SB Nation - Golden Tate

Bowl Games Gameday Thread: December 24th, 2009

Drew K — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:30:11 -0000

Fooch's Note: Don't forget to check out our game thread for tonight's re-airing of the 1981 NFC Championship game.

Well it's Christmas Eve and guess what? Yep, you guessed it, another bowl game. 5 games down, 27 more to go... This evening we have The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu, HI that will take place at Aloha Stadium. How lucky are those guys to be in Hawaii for Christmas? What a great setting for a bowl game. Must be nice. Anyhow, back to the matchup at hand; The teams that will be facing off tonight are the Nevada Wolf Pack coming out of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the SMU Mustangs out of Conference USA (C-USA). The Wolf Pack finished 2nd in their conference with a conference record of 7-1 and an overall record of 8-4. The Mustangs finished second in the Western division of their conference with a conference record of 6-2 and an overall record of 7-5.

Last year this same bowl game featured The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame vs The Hawaii Warriors and was very one sided as Notre Dame slaughterd the Warriors 49-21. Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate hooked up for 3 TD's and Tate had 177 yards receiving while Clausen had 401 yards passing. The Mustangs will need to get off to a fast start if they don't want the same thing to happen to them as The Warriors in the '08 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Nevada will have some fire power coming in to this one as well. Below we will take an in-depth look at some of the key players, stats, and other information...

NEVADA WOLF PACK VS SMU MUSTANGS

THE SHERATON HAWAII BOWL PREVIEW

NEVADA WOLF PACK:

The Wolf Pack has something that most college teams do not have. They finshed the year with not one, not two, but three players on the team with over 1000 yards rushing. To me that is an incredible stat. I am sure that they will try to continue to ride that same horse that got them invited to The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. They led the nation in rushing with 362 yards a game. Kaepernick, The Wolf Packs Quarterback, will also need to be able to provide some balance with a few passes mixed in to that impressive rush attack or the Mustangs will be able to key on the run and have a fair shot at stealing this one. He has not attempted more than 22 passes in any game this year and hasn't really had to but could be tested tonight. Nevada will be short-handed as two of the key players in the rushing attack will not be able to go in Vai Taua (1345 Yards, 10 TD's) and Luke Lippincott (1034 Yards, 9 TD's). The ball will be in the hands of Mike Ball who put up an impressive 184 yards against the Running Rebels of UNLV.

Key players to watch for The Wolf Pack:

[# 10] Colin Kaepernick QB 6'6" 215 (Junior):

Kaepernick came in to the season after a very respectable '08 campaign. However, the 6'6" Quarterback from Turlock, California didn't have the best year in '09. His worst game of the year was the first against Notre Dame where he failed to throw for a TD; he finished that game with a QB Rating of 36.3. I suspect Kaepernick will return for his Senior season to put some polish on some of his skills and then declare for the NFL draft. If he is able to finish the year strong with a great game tonight, then he will head in to next year on the right foot. We should see the quarterback scramble often as he has all year long. His career stats are: Comp Rate 55.9%, 6899 Yards, 60 TD's, and 15 INT's. He also is one of the three 1000 yard rushers with 148 attempts, 1160 Yards, and 16 TD's.

[# 5] Mike Ball RB 5'10" 225 (Freshman):

Ball has mostly stuck to the returns this season but with Taua and Lippincott out, he will need to step up and fill in some very big shoes. He is a solid back that does not shy away from contact though and if Nevada's offensive line can get a bit of a push, he will go heads up with the SMU linebacking corp. Sometimes in big games like this, stars emerge. Ball has the potential to do that tonight. Here is a look at his '09 stats: 19 attempts, 201 yards, 5 TD's. A majority of these stats came against UNLV as Ball carried the rock 15 times for an astounding 184 yards and 5 TD's.

[# 4] Brandon Wimberly WR 6'3" 195 (Freshman):

The WR from Los Angeles, California has been the primary target for Kaepernick through the air. While the freshman only has 46 receptions, 653 yards, and 5 TD's; he leads the team in both categories. He will need to have moderate success this evening and I am guessing that he will get some opportunities. Next year, I will look for Wimbley to get closer to the 1000 yard mark...especially if Kaepernick stays.

[# 73] Alonzo Durham OT 6'4" 285 (Senior):

Durham is a Pro prospect and will be entering the 2010 NFL Draft. He is faster for a Tackle and can kick-slide with the best of 'em. Durham will more than likely need to put on a few more pounds before the combine and hit the weight room very hard. More than likely, I see Durham as a very late round pick but could make a roster somewhere if he works his tail off and soon after could be playing regularly on Sunday's.

Led by Coach:

Chris Ault (25 years, 198-91-1)

SMU MUSTANGS:

When Bo Levi Mitchell, SMU's starting QB went down this year, Kyle Padron stepped in and did a reasonable job completing over 64% of his passes. The Mustangs have a fairly balanced attack on offense in running and passing. Nevada's defense will have their hands full intially but when the adrenaline settles may out-match the Mustangs in all facets. I always like a good underdog story but this one could just be one sided from the get-go. Stranger things have happened in college football though and you just never know.

Key players to watch for The Mustangs:

[# 8] Shawnbrey McNeal RB 5'10" 190 (Junior):

Recruited out of Dallas, Texas originally by The University of Miami, Junior transfer Shawnbrey McNeal will have to have one of the better games of his collegiate career to give the Mustangs a shot. McNeal has some good moves and enough speed to take it to the house. If Nevada isn't careful with this firey player, they could get burned. His '09 stats are: 224 attempts, 1125 yards, 5.0 yards per carry, 9 TD's.

[# 17] Emmanuel Sanders WR 5'11" 180 (Senior):

Sanders is the leading receiver for this SMU receiving group with 91 receptions (a personal best and career high). He also had his first season with over 1000 yards capped by 6 TD's as icing on the cake. Sanders will need to find space in the secondary tonight as Nevada's defense will be trying to swarm the run. Sanders career stats: 278 Receptions, 3667 Yards, 13.2 a catch, and 33 TD's.

[# 6] Bryan McCann CB 5'10" 179 (Senior):

McCann is on the smaller side to be considered as an NFL prospect but his skill-set and ability to go after a pass and snatch it out of the air is pretty good. He isn't the best at helping out in run support and wrapping up but has managed to hammer a few balls loose in his career. With Nevada's fierce run attack, McCann could be out powered and could face some problems. His career stats are: 185 Tackles, 4 Fumbles Forced, and 11 INT's.

[# 9] Chase Kennemer LB 6'0" 211 (Senior):

The Texas A&M Senior transfer is the anchor of this defense. The Texas native is a bit on the small side for the bigger schools as a linebacker but was a good fit at SMU. Nevada's offensive line will be looking to key in on Kennemer to nuetralize the defense and allow Ball to break off a couple of long runs. Kennemer's career stats since transfering are: 163 Tackles, 1 Sack, and 3 INT's.

Led by Coach:

June Jones (2 years, 16-32)

WHEN: 8:00 ET, 5:00 PST

WHERE: ALOHA STADIUM, HONOLULU, HI

TV: ESPN & ESPN-HD, ESPN360

SATELLITE: SIRIUS, XM

Past Winners:

Date	Winning team		Losing team		Attendance	TV	notes
December 25, 2002	Tulane	36	Hawaiʻi	28	35,513	ESPN	notes
December 25, 2003	Hawaiʻi	54	Houston	48*	29,005	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2004	Hawaiʻi	59	UAB	40	39,754	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2005	Nevada	49	UCF	48*	16,134	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2006	Hawaiʻi	41	Arizona State	24	43,435	ESPN	notes
December 23, 2007	East Carolina	41	Boise State	38	30,467	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2008	Notre Dame	49	Hawai'i	21	43,487	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2009	Nevada vs. SMU				--	ESPN	notes

* = Overtime

Golden Tate NFL Draft scouting report

Mocking Dan — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:49:06 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

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Golden Tate
5'11, 195 pounds | WR | Notre Dame

Acceleration: Gets up to top speed very quickly. Accelerates well into and out of his breaks which builds separation. Maintains that speed throughout his runs.

Agility: Tate generates fluid lateral movement to redirect and has the shiftiness to elude defenders. Has quick stop-and-go ability that helps quarterbacks get him short throws where he can make the initial tackler miss and turn it into a big gain.

Blocking: Surprisingly, Tate displays good technical blocking ability. He'll struggle to sustain his blocks, though. He's a good mirror blocker on the outside but shouldn't be relied upon to come in motion and block near the tackle box.

Body Control: Adjusts to the ball really well. Knows how to properly use his body to shield off defenders. Times his leaps well. Tracks off-target throws really well.

Hands: While Tate is will sometimes drop some easy passes, he has very good hands. They're incredibly strong, which helps him make difficult catches. Has a tendency to catch the ball in his frame, which he'll have to correct.

Release: Tate doesn't have great upper body strength, which hurts him against the tight jam. Needs to better use his quickness and athleticism off the snap. Will sometimes release slow, but he quickly gets up to speed to close a cornerback's cushion.

Route Running: Runs good quick routes. Has the agility to make sharp cuts to create space. Will run a little upright when he goes over the middle. Ran an entire route tree at Notre Dame in the Irish's pro-style scheme. Doesn't get lazy or hesitant in his routes when going over the middle.

Size: Tate's size is the biggest negative people will point to heading into the draft. Fair or not, taller receivers will be more highly regarded. Tate doesn't have bad size, but at under six feet his size doesn't offer mismatches. His arms don't appear especially long and his hands aren't known to be large. However, he knows how to use that size to his advantage.

Speed: Although there is nothing wrong with Tate's speed, his 40 time probably won't be amazing. If a cornerback has the same or even slightly better speed than Tate, though, he can usually get separation. Doesn't have the deep speed to separate from cornerbacks with elite speed and quickness.

Vision: After the catch, Tate is dangerous. He's a former running back with strong legs and great drive. Easily finds seams and has the quickness to burst through it. Does a really nice job setting up his blockers. Uses his return abilities in the open field on receiving plays.

Final word: Leaving Notre Dame was a wise decision by Tate. His skill set is ready for the NFL and very similar to that of Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. Tate is a slightly small receiver with a lot of strength, particularly in his legs.

Tate is dangerous after the catch and runs crisp routes to get open. His character or work ethic at Notre Dame was never in question.

Where Tate loses some value is in the red zone. Inside 20 yards, he's best running quick slants, but his size can limit him from going over the top on fades.

He looks like a player who will be drafted in the first 40 picks.

We're All Americans, But We're Not All All-Americans

Oops Pow Surprise — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:51:28 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

Iowa's Pat Angerer (43) celebrates with teammates Allen Reisner and Dace Richardson, right, after Iowa blocked a Northern Iowa field goal on the final play. Iowa won 17-16. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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As is usually the case after a 10-win season, the accolades are beginning to pour in for the Iowa Hawkeye football team. Everyone and their mom has an all-conference or All-American team, but the two that actually matter--Walter Camp and the AP--are now out. And for the 33th year in a row, the unanimous selection for player of the year is Frank Stallone*.

More importantly, the AP named three Hawkeyes to their All-American teams. While nobody made it onto the first team, thanks to Ricky Stanzi's ankle injury--come on, you know if he stays healthy and Iowa goes 11-1 and finishes at #5 or so, even the guys on defense get a little bit more of a bump--both Bryan Bulaga and Pat Angerer made it to the second team, while Tyler Sash made third-team AA as a sophomore. A fine moment for all three players (two of whom, as we insular and provincial types are quick to point out, are native Iowans).

Meanwhile, the Walter Camp Foundation agreed with the AP, naming Bulaga and Angerer to their second team as well and effectively establishing the two as the de facto MVPs of their respective sides of the ball. We have a little beef with each designation, but for wholly different reasons.

First, though Bulaga is by far the best pro prospect on the line as of right now and was utterly dominant in 2008, the reality is that even notwithstanding the 3-week absence as he recovered from thyroid issues, he struggled in 2009. Brandon Graham and O'Brien Schofield manhandled Bulaga. And while those are two very good defensive ends, so was Aaron Maybin, the 11th pick of the 2009 by the Buffalo Bills and Bryan Bulaga's personal prison bitch after Iowa-PSU 2008. There was a substantial dropoff in play by Bulaga in 2009, and voters just didn't notice it when it came time to hand out awards.

Meanwhile, Dace Richardson was actually very good in his return to the line, and he got a fair amount of media attention when mid-season awards were being handed out. Then his ankle was rolled up on against Michigan State, and he disappeared from both the depth chart and voters' attention. But why should he have been punished for an ankle injury while voters looked past Bulaga's absence of a similar length? It's all past reputation, and that's not really fair to guys who come from nowhere and work their butts off--especially in their senior year, where there's no chance for any payoff in the "rewarded in Year X for play in Year X-minus-1" system that's come to be when it comes to honoring offensive linemen.

What this comes down to is that if the AP were to select an Iowa lineman for All-American this season, we'd have preferred it be Dace--though we'll certainly "settle for" Bulaga instead. If both men are playing their last game for Iowa next month, as lots of speculation suggests, then they've both had stellar careers in the black and gold and we wish them well.

On defense, on the other hand, Pat Angerer didn't really establish himself as the most dominant player for that Iowa defense, but that's hardly through any fault of his own. After all, one usually does so by being simply better than his teammates, and the talent level on the Iowa defense this year was both so high and so consistent that it was hard to see Angerer as someone who was the best player on defense. After all, you could always come back with, "well why not Sash? Or Adrian Clayborn? Or Amari Spievey? Or A.J. Edds? Or, hell, Jeremiha Hunter?" We're not saying that Angerer was the 6th best player on the Iowa defense by any means--just that ranking the top 5 or 6 or so would be impossible, because the gaps would be so miniscule that personal preference could easily mean a 3- or 4-spot swing here or there and it wouldn't even be objectionable.

Angerer's accolades, then, come from two areas: 1) his name, which is everything you could ever hope for times infinity; 2) and his stats, which sort of sneak up on you for the same reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. As mentioned before, he was 5th in the nation in tackles at 11.3 a game. That's pretty outstanding, especially since--as TRE noticed during the season--Angerer's real strength might have been in pass coverage, not run support.

Still, absent game-changing plays, it's somewhat difficult to notice the overall impact a player has on a game. And all of those game-changing plays seemed to happen to other players--most notably Sash and Clayborn, and to a lesser extent Spievey.

Thus we have a weird ambiguity about how we look at Angerer's standing as the most highly-lauded member of the 2009 Iowa defense. It's not that he didn't deserve it--far from it--but with a defense like Iowa's, you could basically pick a name out of a hat and feel relatively confident that you made a good choice. It was that kind of year. Effectively singling out Angerer for praise, then, seems unusual and almost a little unfair. Oh well. There are worse problems to have.

Full AP All-American teams are after the break.

First team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Colt McCoy, senior, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Texas.
	   Running backs -- Toby Gerhart, senior, 6-1, 235, Stanford; Mark Ingram, sophomore, 5-10, 212, Alabama.
	   Tackles -- Russell Okung, senior, 6-5, 301, Oklahoma State; Trent Williams, senior, 6-5, 318, Oklahoma.
	   Guards -- Michael Johnson, senior, 6-6, 305, Alabama; Mike Iupati, senior, 6-6, 330, Idaho.
	   Center -- J.D. Walton, senior, 6-3, 305, Baylor.
	   Tight end -- Aaron Hernandez, junior, 6-2, 250, Florida.
	   Wide receivers -- Golden Tate, junior, 5-11, 195, Notre Dame; Jordan Shipley, senior, 6-0, 190, Texas.
	   All-purpose player -- C.J. Spiller, senior, 5-11, 195, Clemson.
	   Kicker -- Leigh Tiffin, senior, 6-2, 212, Alabama.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jerry Hughes, senior, 6-3, 257, TCU; Derrick Morgan, junior, 6-4, 272, Georgia Tech.
	   Tackles -- Ndamukong Suh, senior, 6-4, 300, Nebraska; Terrence Cody, senior, 6-5, 365, Alabama.
	   Linebackers -- Rolando McClain, junior, 6-4, 258, Alabama; Greg Jones, junior, 6-1, 228, Michigan State; Eric Norwood, senior, 6-1, 252, South Carolina.
	   Cornerbacks -- Joe Haden, junior, 5-11, 190, Florida; Javier Arenas, senior, 5-9, 198, Alabama.
	   Safeties -- Eric Berry, junior, 5-11, 203, Tennessee; Earl Thomas, sophomore, 5-10, 197, Texas.
	   Punter -- Drew Butler, sophomore, 6-2, 201, Georgia.
Second team
	   Quarterback -- Tim Tebow, senior, Florida.
	   Running backs -- Ryan Mathews, junior, Fresno State; Dion Lewis, freshman, Pittsburgh.
	   Tackles -- Bryan Bulaga, junior, Iowa; Chris Marinelli, senior, Stanford.
	   Guards -- Rodney Hudson, junior, Florida State; Mike Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Center -- Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida.
	   Tight end -- Dennis Pitta, senior, BYU.
	   Wide receivers -- Mardy Gilyard, senior, Cincinnati; Danario Alexander, senior, Missouri.
	   All-purpose player -- James Rodgers, junior, Oregon State.
	   Kicker -- Kai Forbath, junior, UCLA.
Defense
	   Ends -- Von Miller, junior, Texas A&M; Brandon Graham, senior, Michigan.
	   Tackles -- Gerald McCoy, junior, Oklahoma; Jared Odrick, senior, Penn State.
	   Linebackers -- Pat Angerer, senior, Iowa; Brandon Spikes, senior, Florida; Sean Weatherspoon, senior, Missouri.
	   Cornerbacks -- Perrish Cox, senior, Oklahoma State; Kyle Wilson, senior, Boise State.
	   Safeties -- Taylor Mays, senior, Southern California; Rahim Moore, sophomore, UCLA.
	   Punter -- Zoltan Mesko, senior, Michigan.
Third team
Offense
	   Quarterback -- Kellen Moore, sophomore, Boise State
	   Running backs -- LaMichael James, redshirt freshman, Oregon; Jacquizz Rodgers, sophomore, Oregon State.
	   Tackles -- Dennis Landolt, senior, Penn State; Ciron Black, senior, LSU.
	   Guards -- Brandon Carter, senior, Texas Tech; Jeff Byers, senior, Southern California.
	   Center -- Chris Hall, senior, Texas.
	   Tight end -- Dorin Dickerson, senior, Pittsburgh.
	   Wide receivers -- Freddie Barnes, senior, Bowling Green; Demaryius Thomas, junior, Georgia Tech.
	   All-purpose player -- Dexter McCluster, senior, Mississippi.
	   Kicker -- Hunter Lawrence, senior, Texas.
Defense
	   Ends -- Jeremy Beal, junior, Oklahoma; Brandon Sharpe, senior, Texas Tech.
	   Tackles -- Brian Price, junior, UCLA; Dan Williams, senior, Tennessee.
	   Linebackers -- Sergio Kindle, senior, Texas; Cody Grimm, senior, Virginia Tech; Navorro Bowman, junior, Penn State.
	   Cornerbacks -- Brandon Harris, sophomore, Miami; Alterraun Verner, senior, UCLA.
	   Safeties -- Tyler Sash, sophomore, Iowa; Mark Barron, sophomore, Alabama.
	   Punter -- Matt Reagan, senior, Memphis.

*Did you know he was in Tombstone, a.k.a. the SINGLE GREATEST MOVIE IN HISTORY? And in a phenomenal scene, to boot.

Undeserving Winners Of National Awards Announced

Beergut — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:06:08 -0000

The winners of the Maxwell, O'Brien, Walter Camp, Outland, Lombardi, Nagurski, Butkus, Thorpe, and just about every other individual college award were announced yesterday at the ESPN Awards Show. Ndamukong Suh, the incomparable defensive tackle from Nebraska, won the Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman, the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player, the Lombardi Award as the nation's top lineman, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player. Suh winning all of these awards was somewhat predictable, because they were well-deserved.

What was somewhat surprising was that texas QB Colt McCoy won the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top QB. McCoy isn't even the best quarterback in his own conference, forget the nation. I'm very surprised the O'Brien didn't go to Case Keenum of Houston. Keenum has led the nation's top offense all season long, passing for 5,449 yards and 43 TDs against only 9 interceptions. Compare this to McCoy, who had 3,512 yards passing and 27 TD passes with 12 interceptions, to go along with 3 fumbles, and the decision to give the award to McCoy is a head-scratcher. McCoy averaged over a turnover per game, but we're supposed to believe this is the nation's best quarterback? McCoy also won the Maxwell Award for the nation's best all-around player. The Maxwell really should have gone to C.J. Spiller of Clemson, the multi-talented RB who is equally dangerous as a runner, receiver, and returner. Spiller rushed for 1,145 yards and 11 TDs while averaging 5.7 yards per carry, had 33 receptions for 445 yards and 4 TDs, AND finished fourth nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 33.7 yards per return while taking 4 of them all the way back for touchdowns. Those stats are a little more impressive than a QB with whom there is a better than 50% chance he'll turn the ball over than pass for a TD.

McCoy also won the Walter Camp Football Foundation's player of the year award, but that was somewhat expected because he won the same award last year.

The Biletnikoff Award for the nation's best wide receiver went to Notre Dame's Golden Tate; that award should have gone to texas' Jordan Shipley. Tate had 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 TD receptions. Shipley has 106 receptions for 1,363 yards and 11 TDs, and still has one more game to play. Shipley built his stats against the Big 12 Conference, not against a padded schedule with the likes of Navy, Nevada, and Washington State. Tate is a phenomenal receiver, but no moreso than Shipley. Given the opponents Shipley faced, and the game-by-game production, the best wide receiver in the nation this year is Shipley.

The Jim Thorpe Award for the nation's best defensive back went to Tennessee safety Eric Berry. While I think a good argument could be made for texas safety Earl Thomas, who finished tied for second in the nation in intercepions, with 8 on the season, Berry was dominant playmaker on a top twenty defense for Tennessee. Berry also garnered more national attention early on because of his stellar play against Florida and Heisman-hopeful Tim Tebow early in the season, while Thomas was coming off a season on one of the worst pass defenses in the nation in 2008, so that probably played into consideration for the award.

Overall, with the exception of the defensive awards which went to Suh and Berry, a lot of these national awards went to the wrong person. It seems some of these committee's make up their minds early on who the winner is going to be during the season, and don't let other candidates or other information sway their opinion, and that is a shame.

Around the SB Nation: Charlie Strong off to a fast start at Louisville

Joel — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

15 days ago: Former Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong wears a broad smile as he is introduced as the new Louisville head coach during an NCAA college football news conference in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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FOOTBALL

Card Chronicle says having a new coach is fun, especially when Charlie Strong picks up a commitment on his first day -- from the outstanding QB prospect DeMarcus Smith.
More Charlie Strong: Card Chronicle loved that their new head coach is genuine and shows emotion, something Krag1N1... did not.
Burnt Orange Nation says that everyone writing off Texas may well be a good thing.
Tomahawk Nation, on Florida State's December to remember.
Hail to the Orange reacts to a story that Illinois boosters are unhappy with the decision to give Ron Zook another year to right the ship.
The Rivalry, Esq. takes an early look at the Rose Bowl by interviewing the enemy of the Big Ten's enemy, Oregon State blog Building the Dam.
BCS Evolution asks if we could have a split national title, a la 2003.

For the second consecutive year, Colt McCoy won the Walter Camp Award (top overall player).

Conquest Chronicles relays reports that USC running back Stafon Johnson is going to forego a medical hardship and try to turn pro. CC is skeptical, but pulling for Johnson, regardless.

Ndamukong Suh wins two more awards: the Outland Trophy (top interior lineman) and Bednarik Award (top defensive player).

Golden Tate wins the Biletnikoff (best receiver).

CBSSports.com has the full awards list here.

Crimson and Cream Machine says Adrian Taylor and Dominique Franks are coming back to OU in 2010.

MWConnection figures out why the TCU fans looked so excited on TV when it was announced they'd play Boise State.

One Bronco Nation Under God gives an anti-playoff argument as thorough a fisking as is imaginable.

BASKETBALL

Crimson Quarry previews the upcoming Kentucky-Indiana basketball game.
Blogger So Dear takes a stab at an early season All-ACC team.
Coug Center with two interesting and thoughtful posts on the Washington State hoops team: (1) a look at why a team that wants to run up-tempo can't run the "Pack Hybrid" defense, and (2) a post on the importance of taking care of the basketball to limit turnovers.
Slipper Still Fits takes a look at departed-from-UCLA Drew Gordon and wonders whether he'll be allowed to transfer in-state, given the UC Chancellor's proclamation that, due to the budget crisis, no students would be allowed to transfer at all this year in the UC System.

Golden Tate Wins The Biletnikoff, Claims Title of Best Receiver of 2009

CW — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:51:05 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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Not a bad cap to a productive day for Irish football. Not sure anyone has deserved an award more, with evidence after the jump:

Who Should Win the Heisman?

cocknfire — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:30:13 -0000

More photos » by JACOB HARRIS - AP

Might cocknfire's vote go to a Notre Dame player, like Johnny Lujack?

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Hopefully in time to be included in the Sports Blog Heisman Trophy presented by The Blue Workhorse.

This is not the easiest year to craft a Heisman ballot, at least not the way it should be done. As I've said before, the Heisman is becoming too much like the MVP award, and the MVP is becoming too much like the Heisman. Remember that the Heisman Award is supposed to go to "the most outstanding college football player in the United States." There is no reference there to how valuable you are to your team. There's not even a suggestion that your team has to be very good. The winner has to "the most outstanding." That's a tall order for anyone to fill.

Which is why I get distressed when I hear people touted for the award because his team is great and "they just couldn't do it without him." If the numbers back up that player being the most outstanding, fine. But his team's achievements shouldn't be as important to a candidate's chances as they are.

That said, they can't be discounted either. Which is why you have to at least look at Colt McCoy -- until you realize that he's having either his worst or second-worst statistical year and has nearly disappeared in three of his team's biggest games (Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska). Because showing up for the big games does matter if you're going to be most outstanding.

Showing up for almost all the games also matters. It's not just enough to be good overall; you need to have games where you shine. Just because your team's achievements aren't central to the award doesn't mean the ability to carry a team, either in victory or defeat, isn't something we should look for in a Heisman candidate.

But the overall numbers are a good place to start. I've chosen a few players from several different categories to consider. The choices aren't that easy to make; there are a lot of good football players in the NCAA -- and I threw in Tim Tebow because this is an SEC blog and so he has to at least be considered.

First, the quarterbacks.

Your going to want to click that for a larger version because it's got a lot of good info in there. For those unfamiliar with PEPCT (pass efficiency percentage), it's a new stat I'm still tweaking that measures a quarterbacks performance against defenses based on those defenses' normal pass efficiency numbers. And we should note that Tebow also has 859 rushing yards and 13 TDs on the ground.

But even if you add the rushing yards, Tebow just hasn't produced as much as Kellen Moore or Jimmy Clausen. The touchdown numbers would move him past Clausen, but he's thrown almost as twice as many picks as Clausen in comparison to the number of attempts. The numbers just don't support a Heisman candidacy this year.

Still, let's look at how players tended to do on a week-by-week basis.

You're not reading that incorrectly; Tim Tebow has passed for 250 or more yards in one game (Arkansas) all season long. Yes, I realize that Tebow is a running quarterback; but you should have to throw the ball for more than 250 yards more than once in a season to be a Heisman contender.

Not that there's nothing wrong with the other two contenders. It was hard to come up with a "signature" game for either -- their best games came either against weak opponents or when their teams lost, and like McCoy they sometimes had subpar outings in important games. For example, Moore's numbers aren't terrible against Oregon, but it was still his worst game statistically. And Clausen's "signature" game was against a team that defeated Notre Dame.

I'll choose Kellen Moore as the best of the quarterbacks.

Running backs overall.

It's harder to adjust statistically for defenses with running backs than with quarterbacks, though I'm working on a couple of possible ways to do it. In any case, here are a few things that I found interesting about this chart. First, Mark Ingram is undeniably the best per carry by more than a half-yard. Second, he has the edge in receiving yards. But look at Gerhart's touchdown numbers; they are absurd. He essentially scored every twelfth time he ran the ball. Dion Lewis was very good, but he just can't quite compare with what Ingram and Gerhart did overall.

Weekly.

Here is where Ingram's candidacy takes a little bit of a hit. Three times he rushed the ball for fewer than 75 yards, a mark that Gerhart and Lewis never falled to make. Even against the defenses of the SEC, the "most outstanding" should do better than that -- especially at rival Auburn with a chance at an undefeated season on the line.

Gerhart was more consistent by far this year, and his worst game seems just a little bit better than the others. Sure, it was against Wake Forest, but at least it wasn't against Navy.

So Toby Gerhart gets first place among the running backs, with Mark Ingram a close enough second to warrant further consideration later.

I've never understood why wide receivers don't get more consideration than they do for the award. So let's take a look at some of the better wideouts this year.

How hard was it for an SEC fan to include two Notre Dame players on his list of potential Heisman candidates? I don't want to talk about it.

But Golden Tate had an outstanding year. Look at that touchdown percentage and the yards per catch. With 45 fewer catches than Freddie Barnes against tougher competition, he had just 55 fewer receiving yards. Another 14 receptions for Danario Alexander only earned him 148 additional yards. The edge is resoundingly to Tate among the players I looked at here.

Weekly.

This is where Alexander and Barnes fall off the table to me. Both have more games with fewer than 75 yards than Tate and were far worse in their worst outings. (Though one becomes more and more curious as to how Notre Dame lost to Stanford. Oh, that's right. They had to play defense.)

So the best wideout of the group appears to be Golden Tate.

Finally, we have to look at defenders and examine this hype about Nebraska's Ndouopiufdsoia Suh, or something like that.

Dr. Saturday is the one who got me to consider Brandon Graham. And you've never heard of Von Miller at Texas A&M, who was completely off my radar until I started looking through the numbers. I know you've heard of Ndamukong Suh, because you probably watch football on ESPN and they mention his name almost as frequently as McCoy's.

All three of these players are very good, and consider that Suh was probably double-teamed more than any defensive lineman in the country. Even so, based purely on the statistics, you have to give Miller the edge here.

Weekly.

If you thought that Suh was almost unstoppable against Texas in the Big XII Championship Game, you were right. Four and a half sacks among six tackles for loss and 11 overall. Nothing Graham or Miller did all year can come close to matching that.

Counting all of those things and throwing in some of those "intangibles," I have to go with Ndamukong Suh as the defensive candidate.

Leaving us with:

Kellen Moore
Toby Gerhart
Mark Ingram
Golden Tate
Ndamukong Suh

One of these names is really in a different league from the others -- literally -- and that's Moore. He had a great year for Boise State, but playing in any midmajor save the Mountain West isn't quite like playing in a BCS conference. For consideration, you need to put up laughable numbers, and Moore's not quite there.

The next cut is tough, but I'm removing Golden Tate. That's hard, because I really wanted to see him at least get considered. He is, though, on a 6-6 team that not's going to a bowl game. Gerhart was on the best Stanford team in years, Ingram helped win an SEC Championship and Suh led the Cornhuskers to a Big XII North title. Again, the team's season can't be the central point. But we're getting to the point here where hair-splitting is all that's left.

So the top three are Gerhart, Ingram and Suh. Not terribly original. But the idea here is not to be surprising or creative; it's to find the best. Find me better than any of those three at their positions. I don't think it can be done.

We're allowed three names for the final ballot. So I now have to put them in order. This is the hardest part, because I honestly think any one of these players is more than deserving.

But Ingram disappeared one time too many. And as good as Suh was for Nebraska this year -- and as scared as I'd be to tell him this to his face -- the numbers put up by Toby Gerhart are almost incomparable. Gerhart it is.

1. Toby Gerhart
2. Mark Ingram
3. Ndamukong Suh

Notre Dame Coach Watch 2009: Ignorance Is Not Bliss, Silence Certainly Not Golden

CW — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:47:13 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

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I think there are two ways to look at what is going on in the Irish coaching search. Number one, and the most likely candidate, is that this is just your typical Notre Dame football cluster. The favorite candidates turned it down early and somehow we're screwing things up with the perfectly acceptable* back-up so that your next Irish coach is going to be CJ Keeler because he's available, a winner, and wears sunglasses at night.

*Unless you are a crazy person, at which point this search failed the minute Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer didn't leave their four million dollar salaries, happy families and comfortable homes to move to a place where the high is 13 degrees today. If you feel that way, please head on over here and meet with your support group.

The other candidate for what is going on is that save for the Brian Kelly tweets - which were hacked, then not hacked, then not on Twitter because seriously, Brian, pull yourself together -Swarbrick is actually doing a great job of keeping things locked down, and the desperate journalists, message boarders and bloggers are just creating their own echo chamber of news to drown out the voices in their heads. Pete Thamel wrongly reports Harbaugh is interviewing. ESPN is pushing Edsall, perhaps just because he's the nearest somewhat believable hire to Bristol and a fun story to tell with the win at Notre Dame and how he rallied the team following some very tragic circumstances. All the while the "program insiders" just wildly speculate about time tables, and when you couple that with ESPNews mentioning Edsall every half hour, everyone online just loses their damn mind. There have been multiple times over the last couple days where a friend or I would step away for work or class for an hour or two and return to sheer chaos across the entire Irish internet. The people - they are desperate.

Now, we do know one thing for absolute certain, and that's that Swarbrick is talking to Kelly. Kelly tweeted it, and for that reason alone, we're going to assume it's true. There's no point in saying that the New York Times or ESPN also reported it, because they'll report anything at this point for clicks and eyeballs. (I don't blame them, but don't take anything they say seriously, either.) I wouldn't be totally surprised to find out that Swarbrick was using this as a teaching opportunity for the Notre Dame fanbase and for Brian Kelly. For the crazier segment of Irish fans complaining about Kelly, this is Captain Jack reminding them that it could get a whole, whole lot worse. For Kelly, it's just a reminder that there are other options and that if he's asking for too much, he can kindly spend another year with the robust facilities in the Queen City. Does Kelly call Swarbrick's bluff on Edsall, or the so-called mystery candidates (Tuberville? Urban again? Riley? Ferentz? Leach? Charlie Strong, who now has head coaching experience?)? Or is Kelly just waiting the Bearcats' end of season banquet tonight to say his goodbyes and then moving on to South Bend, bringing his old coordinator from Grand Valley with him?

Hopefully this is cleaned up by the end of the week, but honestly, anyone who claims to say that for certain probably said this would be locked up by last weekend, so let's just hold on for the ride. The next time someone gives you a nice piece of rumor that seems legitimate, just remember that the same person was telling you Stoops name was on a contract a week ago and that Kelly was going to be announced in an afternoon presser earlier in the week. No one knows anything, and that's okay, but keep that in mind at 12:37pm today when everyone freaks out because a very legit-sounding Mark Mangino rumor pops up.

On a more pleasant note, Golden Tate should be receiving a shiny new Biletnikoff Award this evening in New York City, honoring him as the best receiver in college football. Now there's a chance that Jordan Shipley wins it, meaning two things: 1) I will curse very loudly and 2) Colt McCoy is most definitely your Heisman winner. When McCoy and Shipley start stealing awards, just remember they deserve it their great performance against Central Florida (Shipley had 11 catches for 273 and a touchdown, McCoy threw for 470). Just give them the courtesy of not looking at their combined numbers against Oklahoma and Nebraska, otherwise known as the only two good defenses they played all year.

(In case you're curious, McCoy had 311 yards passing, one touchdown and four picks combined in those two games, while Shipley lit up the stat sheet for 11 catches and 93 yards.)

If Freddie Barnes wins it, I'll be confused but accept it. Barnes had 138 catches and 16 TDs this season, which is patently absurd. He still, however, does not deserve it over Golden. Good luck tonight, #23.

Tate declares for draft, Warren leaning that way: Will the Rams take notice?

VanRam — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:53:12 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Are those tree trunks or legs?

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Start getting your draft boards ready, the juniors are starting to declare. The latest player into the mix is Notre Dame WR Golden Tate. With the St. Louis Rams looking for help at WR, every name that gets thrown into the draft mix is worth mentioning at least.

Is Tate a pick in the top two rounds? That remains to be seen with the combine and other offseason activities adding much to the mix for lots of players. His numbers at ND certainly speak highly of him and the connection he had with QB Jimmy Clausen, a player sure to be in consideration for the QB starved Rams. Reading the Tate story at Mocking the Draft (linked above) one comment stood out to me:

Where Tate is the most dangerous, however, is after the catch. With legs like a running back, Tate breaks his share of tackles and can make just about any defender miss in the open field.

That's something the Rams really lack with their current group of receivers, though Brandon Gibson has shown some ability to pick up yards after the catch. It's something the West Coast offensive system is predicated on too. Now, does that make Tate the best possibility for the Rams at WR? We'll see.

Another player mentioned yesterday at Mocking the Draft that caught my attention it Michigan CB Donovan Warren, who played coy about his draft status but did indicate he leaned toward coming out. Why is Warren a name for Rams fans to keep their eyes on? Because he plays much like the Rams third round pick from last season Bradley Fletcher...or Fletcher Bradley as he's known at the Post-Dispatch. Warren's game is jamming receivers and playing a physical brand of man coverage, the kind that the Rams use. Fletcher is supposedly coming back next season, but we could still use another physical corner to add to the mix. He could be a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

Notre Dame Coach Watch 2009: The Recap

CW — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:00:46 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

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It's been a busy last few days for the Irish, so let's attempt to catch up.

Friday

The Greatest Hoax of December 2009 was perpetuated on the internet, showing just how unreliable everything we'd heard up until that point had been and making Wisconsin's day a little more interesting. At this point in time, most people accepted that no one had any idea what was going on and just waited for some more concrete information. Others threw themselves further into the Stoops rumor, believing that an offer was on the table, and that everything from ResLife's restrictions to the tiny fact he'd been living in the same place for a decade making four million dollars a year and was building a dream house for his very happy family. The women's soccer team lost in the Final Four to North Carolina in a 1-0 heartbreaker and the hockey team loses a 1-0 game to the top ranked Miami (OH) Redhawks. The internet explodes over the entire day as people attempt to wrap their minds around the events of Jersey Shore.

Saturday

The Chicago Sun-Times decided to try to be as wrong as many times as it could in a 24-hour span by just reporting every possible option regarding Stoops, and getting them all wrong. They then went all-in with a "Well, we'll know Sunday morning! Something will be decided!". (Spoiler alert: Nothing was decided by Sunday morning.) Bob Stoops issued his first real denial-denial and the first bit of Weis' comments regarding Pete Carroll, a grad student and a Malibu beach house started trickling out. Notre Dame hockey loses at top ranked Miami (OH) again, this time 4-0.

Sunday

Tim Abromaitis scored 31 points against Central Florida (Luke Harangody had 29 and 7 on 11 of 16 shooting, but we expect that sort of thing). Not a lot in regards to the coaching search today, although people started losing their minds that Stoops wasn't coming and claiming that "the process" wasn't good enough (these people are all insane, and will be addressed later in the week). It was also reported that Urban Meyer had been hospitalized after the SEC title game, leading to speculation of whether it was caused by the shock of seeing Jack Swarbrick creepily staring in his window in the middle of night. Brady Quinn turns in a nice little start, going 25 of 45 for 271 and 3 touchdowns against the Chargers. Meghan and Cheyne win this season of Amazing Race, meaning yours truly successfully predicted the winner before the first episode for the second consecutive season.

Monday

Things get real. In the saddest news of the day, both Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate announce they will be heading for the NFL at a presser with Charlie Weis, who was there by the 7-to-23 combination's request. In major coaching news, Brian Kelly said on the Dan Patrick Radio Show that there was no guarantee he'd coach in the Sugar Bowl, while the New York Times reported that Kelly would be meeting with Swarbrick in New York today. In perhaps the most transparent action ever by someone involved in a high profile coaching hunt, Brian Kelly then tweeted that he'd indeed be meeting with Notre Dame and listening to their offer. Tom Zbikowski picks off Aaron Rodgers on Monday Night Football.

Now

We wait.