Many apologies to the few fans that have been reading this blog. I didn't realize how much work it was so I will make some changes to what should be expected out of this blog.
What got me to today's blog is an article out of Salt Lake City about Jordan Wynn and the upcoming season. I remember CU recruiting Wynn to play under Dan Hawkins and didn't blame him when he switched to Utah because CU had Cody Hawkins. I would have made the same move that Wynn made. But that recent article by Lya Woodraska (is she a Nebraskan writing to fire up the natives?) seems to protray to me that the non-stop questions about his attitude and thrice-repaired shoulders are starting to get to him. According to Ute fans on Pac12Board, it appears that there is an injury bug going around the team. With high expectations such as battling USC for the South crown, I wonder if the Utes could fall flat in their second year? I expect the Utes to be improved this season since like CU, they won't be playing what could be explained as a 12 non-conference schedule last season. The same Ute fans have warned me about Woodraska being the type of writer to stir up the Ute fanbase.
Did anyone forget that Utah's home opener will be on the Pac-12 Network? Just checking and the Pac-12 app for the iPad is out now. Hopefully that means I can play videos from the Pac-12's website. Now what is left for me is for Comcast to get their online streaming stuff in order and then I can watch the Pac-12 Network on my iPad...pretty groovy eh?
Coach Graham said that he didn't take the ASU job thinking he couldn't win his first year in Tempe. In the Fox Sports Arizona piece, one of the keys for the NAU-ASU game is to get Cameron Marshall the ball since the Lumberjacks gave up about 138 yards per game last season and in some previous previews, I did note that NAU lost some good DL players. And playing mistake free football can't hurt either. ASU hasn't had problems overlooking teams like NAU in the past and should win this game easily.
I'm on the Denker bandwagon for the Wildcats. He was called the "White Vick" and now he's a nerd. As long as he stays away from the underground and dogs, he should be fine. Out of all the Mountain schools for the Pac-12, I would say Denker is the top backup QB at this point although his rival in Tempe, ASU's Eubank, might have something to say about that.
The CU backup QB should be cleared up pretty soon...maybe around the time of this writing. Given that Coach Embree has closed off practice for the Buffs, I don't know if Hirschman or Wood will win that job. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the two decides to transfer out after this season in pursuit of more playing time. That's the nature of playing for an unique spot where rotating in and out players is frowned upon. That makes me long for the days of option football back in the old Big 8 where you could put anyone at QB and they would execute the option pretty well. To me, that WAS football. But back to the topic, the depth at the QB position if both Hirschman & Wood sticks around, would be in the best shape since before the Dan Hawkins disaster rolled into town.
I will try my hand at predicting final scores. I will include every 4C school even I'm not covering them like the Pac-12 schools.
Utah 38 Northern Colorado 10
Arizona 32 Toldeo 13
Arizona State 34 Northern Arizona 14
Colorado 27 Colorado State 0
Air Force 43 Idaho State 22
New Mexico 26 Southern 3
New Mexico State 28 Sacramento State 27
BYU 48 Washington State 45
Utah State 45 Southern Utah 7
Frenso State 49 Weber State 11
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Friday News 08/24/2012
Rich Rod is still moving offensive players over to the defense. I would expect the Wildcats to be in a good number of shootouts this season...thank goodness for the Pac-12 Network (when I get it with Comcast's Xfinity service).
ASU has gone high tech with their playbooks. Teams are putting playbooks and stuff on iPads or other electronic means. I would be fearful of the nerds at rival schools since attempted hacking of playbooks could be on the rise.
BuffZone (part of the Boulder Daily Camera) published a second article out of a three article series on the challenges facing CU when it comes to fundraising for upgrades at Folsom Field. It's no secret that after facility upgrades at the Coors Events Center, the CU men's basketball team has benefited in a big way. Given the history of CU's football team, a facility upgrade at Folsom Field similar in nature to the recent Coors Events Center would be a game-changer for the football team. The first article of the three article series talks about what the CU administration has been doing when it comes to potential upgrades at Folsom Field.
Is Utah trying to become the next Nebraska? This Salt Lake Tribune article talks about an Ute OL that is 6'6" and 415 pounds. The only difference would be that Utah wears wear helmets and has an "U" instead of a "N". What would the "U" stand for?
I decided to not do an UNC-Utah article since if I did one yesterday and one next week, I would have one extra article for Utah and my aim is to have coverage on teams on equal terms. But I will do an one sentence preview: I hope that Utah continues to work on taking care of the football and shore up the kicking game which could have a huge impact on Utah's season.
It's unbelievable that kickoff is coming next week! My Playstation 3 probably is happy about the break it is getting.
ASU has gone high tech with their playbooks. Teams are putting playbooks and stuff on iPads or other electronic means. I would be fearful of the nerds at rival schools since attempted hacking of playbooks could be on the rise.
BuffZone (part of the Boulder Daily Camera) published a second article out of a three article series on the challenges facing CU when it comes to fundraising for upgrades at Folsom Field. It's no secret that after facility upgrades at the Coors Events Center, the CU men's basketball team has benefited in a big way. Given the history of CU's football team, a facility upgrade at Folsom Field similar in nature to the recent Coors Events Center would be a game-changer for the football team. The first article of the three article series talks about what the CU administration has been doing when it comes to potential upgrades at Folsom Field.
Is Utah trying to become the next Nebraska? This Salt Lake Tribune article talks about an Ute OL that is 6'6" and 415 pounds. The only difference would be that Utah wears wear helmets and has an "U" instead of a "N". What would the "U" stand for?
I decided to not do an UNC-Utah article since if I did one yesterday and one next week, I would have one extra article for Utah and my aim is to have coverage on teams on equal terms. But I will do an one sentence preview: I hope that Utah continues to work on taking care of the football and shore up the kicking game which could have a huge impact on Utah's season.
It's unbelievable that kickoff is coming next week! My Playstation 3 probably is happy about the break it is getting.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
CSU-CU Part II
We are almost a week away from the kick off of the 2012 season! This also means I will continue to recap the recent scrimmages that pretty much every college football team had this recent weekend.
Coach Embree liked what he saw from CU's scrimmage last weekend but some fans from BuffBackers and other CU forums such as AllBuffs are saying that they will wait until September 1st to believe Embree. I said the same thing and I blame it on the overly positive coach speak that former coach Dan Hawkins spouted out over the course of five years about how close the Buffs were to turning the corner or the need to "cinch" up some things. No scrimmage stats were released and the race for the backup QB position didn't yield any answers and Wood & Hirschman will continue to battle it out for the backup spot. Perhaps they understand that CU hasn't had a starting QB play the full season since 2007 which was Cody Hawkins' first season as the starting QB. Hawkins would lose his starting job at times to Tyler Hansen who finally had the job to himself but got hurt and Hirschman made one start last season because of that. Having some depth at QB is a welcome change from years past. Anyone remember John Hessler taking over for Koy Detmer back in 1995 for the Buffs?
Meanwhile, in Ft. Collins, Coach McElwain held some players out of the first scrimmage (just like Embree in Boulder) and the backups stepped up. This was a great opportunity for the Rams to see what the backups could do. My concern for the Rams would be that Grayson threw two interceptions along with M.J. McPeek who also threw two interceptions. Grayson threw interceptions in the games that he started when he was feeling the pressure and if he was feeling the pressure, that would be from a defensive line that lost an All-MWC player in Capi when he was booted from the team in the spring along with Orkapo and one other player.
Both coaches would understandbly be under quite some pressure but for different reasons. McElwain is earning nearly twice as much as Embree and CSU could be counting on McElwain to field a sucessful team so CSU alumni and fans will be more willing to support a new on-campus football stadium for the Rams. Losing to the Buffs wouldn't be the end of the world for McElwain but it would allow the Rams to continue to imrove as a football team for the remainder of the season. Embree is currently the lowest paid Pac-12 coach at about $700k and the money that the Buffs will be making from the new media contracts and Pac-12 Network will enable CU to pay off any remaining balance they own to Gary Barnett and Dan Hawkins. If the Buffs falter against the Rams, CU fans could quickly give up on the season and look forward to the men's basketball program which is coming off consecutive 20+ win seasons under Tad Boyle. The buyout money with the Pac-12 money might make buying Embree out easier than expected. I believe Embree has the most pressure in this case but he doesn't appear to be showing it at this point.
The rational fan would probably say CU wins this one because the Buffs are in year two of Embree's system despite its youth and the Rams are starting over with McElwain. As someone who has watched the RMS for years, it has been difficult to get not only the regional media but the national media to determine a surefire winner in this case and I don't think it will be any different. The RMS is one of those must see games regardless of how both teams have done over the years.
Coach Embree liked what he saw from CU's scrimmage last weekend but some fans from BuffBackers and other CU forums such as AllBuffs are saying that they will wait until September 1st to believe Embree. I said the same thing and I blame it on the overly positive coach speak that former coach Dan Hawkins spouted out over the course of five years about how close the Buffs were to turning the corner or the need to "cinch" up some things. No scrimmage stats were released and the race for the backup QB position didn't yield any answers and Wood & Hirschman will continue to battle it out for the backup spot. Perhaps they understand that CU hasn't had a starting QB play the full season since 2007 which was Cody Hawkins' first season as the starting QB. Hawkins would lose his starting job at times to Tyler Hansen who finally had the job to himself but got hurt and Hirschman made one start last season because of that. Having some depth at QB is a welcome change from years past. Anyone remember John Hessler taking over for Koy Detmer back in 1995 for the Buffs?
Meanwhile, in Ft. Collins, Coach McElwain held some players out of the first scrimmage (just like Embree in Boulder) and the backups stepped up. This was a great opportunity for the Rams to see what the backups could do. My concern for the Rams would be that Grayson threw two interceptions along with M.J. McPeek who also threw two interceptions. Grayson threw interceptions in the games that he started when he was feeling the pressure and if he was feeling the pressure, that would be from a defensive line that lost an All-MWC player in Capi when he was booted from the team in the spring along with Orkapo and one other player.
Both coaches would understandbly be under quite some pressure but for different reasons. McElwain is earning nearly twice as much as Embree and CSU could be counting on McElwain to field a sucessful team so CSU alumni and fans will be more willing to support a new on-campus football stadium for the Rams. Losing to the Buffs wouldn't be the end of the world for McElwain but it would allow the Rams to continue to imrove as a football team for the remainder of the season. Embree is currently the lowest paid Pac-12 coach at about $700k and the money that the Buffs will be making from the new media contracts and Pac-12 Network will enable CU to pay off any remaining balance they own to Gary Barnett and Dan Hawkins. If the Buffs falter against the Rams, CU fans could quickly give up on the season and look forward to the men's basketball program which is coming off consecutive 20+ win seasons under Tad Boyle. The buyout money with the Pac-12 money might make buying Embree out easier than expected. I believe Embree has the most pressure in this case but he doesn't appear to be showing it at this point.
The rational fan would probably say CU wins this one because the Buffs are in year two of Embree's system despite its youth and the Rams are starting over with McElwain. As someone who has watched the RMS for years, it has been difficult to get not only the regional media but the national media to determine a surefire winner in this case and I don't think it will be any different. The RMS is one of those must see games regardless of how both teams have done over the years.
Monday, August 20, 2012
NAU-ASU Part II
Like Arizona, the Sun Devils had a recent scrimmage at Camp Tontozona. Rashad Ross stood out in that scrimmage. That will happen when you have five catches for 193 yards and three TDs. At QB, Kelly has been slated to start against NAU but one writer said that since ASU will endure some growing pains this year, why not just start Eubank? If you know my background from being a CU fan in the old Big 8 and Big 12, I prefer dual threat type QBs to keep opposing defenses honest and that is how I build my videogame college football teams. Eubank is more of the big play type of QB with his feet, Kelly is a QB that won't make mistakes, and Bercovici is still making mistakes in camp so I think Eubank is the second QB that the Sun Devil coaches want to use. Another bonus for Eubank is that he was also recruited by Graham when Graham was still at Pittsburgh. In my honest opinion, the Sun Devils need to build for the future because the Pac-12 South will still be in a state of flux for sometime just like the Big 12 South was in a state of flux in the early days of that conference. So the Sun Devils just should go with Eubank and build for the future. Even the Sun Devil coaches said that Eubank throws the best deep ball.
ASU's improved LB corps look to improve on last season despite the departure of Burfict. Magee has been mentioned on my All 4CSports Blog Team for a reason. The secondary in some Fox Sports Arizona videos appeared to me that they need some work due to the big day by Ross. This could be an issue against NAU's experienced QB perhaps for a half until Graham yells at the secondary at halftime...remember he claimed to be under the weather but perhaps he was yelling quite a bit.
NAU's defense forced four turnovers in their recent scrimmage amd they were of the fumble variety. The kickers also went 7-8 on the day as well. Perhaps they are a little underrated in the Big Sky? The 'Jacks had some penalty issues but what team doesn't have that issue in fall camp?
Camp Tontozona holds a special place in ASU history. Given today's wired world of Facebook, Twitter, the Internet, etc; it is a great place to get away from modern technology and build bonds with your teammates. This goes back to the Kush days when the Sun Devils ran roughshod over the WAC before the 1978 move to the then PAC-8. I think I will keep a closer eye on this squad since I think this could be a winning team this year if the players buy into what Coach Graham is trying to do. People can bag on him all they want about his untimely departure from Pitt but the man can coach based on his experience at Rice and Tulsa, two of the smallest FBS schools out there. With the resources and potential that ASU offers, Coach Graham could build a powerhouse football team if he does away with his nomadic ways but a 6-6 record may be the best ASU can do this season. We'll see.
On a personal note, I was considering going to ASU myself out of high school...maybe it's not too late to become a fan of that school...LOL. But I like what Coach Graham is doing at ASU...he's a good coach regardless of how the hiring process went (remember the June Jones mess?).
ASU's improved LB corps look to improve on last season despite the departure of Burfict. Magee has been mentioned on my All 4CSports Blog Team for a reason. The secondary in some Fox Sports Arizona videos appeared to me that they need some work due to the big day by Ross. This could be an issue against NAU's experienced QB perhaps for a half until Graham yells at the secondary at halftime...remember he claimed to be under the weather but perhaps he was yelling quite a bit.
NAU's defense forced four turnovers in their recent scrimmage amd they were of the fumble variety. The kickers also went 7-8 on the day as well. Perhaps they are a little underrated in the Big Sky? The 'Jacks had some penalty issues but what team doesn't have that issue in fall camp?
Camp Tontozona holds a special place in ASU history. Given today's wired world of Facebook, Twitter, the Internet, etc; it is a great place to get away from modern technology and build bonds with your teammates. This goes back to the Kush days when the Sun Devils ran roughshod over the WAC before the 1978 move to the then PAC-8. I think I will keep a closer eye on this squad since I think this could be a winning team this year if the players buy into what Coach Graham is trying to do. People can bag on him all they want about his untimely departure from Pitt but the man can coach based on his experience at Rice and Tulsa, two of the smallest FBS schools out there. With the resources and potential that ASU offers, Coach Graham could build a powerhouse football team if he does away with his nomadic ways but a 6-6 record may be the best ASU can do this season. We'll see.
On a personal note, I was considering going to ASU myself out of high school...maybe it's not too late to become a fan of that school...LOL. But I like what Coach Graham is doing at ASU...he's a good coach regardless of how the hiring process went (remember the June Jones mess?).
Do you have the Pac-12 Network YET?
Today, I'm not posting news links since all the 4C football teams had their scrimmages this recent weekend and whatever information coming out from those scrimmages will be used in the upcoming game previews but this doesn't mean this post will be devoid of information.
Is anyone watching the Pac-12 Network in their home area? I got a personal message from an Ute fan on Pac-12 Board saying that he isn't getting the Pac-12 Network from his cable provider in Idaho and I told that person that I didn't think my grandparents from Idaho even know about the Pac-12 Network. They are truly Broncos fans (both the Boise and Denver variety) and with both teams breaking in new QBs, their hands must be full in breaking down the rosters especially my grandmother.
BlockU (the Utah SBNation blog site) is still fuming on their Twitter feed about the Pac-12 Network not being on Comcast Xfinity just yet and I'm in the same boat since Comcast serves both Denver and Salt Lake City. Can't blame Ute fans for being a little short on patience since they are nearly a week away from their first game and it will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks (yup all seven of them). I'm not hearing the same concerns from the Sun Devil fans since I believe they have Cox at this point and they are one of three providers with access to Pac-12 Now on www.pac-12.com.
The earliest I have heard about Pac-12 Now being on Xfinity TV is the end of this month which would be totally unfair to Ute fans who are dying to watch their football team for the first time since the Sun Bowl win over Georgia Tech. A conference-wide channel is nothing new for them as the Mountain West Conference, the former conference home of the Utes, had its own channel until the plug was pulled last Memorial Day weekend.
Switching gears, I want to share with everyone why I am excited for the Pac-12 Network and one main feature that 4C fans should be very excited about. I was spoiled as a teenager back in the 1990's when I could expect CU to be on TV every game because the Buffs were a powerhouse team during that time and people want to see nothing but the best on TV. The Buffs during that time certainly fit the bill. When I went away to college, I wasn't able to watch the Buffs unless they were on ESPN since the Big 12 was in bed with Fox Sports during that time. Plus it has been awhile since most if not all of CU's games were on TV so this is a welcome change for Buff fans. During the week of the 2010 Rocky Mountain Showdown (CSU-CU), I was living at my mother in law's home with my wife (note to any married couple: get your own place to stay...seriously!), I got to exprience the Mtn. since it was being shown to everyone free of charge during that week and it was an awesome exprience that left me in envy of the MWC fanbase. I am very sorry that MWC fans lost that channel and unlike the Mtn, the Pac-12 owns 100% of the Pac-12 Network so a repeat of that is unlikely. What I am excited about the Pac-12 Network is the "Football in 60" feature where everyone can watch football games condensed into 60 minutes. I had the NFL Rewind thing where I could watch NFL games from 2008 to 2011 condensed into 30 minutes per game which were used by NFL head coaches for scouting purposes and it was wonderful especially if I missed a Denver Broncos game due to church (God comes FIRST) and I'm expecting the same of the Pac-12's 60 minute condensed football games. I will definetly be using that feature as soon as Comcast finally gets the Pac-12 Network on Xfinity TV.
Larry Scott said at the Pac-12's Media Day event for football that videogame consoles should be able to get Pac-12 Networks as well so that means I'm looking forward to watching those games on my Sony Playstation 3. FYI, the Playstation Store updates every Tuesday so it's possible that the Pac-12 app comes out tomorrow but given the issues that people are expriencing with the Pac-12 Network, I do't know if that is a priority for the Pac-12 at this point. I cannot watch video from the Pac-12 Network on my iPad either and hopefully that gets resolved soon. I can say that I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of all of this...just imagine the pressure that person should be feeling so why don't we all be nice to him until next week?
Football season starts NEXT week! Pretty exciting to be able to type that!
Is anyone watching the Pac-12 Network in their home area? I got a personal message from an Ute fan on Pac-12 Board saying that he isn't getting the Pac-12 Network from his cable provider in Idaho and I told that person that I didn't think my grandparents from Idaho even know about the Pac-12 Network. They are truly Broncos fans (both the Boise and Denver variety) and with both teams breaking in new QBs, their hands must be full in breaking down the rosters especially my grandmother.
BlockU (the Utah SBNation blog site) is still fuming on their Twitter feed about the Pac-12 Network not being on Comcast Xfinity just yet and I'm in the same boat since Comcast serves both Denver and Salt Lake City. Can't blame Ute fans for being a little short on patience since they are nearly a week away from their first game and it will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks (yup all seven of them). I'm not hearing the same concerns from the Sun Devil fans since I believe they have Cox at this point and they are one of three providers with access to Pac-12 Now on www.pac-12.com.
The earliest I have heard about Pac-12 Now being on Xfinity TV is the end of this month which would be totally unfair to Ute fans who are dying to watch their football team for the first time since the Sun Bowl win over Georgia Tech. A conference-wide channel is nothing new for them as the Mountain West Conference, the former conference home of the Utes, had its own channel until the plug was pulled last Memorial Day weekend.
Switching gears, I want to share with everyone why I am excited for the Pac-12 Network and one main feature that 4C fans should be very excited about. I was spoiled as a teenager back in the 1990's when I could expect CU to be on TV every game because the Buffs were a powerhouse team during that time and people want to see nothing but the best on TV. The Buffs during that time certainly fit the bill. When I went away to college, I wasn't able to watch the Buffs unless they were on ESPN since the Big 12 was in bed with Fox Sports during that time. Plus it has been awhile since most if not all of CU's games were on TV so this is a welcome change for Buff fans. During the week of the 2010 Rocky Mountain Showdown (CSU-CU), I was living at my mother in law's home with my wife (note to any married couple: get your own place to stay...seriously!), I got to exprience the Mtn. since it was being shown to everyone free of charge during that week and it was an awesome exprience that left me in envy of the MWC fanbase. I am very sorry that MWC fans lost that channel and unlike the Mtn, the Pac-12 owns 100% of the Pac-12 Network so a repeat of that is unlikely. What I am excited about the Pac-12 Network is the "Football in 60" feature where everyone can watch football games condensed into 60 minutes. I had the NFL Rewind thing where I could watch NFL games from 2008 to 2011 condensed into 30 minutes per game which were used by NFL head coaches for scouting purposes and it was wonderful especially if I missed a Denver Broncos game due to church (God comes FIRST) and I'm expecting the same of the Pac-12's 60 minute condensed football games. I will definetly be using that feature as soon as Comcast finally gets the Pac-12 Network on Xfinity TV.
Larry Scott said at the Pac-12's Media Day event for football that videogame consoles should be able to get Pac-12 Networks as well so that means I'm looking forward to watching those games on my Sony Playstation 3. FYI, the Playstation Store updates every Tuesday so it's possible that the Pac-12 app comes out tomorrow but given the issues that people are expriencing with the Pac-12 Network, I do't know if that is a priority for the Pac-12 at this point. I cannot watch video from the Pac-12 Network on my iPad either and hopefully that gets resolved soon. I can say that I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of all of this...just imagine the pressure that person should be feeling so why don't we all be nice to him until next week?
Football season starts NEXT week! Pretty exciting to be able to type that!
Toldeo-Arizona Part II
All the 4C teams had scrimmages this weekend so hopefully the teams start to come into focus. Arizona's defense made some improvements by forcing some turnovers. More on the recent scrimmage from the Arizona Star. Simply put, the offense is still moving pretty well but at the same time, it raises questions about the defense.
Denker continues to impress as the backup QB for the Wildcats and I think we know who the 2013 starting QB will be. The Arizona Star did an article on Denker who throws left handed and is nicknamed "Vanilla Vick".
Rich Rod said "We have to get better at what we can control. The one thing we can always control is our execution, and that has to be the focus starting tomorrow." I believe this will always be an issue with any team with a new coaching staff in place during the first season. Somewhere, I read that Rich Rod's first UA team will pass the ball more than any team that Rich Rod has coached in the past and that wouldn't be too great of a departure from the Air Raid offense under Mike Stoops so that explains why the UA offense is moving well at this point.
Meanwhile, in Toldeo, six cornerbacks are battling for open jobs at both corner spots. The Toldeo Blade article goes into detail about each cornerback including a seventh if that person is medically cleared. Nicholas Guy, one of the commenters who used his Facebook account as a plug-in, commented about the Rockets needing to be the ones that are throwing for 500 yards not giving up 500 yards through the air. A little trash talk between Rocket fans and Bowling Green fans on that comment section...maybe it will be a good fireworks display.
Running back is also an area of concern since the Rockets have to replace two RBs that helped lead the 17th ranked rushing attack in the nation. David Fluellen was part of a deadly three headed monster last season but had a broken bone in his foot that has restricted him in practice until recently. Cassius McDowell is a speedster from Florida who has taken advantage of the injury to Fluellen. A freshman, Damion Jones-Moore, is expected to be the third RB in that rotation. A former walk-on offensive lineman will be making his first start against the Wildcats' new 3-3-5 defense along with two other new starters on the offensive line. It's ironic that player's first game was against Arizona when they visited the Glass Bowl and he is making his first start against Arizona. I'm sure he is looking for a better performance this time around as the Rockets could only get two points in that game.
It appears to me that the keys for the Wildcats is to keep throwing the football well & take care of the football, and the defense will need to keep the Rocket running game in check. Should UA do both of those well, there's no dobut that UA will win this game unless the unexpected happens.
Denker continues to impress as the backup QB for the Wildcats and I think we know who the 2013 starting QB will be. The Arizona Star did an article on Denker who throws left handed and is nicknamed "Vanilla Vick".
Rich Rod said "We have to get better at what we can control. The one thing we can always control is our execution, and that has to be the focus starting tomorrow." I believe this will always be an issue with any team with a new coaching staff in place during the first season. Somewhere, I read that Rich Rod's first UA team will pass the ball more than any team that Rich Rod has coached in the past and that wouldn't be too great of a departure from the Air Raid offense under Mike Stoops so that explains why the UA offense is moving well at this point.
Meanwhile, in Toldeo, six cornerbacks are battling for open jobs at both corner spots. The Toldeo Blade article goes into detail about each cornerback including a seventh if that person is medically cleared. Nicholas Guy, one of the commenters who used his Facebook account as a plug-in, commented about the Rockets needing to be the ones that are throwing for 500 yards not giving up 500 yards through the air. A little trash talk between Rocket fans and Bowling Green fans on that comment section...maybe it will be a good fireworks display.
Running back is also an area of concern since the Rockets have to replace two RBs that helped lead the 17th ranked rushing attack in the nation. David Fluellen was part of a deadly three headed monster last season but had a broken bone in his foot that has restricted him in practice until recently. Cassius McDowell is a speedster from Florida who has taken advantage of the injury to Fluellen. A freshman, Damion Jones-Moore, is expected to be the third RB in that rotation. A former walk-on offensive lineman will be making his first start against the Wildcats' new 3-3-5 defense along with two other new starters on the offensive line. It's ironic that player's first game was against Arizona when they visited the Glass Bowl and he is making his first start against Arizona. I'm sure he is looking for a better performance this time around as the Rockets could only get two points in that game.
It appears to me that the keys for the Wildcats is to keep throwing the football well & take care of the football, and the defense will need to keep the Rocket running game in check. Should UA do both of those well, there's no dobut that UA will win this game unless the unexpected happens.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Friday August 17, 2012 News
Chris Nwoke, the projected starting RB for CSU, was seen riding a stationary bike with a protective boot due to an injured ankle and the Rams are down to three healthy RBs with two weeks to go before the game against CU. RamNation is speculating in this form that Nwoke's injury is worse than first thought and Nwoke would miss the CU game which would be a huge blow to CSU's offense. That could make Jordan Webb's first game as the starting QB easier and the eventual backup QB for the Buffs could get to play due to a forecast of three and outs by the CSU offense.
An Arizona walk-on WR is making a serious case to get serious playing time. Rich Rod, like his CU counterpart, will be counting on freshmen for depth. Can anyone say those two schools will be battling it out for the 2015 South crown? GoArizonaWildcats posters these days are speculating what the pass-run ratio will be on offense this year. One poster said RicRod's past teams had a 60-40 rush ratio while one poster said that due to Matt Scott and talent at WR, it could be 55-45 in favor of the pass while one said 50-50. One poster said that there is lack of depth at QB despite UA just naming what appears to be a capable back-up QB to Scott in Denker.
Like with the UA walk-on WR, a similiar story is happening with a freshman DT for the Sun Devils. Coach Graham claims he is sick or was that all the yelling he was doing at camp? HouseOfSparky previewed the OL and claimed that the OL was out of shape last season and is in better shape this season. If my suspicions are correct, Coach Graham's voice these days could be due to him screaming at his OL to get off their rears and get to running drills. Or the OL getting beat by a freshman DT?
Utah's bowl destination could hinge on the kicking game this year. Coach Whittingham wasn't too happy with special teams last week as it was noted by this blog in a earlier post. Those Utah kickers might want to call up that Boise State kicker who missed a FG at Nevada that cost BSU dearly a couple of years back. On the CougarUte Forum, early talk on UNC-Utah focuses on five questions then BYU fans give their Ute counterparts a hard time about losing to CU last season. The same Ute fans are thinking Hays will be the backup QB so Wilson can redshirt. That will all hinge on Wynn's ability to stay healthy.
An Arizona walk-on WR is making a serious case to get serious playing time. Rich Rod, like his CU counterpart, will be counting on freshmen for depth. Can anyone say those two schools will be battling it out for the 2015 South crown? GoArizonaWildcats posters these days are speculating what the pass-run ratio will be on offense this year. One poster said RicRod's past teams had a 60-40 rush ratio while one poster said that due to Matt Scott and talent at WR, it could be 55-45 in favor of the pass while one said 50-50. One poster said that there is lack of depth at QB despite UA just naming what appears to be a capable back-up QB to Scott in Denker.
Like with the UA walk-on WR, a similiar story is happening with a freshman DT for the Sun Devils. Coach Graham claims he is sick or was that all the yelling he was doing at camp? HouseOfSparky previewed the OL and claimed that the OL was out of shape last season and is in better shape this season. If my suspicions are correct, Coach Graham's voice these days could be due to him screaming at his OL to get off their rears and get to running drills. Or the OL getting beat by a freshman DT?
Utah's bowl destination could hinge on the kicking game this year. Coach Whittingham wasn't too happy with special teams last week as it was noted by this blog in a earlier post. Those Utah kickers might want to call up that Boise State kicker who missed a FG at Nevada that cost BSU dearly a couple of years back. On the CougarUte Forum, early talk on UNC-Utah focuses on five questions then BYU fans give their Ute counterparts a hard time about losing to CU last season. The same Ute fans are thinking Hays will be the backup QB so Wilson can redshirt. That will all hinge on Wynn's ability to stay healthy.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
UNC-Utah Part II
If anyone has forgotten, this will be on the brand new Pac-12 Network. Did anyone have the chance to watch the Pac-12 Network last night? I didn't have a chance to do so because I might not have the correct basic cable subscription with Comcast but I'm not going to die because I know I will eventually be able to get it. It will take time plus the thought of watching games at Buffalo Wild Wings while eating some wings is still pretty appealing. Speaking of that, it would be a good idea to check with your resturant or bar to see if they carry the Pac-12 Network.
Those spoiled Utes...they made history last year in playing in the first Pac-12 game and now they play in the first Pac-12 Network game. I don't think UNC's fans are complaining either since this means one extra game to watch their team lose like last season...I'm not sure if that really is a benefit to them.
Last Thursday, I did an initial blog on the upcoming UNC-Utah game and I did discuss about who the UNC QB will be but I think everyone would be interested to know who the other players who are capable players. Clarence Bumpas transferred to Greeley from Kansas State and was fourth in FCS football with 145 tackles. He had at least ten tackles in nine out of UNC's 11 games last season. I'm sure the Ute coaches will be keeping an eye on where Bumpas will be but there is another former FBS linebacker that they might want to keep an eye on and that is Leilon Willingham who chose Central Florida over the Buffs but decided to transfer back home and settled on the Bears so he could play right away. UCF is one of those programs that could be a BCS Buster team this coming season before the Golden Knights move to the Big East for the 2013 season. Willingham played in 10 games and started three of them. He also saw some time at Defensive End.
There are some former CU Buffs players who played under Dan Hawkins that are playing at UNC and Seth Lobato isn't the only former Buff on the Bears roster. Will Jefferson played some WR and RB while in Boulder, he didn't do a whole lot but he flashed some big play potential. Quentin Hildreth didn't see much time at CU but led the Bears in rushing last season (388 yards and three TDs) including a career best 117 yards at Colorado State last season. I am not aware of any other former Buffaloes who are playing for the Bears this year. Again, they only showed flashes of potential but couldn't get it together.
I believe UNC will be an improved team this year but the Big Sky Conference is still a solid FCS conference. As a Coloradoan fan, I'd be happy to see the Bears have at least a .500 record this season.
Has UNC played some FBS teams recently? The answer is yes. In 2010, Michigan State rolled to a 45-7 win in East Lansing just after their head coach had a mild heart attack and missed the game. The Spartans were up 35-0 at the half in that game. The Bears had four turnovers with Dylan Orms (his brother is a DB on the CU team) at QB, and only managed 266 offensive yards. Last year they lost 33-12 in Fort Collins against the Rams. The Rams led 28-0 at half-time but the Bears outplayed the Rams in the second half. As we know, CSU wasn't a very good team last year and that is why the Rams have a new head coach this year.
How do I think the Utes will do in the season opener? I think the Utes will play better than they did against Montana State (the Bobcats were picked to win the BSC this year) for certain and I think the Ute offense should be able to top 40 points but 50 might be unlikely given the talent at LB for the Bears. The Bears have given the Bobcats fits ever since joining the Big Sky Conference. If the Utes don't get at least 35 points, that could become a source of concern for the Utes this season.
Two more weeks to go! Did Utes hunt for bear meat in addition to buffalo meat during their heydays?
Those spoiled Utes...they made history last year in playing in the first Pac-12 game and now they play in the first Pac-12 Network game. I don't think UNC's fans are complaining either since this means one extra game to watch their team lose like last season...I'm not sure if that really is a benefit to them.
Last Thursday, I did an initial blog on the upcoming UNC-Utah game and I did discuss about who the UNC QB will be but I think everyone would be interested to know who the other players who are capable players. Clarence Bumpas transferred to Greeley from Kansas State and was fourth in FCS football with 145 tackles. He had at least ten tackles in nine out of UNC's 11 games last season. I'm sure the Ute coaches will be keeping an eye on where Bumpas will be but there is another former FBS linebacker that they might want to keep an eye on and that is Leilon Willingham who chose Central Florida over the Buffs but decided to transfer back home and settled on the Bears so he could play right away. UCF is one of those programs that could be a BCS Buster team this coming season before the Golden Knights move to the Big East for the 2013 season. Willingham played in 10 games and started three of them. He also saw some time at Defensive End.
There are some former CU Buffs players who played under Dan Hawkins that are playing at UNC and Seth Lobato isn't the only former Buff on the Bears roster. Will Jefferson played some WR and RB while in Boulder, he didn't do a whole lot but he flashed some big play potential. Quentin Hildreth didn't see much time at CU but led the Bears in rushing last season (388 yards and three TDs) including a career best 117 yards at Colorado State last season. I am not aware of any other former Buffaloes who are playing for the Bears this year. Again, they only showed flashes of potential but couldn't get it together.
I believe UNC will be an improved team this year but the Big Sky Conference is still a solid FCS conference. As a Coloradoan fan, I'd be happy to see the Bears have at least a .500 record this season.
Has UNC played some FBS teams recently? The answer is yes. In 2010, Michigan State rolled to a 45-7 win in East Lansing just after their head coach had a mild heart attack and missed the game. The Spartans were up 35-0 at the half in that game. The Bears had four turnovers with Dylan Orms (his brother is a DB on the CU team) at QB, and only managed 266 offensive yards. Last year they lost 33-12 in Fort Collins against the Rams. The Rams led 28-0 at half-time but the Bears outplayed the Rams in the second half. As we know, CSU wasn't a very good team last year and that is why the Rams have a new head coach this year.
How do I think the Utes will do in the season opener? I think the Utes will play better than they did against Montana State (the Bobcats were picked to win the BSC this year) for certain and I think the Ute offense should be able to top 40 points but 50 might be unlikely given the talent at LB for the Bears. The Bears have given the Bobcats fits ever since joining the Big Sky Conference. If the Utes don't get at least 35 points, that could become a source of concern for the Utes this season.
Two more weeks to go! Did Utes hunt for bear meat in addition to buffalo meat during their heydays?
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Wednesday August 15 News
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/ua/articles/20120814arizona-footballs-down-dirty-line-heart-offense.html
UA's OL certainly has declawed the new 3-3-5 defense at this point. Given that UA is settled at QB, that might be the problem. Too bad UA doesn't open with NAU this year.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120814asu-football-cameron-marshall-limited-rest-of-camp.html
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120814asu-football-cameron-marshall-limited-rest-of-camp.html
Cameron Marshall is done being tackled by his teammates perhaps due to his conditioning after ankle surgery. With their expect workhorse RB sidelined for the time being, perhaps the Sun Devils will figure out who the QB is but it has just happened. Taylor Kelly is the QB for now.
http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_21312410/football-cu-buffs-mcculloch-uses-height-advantage
http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_21312410/football-cu-buffs-mcculloch-uses-height-advantage
Tall CU WR out of New Mexico learning how to use his body to his advantage. It's amazing that both UNM & NMSU didn't recruit him but the was due to an injury in his senior year of high school.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/54696434-89/utes-defensive-fumbles-whittingham.html.csp
Utah is fumbling the ball in practice and is the unsettled QB situation partly to blame? For a team that is expected to challenge USC for the Sout crown, that will become a nightmare if it doesn't get fixed fast.
CSU-CU Part 1
I'm going to attempt to be objective when it comes to CSU and CU given that I am a CU fan myself but there is no promises in this case but I'll try my best.
I will focus on CSU in this post. The Rams are led by first year coach Jim McElwain who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban who just won the National Championship. CSU fans who love to drink the kool-aid (I do too) will be giddy that they have a coach who coached a National Championship team. Who would't be giddy in that case? The reality is that CSU is in the Mountain West which would be too great of a barrier at this point and in the future towards a National Championship but the Rams can try to duplicate the greatness of the Sonny Lubbick years. Did you know that McElwain was one of the three finalists for the open CU coaching job that went to Jon Embree? I can only imagine Mike Bohn's agony if CSU wins in Denver this year and will provide fuel for the rabid CU fans to run Bohn out of town sooner than later.
In what seems like perfect timing, Sports Illustrated released an article on why Nick Saban has been successful at LSU and Alabama. McElwain is mentioned in the article but so is former Washington Husky great Don James and former CU coach Eddie Crowder who coached the Buffaloes in the 1960's and 1970's. McElwain is attempting to duplicate what Saban has taught him at a school that has less resources to work with despite strong backing from Jack Graham, the ambitious CSU athletic director who aims to build a new on-campus stadium in Ft. Collin which is something that I personally support despite my disdain for the Rams.
Garrett Grayson is widely believed to be the starting QB for the Rams against the Buffs. In his time as the QB for the Rams, he was 43 of 77 passing for a TD-INT ratio of 2-6 and 542 yards passing. He was sacked eight times and that most likely will be a concern given that the Rams OL gave up 27 sacks in a spring scrimmage (Coach McElwain counted 32!). I'm not sure who the backup QB for the Rams will be but if the OL continues to struggle like that, Grayson might not last the full season. But if you look at the stats posted on the CSU website, Grayson seems to have some potential as he threw for 242 yards against TCU because the Rams didn't give up a sack. He did decent against Air Force despite being sacked four times but he had a dismal performance against Wyoming where he was sacked three times and threw three picks in a 22-19 loss to the hated Cowboys. In McElwain's offense, the idea is for Grayson to be a game manager instead of being a hero and I am not sure where Ram fans will put Grayson in that regard. The good news is that in a recent summer scrimmage, pass protection was better so the CSU OL apparently worked hard over the summer. It doesn't change the fact that the OL will have to open holes for the running game and I would expect the Rams to go after CU's front seven which the Rams didn't do very well against the Buffs last season.
Alabama had some very good RBs while McElwain was in Alabama and the general idea is that good college football teams are able to run the football. It is being stressed in Boulder for the Buffs as well but that's for Part II next week while the focus is on the Ram RBs. It appears that there are injury concerns at RB behind Chris Nwoke, who is believed to be the starting RB. According to the CSU site, Nwoke rushed for 1,130 yards and nine TDs. Grayson appears to be a good running QB and I'm impressed with his stats against Air Force and Wyoming. Despite those seven combined sacks, Grayson still ran for 134 yards on 32 carries which averages 4.19 yards per carry. Grayson didn't play in last year's Rocky Mountain Showdown but Nwoke ran for 29 yards on seven carries in the loss to the "dirty hippies" (as CSU students call CU). Nwoke had a high of 269 games on 29 carries against Air Force for 2 TDs so Nwoke is capable of having a big day on the ground.
I am not too familiar with CSU's passing game but the top two returning WRs when it comes to yardage had zero yards last year against the Buffs. There is also the pass protection issue from the spring game plus Grayson having a 2-6 TD-INT ratio. The CSU OL will be up against an exprienced DE and DT plus some talented newcomers & returning players could make it a difficult against the OL. The WRs are going against a very young group of CBs for the Buffs and at least one CB will be a true freshman making his first collegiate start in an intense game like the RMS. I expect Grayson to go after Yuri Wright or Kennth Crawley, who are both east coast kids with some swagger as it is being said in Boulder.
There are some defensive concerns entering summer camp for the Rams after Mike Orkapo in addition to two other defensive players were kicked off the team for his involvement in an off campus fight that led to serious injuries. Even if those three came back, the question would be how would CSU improve on defense after a season where they gave up 4,959 yards or 413.2 yards per game last season. According to the CSU website, the Rams D yielded 5.5 yards per carry and 11.9 yards per catch and those are not very good stats for any defense since teams could just require two downs to get another first down on the ground while allowing QBs to have 61.8 passes completed against a Rams secondary that is said to be a team strength this year.
For anyone curious about how the CU offense fared against the CSU defense, the Buffs had 360 total yards (145 rush and 215 pass) for an average gain of 5.5 yards against the Rams defense. That was against a more experienced group of skill position players for the Buffs as the Buffs will have new starters at QB, RB, FB, TE, and both WR positions due to the injury of Patrick Richardson in the spring. CU's offensive line is said to be a team strength. We'll see how both teams play soon enough but at the same time, I would expect a sloppy game due to the Rams having a new offense and the Buffs having so many new starters on offense.
I want to cover special teams for the Rams but information is scarce at this point and I will attempt to address that in Part II.
One intangible that I am curious about is whether CSU's President will go ahead with the construction of the on-campus stadium during the week of the RMS to fire up the Rams and their fans & alumni. But recent talk is that decision has been delayed to October so we'll see about that.
One thing won't change and that is the intense hate that both sides have for each other. That's a good reason to tune into FX on the day of the football game. I plan on eating at Buffalo Wild Wings for that game with my wife. I do support eating buffalo burgers since they are healthy. I do have one small request and that is to cut off CAM's balls...people aren't interested in the size of a bighorn ram's balls during a football game.
I will focus on CSU in this post. The Rams are led by first year coach Jim McElwain who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban who just won the National Championship. CSU fans who love to drink the kool-aid (I do too) will be giddy that they have a coach who coached a National Championship team. Who would't be giddy in that case? The reality is that CSU is in the Mountain West which would be too great of a barrier at this point and in the future towards a National Championship but the Rams can try to duplicate the greatness of the Sonny Lubbick years. Did you know that McElwain was one of the three finalists for the open CU coaching job that went to Jon Embree? I can only imagine Mike Bohn's agony if CSU wins in Denver this year and will provide fuel for the rabid CU fans to run Bohn out of town sooner than later.
In what seems like perfect timing, Sports Illustrated released an article on why Nick Saban has been successful at LSU and Alabama. McElwain is mentioned in the article but so is former Washington Husky great Don James and former CU coach Eddie Crowder who coached the Buffaloes in the 1960's and 1970's. McElwain is attempting to duplicate what Saban has taught him at a school that has less resources to work with despite strong backing from Jack Graham, the ambitious CSU athletic director who aims to build a new on-campus stadium in Ft. Collin which is something that I personally support despite my disdain for the Rams.
Garrett Grayson is widely believed to be the starting QB for the Rams against the Buffs. In his time as the QB for the Rams, he was 43 of 77 passing for a TD-INT ratio of 2-6 and 542 yards passing. He was sacked eight times and that most likely will be a concern given that the Rams OL gave up 27 sacks in a spring scrimmage (Coach McElwain counted 32!). I'm not sure who the backup QB for the Rams will be but if the OL continues to struggle like that, Grayson might not last the full season. But if you look at the stats posted on the CSU website, Grayson seems to have some potential as he threw for 242 yards against TCU because the Rams didn't give up a sack. He did decent against Air Force despite being sacked four times but he had a dismal performance against Wyoming where he was sacked three times and threw three picks in a 22-19 loss to the hated Cowboys. In McElwain's offense, the idea is for Grayson to be a game manager instead of being a hero and I am not sure where Ram fans will put Grayson in that regard. The good news is that in a recent summer scrimmage, pass protection was better so the CSU OL apparently worked hard over the summer. It doesn't change the fact that the OL will have to open holes for the running game and I would expect the Rams to go after CU's front seven which the Rams didn't do very well against the Buffs last season.
Alabama had some very good RBs while McElwain was in Alabama and the general idea is that good college football teams are able to run the football. It is being stressed in Boulder for the Buffs as well but that's for Part II next week while the focus is on the Ram RBs. It appears that there are injury concerns at RB behind Chris Nwoke, who is believed to be the starting RB. According to the CSU site, Nwoke rushed for 1,130 yards and nine TDs. Grayson appears to be a good running QB and I'm impressed with his stats against Air Force and Wyoming. Despite those seven combined sacks, Grayson still ran for 134 yards on 32 carries which averages 4.19 yards per carry. Grayson didn't play in last year's Rocky Mountain Showdown but Nwoke ran for 29 yards on seven carries in the loss to the "dirty hippies" (as CSU students call CU). Nwoke had a high of 269 games on 29 carries against Air Force for 2 TDs so Nwoke is capable of having a big day on the ground.
I am not too familiar with CSU's passing game but the top two returning WRs when it comes to yardage had zero yards last year against the Buffs. There is also the pass protection issue from the spring game plus Grayson having a 2-6 TD-INT ratio. The CSU OL will be up against an exprienced DE and DT plus some talented newcomers & returning players could make it a difficult against the OL. The WRs are going against a very young group of CBs for the Buffs and at least one CB will be a true freshman making his first collegiate start in an intense game like the RMS. I expect Grayson to go after Yuri Wright or Kennth Crawley, who are both east coast kids with some swagger as it is being said in Boulder.
There are some defensive concerns entering summer camp for the Rams after Mike Orkapo in addition to two other defensive players were kicked off the team for his involvement in an off campus fight that led to serious injuries. Even if those three came back, the question would be how would CSU improve on defense after a season where they gave up 4,959 yards or 413.2 yards per game last season. According to the CSU website, the Rams D yielded 5.5 yards per carry and 11.9 yards per catch and those are not very good stats for any defense since teams could just require two downs to get another first down on the ground while allowing QBs to have 61.8 passes completed against a Rams secondary that is said to be a team strength this year.
For anyone curious about how the CU offense fared against the CSU defense, the Buffs had 360 total yards (145 rush and 215 pass) for an average gain of 5.5 yards against the Rams defense. That was against a more experienced group of skill position players for the Buffs as the Buffs will have new starters at QB, RB, FB, TE, and both WR positions due to the injury of Patrick Richardson in the spring. CU's offensive line is said to be a team strength. We'll see how both teams play soon enough but at the same time, I would expect a sloppy game due to the Rams having a new offense and the Buffs having so many new starters on offense.
I want to cover special teams for the Rams but information is scarce at this point and I will attempt to address that in Part II.
One intangible that I am curious about is whether CSU's President will go ahead with the construction of the on-campus stadium during the week of the RMS to fire up the Rams and their fans & alumni. But recent talk is that decision has been delayed to October so we'll see about that.
One thing won't change and that is the intense hate that both sides have for each other. That's a good reason to tune into FX on the day of the football game. I plan on eating at Buffalo Wild Wings for that game with my wife. I do support eating buffalo burgers since they are healthy. I do have one small request and that is to cut off CAM's balls...people aren't interested in the size of a bighorn ram's balls during a football game.
NAU-ASU Part 1
Happy Tuesday! Is it like the second Monday of the week? Hopefully this blog changes that!
I am still toying around with what days I will provide what content and for now, I will provide news links on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Why just three days? I would have a bigger sample of news to pick from and chances are better I get the type of article that I would more likely talk about in real life. What type of article? I would say the type that focuses more on the offensive skill players (which would be ironic since I was a lineman in HS football but linemen aren't much into individual recognization). I will include defensive skill players but I'm more slanted towards the offense. This stems from my preference of playing on offense in NCAA Football 13 and Super Sim-ing while on defense. I also love to talk about the fashion of the uniforms and today, BlockU (SBNation blog for Ute fans) posted a link that includes a mock black helmet since the Utes will be using black helmets occassionaly just like ASU and CU last season. I will post a photo of the mockup which is:
Pretty neat helmet and I hope the final product is reflective of that. It's possible that the Utah logo will be white but having it red with the black would just be awesome.
Now on to the NAU-ASU preview.
At the 2012 Big Sky Media Days, NAU was picked to finish ninth by the media and seventh by the coaches in a 13 team conference.
At this point, Coach Graham said that it is possible that ASU will play two QBs this season. I cringe every time a coach says that his team will have two QBs because that rarely works and I want the 4C schools to kick some California and Northwestern rears every year in the Pac-12. Graham should focus more on having a backup RB to take the load off Cameron Marshall who is the second best 4C running back for this season in my book. I will not spend too much time talking about ASU in this post because there are still a lot of starting positions to be determined but I will focus on Northern Arizona in this post.
Last season, the Lumberjacks went 4-7 overall with a 3-5 record in Big Sky Conference play. Their starting QB, Cray Grosshart, returns for his senior year after passing for 2,745 yards on 65.9% passing and a TD-INT ratio of 16-7. The 'Jacks also return their leading rusher in Zack Bauerman who rushed for 1,529 yards and 15 TDs last season. But their leading WR from last season, Kahlili Paden, has graduated but the second leading WR, Ify Umodu, returns after hauling in 50 passes for 667 yards and 4 TDs. They also return another RB in Jamal Perkins, who returned kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Coach Graham will have to make sure the defensive plan and special teams plan accounts for those talented offensive skill position players coming back for the 'Jacks this season. Now I think I know how Lou Holtz actually felt when playing Navy.
Switching over to the defense, the 'Jacks lose their leading tackler from last season in Scott McKeever but return the second leading tackler in Craig Frum. Issac Bond, who led the team with 7.5 sacks, is gone this season but the second leading sacker, Jarret Bilbrey with five sacks, returns at DT for the 'Jacks. Bond and Blayne Anderson, who isn't returning this season, both had six QB hurries last season and Bilbrey had four. Taylor Patton is back at safety after leading the 'Jacks with several picks but McKeever was the co-leader with five pass breakups but the other co-leader, Randy Hale Jr, returns at cornerback. The players that caused seven of nine fumbles do not return. It appears to me that the 'Jacks lost some good production from their defense from last season and the 'Jacks gave up 75 yards on 20 carries in Tucson last season but the Wildcats firebombed the 'Jacks defense for 417 yards and 5 TDs on 34-42 passing.
On special teams, I mentioned Perkins returning a 99 yard kickoff return for a TD. I also notice that the 'Jacks blocked four kicks (doesn't say it was a punt, FG, or PAT) and Taylor Malenfant had two of those and he's back. Anderson and Dan Pela had the other two and they are not back this season.
I think a steady diet of Marshall on the ground along with play action passes will be enough to dispatch the 'Jacks in Tempe and the Sun Devil defense will have to get after Bauerman and Grosshart to deliver the knockout blow early enough to give at least two QBs playing time to determine if the QB race can be decided.
I am still toying around with what days I will provide what content and for now, I will provide news links on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Why just three days? I would have a bigger sample of news to pick from and chances are better I get the type of article that I would more likely talk about in real life. What type of article? I would say the type that focuses more on the offensive skill players (which would be ironic since I was a lineman in HS football but linemen aren't much into individual recognization). I will include defensive skill players but I'm more slanted towards the offense. This stems from my preference of playing on offense in NCAA Football 13 and Super Sim-ing while on defense. I also love to talk about the fashion of the uniforms and today, BlockU (SBNation blog for Ute fans) posted a link that includes a mock black helmet since the Utes will be using black helmets occassionaly just like ASU and CU last season. I will post a photo of the mockup which is:
Pretty neat helmet and I hope the final product is reflective of that. It's possible that the Utah logo will be white but having it red with the black would just be awesome.
Now on to the NAU-ASU preview.
At the 2012 Big Sky Media Days, NAU was picked to finish ninth by the media and seventh by the coaches in a 13 team conference.
At this point, Coach Graham said that it is possible that ASU will play two QBs this season. I cringe every time a coach says that his team will have two QBs because that rarely works and I want the 4C schools to kick some California and Northwestern rears every year in the Pac-12. Graham should focus more on having a backup RB to take the load off Cameron Marshall who is the second best 4C running back for this season in my book. I will not spend too much time talking about ASU in this post because there are still a lot of starting positions to be determined but I will focus on Northern Arizona in this post.
Last season, the Lumberjacks went 4-7 overall with a 3-5 record in Big Sky Conference play. Their starting QB, Cray Grosshart, returns for his senior year after passing for 2,745 yards on 65.9% passing and a TD-INT ratio of 16-7. The 'Jacks also return their leading rusher in Zack Bauerman who rushed for 1,529 yards and 15 TDs last season. But their leading WR from last season, Kahlili Paden, has graduated but the second leading WR, Ify Umodu, returns after hauling in 50 passes for 667 yards and 4 TDs. They also return another RB in Jamal Perkins, who returned kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Coach Graham will have to make sure the defensive plan and special teams plan accounts for those talented offensive skill position players coming back for the 'Jacks this season. Now I think I know how Lou Holtz actually felt when playing Navy.
Switching over to the defense, the 'Jacks lose their leading tackler from last season in Scott McKeever but return the second leading tackler in Craig Frum. Issac Bond, who led the team with 7.5 sacks, is gone this season but the second leading sacker, Jarret Bilbrey with five sacks, returns at DT for the 'Jacks. Bond and Blayne Anderson, who isn't returning this season, both had six QB hurries last season and Bilbrey had four. Taylor Patton is back at safety after leading the 'Jacks with several picks but McKeever was the co-leader with five pass breakups but the other co-leader, Randy Hale Jr, returns at cornerback. The players that caused seven of nine fumbles do not return. It appears to me that the 'Jacks lost some good production from their defense from last season and the 'Jacks gave up 75 yards on 20 carries in Tucson last season but the Wildcats firebombed the 'Jacks defense for 417 yards and 5 TDs on 34-42 passing.
On special teams, I mentioned Perkins returning a 99 yard kickoff return for a TD. I also notice that the 'Jacks blocked four kicks (doesn't say it was a punt, FG, or PAT) and Taylor Malenfant had two of those and he's back. Anderson and Dan Pela had the other two and they are not back this season.
I think a steady diet of Marshall on the ground along with play action passes will be enough to dispatch the 'Jacks in Tempe and the Sun Devil defense will have to get after Bauerman and Grosshart to deliver the knockout blow early enough to give at least two QBs playing time to determine if the QB race can be decided.
Monday, August 13, 2012
August 13, 2012 News Links
Arizona Wildcats:
http://azstarnet.com/sports/football/college/wildcats/arizona-football-not-ready-for-big-stage-yet/article_0ec19bd2-6b4c-53e8-9299-33a212baa6dd.html
Based on that article, it appears that there is work to do before the game against Toldeo especially the defense. At least the money coming from the new Pac-12 media contract will pay for extra scorekeepers in Tucson.
The Wildcats are now solid at not only starting QB (Matt Scott) but the backup position (B.J. Denker). I'm sure Coaches Graham, Embree, and Wittingham wishes they were more solidified at the QB position at this point. Denker faced the no. 1 defense most of the time in the 100 play scrimmage and did well.
Could J.T. Washington be the next Noel Devine? Just like Devine, he is from Florida. That could mean exciting times ahead for Arizona on offense as I recall the White-Devine duo in West Virigina.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/ua/articles/20120811arizona-wildcats-running-backs-try-separate-from-pack.html
More stuff on the UA running backs. Some speedsters and bruisers in that group.
Arizona State Sun Devils:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120812arizona-state-could-play-quarterbacks-coach-todd-graham-says.html
ASU could play two QBs this season. I wonder if Coach Graham is either kidding himself or is using this as a way to reduce the three man QB race to two QBs after they return from Camp Tontozona.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120810arizona-state-offensive-line-looks-ramp-up-rushing.html
ASU's OL is looking to ramp up the running game. This is interesting given that ASU is going from an Air Raid offense to a run heavy offense and given the number of returning starters, I could see ASU struggling this season...or maybe not. This unit did pave the way for Cameron Marshall and his 18 rushing TDs last season so this unit can get it done if they have heart (according to their OL coach).
Colorado:
http://www.denverpost.com/cu/ci_21293023/colorado-tailback-tony-jones-beats-odds-be-starter
Tony Jones put 12 more pounds of muscle onto his 5'7" frame and is now at 192 pounds. I have a good feeling about Jones picking up the load on offense as the Buffs will probably spend the 2012 season figuring out who the QB of the future is going to be.
http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_21298204
The Buffs are counting on DT Will Periack to be a stud on a CU DL that could be good this year.
Utah:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54678509-77/kicking-petersen-utah-whittingham.html.csp
I know Utah's Peterson was named to the 2012 All 4CSportsBlog Team but it was because there weren't any other good options. If any of the 4C teams are to go bowling this year, the kicking game must be taken care of. Peterson has been overtaken by Nick Marsh in camp. Not good Utes...not good.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54667378-77/hays-wynn-utah-ball.html.csp
Gordon Monson's take on the Utah backup QB race which is between Jon Hays and Travis Wilson. I'm thinking at this point that Wilson could win the #2 job behind Wynn.
This is the first blog without having to look at the Pac-12 Blog on ESPN.com for links. Ted Miller and Kevin Gemmell do fine work on that blog and should be commended. I'm more of an offense guy than a defense guy so don't be surprised if more of my links are on the offensive side.
http://azstarnet.com/sports/football/college/wildcats/arizona-football-not-ready-for-big-stage-yet/article_0ec19bd2-6b4c-53e8-9299-33a212baa6dd.html
Based on that article, it appears that there is work to do before the game against Toldeo especially the defense. At least the money coming from the new Pac-12 media contract will pay for extra scorekeepers in Tucson.
The Wildcats are now solid at not only starting QB (Matt Scott) but the backup position (B.J. Denker). I'm sure Coaches Graham, Embree, and Wittingham wishes they were more solidified at the QB position at this point. Denker faced the no. 1 defense most of the time in the 100 play scrimmage and did well.
Could J.T. Washington be the next Noel Devine? Just like Devine, he is from Florida. That could mean exciting times ahead for Arizona on offense as I recall the White-Devine duo in West Virigina.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/ua/articles/20120811arizona-wildcats-running-backs-try-separate-from-pack.html
More stuff on the UA running backs. Some speedsters and bruisers in that group.
Arizona State Sun Devils:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120812arizona-state-could-play-quarterbacks-coach-todd-graham-says.html
ASU could play two QBs this season. I wonder if Coach Graham is either kidding himself or is using this as a way to reduce the three man QB race to two QBs after they return from Camp Tontozona.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/20120810arizona-state-offensive-line-looks-ramp-up-rushing.html
ASU's OL is looking to ramp up the running game. This is interesting given that ASU is going from an Air Raid offense to a run heavy offense and given the number of returning starters, I could see ASU struggling this season...or maybe not. This unit did pave the way for Cameron Marshall and his 18 rushing TDs last season so this unit can get it done if they have heart (according to their OL coach).
Colorado:
http://www.denverpost.com/cu/ci_21293023/colorado-tailback-tony-jones-beats-odds-be-starter
Tony Jones put 12 more pounds of muscle onto his 5'7" frame and is now at 192 pounds. I have a good feeling about Jones picking up the load on offense as the Buffs will probably spend the 2012 season figuring out who the QB of the future is going to be.
http://www.buffzone.com/cu-news/ci_21298204
The Buffs are counting on DT Will Periack to be a stud on a CU DL that could be good this year.
Utah:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54678509-77/kicking-petersen-utah-whittingham.html.csp
I know Utah's Peterson was named to the 2012 All 4CSportsBlog Team but it was because there weren't any other good options. If any of the 4C teams are to go bowling this year, the kicking game must be taken care of. Peterson has been overtaken by Nick Marsh in camp. Not good Utes...not good.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/54667378-77/hays-wynn-utah-ball.html.csp
Gordon Monson's take on the Utah backup QB race which is between Jon Hays and Travis Wilson. I'm thinking at this point that Wilson could win the #2 job behind Wynn.
This is the first blog without having to look at the Pac-12 Blog on ESPN.com for links. Ted Miller and Kevin Gemmell do fine work on that blog and should be commended. I'm more of an offense guy than a defense guy so don't be surprised if more of my links are on the offensive side.
Toledo-Arizona Part 1
Today, I will focus on Arizona's opening game which is at home against Toledo. The last time those two played in Toldeo, the Wildcats took care of business 41-2. As for the last time Rich Rod faced the Rockets, it didn't turn out any good as his Michigan Wolverines lost 13-10 at home to the Rockets.
Toledo 13 Michigan 10
Isn't life cruel for Rich Rod since he gets to face Toledo in his first game in Tucson? What has he done so wrong to put himself in that situation? Really, what set the tone was a 100-yard interception return by Tyrrell Herbert of the Rockets to put Toledo up 7-0. Quite the powerful momentum turning play in Ann Arbor that afternoon. I'm sure Rich Rod will be telling Matt Scott to take care of the football against the Rockets.
You might have caught in my last blog post that I named Scott as the QB for the 2012 All 4CSports Blog Preseason Team. I looked at the QBs that Rich Rod coached while at Tulane and Clemson and looked at how they did their first years. Shaun King was Rich Rod's QB at Tulane and put up some impressive numbers (taken from King's Wikipedia page):
When Rich Rod begun at West Virigina, the Big East still had Miami FL, Virigina Tech, and Boston College which was still a very solid football conference at that time. The Mountaineers finished 3-8 that season but turned things around the following season. First he had Rasheed Marshall who was solid for the 'Ners then Pat White showed up in Morganstown one day and took the starting QB job that was open due to Marshall graduating and boy White was senstational if any of you recall. I'm still amazed that CU managed to contain White and Noel Devine in Boulder.
Looking back at Rich Rod's failing in Ann Arbor, the 2008 QBs for the Wolverines didn't really take care of the football that well. 2009 saw some improvement but it wasn't enough. In 2010, Dennard "Shoelace" Robinson finally got the starting job and Rich Rod finally had his protype QB and the Wolverines went on to play in a bowl game but it wasn't enough to keep Rich Rod's job. I think Michigan would have still had a very good season last season with Rich Rod at the helm so I believe it was just plain impatience but I'm sure Arizona fans don't mind in this case.
Now that brings us to Scott. If you clicked on "Scott", that will lead you to his ESPN.com profile and if you click on the stats tab, it will take you to Scott's stats from 2008, 2009, and 2010. Those stats were acculmated in an Air Raid offense and those were decent stats for a backup QB to Nic Foles who has since moved on to the NFL. It is clear that Scott is a capable dual threat type of QB and you combine him with Rich Rod, just watch Scott's numbers go up in a big way since Scott will be the full time starter for the Wildcats this season. I believe we will see production similar to Shaun King's first season with Rich Rod as his OC back in 1997.
I'm excited for Arizona's future with Rich Rod and maybe Rich Rod will lead the Wildcats out of the tunnel in the Rose Bowl for the actual bowl game instead of against UCLA in the future.
In my next blog about the upcoming Toledo-Arizona game, I think I will focus on who is coming back for Toledo and if they really pose a threat to Arizona plus have a look at the new 3-3-5 defense being installed in Tucson. Tomorrow, I will look at Arizona State's opening game versus Northern Arizona.
Note: the words in bold have links to them. I am still new to the blogging website but will eventually figure out how to make the underlines visible. Thanks for you patience with me.
Toledo 13 Michigan 10
Isn't life cruel for Rich Rod since he gets to face Toledo in his first game in Tucson? What has he done so wrong to put himself in that situation? Really, what set the tone was a 100-yard interception return by Tyrrell Herbert of the Rockets to put Toledo up 7-0. Quite the powerful momentum turning play in Ann Arbor that afternoon. I'm sure Rich Rod will be telling Matt Scott to take care of the football against the Rockets.
You might have caught in my last blog post that I named Scott as the QB for the 2012 All 4CSports Blog Preseason Team. I looked at the QBs that Rich Rod coached while at Tulane and Clemson and looked at how they did their first years. Shaun King was Rich Rod's QB at Tulane and put up some impressive numbers (taken from King's Wikipedia page):
- 1997: 199/363 (54.8%) for 2577 yards and 24 TD vs. 14 INT. 124 carries for 511 yards and 5 TD.
- 1998: 244/364 (67.0%) for 3495 yards and 38 TD vs. 6 INT. 156 carries for 633 yards and 11 TD.
When Rich Rod begun at West Virigina, the Big East still had Miami FL, Virigina Tech, and Boston College which was still a very solid football conference at that time. The Mountaineers finished 3-8 that season but turned things around the following season. First he had Rasheed Marshall who was solid for the 'Ners then Pat White showed up in Morganstown one day and took the starting QB job that was open due to Marshall graduating and boy White was senstational if any of you recall. I'm still amazed that CU managed to contain White and Noel Devine in Boulder.
Looking back at Rich Rod's failing in Ann Arbor, the 2008 QBs for the Wolverines didn't really take care of the football that well. 2009 saw some improvement but it wasn't enough. In 2010, Dennard "Shoelace" Robinson finally got the starting job and Rich Rod finally had his protype QB and the Wolverines went on to play in a bowl game but it wasn't enough to keep Rich Rod's job. I think Michigan would have still had a very good season last season with Rich Rod at the helm so I believe it was just plain impatience but I'm sure Arizona fans don't mind in this case.
Now that brings us to Scott. If you clicked on "Scott", that will lead you to his ESPN.com profile and if you click on the stats tab, it will take you to Scott's stats from 2008, 2009, and 2010. Those stats were acculmated in an Air Raid offense and those were decent stats for a backup QB to Nic Foles who has since moved on to the NFL. It is clear that Scott is a capable dual threat type of QB and you combine him with Rich Rod, just watch Scott's numbers go up in a big way since Scott will be the full time starter for the Wildcats this season. I believe we will see production similar to Shaun King's first season with Rich Rod as his OC back in 1997.
I'm excited for Arizona's future with Rich Rod and maybe Rich Rod will lead the Wildcats out of the tunnel in the Rose Bowl for the actual bowl game instead of against UCLA in the future.
In my next blog about the upcoming Toledo-Arizona game, I think I will focus on who is coming back for Toledo and if they really pose a threat to Arizona plus have a look at the new 3-3-5 defense being installed in Tucson. Tomorrow, I will look at Arizona State's opening game versus Northern Arizona.
Note: the words in bold have links to them. I am still new to the blogging website but will eventually figure out how to make the underlines visible. Thanks for you patience with me.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Summer Basketball Part 1
http://m.cubuffs.com/mobile/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=205579234
The Buffs are in Europe for 10 days and 5 games. I can't wait to read about CU basketball (in case CU's football season sours).
http://m.utahutes.com/s/28365/61?itemPos=1
Utah's MBB team is in Brazil for several games. They did one thing that didn't occur much last season: WIN.
http://m.thesundevils.com/s/22268/63?itemPos=1
ASU has a gold medalist at the London games. Congrats to James Harden who plays for the NBA's Thunder!
http://m.arizonawildcats.com/s/20898/63?itemPos=1
Andre Iguodala was on the same team as Harden. Congrats to Andre as well!
http://m.arizonawildcats.com/s/20898/63?itemPos=3
UA is having a trip to the Bahamas. They just had a 70 point win...maybe it's not too early to anoint them PAC-12 Champs but the CU fan in me will have something to say about that: PAC-12 Tourney Champs!
I plan to check weekly for basketball news until basketball practice begins.
The Buffs are in Europe for 10 days and 5 games. I can't wait to read about CU basketball (in case CU's football season sours).
http://m.utahutes.com/s/28365/61?itemPos=1
Utah's MBB team is in Brazil for several games. They did one thing that didn't occur much last season: WIN.
http://m.thesundevils.com/s/22268/63?itemPos=1
ASU has a gold medalist at the London games. Congrats to James Harden who plays for the NBA's Thunder!
http://m.arizonawildcats.com/s/20898/63?itemPos=1
Andre Iguodala was on the same team as Harden. Congrats to Andre as well!
http://m.arizonawildcats.com/s/20898/63?itemPos=3
UA is having a trip to the Bahamas. They just had a 70 point win...maybe it's not too early to anoint them PAC-12 Champs but the CU fan in me will have something to say about that: PAC-12 Tourney Champs!
I plan to check weekly for basketball news until basketball practice begins.
2012 All 4C Football Team (Preseason)
Here is my very first 4CSports Preseason Football Team:
QB: M. Scott UA
RB: J. White IV UU
RB: C. Marshall ASU
WR: D. Christopher UU
WR: D. Buckner UA
WR: J. Miles ASU
OL: D. Bakhtiari CU
OL: S. Brenner UU
OL: K. Quinn UA
OL: T. Stevens UU
OL: E. Finkenberg ASU
DL: C. Uzo-Diribe CU
DL: S. Lotulelei UU
DL: D. Kruger UU
DL: W. Perciak CU
LB: J. Major CU
LB: B. Magee ASU
LB: T. Reilly UU
CB: R. Lacy UU
CB: S. Richardson UA
S: R. Polk CU
S: M. Flowers UA
K: C. Peterson UU
P: K. Dugandzic UA
PR: G. McNabb UU
KR: J. Miles ASU
Total players per team:
Utah: 10
Arizona: 6
Arizona State 5
Colorado 5
QB: M. Scott UA
RB: J. White IV UU
RB: C. Marshall ASU
WR: D. Christopher UU
WR: D. Buckner UA
WR: J. Miles ASU
OL: D. Bakhtiari CU
OL: S. Brenner UU
OL: K. Quinn UA
OL: T. Stevens UU
OL: E. Finkenberg ASU
DL: C. Uzo-Diribe CU
DL: S. Lotulelei UU
DL: D. Kruger UU
DL: W. Perciak CU
LB: J. Major CU
LB: B. Magee ASU
LB: T. Reilly UU
CB: R. Lacy UU
CB: S. Richardson UA
S: R. Polk CU
S: M. Flowers UA
K: C. Peterson UU
P: K. Dugandzic UA
PR: G. McNabb UU
KR: J. Miles ASU
Total players per team:
Utah: 10
Arizona: 6
Arizona State 5
Colorado 5
Friday, August 10, 2012
Friday August 10, 2012 News
http://tucsoncitizen...http://tucsoncitizen.com/wildcatreport/2012/08/08/jc-transfer-b-j-denker-learing-pretty-quickly-at-quarterback-for-arizona/
JUCO QB moving up the charts at UA. BJ Denker appears to have nailed down the backup QB job over several freshmen.
http://www.azcentral...http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DouglasHaller/168418
ASU's QB situation doesn't appear to be as clear as their rival's QB situation.
http://blogs.denverp...http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/2012/08/09/colorado-tailback-tony-jones-ready-big-year-qb-nick-hirschman/24101/
I was pleasantly surprised that Tony Jones is now 192 pounds on that 5'7" frame. From what I have heard about him, he appears to be ready for a big year.
http://blogs.denverp...http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/2012/08/09/excolorado-coach-gary-barnett-observations-buffaloes/24103/
Could CU's QB situation be clearing up? According to former Buffs coach Barnett, Webb appears to be the man.
http://www.sltrib.co...http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/54658361-89/utes-kruger-defensive-defense.html.csp
Utah's strength is in the DL and one Utah fan even commented that strong teams have strong DLs. Remembering that powerhouse CU of the 1990's had strong DLs at that time, I would have to agree with that Utah fan.
http://www.deseretne...http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765595690/Utah-Utes-football-Even-with-Chase-Hansens-injury-Utes-no-longer-thin-at-quarterback.html
While Utah is trying to figure out their QB is depth chart, they are not lacking in numbers. Wynn and Hays are back this year plus two newcomers (was three with Hansen until he had that injury and decided to go on a mission after the semester is done).
I'll go ahead and create some rankings on which team has the more clearer QB picture:
1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Colorado
4. Arizona State
I plan on including basketball coverage and I'm going to figure out which days I would include basketball coverage. During football season, I'm thinking that I would do it on the weekends such as Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Check back later for some basketball coverage. It might not come until tomorrow so I'll give out double coverage tomorrow on the round ball.
JUCO QB moving up the charts at UA. BJ Denker appears to have nailed down the backup QB job over several freshmen.
http://www.azcentral...http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/DouglasHaller/168418
ASU's QB situation doesn't appear to be as clear as their rival's QB situation.
http://blogs.denverp...http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/2012/08/09/colorado-tailback-tony-jones-ready-big-year-qb-nick-hirschman/24101/
I was pleasantly surprised that Tony Jones is now 192 pounds on that 5'7" frame. From what I have heard about him, he appears to be ready for a big year.
http://blogs.denverp...http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/2012/08/09/excolorado-coach-gary-barnett-observations-buffaloes/24103/
Could CU's QB situation be clearing up? According to former Buffs coach Barnett, Webb appears to be the man.
http://www.sltrib.co...http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/54658361-89/utes-kruger-defensive-defense.html.csp
Utah's strength is in the DL and one Utah fan even commented that strong teams have strong DLs. Remembering that powerhouse CU of the 1990's had strong DLs at that time, I would have to agree with that Utah fan.
http://www.deseretne...http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765595690/Utah-Utes-football-Even-with-Chase-Hansens-injury-Utes-no-longer-thin-at-quarterback.html
While Utah is trying to figure out their QB is depth chart, they are not lacking in numbers. Wynn and Hays are back this year plus two newcomers (was three with Hansen until he had that injury and decided to go on a mission after the semester is done).
I'll go ahead and create some rankings on which team has the more clearer QB picture:
1. Arizona
2. Utah
3. Colorado
4. Arizona State
I plan on including basketball coverage and I'm going to figure out which days I would include basketball coverage. During football season, I'm thinking that I would do it on the weekends such as Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Check back later for some basketball coverage. It might not come until tomorrow so I'll give out double coverage tomorrow on the round ball.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
UNC-Utah Part 1
Today is Thursday, so that means Utah is the big winner...unlike last Black Friday...take that Ute fans!
I do keep an eye on UNC (Northern Colorado not North Carolina) up in Greeley and they really struggled last season. They were picked again to finish dead last in the 11 team Big Sky Conference this year so Utah should have no problems with this squad.
http://www.uncbears....http://www.uncbears.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/0803121stpractice
UNC just opened practice and unlike the 4C schools this summer, they won't be answering questions about who their starting QB will be. Seth Lobato will be the starter and he was once a walk-on QB under Dan Hawkins at CU and he can play ball but UNC won't have enough weapons to handle a Pac-12 contender like Utah. Here is a YouTube flick of UNC.
I expect an easy Utah victory. You can scream Appy State and Michigan but UNC is no Appy State...as far as I know.
I do keep an eye on UNC (Northern Colorado not North Carolina) up in Greeley and they really struggled last season. They were picked again to finish dead last in the 11 team Big Sky Conference this year so Utah should have no problems with this squad.
http://www.uncbears....http://www.uncbears.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/0803121stpractice
UNC just opened practice and unlike the 4C schools this summer, they won't be answering questions about who their starting QB will be. Seth Lobato will be the starter and he was once a walk-on QB under Dan Hawkins at CU and he can play ball but UNC won't have enough weapons to handle a Pac-12 contender like Utah. Here is a YouTube flick of UNC.
I expect an easy Utah victory. You can scream Appy State and Michigan but UNC is no Appy State...as far as I know.
Introduction Blog
Hello everyone,
I want start this blog off by introducing myself. My name is Jonathan Nash and I am an avid Colorado Buffaloes fan that loves his sports. I have been posting on message forums for nearly 15 years and after doing that, I was thinking it was high time for me to start a blog. At first, the question was what kind of blog would I like to start? I looked at what my favorite things to talk about were and they were pretty much sports (blame that on my Grandpa Nash for introducing me to a channel called ESPN when I was seven years old) so I thought why not start a sports blog? The next question was what would the sports blog be about? I had so many ideas that I couldn't figure it out so I continued posting on websites such as AllBuffs, Pac12Board, MWCBoard, and FirstRowSports (formerly CollegeSportsFans). One day, I was thinking about the keys to a successful football future for the Buffs and I was saying on AllBuffs that if CU was to be a worthy team, they had to start off by sweeping the Four Corners "4C" schools in the Pac-12. I know New Mexico isn't part of the Pac-12 but I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up in that conference down the road. I will look into covering New Mexico in the future but I want to start with CU, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. All four schools are capable of fielding strong teams in football but at the same time they have some basketball history so I was thinking let's do this for all sports instead of just football. I believe that the 4C schools will eventually become its own pod if the Pac-12 becomes the Pac-16 if smelly Bevo from Austin decides the LHN is not worth the hassle and comes west with his three slackeys in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech.
Here are my plans with this blog:
1. I will post at least one web link for each school in football and then basketball (I plan to cover football and men's basketball most of the time). Ted Miller from the Pac-12 ESPN.com blog has been pretty awesome by posting links almost everyday and I will copy the links from that website until I get the hang of what websites to get articles from for all the 4C schools.
2. For one day a week, I will focus on a 4C school's opponent for that week. Here is the schedule:
Monday: Arizona
Tuesday: Arizona State
Wednesday: Colorado
Thursday: Utah
When I eventually start covering New Mexico, I will do them on Mondays or Tuesdays. UA and ASU will be on the same day since they are in a state that is just too hot for me right now.
I plan to look for links to those opponents and try to break them down against each 4C school.
3. It appears to me that blogs these days must have an All Football or All Basketball team so I will come up with my own team. For the 2012 season, I will include players from UA, ASU, CU, and Utah.
4. I will post my weekly predictions. I'm not one that is thin skinned and can accept insults for my lousy predictions and will happily accept congratulations for my genius picks. As for the middle, it's your choice.
5. I cannot promise that I will be able to keep up with the sports at those schools regularly since I have a very busy life. I enjoy playing NCAA Football 13 but I have been playing that series forever and I'm ready for a fresh start but sometimes after a frustrating CU loss, I will just go play the game as if I was going to show CU's coaches that is how they should have called the game...LOL. There's also church which is very important to me on Sundays and Wednesdays.
I want to thank Google for their work in keeping us connected and allowing us to be our own (sports) reporters instead of bowing down to the likes of CNN and Fox News.
I want start this blog off by introducing myself. My name is Jonathan Nash and I am an avid Colorado Buffaloes fan that loves his sports. I have been posting on message forums for nearly 15 years and after doing that, I was thinking it was high time for me to start a blog. At first, the question was what kind of blog would I like to start? I looked at what my favorite things to talk about were and they were pretty much sports (blame that on my Grandpa Nash for introducing me to a channel called ESPN when I was seven years old) so I thought why not start a sports blog? The next question was what would the sports blog be about? I had so many ideas that I couldn't figure it out so I continued posting on websites such as AllBuffs, Pac12Board, MWCBoard, and FirstRowSports (formerly CollegeSportsFans). One day, I was thinking about the keys to a successful football future for the Buffs and I was saying on AllBuffs that if CU was to be a worthy team, they had to start off by sweeping the Four Corners "4C" schools in the Pac-12. I know New Mexico isn't part of the Pac-12 but I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up in that conference down the road. I will look into covering New Mexico in the future but I want to start with CU, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. All four schools are capable of fielding strong teams in football but at the same time they have some basketball history so I was thinking let's do this for all sports instead of just football. I believe that the 4C schools will eventually become its own pod if the Pac-12 becomes the Pac-16 if smelly Bevo from Austin decides the LHN is not worth the hassle and comes west with his three slackeys in Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech.
Here are my plans with this blog:
1. I will post at least one web link for each school in football and then basketball (I plan to cover football and men's basketball most of the time). Ted Miller from the Pac-12 ESPN.com blog has been pretty awesome by posting links almost everyday and I will copy the links from that website until I get the hang of what websites to get articles from for all the 4C schools.
2. For one day a week, I will focus on a 4C school's opponent for that week. Here is the schedule:
Monday: Arizona
Tuesday: Arizona State
Wednesday: Colorado
Thursday: Utah
When I eventually start covering New Mexico, I will do them on Mondays or Tuesdays. UA and ASU will be on the same day since they are in a state that is just too hot for me right now.
I plan to look for links to those opponents and try to break them down against each 4C school.
3. It appears to me that blogs these days must have an All Football or All Basketball team so I will come up with my own team. For the 2012 season, I will include players from UA, ASU, CU, and Utah.
4. I will post my weekly predictions. I'm not one that is thin skinned and can accept insults for my lousy predictions and will happily accept congratulations for my genius picks. As for the middle, it's your choice.
5. I cannot promise that I will be able to keep up with the sports at those schools regularly since I have a very busy life. I enjoy playing NCAA Football 13 but I have been playing that series forever and I'm ready for a fresh start but sometimes after a frustrating CU loss, I will just go play the game as if I was going to show CU's coaches that is how they should have called the game...LOL. There's also church which is very important to me on Sundays and Wednesdays.
I want to thank Google for their work in keeping us connected and allowing us to be our own (sports) reporters instead of bowing down to the likes of CNN and Fox News.
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