Michigan State schedule news, spring game recap

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Before getting to the Green-White Game, there was some exciting scheduling news Monday for Michigan State fans. 
The school agreed to home-and-home series with both West Virginia (2014-15) and Alabama (2016-17) and extended its contract with longtime rival Notre Dame through the 2025 season. Kudos to athletic director Mark Hollis for making the type…
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F U, Alabama!

Right: Quarterback Terrelle Pryor looks downfield in the 2009 Spring Game. (AP Photo)
On a bright, sunny day with a game time temperature of about 80 degrees, 95,721 of my closest, Buckeye-loving friends joined me at Ohio Stadium, breaking in the national spring game attendance record in the process as the Gray team defeated the Scarlet [...]
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Destroy Everything Moving

Thaddeus 25:17
(Ed. This post was inspired by another post at MotSaG, as well as me being backlogged with work.  Dorian Bell will probably be better known tomorrow.)
I didn’t watch the 2009 Fiesta Bowl.  If you have that good of a memory to remember why, I was on a plane flying back to Alabama from Southern [...]
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Feldman: 10 teams that can win the BCS

ESPN’s Bruce Feldman breaks down ten team that have the best shot to win the BCS in 2009. There’s some familiar favorites on the list (Florida, USC, Oklahoma… yawn), but a couple of fresh faces on the list that are sure to raise some eyebrows.

Ole Miss: This may look crazy, but keep reading. The Rebels are fearless. They won at both Florida and LSU last season. They have a budding star at quarterback in Jevan Snead, some terrific receivers, and potentially the best D-line in the country. They also have the luxury of playing the softest nonconference schedule in the country, with two games against FCS teams, UAB and a Memphis team they beat every year. Better still, they get Alabama and LSU at home. Can the Rebs handle success and expectations now? We’ll see. A Thursday night trip to South Carolina appears to be the toughest road game.

OK. I’m not Nutts about the pick (ba-da-dum-ching!), but this is just crazy:

Oklahoma State: I love the Cowboys’ offense, and I think bringing in Bill Young to run the defense was a great move, but OSU has to go to Norman late and gets a visit from Georgia early. Also, playing Houston in Week 2 right after a big, physical Bulldogs team might be more treacherous than people think.

In my opinion, Feldman tends to fall in love with the personality of a team and that clouds his perception, but… he makes a strong case for several “dark horses”, including Virginia Tech and ((gulp)) Notre Dame.

Check out the whole thing over at Bruce’s blog.

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Miller mentioned in VCU search

Ohio State assistant Archie Miller’s name was among more than a half dozen dropped by FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman in listing the candidates for the head coaching job at Virginia Commonwealth. The position opened when Anthony Grant took the Alabama job…
Continue reading at Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog

Who are the nation’s greenest units?

The ESPN bloggers are getting into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit by breaking down the least experienced units in college football. Some highlights below, with links to the full reviews….

Graham Watson:

BYU offensive line: The Cougars will have to fill four of the five starting spots on the offensive line, but do have some depth there since several players received playing time due to injuries and some shuffling last year.

Boise State wide receivers: Boise State lost its three starting receivers, including Jeremy Childs, who left early for the NFL. Childs led the team in receiving yards and receptions last year and now quarterback Kellen Moore is going to have to break in some new playmakers.

Brian Bennett:

Louisville: The biggest bunch of newbies are at quarterback, where there are four candidates for the job but not one who’s seen any significant playing time at this level.

South Florida: Look no farther than the offensive line, where four of five starters need to be replaced.

Tim Griffin:

Oklahoma offensive line: The departure of starting center Jon Cooper, tackle Phil Loadholt and guards Duke Robinson and Brandon Walker means that Sam Bradford will have an inexperienced group protecting him next season. Trent Williams moves to left tackle and Bob Stoops likes his incoming talent, if not its early work habits.

Texas defensive line: The major question dogging the Longhorns’ national title hopes will be rebuilding a defensive front that loses All-American defensive end Brian Orakpo, defensive tackle Roy Miller, defensive tackleAaron Lewis and defensive end Henry Melton from last season.

Texas Tech offensive line: New quarterback Taylor Potts will be relying on a retooled offensive line protecting his blind side after left tackle Rylan Reed, left guard Louis Vasquez and center Stephen Hamby all departed from last year.

Chris Low:

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are replacing three-year starter John Parker Wilson at quarterback, but losing the threesome of Andre Smith, Marlon Davis and Antoine Caldwell on the offensive line leaves the biggest void. They were at the crux of just about everything Alabama did on offense last season.

Georgia: Much of the focus this spring will be on Joe Cox and the quarterback position, but the Bulldogs’ most glaring weakness is the lack of a dominant pass-rusher from the defensive end position. They’ve got to find somebody who can consistently get to the quarterback.

LSU: Jordan Jefferson started the final two games at quarterback last season as a true freshman and enters 2009 as the favorite to win the job. His main competition will come from another true freshman, Russell Shepard, who graduated early and is going through spring practice.

Heather Dinich:

GEORGIA TECH — Having lost three of four starters on the defensive line, it’s easily one of the greenest groups in the whole conference.

MIAMI – The Canes are still young everywhere, but remember quarterback Jacory Harris has only started two games and his backups have no collegiate experience.

NORTH CAROLINA — The Tar Heels lost their top three receivers and will be counting heavily on inexperienced players to replace Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Tate and Brooks Foster.

Ted Miller

Arizona State — QB: Combined starts of the five candidates to replace Rudy Carpenter at quarterback? Zero.

Oregon – DT: Both starting defensive tackles are gone and this unofficial depth chart shows 14 combine tackles for seven potential replacements.

Oregon State — DE: Sackmasters Victor Butler and Slade Norris and their 41.5 combined sacks over the past two seasons are gone. Sophomore Kevin Frahm and senior Ben Terry, who split two sacks between themselves in 2008, are in.

Adam Rittenberg

Ohio State’s offensive line — Don’t be shocked if Ohio State enters 2009 with three sophomores (Mike Brewster, Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts) and a transfer (Justin Boren) on its starting line.

Penn State’s defensive ends — Jerome Hayes should be back from another knee injury, but Penn State will be on the lookout for a proven pass rusher after losing Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans and Josh Gaines.

Purdue’s wide receivers — New coach Danny Hope made wide receiver a peak priority in his first recruiting class after losing Greg Orton and Desmond Tardy, who combined for 136 receptions and 1,596 yards last year.

Wisconsin’s defensive line — The Badgers lose three multiyear starters (Matt Shaughnessy, Mike Newkirk and Jason Chapman) and don’t return many proven players aside from ends O’Brien Schofield and Dan Moore.

And — of course — everyone’s favorite green unit:

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For Bowden and Paterno, The Great Race Is Over

Pack up the tents and put the elephants back on the train. The circus that has been the Jo Pa and Bowden race is now over. Bobby Bowden has lost.

As the author, let me say that I have bias both pro and con for each of the contestants. I have played a round of golf with Bowden, and we talked about how he almost became the head coach at Alabama. You’ll never meet a friendlier fellow.  I like…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009

The Wiz spotted BodogLife’s updated odds for the college football season. Long story short… it looks like the Gators and Sooners are the early picks, followed by USC, Texas, and Ohio State.

Here’s the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember… entertainment purposes only… of course.

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College Football Fast-Forward: 2009 Impact Freshmen Quarterbacks

Part One of our story proves that you should temper your emotions when it comes to freshmen, at least from a fantasy standpoint.  Try not to get too caught up in the hype that a hotshot recruit brings to campus before he has even played a down.

Some big-name players dive right in and contribute (Alabama WR Julio Jones) while others disappoint in their rookie campaign (Colorado RB Darrell…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

College Football Fast-Forward: 2009 Impact Freshman Quarterbacks

Part One of our story proves that you should temper your emotions when it comes to freshmen, at least from a fantasy standpoint.  Try not to get too caught up in the hype that a hotshot recruit brings to campus before he has even played a down.

Some big-name players dive right in and contribute (Alabama WR Julio Jones) while others disappoint in their rookie campaign (Colorado RB Darrell…
Continue reading at Bleacher Report – Big Ten Football

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