TrojanWire - Virginia Tech

The HP Heisman Watch: Week One

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:45:34 -0800

It’s time for the HP Heisman Watch. This is my ranking of the players who have the best chance at actually winning the Heisman. It is not a predicted order of the voting, so some players who are not on this list will still get Heisman votes in the end.

1. Chris Wells, Ohio State–Wells holds on to the top spot this week, as we’re taking his word that his foot is going to be okay. He most likely will miss the Ohio game this weekend, but that shouldn’t affect his Heisman chances too much, as there is a precedent for Heisman winners missing early-season games (namely Charles White and Bo Jackson). It will, however, increase the stakes for the huge matchup the following Saturday at No. 1 USC. He must do well (100+ yards) in a Buckeye win, or go crazy (180+ yards) in a close Buckeye loss, to solidify his status as the Heisman frontrunner.

Last week: 13 carries, 111 yards, 8.5 ypc, 1 TD against Youngstown State

2. Chase Daniel, Missouri–Daniel got off to a great start to his season with a nice performance in an exciting win over a ranked Illinois squad. It’s pretty clear that Daniel is going to have the numbers needed to win the Heisman, barring injury. If he can lead his team to the Big 12 title, then he should finish no worse than second and could even win the trophy. The next three weeks Mizzou plays three cupcakes, so Daniel can pad his stats before a potentially high-profile game against Nebraska on Oct 4.

Last week: 26 of 45 for 323 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int against No. 20 Illinois

3. Pat White, West Virginia–I wrote in my Heisman Preview that White would need to step it up in the passing game to make a serious Heisman run and he did just that in week one. By season’s end, no one will remember that his 5 TD passes came against lowly Villanova–they will just be part of his statistical total. He is already 1/4 of the way to having 20 TD passes on the season, which should impress voters who think he is just a glorified running back. White got a bit of a gift this weekend when WVU’s next opponent, East Carolina, beat Virginia Tech. He can now showcase his abilities in a game that some people might actually care about, before getting a chance to hog the spotlight on Sept. 18 (Thursday night) at Colorado.

Last week: 25 of 33 for 208 yards, 5 TDs, 0 ints against Villanova

4. Mark Sanchez, USC–It seems exruciatingly early to already be touting a USC quarterback for the Heisman, but there it is. Sanchez benefitted, believe it or not, from the attention created by his dislocated knee cap in the weeks prior to USC’s game against Virginia. Suddenly, he became the subject of increased speculation, which made him more of a known quantity. He was able to reward that speculation and attention with an outstanding game against the Cavaliers. He is a potential boom-bust candidate. As long as USC is doing well and he is doing well, he’s going to hover near the top of this list. But, should his team falter, he will bear the brunt of the blame. The Ohio State game will determine his Heisman future. Should he do well in a USC win, then he will zoom into the top two or three and become one of the main contenders. If the Trojans lose, then he can start working on his resume for a run at the Heisman in 2009.

Last week: 26 of 35, 338 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int against Virginia

5. Colt McCoy, Texas–Don’t look now, but McCoy looks to be back and better than ever. What has largely gone unnoticed over the past year is how effective a runner the Texas QB has become. For now, he will be helped by the fact that Texas is below the radar, as he can perform without too much pressure until the matchup with Oklahoma on Oct. 11. By then, McCoy could be on his way to a remarkable season and people will just be starting to realize it. If McCoy can help slay OU and Mizzou in back-to-back weeks, he’ll have as good a case for the Heisman as anyone in this race.

Last week: 24 of 29, 222 yards, 3 TDs, 0 Ints, 12 carries, 103 yards, 1 TD against FAU.

6. Matt Stafford, Georgia–Is Stafford finally ready to break out as a passer? Will Mark Richt let him put up the numbers he needs to compete for the Heisman? Looks like it so far. But Stafford won’t have a chance to break into the top five of this list until he survives the gauntlet of South Carolina, Arizona State and Alabama that begins in a couple weeks.

Last week: 13 of 21, 275 yards, 2 TDs, 0 Ints against Georgia Southern.

7. Percy Harvin, Florida–Harvin is hanging on a bit in this race. He missed the Gators’ first game against Hawaii and is slated to play against Miami this Saturday. But how healthy is he, really? We won’t know until we see him play. One thing is for sure: He probably needs to explode against Miami to get back in the thick of the Heisman hunt. A lackluster game, or another DNP could mean his chances for the Heisman have gone bye bye.

Last Week: DNP

8. Stafon Johnson, USC–Johnson is the most likely USC back to gain the yards needed to challenge for the Heisman. However, it seems apparent that USC is sticking with its tailback by committee approach. Unless Johnson can get untracked in a big way against Ohio State, he’ll drop from this list.

Last week: 9 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD against Virginia

9. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech–Harrell had his typical day against Eastern Washington. But until people stop yawning at his 500-yard passing games, he’s just a fringe candidate waiting for an opportunity.

Last week: 43 of 58, 536 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int

* * *

If the vote were held today

1. Tim Tebow

2. Chase Daniel

3. Pat White

4. Chris Wells

5. Mark Sanchez

6. Knowshon Moreno

7. Graham Harrell

8. James Laurinaitis

9. Colt McCoy

10. Sam Bradford

Year-in, Year-Out?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:12:36 -0800

This is a phrase that is often used when talking about the superiority of the SEC as a conference. As in “year-in, year-out, the SEC is the strongest league in college football.”

You hear it a lot. Way too much, in fact.

Now, here’s the thing. The SEC is currently the top conference. It was amazingly good last year and will be amazingly good this year.

But it is not set in stone that the SEC is the default top conference every year, or at least it shouldn’t be. Yet, that seems to be the prevailing opinion among the college football media, year-in, year-out.

To refute this notion, I present to you… the data provided by the indispensable CollegeFootballDataWarehouse.

The CFBDW has a ranking of teams and conferences based on (1) Winning Percentage Points (2) Schedule Points (3) National Championship Points and (4) Big 4 Bowl Points.

For the period 2000-2007, the BCS conferences are ranked as follows (total points is the first bit of data, followed left to right by the previously mentioned totals):


1	Southeastern Conference	941.69	286.64	350.05	150.00	155.00
2	Pacific-10 Conference	923.11	277.43	405.67	100.00	140.00
3	Big 12 Conference	860.65	285.30	330.35	100.00	145.00
4	Atlantic Coast Conference	837.01	286.51	365.50	50.00	135.00
5	Big Ten Conference	834.64	278.17	356.47	50.00	150.00
6	Big East Conference	609.62	282.21	272.41	0.00	55.00

As you can see, the SEC is on top in this decade (941 total points), but it’s not a slam dunk. And, the real reason for the top ranking is due to the SEC having 12 teams to accumulate its points vs. 10 teams for the Pac-10. The Pac-10 (923 points) gets to No. 2 largely on the strength of its schedule, while the SEC is dragged down somewhat by playing the fourth-toughest schedule among the six major conferences. Averaging the total points per team per conference, the Pac-10 averages 92.3 and the SEC averages 78.4.

If you look at the top 25 programs for 2000-2007, another interesting piece of data is revealed:


1	Southern California	1015.17	397.06	433.11	100.00	85.00
2	Louisiana St.	899.66	394.23	345.43	100.00	60.00
3	Oklahoma	884.39	420.56	343.83	50.00	70.00
4	Ohio St.	879.65	400.99	363.66	50.00	65.00
5	Miami (FL)	856.27	383.84	367.43	50.00	55.00
6	Florida	827.74	362.75	374.99	50.00	40.00
7	Texas	822.43	416.67	325.76	50.00	30.00
8	Georgia	797.31	388.35	368.96	0.00	40.00
9	Florida St.	781.10	334.95	406.15	0.00	40.00
10	Michigan	771.56	365.00	376.56	0.00	30.00
11	Oregon	749.76	338.38	396.38	0.00	15.00
12	Virginia Tech	741.11	379.81	341.30	0.00	20.00
13	Auburn (AL)	730.82	367.65	348.18	0.00	15.00
14	Notre Dame (IN)	725.92	293.81	402.10	0.00	30.00
15	Tennessee	716.38	348.04	368.34	0.00	0.00
16	Oregon St.	713.15	318.18	379.96	0.00	15.00
17	UCLA	699.59	282.83	416.76	0.00	0.00
18	Wisconsin	691.42	334.95	356.47	0.00	0.00
19	West Virginia	691.24	343.43	317.81	0.00	30.00
20	Boston College (MA)	686.01	351.49	334.53	0.00	0.00
21	Washington St.	682.55	284.21	388.34	0.00	10.00
22	Clemson (SC)	679.03	318.18	360.85	0.00	0.00
23	Maryland	677.47	311.22	356.24	0.00	10.00
24	California	675.74	275.51	400.23	0.00	0.00
25	Georgia Tech	674.88	299.02	375.86	0.00	0.00

In the ranking of the top 25 programs for this decade, only 5 SEC teams make the cut. However, the ACC puts 7 teams in there, while the Pac-10 contributes 6.

Take this data for what you think it is worth. It certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of conference rankings, but it is at least an objective method of measuring them.

The conclusion I reach: The SEC is a great conference. Great most years. Sometimes, if not often, the best. Always the hands-down best? Nope. Year-in, year-out the best? Not really, not according to the data.

So writers, adjust accordingly.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off Finalized

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:15:12 -0800

USC men's basketball will play Seton Hall in their opening game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday, November 20. The next day they'll face either UT-Chattanooga or Memphis, who held off the Trojans last season in an overtime slug-fest at Madison Square Garden and later reached the NCAA Final Four. They teams will get a day off before playing a final game on Sunday.

The four other teams in the tournament are Missouri, Xavier, Fairfield, and Virginia Tech. For more information, click here.

The 2008 HP All-American Defensive Team

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:11:39 -0800

Yesterday, we unveiled the All-American offensive squad, now here are the defenders:

Defensive End

1st Team–Everson Griffen, USC; Greg Middleton, Indiana

Middleton was a 2007 HP All-American and should have another great year. Griffen is a physical phenom who is ready to explode on the college scene.

2nd Team–Greg Hardy, Ole Miss; George Selvie, USF

3rd Team–Nick Reed, Oregon; Ricky Sapp, Clemson

Defensive Tackle

1st Team–Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma; Ricky Jean-Francois, LSU

McCoy will key the interior of the Sooner defense, while Jean-Francois is a unique jumbo athlete who should finally put it all together on the field (just like he did in the BCS Title Game) for a whole season.

2nd Team–Fili Moala, USC; Geno Atkins, Georgia

3rd Team–Brian Price, UCLA; Marvin Austin, North Carolina

Outside Linebacker

1st Team–Brian Toal, Boston College; Marcus Freeman, Ohio State

Seems like Toal has been making tackles forever. Freeman is underrated playing in the shadow of Laurinaitis.

2nd Team–Brian Cushing, USC; Rico McCoy, Tennessee

3rd Team–Clinton Snyder, Stanford; Ryan Reynolds, Oklahoma

Middle Linebacker

1st Team–Brandon Spikes, Florida

Spikes did it all for the Gators last year, accumulating 131 tackles, including 14.5 for losses.

2nd Team–Rey Maualuga, USC

3rd Team–James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

Cornerback

1st Team–Walter Thurmond, Oregon; Vontae Davis, Illinois

Thurmond had 103 tackles, 8 TFL, 18 deflections and 5 interceptions. Vontae Davis is a future first-rounder who was a shut-down corner for the Illini.

2nd Team–Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State; Victor Harris, Virginia Tech

3rd Team–Syd’Quan Thompson, Cal; Tony Carter, Florida State

Strong Safety

1st Team–Patrick Chung, Oregon

Chung had 117 tackles and 7.5 TFL last year.

2nd Team–Chad Jones, LSU

3rd Team–Kevin Ellison, USC

Free Safety

1st Team–Taylor Mays, USC

Mays is a physical freak who will probably be the first safety taken in the next draft.

2nd Team–William Moore, Missouri

3rd Team–Rashad Johnson, Alabama

Sorry, no punters or kickers or return guys on this team.

CFN posts its 2008 Bowl Game Predictions

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:30:07 -0800

There's something about the month of May in the college off-season that brings out the Nostradamus in all of us. Next up with the crystal ball: College Football News with their 2008 predictions for the bowl games and BCS games.

A few highlights....

Champs Sports Bowl ... Virginia vs. Illinois
Meineke Car Care Bowl ... Florida State vs. Pitt
Texas Bowl ... Colorado vs. Rutgers
PetroSun Independence Bowl ... Nebraska vs. Arkansas
Alamo Bowl ... Michigan State vs. Kansas
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl ... Texas vs. Oregon
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl ... Wake Forest vs. Alabama
Chick-fil-A Bowl ... Boston College vs. South Carolina
Outback Bowl ... Michigan vs. LSU
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl ... Miami vs. Notre Dame
Capital One Bowl ... Penn State vs. Auburn
AT&T Cotton Bowl ... Oklahoma vs. Tennessee

Rose Bowl presented by Citi ... Wisconsin vs. USC
CFN is basically rubber stamping the winner of USC - Ohio State into the National Championship game. From the outcome of this prediction, I guess CFN is throwing in with the Buckeyes. This one looks dead on to me, unless USC ends up in the championship game, then this one becomes tOSU against the Sun Devils.

Allstate Sugar Bowl ... Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
By putting the Bulldogs into the Sugar, CFN is calling the WLOCP the defacto SEC championship. Take that as you will, Georgia fans. Va Tech looks like the class of the ACC, but CFN pulls them into the Sugar as an at-large. If there's one conference that has proven itself to be way to whacked out to predict, it's the ACC. I think Georgia/Arkansas are safe SEC picks, but give me Clemson from the ACC side.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl ... Missouri vs. West Virginia
The Fiesta gets its traditional first pick of the at-large teams and takes the 'Eers. I'm not sure that Missouri will be the Big XII champs. CFN is hedging, with Texas Tech as their second choice, but... I wouldn't count out the Sooners... ever. I think Oklahoma - West Virginia makes more sense.

FedEx Orange Bowl ... Clemson vs. Texas Tech
If there is one prediction that I think is off the mark, it's CFN's prognostication for the Orange. I would be willing to take the field here at any odds, because I don't see a Tigers - Red Raiders matchup in Miami. I think the Hokies are the most likely candidate here for the ACC, versus an at-large team. For my prediction, give me VaTech (ACC Champs) versus Arizona State (at-large) or maybe even Utah (at-large).

FedEx BCS National Championship ... Ohio State vs. Florida
The Buckeyes and Gators in the National Championship game... where have we seen that before? This one is just as likely to be USC-Florida, which would probably be the highest rated college football game ever. If Florida gets to the BCS title game and wins, I think you will have seen the last of #15 in orange and blue. Just sayin'.

Comment on CFN posts its 2008 Bowl Game Predictions...

USC leads way in draft

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:49:12 -0800

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Based on an initial count, NFL teams drafted 10 players from USC over the weekend, more than from any other college. That included four players in the first round and seven in the first two rounds. Those figures also ranked first for this draft. Virginia Tech had eight players drafted, followed by LSU (seven), Michigan (six), Arkansas (six) and California (six). Miami had three players taken from the 31st through 71st overall spots, but that was it.

At Nebraska, Bo Knows

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:56:12 -0800

The Bill Callahan hangover is over and they're ready for the Bo Pelini era to start at Nebraska, where 80,149 packed Memorial Stadium last Saturday for the spring game. At $10 a ticket, the Cornhuskers cashed in. So did some scalpers, who were asking up to $150 for a ticket on StubHub.

The momentum is carrying over to the fall. A check of StubHub at the time of this post showed two tickets for the Sept. 27 game against Virginia Tech going for $1,500 each. Yes, Ethanol must be driving up corn prices.
Before kickoff, members of the Husker Nation packed the Coliseum to listen to athletic director Tom Osborne, Pelini and baseball coach Mike Anderson deliver a sermon.

These images are courtesy of Big Red Network and Husker Mike's Blasphemy and we thank each of these sites. Pay them a visit for more images.
Quarterback Joe Ganz, the expected starter this fall, charged onto the field ahead of the Red team. Running back Quentin Castille blows through a hole on the left-side of the line ...
... then has the ball stripped by defensive back Prince Amukamara.
Offensive tackle Lydon Murtha gets inside on a defender. The offensive line is expected to be one of the strengths of the Cornhuskers.

Pelini is likely looking forward to the Nov. 15 game at Kansas State. Pelini was Nebraska's defensive coordinator in 2003 when the Cornhuskers suffered an embarrassing 38-9 loss to the Wildcats in Lincoln. Afterward, Pelini accused Bill Snyder of running up the score.

Trojans nip the Hokies

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:00:23 -0800

A representative of the NFL was kind enough to break down the number of players from each college for us. Here are the leading schools:

USC 12

Virginia Tech 11

Arkansas 8

LSU 8

Cal 7

Oklahoma 7

Texas 7

Michigan 7

Baylor 0

Rose Runs No. 2 in Bowl TV Nos.

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:06:39 -0800

We're No. 2.

The final numbers are in and have the Rose Bowl finishing No. 2 among households reached with the TV broadcast, behind only the BCS title game.

But the numbers also show the non-BCS Capital One Bowl right ahead of USC-Illinois New Year's Day right on the heels of the Rose. And that points out the one abiding TV bowl truth. The Big Ten teams from the frozen Midwest get the best numbers as Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State showed.

Here are the TV numbers for the major bowl games.

Capital One Bowl: Michigan 41, Florida 35, ABC: 10,301,679 households

Rose Bowl presented by Citi: Southern California 49, Illinois 17, ABC: 12,531,880

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Georgia 41, Hawai'i 10, Fox: 7,850,519

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28, Fox: 8,736,935

FedEx Orange Bowl: Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21, Fox: 8,345,715

Allstate BCS National Championship: LSU 38, Ohio State 24, Fox: 16,291,263

Ellis Keeps Streak Alive

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:17:21 -0800

The College Football News always tries to do things differently -- and so they did with their All-America team this year. But one thing they didn't do differently was keep USC nose tackle Sedrick Ellis' All-American streak alive. He's been named first-team on every single one released to date.

But naming Oregon's Dennis Dixon as the No. 7 quarterback in the nation and running back Jonathan Stewart the No. 6 running back? Please. Don't be that dumb.

USC fans may want to take note. CFN.com has Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall second-team, four spots ahead of Stewart.

Nice hit for Rialto grad Ryan Grice-Mullen, one of Hawaii's wide receivers, who was named second team. Another Rialto guy, Boise State's Ryan Clady, was named second team offensive line along with USC tackle Sam Baker and tight end Fred Davis.

USC DE Lawrence Jackson made third team while LBs Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga were honorable mention, as was Oregon's Patrick Chung of Raqncho Cucamonga.

Here's the team, listed by position.

Quarterbacks
First Team
1. Tim Tebow, Soph. Florida

Second Team
2. Colt Brennan, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
3. Sam Bradford, RFr. Oklahoma

Honorable Mention
4. Chase Daniel, Jr. Missouri
5. Pat White, Jr. West Virginia
6. Matt Ryan, Sr. Boston College
7. Dennis Dixon, Jr. Oregon
8. Todd Reesing, Soph. Kansas
9. Dan LeFevour, Soph. Central Michigan
10. Graham Harrell, Jr. Texas Tech
11. Cullen Harper, Jr. Clemson
12. Paul Smith, Sr. Tulsa
13. Brian Brohm, Sr. Louisville
14. Erik Ainge, Sr. Tennessee
15. Chase Clement, Jr. Rice
16. Andre Woodson, Sr. Kentucky

Running Backs
First Team
1. Darren McFadden, Jr. Arkansas
2. Kevin Smith, Jr. UCF

Second Team
3. Rashard Mendenhall, Jr. Illinois
4. Ray Rice, Jr. Rutgers

Third Team
5. Jamaal Charles, Jr. Texas
6. Matt Forte, Sr. Tulane

Honorable Mention
7. Jonathan Stewart, Jr. Oregon
8. Knowshon Moreno, Fr. Georgia
9. Tashard Choice, Sr. Georgia Tech
10. Justin Forsett, Sr. California
11. Eugene Jarvis, Soph. Kent State
12. Chris Wells, Soph. Ohio State
13. Anthony Alridge, Sr. Houston
14. Chad Hall, Sr. Air Force
15. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina

Wide Receivers
First Team
1. Michael Crabtree, RFr. Texas Tech
2. Jordy Nelson, Sr. Kansas State

Second Team
3. Ryan Grice-Mullen, Jr. Hawaii
4. Davone Bess, Jr. Hawaii

Third Team
5. James Hardy, Jr. Indiana
6. Mike Thomas, Jr. Arizona

Honorable Mention
7. Aaron Kelly, Jr. Clemson
8. Harry Douglas, Sr. Louisville
9. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
10. Mario Manningham, Jr. Michigan
11. Brandon Gibson, Jr. Washington State
12. Kenny McKinley, Jr. South Carolina
13. Donnie Avery, Sr. Houston
14. Dante Love, Jr. Ball State
15. Jabari Arthur, Sr. Akron

Tight Ends
First Team
1. Travis Beckum, Jr. Wisconsin
Second Team
2. Fred Davis, Sr. USC
Third Team
3. Martin Rucker, Sr. Missouri

Honorable Mention
4. Cody Slate, Soph. Marshall
5. Bear Pascoe, Jr. Fresno State
6. Darius Hill, Sr. Ball State
7. Gary Barnridge, Sr. Louisville
8. Ryan Purvis, Jr. Boston College
9. Dennis Pitta, Soph. BYU
10. Dustin Keller, Sr. Purdue

Offensive Line
First Team
1. OT Jake Long, Sr. Michigan
2. OT Anthony Collins, Jr. Kansas
3. OG George Robinson, Jr. Oklahoma
4. OT Barry Richardson, Sr. Clemson
5. C Jonathan Luigs, Jr. Arkansas

Second Team
6. OT Kirk Barton, Sr. Ohio State
7. OT Sam Baker, Sr. USC
8. OG Branden Albert, Jr. Virginia
9. OT Ryan Clady, Jr. Boise State
10. OG Hercules Satele, Sr. Hawaii

Third Team
11. C Alex Mack, Jr. California
12. C Steve Justice, Sr. Wake Forest
13. C Adam Spieker, Sr. Missouri
14. OT Jeremy Zuttah, Sr. Rutgers
15. OT Michael Oher, Jr. Ole Miss
16. OT John Greco, Sr. Toledo

Defensive Line
First Team
1. DT Glenn Dorsey, Sr. LSU
2. DT Sedrick Ellis, Sr. USC
3. DE Greg Middleton, Soph. Indiana
4. DE George Selvie, Soph. South Florida

Second Team
5. DE Chris Long, Sr. Virginia
6. DE Wallace Gilberry, Sr. Alabama
7. DE Greg Hardy, Soph. Ole Miss
8. DE Vernon Gholston, Soph. Ohio State

Third Team
9. DE Chris Ellis, Sr. Virginia Tech
10. DE Nick Reed, Jr. Oregon
11. DE Maurice Evans, Soph. Penn State
12. DE Lawrence Jackson, Sr. USC

Honorable Mention
13. DT Lorenzo Williams, Sr. Missouri
14. DE Chase Ortiz, Sr. TCU
15. DE Jan Jorgensen, Soph. BYU
16. DT James Jones, Sr. Eastern Michigan

Linebackers
First Team
1. Dan Connor, Sr. Penn State
2. Curtis Lofton, Jr. Oklahoma
3. Jordon Dizon, Sr. Colorado

Second Team
4. Scott McKillop, Jr. Pitt
5. James Laurinaitis, Jr. Ohio State
6. J Leman, Sr. Illinois

Third Team
7. Spencer Larsen, Sr. Arizona
8. Sean Lee, Jr. Penn State
9. Shawn Crable, Sr. Michigan

Honorable Mention
10. Beau Bell, Sr. UNLV
11. Jerod Mayo, Jr. Tennessee
12. Keith Rivers, Sr. USC
13. Rey Maualuga, Jr. USC
14. Erin Henderson, Jr. Maryland
15. Brandon Spikes, Soph. Florida
16. Wesley Woodyard, Sr. Kentucky

Defensive Backs
First Team
1. S Craig Steltz, Sr. LSU
2. FS Jamie Silva, Sr. Boston College
3. CB Antoine Cason, Sr. Arizona
4. CB Aqib Talib, Jr. Kansas

Second Team
5. CB Alphonso Smith, Jr. Wake Forest
6. CB Mike Mickens, Jr. Cincinnati
7. FS Rashad Johnson, Jr. Alabama
8. CB Mike Jenkins, Sr. South Florida

Third Team
9. SS Kenny Phillips, Jr. Miami
10. CB Reggie Smith, Jr. Oklahoma
11. SS Chris Horton, Sr. UCLA
12. FS Jonathan Hefney, Sr. Tennessee

Honorable Mention
13. SS Patrick Chung, Jr. Oregon
14. CB Terrence Wheatley, Sr. Colorado
15. SS Tyrell Johnson, Sr. Arkansas State
16. FS William Moore, Jr. Missouri

Placekickers
First Team
1. Thomas Weber, Fr. Arizona State
Second Team
2. John Sullivan, Sr. New Mexico
Third Team
3. Gary Cismesia, Sr. Florida State

Honorable Mention
4. Travis Bell, Georgia Tech
5. Kai Forbath, Fr. UCLA
6. Austin Starr, Jr. Indiana
7. Jeff Wolfert, Jr. Missouri
8. Michael Torres, Sr. UCF
9. Leigh Tiffin, Soph. Alabama
10. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah

Punters
First Team
1. Durant Brooks, Sr. Georgia Tech
Second Team
2. Kevin Huber, Jr. Cincinnati
Third Team
3. Chris Miller, Sr. Ball State

Honorable Mention
4. Brett Kern, Sr. Toledo
5. Owen Tolson, Sr. Army
6. Jacob Richardson, Jr. Miami Univ.
7. Ryan Weigand, Sr. Virginia
8. Louie Sakoda, Jr. Utah
9. Michael Hughes, Sr. San Diego State
10. Tim Reyer, Sr. Kansas State

Kickoff Returners
First Team
1. A.J. Jefferson, Soph. Fresno State
Second Team
2. Matt Slater, Sr. UCLA
Third Team
3. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State

Honorable Mention
4. Bryan Williams, Jr. Akron
5. Felix Jones, Jr. Arkansas
6. Kevin Marion, Sr. Wake Forest
7. Chris Johnson, Sr. East Carolina
8. Malcolm Lane, Soph. Hawaii
9. Marcus Herford, Jr. Kansas
10. Dorien Bryant, Sr. Purdue

Punt Returners
First Team
1. Kevin Robinson, Sr. Utah State
Second Team
2. Leodis McKelvin, Sr. Troy
Third Team
3. Deon Murphy, Jr. Kansas State

Honorable Mention
4. Eddie Royal, Sr. Virginia Tech
5. Jeremy Maclin, Fr. Missouri
6. Derrick Richards, Sr. Utah
7. Marty Tadman, Sr. Boise State
8. Philip Beck, Jr. Louisiana Tech
9. Brian Bonner, Sr. TCU
10. Brandon James, Soph. Florida

BCS Better Get With It

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:36:26 -0800

Let's say you're one of the BCS high muckey-mucks and you check out this year's final rankings and what do you see.

Well, for one thing, you see a two-loss Virginia Tech team that played in probably the worst of the six BCS conferences, a Va. Tech team that lost by 41 points, yep forty-one, to LSU.

And then you check your rankings and find that this team, this team with a 41-point loss from that not-very-good league was No. 1 in the nation on three of the six computers used by the BCS.

Here's a thought. New computer rankings that somehow are able to factor in margin of victory -- or more appropriately this year, defeat.

How USC Can Still Play for a NC

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:45:14 -0800

The president of a local alumni association did the math and here is how it could work out:

I've done some math, and here is the scenario, we beat UCLA in a good ol' fashioned butt-whomping, Missouri loses to Oklahoma, Boston College beats Virginia Tech, Tennessee knocks off LSU, Pitt beats West Virginia, Ohio State is the site of a massive Alien Abduction with the entire student body transported to the Zarquon 7 Sector in the Crab Nebula, Kansas secedes from the Union thus making them ineligible and Georgia realizes that its not really a university to begin with, so it drops out of membership in the NCAA, setting up a GOLDEN matchup with USC and Hawaii for the national championship.

[Thanks Jennifer!]

Trojans move up to #8 in latest AP Poll

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 18:24:45 -0800

Associated Press

1. Missouri (45) 11-1 1,604
2. West Virginia (20) 10-1 1,574
3. Ohio State 11-1 1,469
4. Georgia 10-2 1,354
5. LSU 10-2 1,269
6. Virginia Tech 10-2 1,266
7. Kansas 11-1 1,217
8. USC 9-2 1,212
9. Oklahoma 10-2 1,191
10. Florida 9-3 1,029
11. Hawaii 11-0 991
12. Boston College 10-2 909
13. Arizona State 9-2 826
14. Tennessee 9-3 746
15. Illinois 9-3 719

USA TODAY

1. West Virginia (37) 10-1 1,467
2. Missouri (17) 11-1 1,454
3. Ohio State (6) 11-1 1,383
4. Georgia 10-2 1,232
5T. Kansas 11-1 1,161
5T. Virginia Tech 10-2 1,161
7. LSU 10-2 1,134
8. Oklahoma 10-2 1,126
9. USC 9-2 1,073
10. Hawaii 11-0 958
11. Florida 9-3 898
12. Boston College 10-2 861
13. Arizona State 9-2 756
14. Illinois 9-3 674
15. Tennessee 9-3 654

Complete Rankings

Week 9 Rankings: USC Drops to #19

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:31:38 -0800

Week 9 Rankings:

BCS Top 25

1. Ohio State 9-0
2. Boston College 8-0
3. LSU 7-1
4. Arizona State 8-0
5. Oregon 7-1
6. Oklahoma 7-1
7. West Virginia 7-1
8. Kansas 8-0
9. Missouri 7-1
10. Georgia 6-2
11. Virginia Tech 6-2
12. Michigan 7-2
13. Connecticut 7-1
14. Hawaii 8-0
15. Texas 7-2
16. Auburn 6-3
17. Alabama 6-2
18. South Florida 6-2
19. USC 6-2
20. Florida 5-3
21. Wisconsin 7-2
22. Boise State 7-1
23. Virginia 7-2
24. Wake Forest 6-2
25. Clemson 6-2

USA Today Top 25

1. Ohio State (56) 9-0 1,495
2. Boston College (3) 8-0 1,414
3. LSU 7-1 1,324
4. Oregon (1) 7-1 1,280
5. Oklahoma 7-1 1,269
6. Arizona State 8-0 1,221
7. West Virginia 7-1 1,177
8. Kansas 8-0 1,108
9. Missouri 7-1 983
10. Georgia 6-2 791
11. Hawaii 8-0 769
12. Texas 7-2 753
13. Virginia Tech 6-2 736
14. Michigan 7-2 701
15. USC 6-2 679
16. Auburn 6-3 454
17. Florida 5-3 451
18. Alabama 6-2 439
19. Wisconsin 7-2 422
20. Connecticut 7-1 419
21. South Florida 6-2 291
22. Boise State 7-1 218
23. Kentucky 6-3 159
24. Clemson 6-2 145
25. South Carolina 6-3 131

We still have an outside shot at the Rose Bowl if we win out and Oregon heads to the NC, but the way we're playing, I think the Holiday Bowl is a stronger match. I don't even want to think about an at-large bid because that would require a ton of teams losing. Hopefully we can win out and somewhat salvage this disappointing season.

BC’s Matt Ryan Stuns Virginia Tech, 14-10, Then Vomits

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:12:21 -0800

After 57 minutes of errant passes, cement shoes and incessant ugliness, Matt Ryan’s Heisman candidacy was gone baby gone. BC was, in the immortal words of Dan LeBatard, “another No. 2 team ending up on its back like Paris Hilton” (sounded funnier when he said it). Then the rally happened, and if you missed it watching the World Series … sucks to be you. Because having watched BC labor through the first three plus quarters, you kept waiting for a turnover. Then Virginia Tech inexplicably went with three and four-man pass rushes, which gave Ryan plenty of time to pick the secondary apart. It was a clinic. (more…)