight end pair of Erik Gill and Steve Buches to keep the nation's 24th best passing offense going. The ground game won't be 105th in the nation again with a loaded backfield soon to be led by freshman sensation Rashad Jennings. The line is experienced, but it needs to be more consistent.---College Football---
Defense: Inconsistent throughout last year and average against the pass, there's hope for improvement with the return of seven starters and a truckload of depth. The strength is the back seven led by a linebacking corps that has several talented options to work with. The secondary has good corners in Josh Lay and Darrelle Revis, but they have to be better at not giving up the deep ball. The front four will be a concern if a reliable pass rusher doesn't develop.---College Football---

Oct. 29 - Cincinnati (3-8, 1-6 in Big East) – Offense: Last year's experienced offense averaged 406 yards and 29 points per game, and now just about everyone needs to be replaced. The backfield will be solid with redshirt freshman QB Dustin Grutza looking ready to be a more-than-capable fill-in for Gino Guidugli. There are enough running backs to come up with a steady rotation, but they're going to have a hard time early on behind a developing line. The receiving corps has potential if a number one target emerges.
Defense: Outside of the 70-7 loss to Louisville, the defense was solid last season allowing 341 yards and 27 points per game. Eight starters need to be replaced with some major holes on the front seven. Fortunately, the Bearcats have a solid defensive coaching staff. The linebacking corps has no experience whatsoever and a pass rush has to develop. The secondary will be good if John Bowie grows into a steady corner.
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Nov. 12 - South Florida (3-8, 1-6 in Big East) – Offense: The potential is there for a big improvement after struggling to be consistent. Andre Hall is Big East's best running back working behind a rebuilding, but decent line. The receiving corps is deep and experienced led by tall, speedy Johnny Peyton. The problem is at quarterback where Pat Julmiste couldn't hit water last year if he was standing in the ocean, and Auburn transfer Courtney Denson is a former defensive back. If a steady passer emerges, this should be the Big East's surprise offense.
Defense: The normally good Bull defense struggled last year with no pass defense and little success against the run with a line that was too small. Things should be better with a strong linebacking corps and the return of DT Tim Jones and SS Johnnie Jones after missing all of last year. The key will be the improvement in the corners after struggling to stop anyone, but they could use more of a steady pass rush.---College Football---
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Nov. 19 – at Notre Dame (predicted finish: 5-6) – Offense: Ten starters return with the one non-starter, RB Darius Walker, one of the team's best players. Charlie Weis threw everything but the kitchen sink at QB Brady Quinn and the rest of the offense this spring with everyone handling the new attack better than expected. Quinn has the talent, the receivers, and the coaching to put up some huge numbers. Senior receivers Rhema McKnight and Maurice Stovall have to finally live up to their hype and the veteran offensive line has to be better in every phase.---College Football---
Defense: Only three starters return to a defense that was statistically great against the run, but horrible against the pass finishing second-to-last in the nation in pass defense. Speed and athleticism was a problem that's not going to be much better right away unless some of the fast backup defensive backs (like Terrail Lambert) get on the field. Despite the lack of returning starters, there's enough overall experience that this won't be a lousy D, but it won't be a killer.

Nov. 26 – at Louisville (10-1, 6-1 in Big East) – Offense: Talk about reloading. Louisville loses all-star quarterback Stefan LeFors, NFL-caliber, 20-touchdown running back Eric Shelton, and 73-catch receiver J.R. Russell, but should be just as strong as the offense that was the nation's best last year. There's plenty of talent returning and several great options among the reserves to keep the party rolling. QB Brian Brohm will instantly become one of the nation's top quarterbacks now that he's the full-time starter. The Cards are loaded with talented running backs and receivers and blessed with one of the nation's deepest and most athletic lines. However, the party could crash if Brohm gets hurt with no experience behind him.---College Football---
Defense: The Louisville defense was overlooked last year due to the brilliance of the offense. The Cardinal D ranked number one in Conference USA in almost every category and finished second in pass defense. It won't be quite as strong this year replacing three starters in the secondary, some stars on the line and leader and top tackler Robert McCune. Even so, it's a very fast, very athletic defense that should rank near the top of most Big East categories.---College Football------College Football---
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Perspective Piece---college football---
Charlie Weis vs. Pete Carroll, Oct. 15

By Matthew Zemek---college football---

The strategic chess match between Charlie Weis and Pete Carroll, will, in and of itself, be worth the price of admission for this Saturday’s game matching the No.1 Trojans against the revived and upset-minded Fighting Irish. These are two head coaches, but they just happen to be in control of a defense and an offense, a reality that magnifies both the deliciousness and the significance of their encounter. Every decision these men make will apply to their dual roles as lead decision maker and play caller, and by the end of the day in South Bend, one will be able to see what Carroll and Weis had in mind. And while it’s very true that the other matchup—between SC’s offense and ND’s defense—might wind up deciding the contest, it is this confrontation that will determine just how competitive the Irish will be.---college football---
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Naturally, the majority of the focus in Saturday’s ballyhooed battle will fall on Weis, given that: A) he’s had two weeks to prepare; B) Super Bowls show that Charlie’s kinda good at game-planning over two-week time windows (ya don’t say?); and C) Notre Dame’s offense needs to max out, one way or another, for the Irish to win.---college football---
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What makes this and any other high-profile game involving USC so intriguing is that an opposing coach has to make a very conscious and intentional decision about the style, tempo and scoring range he wants in the attempt to topple the Trojans. Who’s to say what Weis will do? Getting inside a mind this creative before a battle this big is a rather futile exercise. One must simply hold out a full menu of questions and choices before seeing what Weis selects from the buffet table on Saturday afternoon.---college football---
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The first choice Weis has on his menu concerns tempo: will the Notre Dame coach want to run the play clock inside 5 on any snap where the game clock is running, all in an attempt to shorten the game with a level of savvy and awareness that no USC opponents (or opponents of similarly good teams in past years) ever manage to demonstrate? After penalties that follow continuous-clock situations, will Notre Dame be willing to let those 20-25 extra seconds evaporate in a conscious effort to leave Matt Leinart little time, and to also (this is a new concern for anyone wanting to keep the ball away from USC’s offense) prevent the Trojans from getting enough snaps that they can wear down the Irish with their world-class offensive line, particularly on the left side?---college football---
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The obvious risk of a very deliberate clock-burning strategy is that you might lose (or never initially establish) the rhythm and sharpness you’ll need to actually score points. It could well be that clock-consciousness, if taken to the extreme, will leave your players tense and lacking in proper focus on the essentials of blocking mechanics and protection schematics. However, there’s no rule or law saying that game management must get in the way of physical performance and gameday execution. With that extra week to prepare, it’s possible to imagine Notre Dame spending more time between plays and learning how to comfortably and rhythmically initiate their play with three seconds left on the play clock.
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But if the Irish don’t want to play a slowdown game, and envision themselves as a team that needs to win a shootout, it is legitimately possible for Notre Dame to play this way. One could certainly see Weis going to a no-huddle of some kind before the day’s done: Charlie and the Touchdown Factory could either employ the classic hurry-up variety or the more modern “unhurried” no-huddle that simply gets to the line quickly, but then takes time calling plays to merely prevent Carroll from getting preferred personnel groupings onto the field. ---college football---
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But tempo and game management—and with it, the score range Weis wants for this contest (mid-20s? high 30s?)—are only the appetizers in this strategic feast of a football game. The bigger set of selections Weis must make, the main course of this coaching cook-off, concerns the fundamental style of offense he wants to use.---college football---
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The potential combinations of styles and individual plays, in concert with different tempos, are very intriguing as they sit before Weis in the realm of imagination. If Weis decides to play at a deliberate pace, one could say that gashing the Trojans on the ground while attempting a few home-run balls here and there would be a good approach. After all, the run game maximizes clock-draining effectiveness, while long balls make more sense if indeed you’re going to take a maximum of real time between snaps (which enable your receivers, like Maurice Stovall, to be particularly fresh).---college football---
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But within a deliberate context, one could just as easily say that the Irish should “hand off” the ball within a framework of screen and flat passes to Darius Walker, combined with no-frills—but very effective—passes in the short-intermediate range to tight end Anthony Fasano (given his ability to box out smaller USC corners much like ASU’s Jamaal Lewis did on Oct. 1) and Jeff Samardzija, a man who always manages to get open. It’s not hard to see why a low-run, high-pass approach that is high-percentage and conceptually simple could be a great fit for a deliberate offense.---college football---
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However, if Weis wants to play up-tempo in a conscious effort to hit USC with repeated knockout-seeking punches, the calculus changes... and, frankly, Pete Carroll’s smarts will be tested.
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This is the enduringly delicious game within a game that will play out on Saturday: if Notre Dame wants to be deliberate, Carroll can do only so much, and the framework of the game becomes vastly more simplified. A slower Irish tempo will make this a player’s game, meaning that USC will simply have to stop the Irish on the merits, forcing field goals and making sure that if Notre Dame plays keep away, it won’t be able to accumulate enough of a scoreboard advantage for the potent USC offense to have to press. Slowing the game down is both the easier route for Notre Dame to take, and yet the more risky strategy, given the need to hang a big number on the Trojans to make them sweat come the fourth quarter.---college football---
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On the other hand, playing an up-tempo game—while surely harder to execute and sustain over the 60-minute canvas of a contest—offers a better chance of putting USC’s defense on the defensive, and it forces Carroll to work really hard at masking his defense’s weaknesses.---college football---
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If Notre Dame does play at a quick pace, Trojans-Irish becomes more of a coach’s game. Weis could play dink-and-dunk, throw in the intermediate range, and generally acquire more offensive freedom because a hurry-up offense will take away a staple of Pete Carroll’s defensive strategy: the well-timed, selectively-chosen corner blitz. ---college football---
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College football has seen this all too many times over the years: USC bringing the heat in key situations—usually third downs—to rattle a quarterback, force an incompletion if not a loss, and get the ball right back to Number 11 and The President. Carroll has the uncanny ability to find the right moments and avenues in which to attack opposing offenses, and this looming threat could very well determine, one way or another, how Weis manages the Notre Dame offense. Maybe Weis will want Carroll to bring the corner on a backside blitz, thinking there will be weaknesses and openings on third down that he can enable Brady Quinn to exploit. But perhaps the Notre Dame boss wants to avoid that confrontation with USC’s speed and Carroll’s aggressiveness, instead blunting the ability of USC to attack defensively at every turn. It is within this maze of considerations that an up-tempo offense will likely reduce USC’s ability to use the corner blitz, forcing Carroll to coach more while also putting pressure on a Trojan defense that has performed admirably in 2005, but is still young. ---college football---
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The menu choices are out there for Charlie Weis as he considers what he’ll bring to the dinner table on Saturday. Sure, his team needs to bring an A-level effort to the table, but the Irish need to make the right choices if their effort, no matter how inspired, is to mean anything. That’s why Trojans-Irish could really be about one fight in particular: the strategic war between five-star gridiron generals named Carroll and Weis.---college football---
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Porter to start for Eagles at Tech
The Roanoke Times ----collegefootball----
If he can't say for certain that All-America defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka will play one week from today at Virginia Tech, Boston College f----collegefootball----ootball coach Tom O'Brien already has made another personnel decision.
Although sophomore Matthew Ryan directed the Eagles' comeback in a 35-30 victory over Wake Forest, starting quarterback Quinton Porter will keep his job.----collegefootball----

"We're not going to make a change at quarterback," O'Brien said. "We went back and evaluated the film and we must have dropped 10 balls. The game might have been different if we'd held onto the ball. He played better than some other guys."
Nevertheless, O'Brien switched to Ryan after a Wake Forest field goal with 3:36 remaining that put the Deacons ahead 30-21.----collegefootball----
Wake had returned an interception for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and scored its final field goal after an interception return to the BC 33.----collegefootball----
"The longer the game went along, the more he was pressing out there," O'Brien said of Porter. "I would not like to make a change at that juncture, but I just felt, if [Porter] continued to play, we would not have a chance to win."
On top of everything, the conditions were terrible, but that turned out to BC's advantage.
"The best thing about bringing Matt in was, he was probably the only dry person in the stadium," O'Brien said. "You're out there for three hours and your hands are wet; your whole body is wet. When you look at it, he looks like he was playing at a different speed than everyone else."----collegefootball----
n After saying that he did not expect Kiwanuka to play next Thursday night, when the Eagles come to Lane Stadium after an open date, O'Brien hedged.----collegefootball----
"He's certainly not able to get back on the practice field right now," O'Brien said. ----collegefootball----
"I don't know if he'll be able to play next Thursday or not. There's a possibility, [but] he certainly couldn't play if we played Saturday. I was hoping he would be back on the practice field this week and he hasn't been able to do that."
Seminole sanctions----collegefootball----
Florida State wide receiver Fred Rouse, whose shouting match with a Seminoles' assistant was captured by TV cameras during the FSU-Virginia game, has been suspended by coach Bobby Bowden for this week's game at Duke.
n Bowden also said that he was ready to replace quarterback Drew Weatherford with fellow redshirt freshman Xavier Lee against UVa before Weatherford took the Seminoles on a four-play, 47-yard drive that enabled the Seminoles to cut a 26-10 deficit to 26-18 early in the fourth quarter.----collegefootball----
By the numbers
Weatherford's 59 pass attempts were the second-highest total in school history, trailing Danny Kanell's 67 pass attempts on the same field in 1995, when Virginia handed Florida State its first conference loss in four seasons of ACC play.----collegefootball----
n North Carolina, coming off a 69-14 trouncing by Louisville, is a one-point favorite over visiting Virginia, coming off its upset of fourth-ranked Florida State.
That might have something to do with the site, considering that UVa is 23-5 at home during coach Al Groh's five seasons and 9-17 on the road.----collegefootball----
Technology's web
Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Chuck Amato from N.C. State said Wednesday on an ACC coaches' teleconference that they use their cellphones to text-message recruits, but they were in the minority among their ACC colleagues.
"I wouldn't know how to do that in a million years," Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey said.
----collegefootball----Recruiting
North Carolina turned some heads when it received a men's basketball commitment Sunday from Brandan Wright, a 6-9 forward from Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tenn. Wright, who picked the Tar Heels over Duke and Kentucky, is one of three Carolina recruits ranked among the top-10 prospects nationally, joining Oak Hill Academy point guard Tywon Lawson and wing Wayne Ellington from Merion, Pa.----collegefootball----
n Virginia received an official recruiting visit this past weekend from Johnnie Lett, a 6-foot-8 forward from Mobile, Ala., who has a scholarship offer from the Cavs but may wait until the spring before announcing his college choice. ... Tennessee has gotten a commitment from 6-7 Duke Crews, a national top-50 prospect from Bethel High School in Hampton. Crews earlier had eliminated Virginia Tech and UVa.----collegefootball----

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Gophers part of Big Ten shakeup

Perennial powers giving way to upstarts

By John Shipley

Knight Ridder Newspapers

ST. PAUL - The college football season began with three Big Ten Conference teams in the top 10 of the national coaches poll. Proof, the pundits said, that the league is a monster this season. Just look, they said, at those teams from Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa.

Well, look who's ranked now. - College Football -

The Big Ten might indeed be a monster conference, but not because those teams are throwing their weight around. There are some new bullies on the block, and Minnesota is one of them.

The Gophers (5-1, 2-1) are one of five conference teams ranked in the media and coaches polls, coming in at No. 22 in both, and on a collision course with No. 23 Wisconsin (5-1, 2-1), which visits Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff that likely will knock one team out of the conference race.

The Gophers and Badgers weren't on many radars when the season started, picked to finish with middling seasons that might or might not have included bowl games. In that group were Penn State and Michigan State. All four were absent from the preseason polls; all four are ranked this morning. - College Football -

Purged have been Iowa and Michigan, the latter after a 23-20 home loss to Minnesota last Saturday, the Gophers' first victory in the series since 1986.

Minnesota's performance was particularly impressive because the Gophers kicked several bad habits in one fell swoop. Not only did they win after an ugly loss the previous week, they refused to fold in the fourth quarter against a supposedly superior team. And, of course, they simply beat Michigan. - College Football -

In short, the team with the fragile psyche showed some backbone at crunch time.

"I choose to attribute it to we're more of a mature team," coach Glen Mason said. "We've got a lot of guys that have been around."

To be fair, the Gophers' victory on Jason Giannini's last-second, 30-yard field goal was their second fourth-quarter rally this season. They trailed Purdue 28-20 in the fourth quarter before winning in double overtime on Sept. 24.

At Michigan, the Gophers tied the score four times by answering Michigan, the last time on a Laurence Maroney touchdown run after Michigan's Steve Breaston had returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. - College Football -

"After you give up a touchdown like that on a kickoff return, the natural feeling for a guy would be to go, 'Ah man!'" Mason said. "There was none of that."

The only bad news to come out of last Saturday's victory was an injury to starting quarterback Bryan Cupito, who in addition to playing the best football of his career has developed into a stout leader. He injured his right shoulder and suffered a concussion in the second half, leaving the game with just less than seven minutes left. - College Football -

Mason said Cupito's status for the Wisconsin game is unclear.

"If we had to play today, he couldn't play," Mason said. "It'll probably be toward the end of the week before we know, but there's nothing seriously wrong with him. We've had him checked out; he just got the (stuffing) knocked out of him." - College Football -

Why Michael Moore, College Football, and an NYC Restaurant Don't Mix
by Richard Mullenax

What happens when filmmaker Michael Moore can't beat Bush in a game of political smear? He will do the next best thing, rally a blue state college football team to beat a red state college football team. - - College Football - -

Last Saturday, the Ohio State Buckeyes (from a Red State) took on the Michigan Wolverines (from a Blue State) in a heated rivalry match. With enough heat pitted against both the football players and the fans, Michael Moore decided to add more fuel to the fire by making it not only about football, but about politics--and it was personal.

According to Moore: "Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any old nut--a poisonous nut," - - College Football - -
Much to Moore's disappointment, "the poisonous nut" defeated Michigan 37 to 21. (It looks) Looks like Moore will have to challenge a red state citizen to a game of checkers instead.

It is very sad when a famous person like Michael Moore has to dislike a state and its college football team, and the residents of the state, became a majority of its citizens voted for President Bush. Is this the tolerance that Moore preaches to all of us? But wait, it gets even more absurd.
According to Michael Moore's Website, a New York City restaurant refused to serve the Bush Twins because of politics. They were told by the maitre'd that the restaurant was full and would be for the next 4 years. After the rude remark was made, the people in the restaurant cheered and did a round of shots. So much for tolerance from the left. - - College Football - -

How childish and ignorant is it to turn people away because of their political affiliation. When Michael Moore and those in the NYC restaurant behave like this, they show that they do not care about uniting America, but about catering to their own kind and their own agenda. It is simply immature to think that anyone who supports Bush is stupid or an enemy of this free country. - - College Football - -

As long as these real "poisonous nuts" with their hypocritical ways of "tolerate us, but we will never tolerate you" exist, we will never be united. That is not an opinion, but common sense.

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College football: Special teams help revive SNC

By Paul Adamski
Press-Gazette correspondent

DE PERE — When St. Norbert College was at its best over the past few football seasons, its offense and defense ranked among the nation’s best in NCAA Division III. - College Football -

Not far behind, however, was the play from the special teams.

When the six-time defending Midwest Conference champs got off to a slow start this season, the special teams weren’t making any momentum-changing plays. - College Football -

During last week’s 48-13 win over Knox College, the Green Knights showed flashes of being the powerhouse of years past.

The driving force was the special teams. - College Football -

“We saw some new things showing up (against Knox) that didn’t show up the first three weeks,” Purtill said. “One was turnovers, then big plays from the special teams and good field position.”

The special teams blocked a punt, intercepted a pass on a broken punt attempt, averaged more than 25 yards per return and helped land the Green Knights their best starting field position of the season.

On back-to-back returns, former Ashwaubenon star A.J. Phillips set up the St. Norbert offense in Knox territory. - College Football -

In the Green Knights’ first three games, they started on the opponent’s side of the 50-yard line just twice — and both were barely past midfield. Against Knox, seven of their 11 drives started in Prairie Fire territory.

“(Special teams) was a big factor,” Purtill said. “We had some short fields that made for short drives. We (also) had a couple of big plays when they tried to punt the ball, and even when (Knox) did score, we had good returns.” - College Football -

If SNC wants to make a run at a seventh consecutive conference title, Purtill says the play of the special teams will be crucial.

With six conference games left, the Green Knights (2-2 overall, 2-1 MWC) trail Monmouth College (4-0, 3-0) by one game.

The Green Knights and their opponent today, Illinois College (2-1, 1-1), are among a group of five teams with one loss. They’ll play in Jacksonville, Ill. - College Football -

Green Bay Press Gazette

Fittipaldo's College Football Notebook: Early-bird special

Texas-Ohio State non-conference showdown a rare treat and a throwback to the 1980s

By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

How often are college football fans treated to marquee non-conference matchups such as the ultra-hyped contest between No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Ohio State? - College Football -

Lately it has been a rarity, making the Buckeyes-Longhorns game Saturday at the Horseshoe all the more appealing. Once upon a time, before the major powers joined conferences (except for Notre Dame, of course) and independents played a national schedule, these types of early season games were commonplace.

For the sake of having a cutoff date, the Post-Gazette went back 25 years to 1980 and researched how many early non-conference games involving highly ranked teams were played.

College football fans had it good in the 1980s and early '90s. But few games of any significance have been played in recent years. Check out how common these games used to be:

From 1981-86, Penn State, then an independent, played four games when the Lions and their opponent were ranked among the top six. Since then, they have been involved in one such game.

It's the same with other national powers. From 1989-94, Michigan played five non-conference games in which the Wolverines and their opponent were ranked among the top six, including a 1989 No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown against Notre Dame that the top-ranked Irish won. But none since. - College Football -

We took a look at some of those early (early, for argument's sake, meaning games played before the second week of October) non-conference games of yesteryear and where the teams finished in the final Associated Press poll (see chart). Many of these highly ranked teams didn't finish among the top 20 of the final poll, which demonstrates the problem with preseason rankings. The good news for the loser of the Texas-Ohio State game is this: One notable team from this commonwealth was able to overcome a loss and still win a national championship -- Penn State in 1982.

Irish slate a bear

Speaking of early-season schedules, has anyone checked out Notre Dame's slate of games? The Irish are on the road for four of their first five games. They travel to Michigan this week and, after a home game against Michigan State, go back on the road for games at Washington and Purdue.

In all, five of the 11 games on Notre Dame's schedule are against teams that began the season ranked, including four of the first six. - College Football -

Temple's is tougher

Notre Dame's schedule looks like a piece of cake compared to Temple, which is playing an independent schedule this season as it makes a transition from the Big East to the Mid-American Conference.

Temple opened the season with a 63-16 loss at No. 20 Arizona State. This week, the Owls play at Wisconsin. The rest of their schedule: Toledo, Western Michigan, at Bowling Green, Maryland, Miami, Fla., at Clemson, Miami of Ohio, at Virginia and at Navy.

The last dance

In case you were wondering how Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart could coast through his senior season by taking one class -- and ballroom dancing, at that -- here's the explanation from the NCAA:

The NCAA requires that "at the time of competition, a student-athlete shall be enrolled in not less than 12 semester or quarter hours, regardless of the institution's definition of a minimum full-time program of studies." But a recently revised bylaw states: "A student-athlete may compete while enrolled in less than a minimum full-time program of studies," provided he or she is enrolled in the final semester or quarter of the baccalaureate program and is taking the courses needed to graduate. - College Football -

Leinart could have graduated in the spring but purposely did not take that final course because he wanted to come back for his senior season. Had he taken that course, he would have had to take a full course load working toward a minor.

Brad Hostetter, director of NCAA membership services, said the exception to the rule is there because "the goal is for the student-athlete to graduate, and this exception is there to recognize that there are student-athletes that have done their job in the classroom throughout their previous years and have gotten close to graduation." - College Football -

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