Keys to the Big Games
Week Six, Oct. 8
Ohio State vs. Penn State
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By John Harris---college fotball ---

a. The Rookie – Flash back one year ago, if you will. Penn State ran a little option with Zack Mills, but the offense couldn’t score it’s way out of a paper bag. Hmm, interesting. This year, the option is a valuable weapon in this offense. Sure, QB Michael Robinson is better than Mills at running the option, but what has made this option that much more dangerous is the use of Derrick Williams as the pitch man. Okay, so you don’t like the option? Perhaps, you don’t want to see Penn State run the option. That’s fine, but you better find a way to put the ball in #2’s hands. The option is a perfect way to do that. When you see a kid that has ‘it’, you find a way to get him the ball. When they ran the option against Minnesota, he displayed the most impressive aspect of his game - the burst he had when he got the ball in his hands. On his first rushing TD of the Gopher game, he took the pitch and went from 0 to 60 in about 2.5 seconds. Most runners, especially guys that don’t get 25 carries a game, will have trouble finding a hole in a defense. But, Williams is so quick that he saw a glimmer of light, and burst through it like a man with his hair on fire (or with his wife chasing him). And, on the reverse in the second quarter, it was the same thing. Williams explodes past defenders, all the while making cuts at full speed. Ohio State is the one defense that can match the Nittany Lions’ Young Guns step for step, but Williams is another level of fast. Combined with Justin King and Deon Butler, PSU has some play makers on the perimeter for the first time in a long time, but it’s Williams that gives them a different dimension, (and takes heat off of both Robinson and Tony Hunt/Austin Scott in the running game) with his ability to carry the ball on option pitches and perimeter runs. The Buckeyes must find a way limit his touches, especially on the option, forcing Robinson to run into linebacker and/or safety support. That isn’t a great ‘option’ for the Buckeyes, either, but if they let the deuce loose, it’s trouble.---college fotball ---
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b. The Sophomore – It’s time. Quit playing around. Get him the ball. No questions asked. No matter what you have to do. Shoot, look across the field to see how PSU gets the ball to their ‘athletes’. That’s right. Ted Ginn? Meet football. 15 times. At least. It was this month last year when Ted Ginn announced his presence into college football with authority against Michigan State. But, the Buckeyes either won’t find a way to get him the ball, won’t give him the ball or he’s not 100% healthy. He doesn’t seem to be hurt, and in some respect, he’s fallen victim to opponents’ defensive focus, each and every week. Texas rolled coverage to his side all game long. Teams know that they can’t let #7 get rolling, and because of that, Santonio Holmes gets man coverage. Anthony Gonzales gets linebackers in man coverage. His presence alone gives others the chance to make plays, but it’s now time to force the issue. Okay, so ‘force’ is a harsh word, but somehow, Jim Tressel and Jim Bollman have got to put maximum pressure on defenses with Ginn. What’s a little frustrating is that in the opener against Miami University, Ginn moved around, came in motion, caught quick screens – that was the originality and innovation that we all craved. But, it hasn’t been quite that way since. So, change it. Come up with as many ways to get him the ball this weekend. It doesn’t have to be a bunch of trickeration, just hand him the ball. Shoot, at that rate, let him be the one on the backside of the formation all alone. Put the fear of #7 in the PSU defense all game long. No decoys. Just give him the darn ball.---college fotball ------college fotball ---
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c. The Veteran – With all of the newbies in blue and white running around with the football in their hands, it might just take a veteran like Buckeye AJ Hawk to put them in their place. Hawk has his hands full, unlike the test he had against Texas and Vince Young, and that should make you, the college football fan smile. Hawk seems to relish opportunities to take down the flashy offensive stars on the field. With the mix of spread option and I formation, the Nittany Lions will find a way to run the football with as many different ball carriers as they can. Hawk doesn’t really have a power back to worry too much about (Austin Scott is the closest thing), but he’ll have a number of opportunities to make tackles in the open field on Williams, Robinson and Hunt. But, if there’s a guy who can play in space, just as well as he can make plays between the tackles, it’s Hawk. The Ohio State defensive staff mixed in some blitz packages against Texas and Iowa, so it’ll be interesting to see how they do and what they do against Penn State’s varied running game. In particular, the key will be how they use Hawk – as a blitz disrupter or as a scraping LB behind blitzers Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Schelgel or Donte Whitner. The Buckeyes can play it straight up as well, because Hawk is so difficult to block at the second level. All in all, Hawk’s versatility gives the Buckeye defense some options, even if he’ll play the part of the old man chasing the young bucks.---college fotball ---
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Conclusion – The Penn State bandwagon is filling up quite rapidly, but the additions of the Young Guns on offense have transformed this entire team. The defense has been solid for most of the last two years, but they’ve not really faced an offense as talented as the one they’re going to see on Saturday. No matter whether you’re a Buckeye or a Nittany Lion, you’ll be holding your breath every time #2, #3, #4, #7, #10, #11 or #12 has the ball in his hands. These teams are almost mirror images of one another, but Ohio State has a little edge in their offensive line. That’s enough to make a touchdown’s difference. In what should be a great game, the Buckeyes stay unbeaten in the Big Ten. Ohio State – 27 vs. Penn State – 20---college fotball ---
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Perspective Piece---college football---
Oklahoma vs. Texas, Oct. 8
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By Matthew Zemek---college football---

Three months ago—you remember August, right?—the latest edition of the Red River Rivalry figured to be a game in which Texas would be the team under the microscope. ---college football---

Before a single snap was taken in the 2005 season, this contest shaped up as a battle in which OU—the previously dependable, reliable and mentally tough team in this border war—was going to be rather predictable, while the Longhorns—so talented, yet so emotionally volatile—looked to play the part of the wild card. The annual donnybrook at the Texas State Fair seemed to provide a scenario in which Texas—in its weaknesses and its strengths, in what it did and didn’t bring to the table—would affect the entire trajectory of the game. Whereas the Sooners promised stability, Texas offered instability, thereby becoming the focus of discussion.---college football---
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But that was August.---college football---
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As soon as September—and live game action—came around, the dynamics of this Cotton Bowl clash changed considerably. ---college football---
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As soon as TCU and then UCLA socked the Sooners, this Dallas dust-up acquired a noticeably different flavor. Now, in many ways, Oklahoma-Texas 2005 is 180 degrees different from how it was perceived over the summer: Texas has been consistently potent and productive, while OU has been all over the place this season. The doubt and despair are emanating from the Sooner camp, while the Horns—still basking in the glow of that epic triumph in Columbus against a formidable Ohio State team that sits atop the Big Ten—have the confidence and swagger going into this game. There’s no getting around the fact that the landscape has shifted with respect to this year’s staging of Sooners-Horns. It’s now entirely logical to conclude that this contest will be decided by what the Sooners bring to the table, a complete reversal from the conventional wisdom that prevailed in the offseason.---college football---
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And yet, for all the differences that do exist, and for all that OU will have to do to even be competitive in this game—let alone win—you can still say that this North Texas tilt ultimately rests in Texas’ hands... and Vince Young’s legs.---college football---
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The best way to view this substantially-changed OU-Texas tussle is as follows: OU must bring something very special to the table to compete, but before that can happen, Texas must allow the Sooners to regain that ol’ black magic that Bob Stoops has traditionally possessed on the second Saturday of October.---college football---
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Indeed, the Sooners must bring their A-game to even have a chance. But for that to happen, Texas—an evidently superior team on the raw physical merits—must make early mistakes that feed Oklahoma’s impoverished sense of confidence and teamwide belief. There has been an abundance of doubt and an absence of leadership in Norman this year, a pair of shocking developments so stunning that this college football power, after consecutive trips to the BCS title game, could potentially miss out on a bowl. The lack of mental toughness is so glaringly acute in SoonerLand that the awareness of past glories against the Longhorns won’t factor into this contest.---college football---
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Not immediately, anyway, and therein lies the key: not immediately.---college football---
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OU’s confidence against Texas isn’t on the surface, waiting to be unleashed as it was in prior years against the Horns. However, if Vince Young and his mates stink it up in the first quarter, coughing up the pill and littering the Cotton Bowl with turnovers and mistakes, OU could then seize hold of a familiar kind of mojo that the residents of Austin know all too well. Texas is enormously and rightfully confident heading into this game, despite the knowledge of past setbacks against the Sooners. Talent and swagger will do that for a team that has seemingly solved its mental demons.---college football---
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But that’s precisely the point: a horrible first quarter from the Longhorns, combined with a surge from the Sooners, will make the mental memories of each team gravitate toward the past, a past that is fully colored—in the Bob Stoops and Mack Brown eras—Crimson and Cream. If the first quarter reminds both teams of the previous five years—OU’s gold mine of glory, Texas’ flood of failures—the talent levels, records and aspirations of each of these teams will immediately cease to matter. OU will regain its confidence, Texas will descend into a pit of psychological wreckage that will be painful to see unfold.---college football---
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It’s all about Texas in the first 15 minutes. Do the Horns strangle the Sooners and create the bloodbath that the good folks of Austin have wanted so desperately for years? Or does Texas, with the upper hand in every single respect, allow memories of a haunting past—currently locked behind closed doors—to emerge from a Pandora’s Box straight out of psychotherapeutic hell?---college football---
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Yes, Oklahoma-Texas will be decided by what the Sooners bring to the table. But Texas has to set that table first. Without making any huge mistakes early on, the Longhorns won’t feed OU’s sense of confidence, and the Sooners—without a table to eat from—will starve in a very painful way---college football---
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Temple Football Coach Leaving After Season

By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer

Bobby Wallace is leaving Temple in the same shape he found it: As one of the worst football teams in the country. - College Football -

After eight losing seasons of never winning more than four games, Wallace said Monday he will leave at the end of the year when his coaching contract expires. "What we've been through, the transition we've been through, has taken a toll on me and my family," Wallace said. "It hasn't been easy."

The Owls have been outscored 297-63 and have lost five of their games by at least 25 points. Wallace coached the Owls through one of their worst era's in an already historically woeful program. Since Wallace took over in 1998, Temple was booted out of the Big East, switched home stadiums and is playing its first year as an independent before joining the Mid-American Conference as a full member in 2007. - College Football -

The one constant has been the losing. The Owls are winless in six games this year. Their last winning season was 1990 and they haven't played a bowl game since 1979. "Losing will wear on you and we've lost a lot of games," Wallace said.

Even with three two-win seasons and a one-win season on his Temple resume, this year has truly been Wallace's toughest. The Owls have allowed more than 60 points three times already and lost by three points against Western Michigan, their best chance for a win this year.

The 11 opponents on Temple' schedule finished a combined 83-48 (.634) last year and eight of its opponents played in bowl games. It doesn't get any easier Saturday when the Owls play No. 7 Miami. - College Football -

Wallace said he met with Temple Athletic Director Bill Bradshaw last week to talk about his future. Wallace said he made the decision now to give Temple a jump on finding a new coach.

Temple's uncertain status after being voted out of the Big East in 2001 didn't help Wallace in recruiting. The Owls were kicked out because they didn't meet minimum requirements for membership, most notably in attendance, facilities and fielding a competitive team.

"That was a strain on all of us," Wallace said. The Owls have no true conference affiliation for another two years. They are affiliate members of the Mid-American Conference this year and next, slowly adding conference teams to the schedule until they are full football members in 2007. - College Football -

Wallace led North Alabama to three Division II national championships in 10 seasons at the school in his only other head coaching job from 1988-97. But he never was able to match that success at Temple. The Owls never won more than four games in a season under him, and were 3-26 over the last 2 1/2 years. Wallace said he might have been unprepared for the difficulties of running a major college program. - College Football -

"I didn't know what I was getting into," he said. "It was an opportunity to be a head coach at a Division I program and I don't regret it for one second. If you ask me to go back to 1998 and if I would take this job, I would say absolutely yes." - College Football -

©2005 Associated Press

College Football: Surging Alabama shocks No. 5 Florida in 31-3 rout

By Ray Glier
The New York Times

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama The window has closed on the opportunity to ridicule Alabama's football program or label it second best in its own state, behind rival Auburn. The Crimson Tide, damaged by coaching changes and scholarship reductions from NCAA sanctions, roared back to prominence over the weekend with a 31-3 rout of No. 5 Florida before 81,018 fans at a sold-out Bryant-Denny Stadium - College Football -

The 15th-ranked Crimson Tide, which went 4-9 and 6-6 in Coach Mike Shula's first two seasons, is 5-0 - and a feared team once again. Shula, a former Alabama quarterback and the son of the NFL coaching legend Don Shula, evened his three-year record at 15-15.

For Alabama, quarterback Brodie Croyle completed 14 of 17 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday. Running back Kenneth Darby rushed for 101 yards.

The victory might have been sweeter for Alabama because defensive end Jeremy Mincey and linebacker Brandon Siler of Florida had taunted the Crimson Tide beforehand. Mincey said the Gators could win the game in a rout, and Siler said he could not envision Alabama's defense stopping Florida's spread-option offense. - College Football -

Both were wrong. Quarterback Chris Leak, the trigger to the Gators' wide-open offense, completed only 16 of 37 passes for 187 yards and threw two interceptions.

Alabama, which has won 21 league championships in the Southeastern Conference, is 3-0 in the league and 5-0 over all for the first time since 1996. If it makes the Associated Press top 10 when the next rankings come out, it would be the Crimson Tide's first appearance since 2002. Alabama had never beaten a top-five team at Bryant-Denny.

The only disappointment for Alabama was an injury to Tyrone Prothro, a wide receiver and kick-return specialist who went up for a pass with 8 minutes 53 seconds remaining and fell awkwardly, breaking his left leg. Alabama was already ahead 31-3 when the pass was thrown to Prothro in the end zone. - College Football -

On Alabama's first play from scrimmage in the game, Croyle faked a hand-off into the line and threw a pass to Prothro for an 87-yard touchdown. Florida's safety had provided double coverage on another Alabama receiver, leaving Prothro, who is regarded as Alabama's most dangerous offensive player, in single coverage with cornerback Vernell Brown.

Less than two minutes later, Leak's second-down pass from the Gators' 17 was tipped by Alabama defensive end Mark Anderson and intercepted by defensive end Chris Harris, who returned the ball 14 yards to the Gators' 2. - College Football -

Fullback Tim Castille rammed over from the 1, and the extra-point kick made the score 14-0 with 9:45 left in the first quarter. The rout was on. The Crimson Tide added a 65-yard touchdown pass from Croyle to Keith Brown midway through the second quarter and a 16-yard touchdown pass from Croyle to Prothro in the third quarter.

Florida (4-1 over all, 2-1 in the league) had trouble blocking Alabama's odd-man fronts and was never able to spread out the defense enough to run between the tackles. Gators running back DeShawn Wynn had just 47 yards rushing. - College Football -

Coach Tommy Tuberville of Auburn warned this summer that the spread offense that Coach Urban Meyer of Florida ran so successfully when he coached at Utah would be challenged by the speed of defenses in his new league. That was the case on Saturday. Wynn's holes closed fast, and Leak's wide receivers could not get much separation, forcing him to make perfect passes.

Croyle was plenty sharp for Alabama. He was 10 for 12 passing for 235 yards in the first half as the Tide averaged 10.6 yards a play. Alabama's offensive front (left tackle Chris Capps, left guard Antoine Caldwell, center J.B. Closner, right guard B.J. Stabler and right tackle Kyle Tatum) formed a protective pocket around Croyle and kept Mincey and Siler at bay. They also plowed holes for Darby as the Crimson Tide built a 24-3 halftime lead. - College Football -

Copyright © 2005 the International Herald Tribune All rights reserved

Stewart Ray "Red" Faught, pioneering football coach, dies

Associated Press

FRANKLIN, Ind. - Stewart Ray "Red" Faught, who coached Franklin College's football team for 32 seasons and helped pioneer the high-flying run-and-shoot offense, has died. He was 81.

Faught, who died Friday, coached Franklin from 1957-88, producing teams known for lining up from sideline to sideline and airing it out. - College Football -

"His quarterbacks would throw the ball as soon as they stepped off the bus, and they wouldn't stop throwing until they stepped back on," said Don Treibic, a friend of Faught's and the former announcer of Grizzliesfootball games.

"He wanted to win games, and he felt that was the way to win them," Treibic said.

At least 50 of his former players became coaches, including Indiana University head coach Terry Hoeppner.

Hoeppner, Treibic and former NFL quarterback Jeff George were among the close circle of friends who visited Faught in his final hours Friday. - College Football -

"He was my second father and mentor," Hoeppner said. "I wouldn't be where I am today without Coach Faught, and I always called him that. He was my coach."

Faught's "Red Shoot" offense helped one of the smallest schools in its conference become successful. - College Football -

When he retired in 1988, Faught had amassed 18 winning seasons at Franklin - more than all 14 of his predecessors combined dating back to thecollege's first football season in 1886.

He closed with a career record of 160-139-6, which at the time ranked fourth in NAIA Division II victories.

Faught became the offensive coordinator for one of Franklin's fiercest rivals, Georgetown College in Kentucky, from 1990 to 1992. He was there in 1991 when the team went 13-1 and won the NAIA national championship.

In 1999, Franklin College named its stadium in honor of Faught, who was a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient. - College Football -

Visitation will be at Flinn and Maguire Funeral Home on Tuesday. He will be remembered Wednesday during a service at Franklin College's Spurlock Center, with burial with military honors at Greenlawn Cemetery.

JUCO football will kick off in two weeks
By Tony Krausz / sports editor

Junior college football teams will attempt to kick off the 2005 season in two weeks.

Hurricane Katrina's arrival on Aug. 29 knocked out the original season opener for the state's JUCO programs last week. MACJC games were scheduled to be played last Thursday and Saturday.

Junior college programs will now kick off the season on Sept. 22, with teams across the state using the fourth week of the schedule as the new opening date.

The season will now be a seven-game slate, as teams will not make up games lost in the first two weeks of the year. Week three games, which for nearly every program is a district contest, will be made up at the end of the season on Nov. 5.

The decision of how to carry out the rest of the season was made on Tuesday by the state's junior college presidents during a teleconference, according to East Mississippi Community College head football coach Roger Carr.

"You have to look at things as a whole," said Carr, whose team will open the season with a road game against Mississippi Delta CommunityCollege at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22. "There were maybe four or five teams in the north that could have played last week, and there are many teams in the south the couldn't have played last week and cannot play this week.

"We are fortunate to be able to play at all," Carr added.

Because of the adjustment to the schedule the playoffs will start on Nov. 12. The championship game will be played on Nov. 19.

"We are excited to be able to start playing eventually," said East Central Community College head coach Terry Underwood, whose team will open the season with a 6:30 p.m. home game against Pearl River on Sept. 22. "All the questions are over with, and we know when we are going to start.

"As a coach or player, you would rather play all nine games, but because of the circumstances this is the best scenario," Underwood added.

EMCC lost an away game against Hinds Community College, which was scheduled for Sept. 1, and a home game against Pearl River Community College, which was scheduled for Thursday. The Lions will make up their home game against Itawamba Community College on Nov. 3. The Itawamba contest was scheduled to be played on Sept. 15.

ECCC lost home games against Northwest Mississippi Community College, scheduled for Sept. 1, and Itawamba, scheduled for Thursday. The Warriors will make up their road game against Southwest Mississippi CommunityCollege on Nov. 5. The Southwest contest was set for Sept. 15.

ECCC will also likely have its road game against Jones Junior College on Oct. 27, a Thursday, moved to Oct. 29, a Saturday.

Underwood said because of the damage sustained to ECCC's stadium, the team will play its home games at nearby Newton County High School. ECCC has home contests against Pearl River, Gulf Coast CommunityCollege (Oct. 15) and Hinds Community College (Oct. 20) left on its schedule.

"I have met with officials at Newton County High School, and it looks like we will be able to play are home games there," Underwood said.

Copyright © 2005 The Meridian Star All Rights Reserved

College football notebook: Illinois Wesleyan lineman dies

By The Associated Press and Bloomberg News

PEORIA, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan co-captain Doug Schmied died, several days after heatstroke during practice. - College Football -

The 21-year-old offensive lineman from Hanna City, Ill., died Wednesday at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Schmied died of multiple organ failure because of heatstroke, Peoria County coroner Johnna Ingersoll said. - College Football -

"Doug Schmied's death is an unspeakable tragedy and leaves all of us at Illinois Wesleyan shocked and saddened," university president Richard Wilson said on the school's Web site.

Schmied, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound senior, became ill Friday when it was about 90 degrees during practice, athletic director Dennie Bridges said.

Harris poll to replace 5 voters

NEW YORK — The new poll being used by the Bowl Championship Series will have to replace five voters on its recently unveiled panel, four who work for ESPN and one whose sole connection to the sport is his father-in-law. - College Football -

Lou Holtz, Gerry DiNardo, John Congemi and Sam Smith are not permitted by ESPN to vote in the Harris Interactive College Football Poll because it is being used by the BCS to determine which teams play for the national championship.

Jason Rash, son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney, has withdrawn from the 114-member Harris voter panel after the BCS informed the Sun Belt Conference that Rash did not meet its voter criteria. - College Football -

"When the Harris poll was announced, we went on record saying our commentators wouldn't participate for journalistic reasons," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said.

Rash, who runs a masonry-supply business in Atlanta, said, "I was disappointed. I would have taken it seriously and done a good job at it. Larry and I have had a lot of in-depth discussions aboutfootball, and I watch a lot of games."

The Harris poll is being used by the BCS to replace The Associated Press media poll after the AP asked BCS officials to stop using the Top 25 in the formula for picking teams to play in the four prime bowls. - College Football -