SB Nation - Bill Stull

The Obligatory Predictions Competition - Week 14

Law Buckeye — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:25:08 -0000

So, it all comes down to this. Seattle Hawkeye leads by a comfortable 12 points. Like Charlie Weis's late game instructions to his defense to let Stanford score the go ahead touchdown so that the Irish could get the ball back with time on the clock, the smart thing to do here is to go for upset points and hope for the impossible. If Pitt upsets Cincinnati, Alabama upsets Florida, Clemson upsets Georgia Tech and Seattle Hawkeye does what I expect him to do, and gets more conservative than Jim Tressel with a two touchdown lead, you just might pull it off.

Then again, perhaps you'd rather stick to your gut, and play for second or third place. After all, if this season continues its annoying upsetless ways, your "balls to the wall" ballot might blow up in your face, dropping you to the second tier of the standings.

On the other hand, what if Seattle Hawkeye anticipates the upset strategy, and hedges his bets by picking an upset or two, and buttoning things up the rest of the way? Then, it would appear, you're better off following Vegas and playing straight probabilities, hoping his upsets don't materialize and you catch a lucky break in the form of a perfect margin of victory.

For that matter, when should you enter your picks? Are you brazen enough to show your cards right away, or rather, will you try to snipe the contest eBay-style, publishing your picks mere minutes before Saturday's 11:00 a.m. (EST) deadline? It's certainly to Seattle Hawkeye's advantage to do so. But, then (of course) there's the risk of an unforeseen complication (internet outage, memory lapse, alarm clock failure etc.) that results in you missing the deadline.

I can think of at least seven people that wouldn't be too broken up if Seattle Hawkeye didn't show up at all this week.

The winner of the regular season Obligatory Predictions Competition will be announced next week.

Choose wisely.

1. No. 5 CINCINNATI at No. 15 PITTSBURGH, 12:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts CINCINNATI by 10

Cinci sports a monster passing game with a defensive unit shaped like a sieve. Pitt has a two headed monster for a run game, with the turnover prone Bill Stull at quarterback. During the Pitt-WVU game, ESPN showed the Stull family standing on their own private porch about 200 yards from the field of play - according to Lisa Salters, the family was sick of the constant barrage of insults directed at Stull from the Pitt faithful. That doesn't sound like home field advantage to me.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts CINCINNATI by 10

On December 1st, 2007 No. 2 West Virginia faced unranked Pittsburgh as 28 point favorites, with a bid to the national championship game on the line. Pat White injured his thumb, the Panthers ran the ball out the back of their own endzone (taking the clock with it), and two weeks later Rich Rodriguez belonged to Michigan. True, even with a victory, Cincinnati wil need some unlikely assistance to climb unto the BCS National Championship Game. But the stakes in this one feel errily similar to that cold December night in Morgantown.

Pittsburgh revealed some schematic chinks in its armor in last's week's loss to West Virginia, particularly quarterback Bill Stull's overall decision making. The Panther's rushing attack, led by Freshman Dion Lewis, finds success early, but the long, laborious marching is overshadowed out by a simple truth: no one has figured out how to slow Cincinnati down on offense.

2. FRESNO STATE vs. ILLINOIS, 12:30 p.m. EST (12/5), Big Ten Network

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts FRESNO STATE by 7

Balanced Bulldogs versus revitalized Juice Williams in his final game. This game has points written all over it. FSU gets an early lead behind their balanced attack and hangs on.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ILLINOIS by 10

It took 9 weeks, but the Illini finally found an offense against Cincinnati. Nice going Ron. Keep it up!

2. THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 1 FLORIDA vs. No. 2 ALABAMA, 4:00 p.m. EST (12/5), CBS

GRAHAMFILLER 10 predicts FLORIDA by 7

The two best defenses in the country match up while CBS explodes into little bitty pieces out of sheer excitement. Verne Lundquist climaxes 13 times before kickoff before smoking a cigarette and taking a nap through the first half. Tebow leads a FG drive early, using his superpowers to gain the skills of Bo Jackson from Tecmo bowl, Jesus, and Tweeter from Varsity Blues. Alabama comes back quickly with a field goal, their players feeling relaxed from not attending a single class the entire semester. Urban Meyer's ingenious playcalling peaks with a triple reverse touchdown run by Demps, who gets three key blocks from Brandon Spikes, and by blocks I mean he literally kills three Alabama tacklers using broken beer bottles and a whipsaw. Lundquist wakes up again, sees the blood and excitement, climaxes again and falls asleep. Florida leads by 7 with a minute remaining but the game is canceled because, in a shocker, Nick Saban takes the Notre Dame head coaching position, stating that "42 million a year is what it's all about, not championships, or golden buildings."

LAW BUCKEYE predicts ALABAMA by 7

The "re-match" quality of the game of the regular season, does a disservice to the Crimson Tide who are a heck of a lot better now than they were a year ago. Sure, Auburn played them close. How many teams did that to Florida? (Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi State...)

As if suspended DE Carlos Dunlap needed another reason not to drive drink, it's the one he'll learn standing on the sidelines watching Greg McElroy take advantage of the precious extra seconds he gains in the pocket to find Julio Jones on deep routes. Jones, a Freshman force who slipped off the radar for parts of this season, is peaking at just the right time.

But what about Tebow? I think he plays marvelous, but just like his scripted hero "jump pass" that fell incomplete last week in Gainesville, a career full of superlatives falls short just once. Everyone's human, after all.

3. DR. PEPPER BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 3 TEXAS vs. No. 22 NEBRASKA, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts TEXAS by 17

Nebraska's surprisingly stout defense (4th in the nation in scoring defense) does a great job stopping the run. Texas, with their uber-effective passing offense, will sacrifice the run and settle for 400 yards passing and a trip to the title game.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts TEXAS by 17

Move on folks, nothing to see here. To the extent it's been said at length, I won't make this entire blurb about how the Big Twelve North is a spineless aberration. I will say that we've seen the Longhorns struggle for the last time -- on Thanksgiving night against Texas A&M -- on their way into the clubhouse. Nebraska's interior line might give Colt McCoy a few close shaves, but that won't help the Huskers run or pass against a refreshingly unsinkable Big Twelve Defense.

5. DR. PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, No. 10 GEORGIA TECH vs. CLEMSON, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ESPN

GRAHAMFILLER10 predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

Vegas has no idea what's going to happen here, as these two teams played basically to a draw way back in September. We know Clemson is streaky, we know CJ Spiller is faster than God...but we don't know if the triple option can be slowed. Last time they played, GT rolled out a bunch of long runs early, Clemson adjusted and began stopping the pitch, GT adjusted to QB keepers on almost every play...And eventually the Jellow Yackets came away with a win. This is the 2nd best game of the weekend, no question.

LAW BUCKEYE predicts GEORGIA TECH by 10

There's a reason why this game is airing at 8:00 p.m. and not 3:30 p.m., and it has nothing to do with prominence. Both teams suffered humilitating losses last week to in-state underlings. Georgia Tech re-establishes its offensive cohesiveness, and sticks with what works: the run.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (11/19/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:38:00 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for links and information, brought to you today by Sam Adams Scotch Ale. Double Deuce.

Again, not a whole lot going on, but I've got some stuff to keep you occupied for a little while. I'm especially happy with the videos today. Tips, suggestions and requests are always welcome and requested. See you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Report for Thursday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Times Set for Dec. 5 WVU Events - MSNsportsNET.Com
Rutgers game is a nooner, BB exhibition same day at 7 pm.

Football Award Winners: WVU - Cincinnati - BlueGoldNews.com

BIG EAST Slate: Week 12 - WVIllustrated.com

College Football Mailbag - Stewart Mandel - SI.com

New BCS coordinator Bill Hancock must defend flawed BCS system - Andy Staples - SI.com

Bucks' Alexander Wants to Be Traded -- NBA FanHouse

Late-Night Message from Tobias Harris - allkyhoops.com
It says 12 days away, but it's 5:30 tonight. Early signing period is over, so whoever he chooses is only in verbal form.

On the Recruiting Trail: Nov. 18 - EerSports

WVU commit Troy Gloster prepares for title game rematch - WVIllustrated.com

What's On Tap:

Women's Basketball: WVU Takes on #3 Ohio State - MSNsportsNET.Com

Colorado Buffaloes vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys - ESPN
7:30 pm tonight on ESPN. OSU is giving 14.5.

Around the League (and Beyond):

What to watch in the Big East, Week 12 - ESPN

Pitt Notebook: Lewis, Graham avoiding fumbles - PPG

Panthers’ Stull quiets criticism with his play - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly talks about Notre Dame, BCS - Dan Patrick.com

Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros ordered to appear in court - Cincinnati Enquirer

Bulls' latest exposure not so positive - Tampa Tribune

Syracuse punter Rob Long grips and rips it at Louisville - syracuse.com

Rutgers defensive tackle Scott Vallone perfect example of recruiting shift away from Syracuse - Star Ledger

Video of Interest:

Now this is an answer at a presser.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

I'll take Lady Gaga + Cartman + Walken....FTW

Snowman Gallery of the Week:

Some of these are hilarious. Very creative if nothing else.

via cdn.holytaco.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is Alice Goodwin of the UK.

via gza.gameriot.com

Sam Adams Scotch Ale image via www.bruguru.com

Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers Edition

CW — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:15:43 -0000

by Keith Srakocic - AP

View full size photo »

1. Pitt hasn't really played anybody yet. They've played teams that aren't bad - Rutgers, South Florida, NC State, Connecticut, NAVY - but there isn't one that makes you nod in appreciation of their great work. To their credit, they take care of business against the bad teams, but Sagarin has them with the 70^th ranked schedule in the nation. For comparison, Boise State is at 82, Penn State is at 72 and Notre Dame is at 26.

2. They get to the quarterback. Dave Wannstedt is a Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator, so it's not a total surprise when you see Pitt all the way at the top of the national sack leaders page with 4.33 sacks a game and 39 sacks overall. Do you know who is next on the list? USC, who you might remember from that time they ran around Paul Duncan and Sam Young for three quarters as if they were on a friendly neighborhood stroll to maul Jimmy Clausen. Greg Romeus is the lead sack man with 7.5, but linebacker Adam Gunn - a fantastic name for a linebacker, or really just in general - has 5.

3. Bill Stull is sneaky good. If I asked you to name the top QBs in the nation, you'd rattle off names like Kellen Moore or Max Hull or Tim Tebow or Jimmy Clausen, and those would be good names, because those guys are all in the top eight. (Colt McCoy, the new Heisman frontrunner because he blew up against Central Florida and ESPN says so, is 13^th, right around similarly heralded signal callers like G.J. Kinne and Kirk Cousins.) But who is fifth in the nation, ahead of Case Keenum, Ryan Mallett and the Tebow Child? Bill Stull. 17 TDs, 4 picks, 67.6% completion percentage. Considering what every single quarterback has done to Notre Dame this season, I'm doubting Mr. Stull's numbers suffer.

4. He has some nice targets to throw to... You might remember Jonathan Baldwin from last season, where he hauled in the game-tying touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth quarter in South Bend. He hasn't really missed a beat, catching 35 balls for 698 yards (a smooth twenty yards per catch) and four scores in 2009. The big time red zone target is tight end Dorin Dickerson, who has ten touchdown catches on the season, getting to the end zone in each of the last five games. Considering what Anthony McCoy did to the Irish, I can't imagine the Tenuta scheme having any trouble containing Dickerson, who had a season high 118 yards against Syracuse last week.

5. ...and a great running back to hand off to. LeSean McCoy, who ran over, around and through the Irish last season, has thankfully departed for the NFL. Those of us thinking there would be a giant gap at running back were painfully mistaken, as freshman Dion Lewis has stepped into the role and done exceptionally well. He's the seventh leading rusher in the nation, with just a shade over 126 yards per game and nine touchdowns, along with 16 catches for 134 yards and another score. Greg Schiano compared him to Ray Rice after the Panthers won at Rutgers, so the Irish front seven will have its hands full attempting to contain the 5' 8" workhorse.

6. Pitt's secondary is relatively untested and possibly not good. The Panthers' pass efficiency defense is only ranked 49^th in the country despite going against a list of QB's that don't exactly inspire fear. The one top they've faced, NC State's Russell Wilson, went 21 for 35 for 322 yards and four touchdowns despite being in a 31-17 hole late in the third quarter, handing Pitt their only loss. Wilson spread it around to eight different receivers, with no one catching more than four balls. If the Irish can protect Clausen against Romeus and company, they can possibly have some success through the air.

7. Dave Wannstedt is coach. I grew up a Miami Dolphins fan. Many of my friends are Chicago Bears fans. The common bond we share? Both teams had the pleasure of being guided by Diamond Dave Wannstedt, possibly the best mustache in all the land, but a sort of inconsistent head coach. There are a lot of things going against the Irish in this game, but the one ace up their sleeve is Dave Wannstedt On A Winning Streak, something that by the rules of nature has to come to an end. (This is my personal favorite Wanny collapse.)

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh Postmortem

Sean Keeley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:08:04 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Browse more photos »

On Wednesday, Syracuse players and coaches marveled about how amazing their practice has been that day. It was pretty much the only bright spot in all of last week for Syracuse football, culminating in the 37-10 drubbing at the hands of the Pitt Panthers:

A tumultuous week ended with the Orange offering its poorest performance of the season. Hammered by injuries and reeling from the defection of Mike Williams and the suspension of three front-line players, Syracuse committed three turnovers and had no answers in the second half of a painful blowout loss to an old rival.

The Panthers rushed for 247 yards against the best-run defense in the Big East. Freshman tailback Dion Lewis rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Pittsburgh wide receivers gained 117 yards on end-arounds.

Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull picked apart a wounded secondary for 225 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers defeated their rivals for the fifth straight year.

The final salt-rub in the wounds? Tight end Cody Catalina and safety Max Suter will both miss the rest of the season with injuries.

Suter sustained a left radius fracture, which was surgically repaired on Sunday, Nov. 8 by Dr. Irving Raphael. Catalina sustained a right knee injury and will have surgery in the near future. Raphael will also perform Catalina’s surgery.

The lone bright spot on the day? Delone Carter again. Carter put up solid stats and showcased some extremely noble effort fighting for the Orange all day, even out-rushing Pitt's Dion Lewis.

The leading rusher in the game was Syracuse’s Delone Carter, who gained 143 yards on 17 carries. He broke a 58-yard run on the game’s second play and nearly had 100 yards by the end of the first quarter. No tailback had rushed for 100 yards this season against the Panthers.

"That’s fine, but it really doesn’t matter to me unless I win," Carter said. "All the yards and all that, it really doesn’t mean nothing to me unless I get a W."

Paulus and Nassib combined for three picks though two of them weren't their faults entirely. In fact the Mike Williams-less receivers didn't help out the QBs very much at all.

Syracuse's receivers didn't do Paulus and Nassib many favors, either. On several key third downs, they cut their routes shy of the first-down marker. Two such instances stalled promising drives in the first half, when the score was still close. Faced with the ensuing 4th-and-shorts twice in the first half, Marrone opted to punt.

More links and game stories after the jump:

Pick-six opens floodgates, washes away Syracuse University football team...Dave Rahme

The story? SU scored first and it scored last, but Pittsburgh scored 37 points in between...Bud Poliquin

Similar plans, but Pitt's execution was better than Syracuse University football team's...Dave Rahme

SU-Pittsburgh Recap "At least it's basketball season"...Brent Axe

Ponder this if you dare, but Rutgers and Temple (yes, both!) are looking down on SU...Bud Poliquin

BROKEN DOWN: Syracuse unable to overcome injuries, suspensions in blowout defeat...Jared Diamond

Running back Carter lone bright spot in struggling Syracuse offense...Jared Diamond

Syracuse - Pitt Observations...Three Idiots on Sports

Monday Morning QB - 11/9/09...Orange44

Serene Dion: Pittsburgh Runs All Over Syracuse, 37-10

Sean Keeley — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:14:03 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

about 1 month ago: Pittsburghs running back Dion Lewis, right, avoids Syracuses cornerback Noco Scott during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Browse more photos »

Man, we really could have used Mike Williams...

Then again who know what kind of defense it would have made. The Panthers (8-1) officially carved up the vaunted Syracuse (3-6) run defense as Dion Lewis ran for 114 yards and a touchdown as Pitt owned the Orange 37-10 (Boxscore). Pitt's D also sacked Syracuse QB's eleven times on the day, never allowing the offense to find much of a rhythm. Not that Paulus & Nassib were helping much in that department.

Drive-killing INTs, a non-existent passing game, big plays given up on defense...it was a lot of "business as usual" for the Orange. While not entirely their faults, Nassib and Paulus combined for three interceptions, one of which was an embarassing, tipped screen-pass returned for a TD.

Syracuse did look frisky...with three minutes left with the game compluetely out of reach. A late Averin Collier-TD and onside-kick recovery at least speak to the never-say-die attitude of the team. Of course, we've been hearing about that for weeks now. They played hard. Again. Got it. Understood.

More discussion to come but in the meantime leave your pleasant thoughts below as we await Doug Marrone's next cry-fest to defend Paulus (who actually wasn't as terrible as the stats might make it out to be).

The Quest for Toronto isn't dead...but it's receiving it's last rites.

Gameballs for Boise State versus San Jose State

Kevan Lee — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:56:01 -0000

The Broncos cruised to a 45-7 win over the Spartans on Saturday thanks to strong performances across the board. Which players earned a gameball? Find out after the jump, and feel free to name your own winners in the comments.

Reader's choice award for player of the game

Kellen Moore

In a landslide, the Heisman Trophy token small conference QB was voted by you all as player of the game. Was there really any other choice?

Technically, there were three other choices, but Moore's play on Saturday made the competition irrelevant. Hammered and beaten for large portions of the first half, he still found a way to put up his typical, machine-like numbers: over 60 percent completion rate and three scores. And he's totally taking it to Pittsburgh's Bill Stull in the Davey O'Brien fan voting.

What really impressed me with Moore on Saturday was his third down efficiency. Just before his TD pass to little brother Kirby, Kellen converted a 3rd and 7 to Austin Pettis. He converted 3rd and longs to Matt Kaiserman and Tyler Shoemaker that led to touchdowns, and he found Richie Brockel on 3rd down for a 23-yard gain on a drive capped off by a Pettis TD. I dare say Moore was better than he had been all year, proving that getting consistent pressure on him only makes him mad.

Performance most likely to remind fans of Boise State's offense from last season

8 total rushing yards in first half for Broncos

The only thing missing was Ian Johnson with his hand on the back of a lineman, waiting for a hole to open.

Friend to degenerate gamblers everywhere

Doug Martin

Mad Doug's 36-yard TD parade with 20 seconds left in the game provided the Broncos with the winning 38-point margin. But more importantly, degenerate gambler got paid. The Broncos came into the game as 35-point favorites, so Martin's TD was the score heard round the deadbeat bars. Martin may never have to buy a drink in Reno for as long as he lives.

via media.idahostatesman.com

Best impersonation of Byron Hout

Byron Hout

Think back to the beginning of the season. Go ahead. Think back. What Boise State defensive lineman were you most excited about seeing? Also, while you're back there, did you ever think we'd be seriously discussing whether Oregon would pass BSU despite the fact that the Broncos beat the Ducks on opening weekend?

But back to that defensive line thing. Hout was the player on most fans' minds, considering the way that he closed out last season as a true freshman. He was awesome in 2008. He has been oddly quiet in 2009. Ryan Winterswyk and Shea McClellin are the clear-cut No. 1 and No. 2 defensive ends, and Hout has kind of been lost in the shuffle. Well Saturday was Hout's reminder that he can be every bit as dominating as he used to be. He finished with two TFLs and a sack, and he was noticeable for the first time in a long time. Here's hoping it is a sign of things to come.

Defensive MVP whom no one noticed

Aaron Tevis

Quietly, Tevis led the team in tackles, making a couple shoe string stops that prevented big gains. Shhhhh. Don't tell opposing offenses that he's good, bordering on great. It's best if they don't know that.

Breakout performance of the game

Kirby Moore

Moore led the team in receiving yards and nepotism on Saturday, prompting the following questions: Would Aaron Burks have looked so good at this point in the season? Will Kirby be a starter going into next fall? Do the Moores have a third, less athletic brother like Cooper Manning?

Mitch Burroughs catch of the game

This one

via media.idahostatesman.com

I thought it looked funny when I saw it live. The Mitch Burroughs Experience is really doing a number on the wide receiver position.

Play of the game

Jason Robinson's FF and FR

Robinson's strip of Lamon Muldrow with under a minute left in the first half marked the beginning of the end for all those optimistic San Jose State fans. Boise State went on to score and take a 24-7 halftime lead in a game that should have only been 17-7 at the half with SJSU holding faint hopes of keeping it close in quarters three and four. Not on Jason Robinson's watch. He lives for late-second-quarter heroics.

Least enjoyable facetime

Officials

The replay booth was a happening place on Saturday, as the on-field refs chose caution over clarity with several close calls. In the end, the refs got all the decisions right, but most of them were decisions that could have been made with the naked eye as it happened. If my officiating is going to be inept, I at least want it to be inept and not waste my time. The bygone WAC official had that down to a science.

Technical awards:

Least talked-about game of the season: The San Jose State game. Seriously, I wouldn't have known it happened if I didn't watch it with my own two eyes.

Best on-air name-dropping during a KTVB broadcast: Tom Scott. Many thanks to Tom Scott for giving OBNUG a proverbial rec during the broadcast. He didn't have to do that. (ed's note: Yes, he did. I blackmailed him.)

Most excitable high five: The girl on the right.

via media.idahostatesman.com

Least enjoyable theme. Doug Martin on the bench. I don't like it one bit.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (10/30/09), USF Gameday Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:10:01 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, brought to you today by the King of Beers (their words, not mine), Budweiser. That makes eight.

Good Morning Neverland!!! It's Game Day and as usual, there's an extra spring in my step because of it (doesn't hurt that VPI lost their third game last night as well). Like the coaches with the team, I feel it's my duty to get you into Game Day Focus and I've gathered lots to hopefully accomplish that. Have a safe and Happy Halloween weekend. Enjoy the game, and, as always, your tips and requests are greatly appreciated. So without further adieu...

What You May Have Missed:

Scouting Report: South Florida - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Top Ten For WVU - MSNsportsNET.Com
But you already knew that.

Bits and Bytes: WVU - USF - BlueGoldNews.com

Big East picks, Week 9 - ESPN
Let's hope his streak stays alive as well.

Video: West Virginia-South Florida preview - ESPN
BE football blogger Brian Bennett has a video preview for us. I can't embed it (plus there's already enough videos below).

USF's Head Coach Jim Leavitt - WVIllustrated.com
Video interview

Friday Q&A: West Virginia quarterback Jarrett Brown - ESPN

Halloween in the Big East - ESPN

Football: Williams Named Campbell Finalist - MSNsportsNET.Com

Butler, Ebanks Make Watch List - MSNsportsNET.Com

College GameDay Kickoff: Week 9 preview - ESPN

News of Note:

Bulls try to escape their own horror film - ESPN

A Complete Runner - MSNsportsNET.Com

Dangerous Road Trip - WVMETRONEWS.COM

WVU visits South Florida tonight - Times West Virginian

WVU facing South Florida - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Brown should feel right at home - Charleston Gazette

WVU right at home in Florida - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column. Same title, different article than the one from Parkersburg yesterday.

Mounties' Sunshine Staters Look Forward to Homecoming - EerSports.com

WV’s Devine eyes homecoming against South Florida - Martinsburg Journal (AP)

Devine a concern for South Florida - Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Second half has been good to Mountaineers - Charleston Daily Mail

WVU will attack Bulls defense - Charleston Daily Mail

Has West Virginia’s Offense Caught up to USF’s Defense? - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

WVU wins on paper against USF - Charleston Daily Mail

Mountaineers Adjusting On the Fly - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Stewart has faith in Kozlowski’s punting - Inter-Mountain

Penalties have put Bulls in a quandary - Tampa Tribune

WVU's White gone, but Brown is a challenge for Bulls - Tampa Tribune

It’s USF Week: Let’s Meet the WVU Line - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Capers learning to shine as WVU's right tackle - Charleston Daily Mail

West Virginia enjoys weeknight games - PPG

News not all good for WVU's Huggins - Charleston Gazette
Vingle's notebook

Recruiting:

Rogers already puts offenses in chaos - Charleston Daily Mail

Robert Johnson - WVIllustrated.com

NCAA approves rules changes on basketball recruiting - ESPN

What's On Tap:

West Virginia Mountaineers vs. South Florida Bulls, October 30 2009 - ESPN
8 pm tonight on ESPN2. Current line has us by 3.

Men's Basketball: Open Scrimmage on Saturday - MSNsportsNET.Com
WVU Coliseum on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. Admission is free.

Men's Soccer: WVU to Conclude Regular Season - MSNsportsNET.Com
Saturday, Oct. 31, at Seton Hall. Kickoff at Owen T. Carroll Field is set for 7 p.m.

Around the League (and Beyond):

Four positions later, Rutgers sophomore Eric LeGrand may have found a home at tackle - Star Ledger

SU must play keep-away with Bearcats - syracuse.com

Two of the best square off - Cincinnati Enquirer
"When the University of Cincinnati’s offense is not on the field Saturday, you can expect to find Mardy Gilyard watching Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams when he has the chance." In other news, Pike ruled out for this week.

Will Stein could be U of L’s starting QB - Courier-Journal

Pitt's line key to successful offense - PPG

Stull Stories: Redemption and Booing - Pitt Blather

Cheerleader of the Week: Cincinnati's Kayli - SI.com
I'm not one to usually hype a conference rival school....but she's cute (full gallery linked from the questionnaire).

Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant banned for rest of season - SI.com (AP)

Tailgate Recipe of the Week:

Whenever I get the chance to spend some time in Florida, I try to at least get some kind of alligator dish. So....

Okefenokee Fried Alligator

Ingredients

1 (1 lb) package alligator meat

meat tenderizer

garlic powder

black pepper

1 dash cayenne pepper

cooking oil

flour

salt

Directions

After thawing sprinkle with meat tenderizer.

Let stand for 20 minutes.

Season to taste with garlic powder and black pepper.

Coat well with flour.

Heat cooking to 350 degrees.

Cook until golden brown.

Do not over cook.

It should be tender, moist and have the color consistency of golden fried chicken when properly cooked.

Serve with your favorite sauce.

Courtesy of RecipeZaar

Video(s) of Interest:

Since it's USF tonight in Tampa, here's Pat White's highlights from the USF game his freshman year:

And 15 more of his more impressive touchdown runs:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

This week at BCS Headquarters:

Halloween Gallery of the Week:

With Halloween tomorrow, where better to celebrate than at Hef's place? A big thanks to Coed Magazine for making this section easy this week.

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is one of the most gorgeous women in the world today. Damn you, Justin Timberlake. Join me as we pay homage to Miss Jessica Biel. BONUS LINK: The only minute or so ever worth watching of Ellen.

via cm1.theinsider.com

Budweiser images via prhchamberonline.com and hoboken411.com

What are the Davey O'Brien Award Voters Thinking? Their Omission of Christian Ponder is Inexcusable

FSUncensored — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:09:14 -0000

If you follow college football for a living, you know who Christian Ponder is. If you're an NFL scout, you definitely know who Ponder is. And if you can use a computer to look at the national leader-board for quarterback performance, you know about Florida State's Junior signal-caller. But it appears that the voters for the Davey O'Brien award are computer-less and without TV's as well. Yesterday, the Davey O'Brien award committee released its list of 15 semi-finalists for the award. That list, from which they will select the winner of the award given to the best quarterback in the country, left off 2009's best quarterback, Christian Ponder.

Maybe you didn't realize just how good Ponder really is. That's alright, not everyone in the media gets it yet. A few do, and I'll recognize them at the end of this article. For now, let's check out the performance of the finalists and Ponder. To make sure everyone is evaluated on a reasonably similar slate, I am going to look only at games against BCS conference opponents. That means a team like Penn State with a cupcake laden schedule isn't getting a big boost here. There's no bonus here for crushing a Sun Belt conference team or a 1-AA ("FCS") opponent. The three quarterbacks from non-BCS conferences are not included, because they don't play a large enough sample set. And I am using per game performance to make sure that someone who has played more games than another isn't getting an unfair advantage. How do you think Ponder will stack up?

A good place to start is Quarterback Rating.

Ponder is in Garnet. Click the image to enlarge. That's right, against BCS conference opponents, Ponder's QB rating is 25 points higher than Tim Tebow. It's almost 30 points better than Colt McCoy. That's to say nothing of Jake Locker or Ricky Stanzi. Davey O'Brien committee, do you care how a QB plays on the field?

How about Yards Per Pass? Not yards per completion, but yards per pass:

Ponder produces about 10% more per attempt than Tebow, Pike, Reesing, and Clark. 30% more yards per throw than Locker and Stanzi. And 40% more yards per pass than Colt McCoy! Think about that. Against major conference opponents, Ponder produces 40% more yards per throw than McCoy.

But there's more. A lot more.

And he's deadly accurate. Davey O'Brien committee, do you think Completion Percentage matters?

Click to enlarge. The guy they left off is 2nd on the list in completion percentage! Amazingly, they included two quarterbacks who couldn't even hit 55% of their passes, and two more who couldn't hit 60%. Only 3 are completing their passes at more than a 65% clip- and they left one of those off the list.

Speaking of accuracy, what about Interception Avoidance? Because each candidate has thrown a different number of passes, the best way to measure this is to show the percentage of their passes that they threw for interceptions.

Click to enlarge. Then get your magnifying glass out. Ponder has thrown 1 interception in 196 pass attempts against BCS conference competition. Miami's Jacory Harris, who is on the list, has thrown 8 in 139 pass attempts. That's a pick every 17 throws! What about Tebow and McCoy? Tebow tosses an interception every 23 throws, and McCoy once every 29. Again, Ponder throws one every 196 passes. Yet he isn't in the discussion as the best quarterback in the country?

What about TD/ INT Ratio? People seem to love this measure.

Player	TD/ INT
Christian Ponder	10/1
Zac Robinson	8/1
Jimmy Claussen	12/2
Tony Pike	7/2
Bill Stull	10/3
Darryl Clark	9/4
Todd Reesing	9/5
Ricky Stanzi	8/6
Jacory Harris	10/8
Colt McCoy	6/5
Matt Barkley	6/5
Jake Locker	9/8
Tim Tebow	3/4

Oh, look at that. Ponder is again the best. Yet the O'Brien selection committee, comprised largely of lazy sportswriters who don't watch much football or pay attention, instead voting based on some pre-season list and throwing in a few QB's on teams with a good record, passed up the top quarterback in the country.

There's more. I don't like yards per game because it penalizes QB's who don't throw as often as others, but mouth-breathing voters go wild for easy to understand measures like this:

Click to enlarge. Oh, look at that. Ponder is 2nd in the country. He's more than doubling Tebow, and only one of the BCS conference quarterbacks selected by the committee broke the 300 yard per game marker. Ponder beats most of the list by 100 yards per game. And it's not like he throws the ball a lot more often than the others. He doesn't (see master chart below).

At this point, a few might say "what about rushing?" Even though this is a quarterbacking award, I think that's a relevant question. A quarterback's legs are an important part of some college football offenses. Let's take a look:

Player	Rush Attempts	Yards/ Rush
Tim Tebow	106	3.7
Darryl Clark	33	3.7
Jake Locker	69	2.7
Zac Robinson	29	2.5
Todd Reesing	28	1.4
Christian Ponder	45	1.2
Colt McCoy	39	1.2
Bill Stull	2	1.1
Tony Pike	13	0.5
Matt Barkley	21	0
Ricky Stanzi	30	-1.4
Jimmy Claussen	36	-1.4
Jacory Harris	15	-5.3

Tebow is the best runner, no doubt, but is 3.7 yards per carry really anything special? It's not as if he is lapping the field. Not that I would expect the committee to factor this in, but Ponder battled an MCL strain for 2 games- the only games in which his running was down.

So now we've looked at both passing and rushing. When you combine them, you get total yards per game:

Click to enlarge. Ponder blows everyone away except Reesing. Ponder has put up 20% more total yards than every other candidate from a major conference (including Claussen, Pike, Locker, and Barkley). 40% more total yards per game than McCoy, Tebow, Stull, and Stanzi (who really should not be considered for any performance based award). Also, Ponder accounts for a grater proportion of his team's yards than any other quarterback on the list.

If you want to have a look at the data in non-graph form, here you go:

Player	TD/ INT	Attempts	Yards/ Attempt	Completion %	Passing Yards/ Game	Attempts/ TD	Attempts/ INT	QB Rating	Runs	Yards/ Rush	Rush/ Game	Rush Yards/ Game	Total Yards/ Game
Christian Ponder	10/1	39	8.5	70%	331	5.1%	0.5%	157	45	1.2	9	11	342
Zac Robinson	8/1	27	8.2	64%	223	7.3%	0.9%	155	29	2.5	7	18	241
Jimmy Claussen	12/2	35	8.2	64%	289	5.7%	0.9%	149	36	-1.4	6	-8	281
Tony Pike	7/2	36	7.7	65%	278	6.5%	1.9%	147	13	0.5	4	2	280
Bill Stull	10/3	25	8.8	68%	223	7.9%	2.4%	162	2	1.1	2	2	225
Darryl Clark	9/4	29	7.7	59%	226	6.1%	2.7%	138	33	3.7	7	24	250
Todd Reesing	9/5	46	7.7	64%	351	4.9%	2.7%	139	28	1.4	7	10	361
Ricky Stanzi	8/6	30	6.5	54%	196	4.4%	3.3%	117	30	-1.4	5	-7	189
Jacory Harris	10/8	28	9.1	62%	253	7.2%	5.8%	150	15	-5.3	3	-16	237
Colt McCoy	6/5	36	6.1	72%	217	4.2%	3.5%	130	39	1.2	10	12	229
Matt Barkley	6/5	28	9.2	58%	261	4.2%	3.5%	142	21	0	4	0	261
Jake Locker	9/8	36	6.7	55%	245	3.5%	3.2%	117	69	2.7	10	27	272
Tim Tebow	3/4	19	7.9	63%	147	3.2%	4.3%	132	106	3.7	21	79	226

Is this reward really given to the finest quarterback in the country? Really?

While the Davey O'Brien Award Selection Committee seems to be asleep at the wheel, others have not. Pro scouts are starting to take notice. They have been flocking to Tallahassee over the past few weeks to see the Junior signal caller who offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher calls the best in the country.

All the quarterback talk this season has been about juniors Jake Locker, Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford and Jevan Snead. But in a 30-27 win over North Carolina Thursday night, Florida State's Christian Ponder made an argument to join the discussion as the top NFL quarterback prospect.

Entering the game, the Tar Heels were first in nation in pass defense. How did Ponder respond? By completing 33 of 40 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns.

It's been an incredible year for Ponder. In seven games, he has 2,176 yards passing, 12 touchdowns and only one interception. On the season, he's completing a sparkling 70 percent of his passes.

As a prospect, Ponder's arm might not be as strong as Locker's or Snead's, but it's just as good as Clausen's and Bradford's.

He also has plenty of athleticism for a quarterback. It's great that Locker can run a 4.4 40-yard dash, but how relevant is that to the position?

During the game's broadcast, ESPN's Jesse Palmer said Ponder runs the fastest shuttle on Florida State. For the position, that means he can elude pressure well, which he did nicely of in the second half.

Ponder's football intelligence is clearly optimal. He's been given the freedom to check down at the line of scrimmage and change plays. Unlike most of today's college quarterbacks, he doesn't lock onto one receiver. Sure, he's guilty of that on occasion, but it's a correctable problem. MockingTheDraft.com

And national writers as well:

Amidst an otherwise miserable season for Florida State, quarterback Christian Ponderhas been sensational. The junior, who was 33-of-40 for 395 yards and three TDs in Thursday night's comeback win at North Carolina, has completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,176 yards, 12 TDs and just one pick. Amazingly, it took the 'Noles nine years to find a decent quarterback -- and now that they have, they're 3-4. _Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel

With virtually no threat of a running game against the best defense FSU will face before the finale in Gainesville, Ponder hit his last 16 passes, three for touchdowns, and finally pulled off the game-winning heroics in the final minute that eluded him on last-ditch drives against Miami and Boston College. I felt for Ponder when Jarmon Fortson couldn't hold on to his game-winning throw into the end zone to beat the 'Canes on Labor Day, and again last week, when he led six touchdown drives and finished with a ridiculous 201.8 pass efficiency rating against Georgia Tech, only to stand by while the defense allowed seven touchdowns and couldn't get the Jackets off the field in the last four minutes to give Ponder another chance in a 49-44 loss. It was big for him to finish the comeback in Chapel Hill. In fact, it struck me as something of a one-man show, which -- when you consider that Ponder continues to lead the ACC in passing yards and completion percentage and owns the nation's best touchdown:interception ratio (12:1) after his sixth straight game without a pick, despite the total absence of a consistent running threat and a parade of must-throw situations opposite the conference's worst defense -- basically describes Florida State's offensive philosophy for the season: (insert Chart showing Ponder accounts for a greater percentage of his team's total offense than any other O'Brien candidate. Dr. Saturday (Matt Hinton, Yahoo Sports)

And from ESPN's Bruce Feldman, Via his Twitter account:

BFeldmanESPN Thinking about this week's Heisman top 5 and am torn between Golden Tate, Suh and Ponder.

Additionally, How can the Selection Committee justify the exclusion of Mr. Ponder? Their website states that the award honors the nation's best college quarterback and includes, among other factors, academics. Given the facts above and that Mr. Ponder received his undergraduate degree in Finance in 2 1/2 years, graduating summa cum laude (and is about to complete his Master's degree), I encourage the members of your Selection Committee to do some soul searching. (Thanks to reader Rob for that).

What can you do? Perhaps there is still hope. E-mail this article to Info@DaveyOBrien.org Also, consider sending it to the members of the selection committee (google them for their e-mail addresses). Perhaps the O'Brien committee will do the right thing and amend their list. If this award is really given to the best quarterback in the country, Christian Ponder must be on the list.

Of Mice and Men - and Max

sroufe — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:21 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya...I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick."

It's a good thing Max has friends like Matt Reynolds that can pummel Hall's vilifiers. Apologies for beating the proverbial horse here, but this is too polarizing and interesting of an issue to ignore. Many Cougar fans, much to Mendenhall's dismay, continue to criticize Max Hall's performance - both this year and cumulatively. Of course, Hall has thrown ten interceptions already this season and several were primarily his fault despite the best efforts of his coaches to state otherwise. His clutch play against Oklahoma has been negated to some extent by subpar games against Florida State and Colorado State. These results have caused critics to reminisce on Hall's poor finish to 2008 and his struggles against defenses that play above the MWC average.

Still, Hall is presently 6th in the nation in quarterback efficiency with a 162.6 rating. Only Clausen (Notre Dame), Moore (Boise St.), Tebow (Florida), Bill Stull (Pitt) and Riley Skinner (Wake Forest) are higher. He has led the Cougars to fairly consistent national recognition during his tenure, including the program's greatest regular season win in well over a decade. He has generated 26 wins as a starter - behind just Ty Detmer and Marc Wilson (T-29) in school history.

Even if Hall (9, 528 career passing yards) were to have a Derek Anderson-esque disaster on Saturday, he will pass Jim McMahon (9,536) to become 3^rd all-time in passing yards among BYU quarterbacks. Hall currently trails John Beck (11,021) by 1,493 yards. To catch Beck, Hall has to average 213 yards passing for the remaining seven games. That appears very attainable considering the Cougars still have San Diego State, New Mexico and Wyoming on the schedule.

To give you an idea of how far out there Ty Detmer (15,031) is in first place, Hall would have to average 786 yards passing per game for the remainder of 2009 to catch the Heisman winner.

Here's a breakdown of Max's current standing:

Player, Years	Psg. Eff. Rtg.	Psg. Yards	Yrds./Attmpt.	Comp. %	TD	INT
Ty Detmer, 1988-91	162.74	15,031	9.83	62.61%	121	65
Steve Sarkisian, 1995-96	161.96	7,464	9.46	66.92%	53	26
Jim McMahon, 1977-78; 1980-81	157.50	9,536	9.03	61.84%	84	34
Brandon Doman, 1998-2001	152.03	4,354	8.64	62.10%	35	14
Steve Young, 1981-83	149.82	7,733	8.52	65.20%	56	33
Max Hall, 2007-Present	149.53	9,528	8.26	65.30%	74	36
Robbie Bosco, 1983-85	149.39	8,400	8.43	63.99%	66	36
John Walsh, 1991-94	147.60	8,390	8.60	60.25%	66	35
Gifford Nielsen, 1975-77	145.23	5,830	8.24	58.62%	55	29
Ryan Hancock, 1992	143.17	2,586	8.98	57.29%	17	13
John Beck, 2003-06	141.29	11,021	7.77	62.41%	79	34
Kevin Feterick, 1996-99	141.05	8,065	8.05	61.18%	53	26

Some might argue, Hall's success is largely due to having BYU's greatest WR (Austin Collie), TE (Dennis Pitta) and RB (Harvey Unga) as targets for the past couple seasons. But Detmer had Eric Drage and Chris Smith. Young had Gordon Hudson. Essentially that's a hard argument to make because as good as these weapons were/are, Hall is part of the reason they've been so productive.

In attempting to rank these QB's, Hall has the numbers to objectively be ranked among the Top 10, if not the Top 5. Yet, others look at last season's let down and this year's loss to FSU and feel that Hall doesn't deserve to be so highly regarded by Cougar fans. In the end, it probably depends on what you feel a Top 5 QB at BYU demands.

What is your opinion?

Finally, Hall is coming off his most efficient game in 2009. His passer rating against UNLV was 201.8. Of course, that was against the Rebels. But, he was without McKay Jacobson as a target. Nine different players caught passes - and Unga wasn't even one of them. And Hall is expected to dominate again this weekend. However, possibly the most significant games to Hall's "prestige" or legacy at BYU are what follow thereafter. TCU. Utah. His third bowl game. Time will tell...

Poll

Do you approve of Max Hall’s body of work thus far in 2009? Where will he rank among all-time BYU quarterbacks?

No; But he still makes the Top 10

9 votes

Yes; Top 5

17 votes

Yes; Top 10

27 votes

No; And he doesn't even make the Top 10

3 votes

56 votes | Poll has closed

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (9/24/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:03:08 -0000

Welcome By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, your daily dump for links and entertainment around WVU. Today we're sponsored by the Italian brew Forst.

Daily dump sounds too biological, don't you think? I warned you it was gonna be a slow news week. Today's WYMHM and NoN sections reflect that. We've got a little caption contest for you today. Send in your tips, requests, etc. as always. See you on the other side:

What You May Have Missed:

Coach Stewart Show - WVMETRONEWS.COM
The Coach talks about bringing back the old cheer. Let's get it going just before the team enters the field. Spread the word.

Sideline Spirit - AthlonSports.com
Here's your chance to vote for one of our cheerleaders.

St. John's names the Thunderbird as first sports mascot in nearly 10 years - NY Daily News
I have no words for this:

via assets.nydailynews.com

News of Note:

Starks likes to dish it out, too - The Charleston Gazette
He likes to hit people.

WVU quarterback likes the 'long handoff' - Charleston Daily Mail
...and no, he's not necessarily talking about the $%&*# middle screen.

WVU remains committed to passing game - The Times West Virginian

Stewart coaches like a parent - The Times West Virginian
Hertzel's column

Coach Stewart and his men looked to put Auburn game in rear view - wvillustrated.com

Mountaineers to spend off week ‘polishing’ - TheInterMountain.com

Around the League (and Beyond):

Cincinnati loses linebacker Curtis Young for up to six weeks - ESPN
Starting linebacker Curtis Young is expected to miss up to six weeks for No. 17 Cincinnati after having surgery on his right knee.

Successful season makes new facilities even more important - Cincinnati Enquirer
"Let’s suppose that UC goes on to win all 12 of its games, wins the Big East and lands in another BCS bowl game, maybe even in the national championship game." - I'd say somebody's getting a bit ahead of themselves. There's a lot of football to play this year...

Is Cincinnati the best team in Ohio? - ESPN
It's a bold question, but I would have to say yes. Not that I've been asked, mind you.

Grothe sprained shoulder on series before knee injury - Tampa Tribune
He wouldn't have played this week anyway.

USF football hoping to join the club - Tampa Tribune
"Sooner or later, there is going to be a new member of the state's marquee football programs."

Rutgers safety Joe Lefeged returning home, two years after controversial hit against Maryland - Star Ledger

Maryland's inexperience costing team as Rutgers prepares to visit - Star Ledger

Red zone too often dead zone for U of L - The Courier-Journal
Only five TDs on 14 trips inside 20.

SHAMARKO: The Legend Begins - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Pitt's Stull spreading the wealth - PPG

2009 Big East Fearless Picks: Week 4 - Scout.com

KU sports teams’ apparent feud spurs 2nd brawl - KUsports.com
BB and FB teams brawl each other. I've never heard of anything like this before.

Miami's Randy Shannon brings real life experience to program - SI.com

College Football Hall of Fame moving to Atlanta - ESPN
The mayor of South Bend, Ind., says the College Football Hall of Fame is moving from his city to Atlanta.

Mandel's Mailbag - SI.com

Recruiting:

Storm Coming to Morgantown? - eersports.com
RB re-opened his recruitment after LSU reportedly kept recruiting more tailbacks.

What's on Tap:

Mississippi Rebels vs. South Carolina Gamecocks - ESPN
Ole Miss goes on the road to face the Ole Ball Coach tonight on ESPN. Ole Miss is favored by 4.

Men's Basketball: Coaches vs. Cancer Dinner - MSNsportsNET.Com
It's at the Waterfront Place Hotel on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. and all proceeds are going to a very good cause. Please, support it if you are able.

Picture of the Day:

I think we need a caption contest for this one. Winner gets to pick a Miss Throwdown! Post your best ones in the comments below:

via joesportsfan.com

Video of the (Dis)Interest:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Riverdance Dog...

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is an American beauty with African and Italian heritage. Meet Leila Arcieri.

via www.iballer.com

Forst image via www.bontadeltirolo.jp

SB Nation - Bill Stull

The Obligatory Predictions Competition - Week 14

1. No. 5 CINCINNATI at No. 15 PITTSBURGH, 12:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

2. FRESNO STATE vs. ILLINOIS, 12:30 p.m. EST (12/5), Big Ten Network

2. THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 1 FLORIDA vs. No. 2 ALABAMA, 4:00 p.m. EST (12/5), CBS

3. DR. PEPPER BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, No. 3 TEXAS vs. No. 22 NEBRASKA, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ABC

5. DR. PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, No. 10 GEORGIA TECH vs. CLEMSON, 8:00 p.m. EST (12/5), ESPN

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (11/19/09) Edition

What You May Have Missed:

News of Note (FB):

News of Note (BB):

Recruiting:

What's On Tap:

Around the League (and Beyond):

Video of Interest:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Snowman Gallery of the Week:

Miss Throwdown:

Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Pittsburgh Panthers Edition

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh Postmortem

Serene Dion: Pittsburgh Runs All Over Syracuse, 37-10

Gameballs for Boise State versus San Jose State

Reader's choice award for player of the game

Performance most likely to remind fans of Boise State's offense from last season

Friend to degenerate gamblers everywhere

Best impersonation of Byron Hout

Defensive MVP whom no one noticed

Breakout performance of the game

Mitch Burroughs catch of the game

Play of the game

Least enjoyable facetime

Technical awards:

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (10/30/09), USF Gameday Edition

What You May Have Missed:

News of Note:

Recruiting:

What's On Tap:

Around the League (and Beyond):

Tailgate Recipe of the Week:

Video(s) of Interest:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Halloween Gallery of the Week:

Miss Throwdown:

What are the Davey O'Brien Award Voters Thinking? Their Omission of Christian Ponder is Inexcusable

Of Mice and Men - and Max

Do you approve of Max Hall’s body of work thus far in 2009? Where will he rank among all-time BYU quarterbacks?

No; But he still makes the Top 10

Yes; Top 5

Yes; Top 10

No; And he doesn't even make the Top 10

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (9/24/09) Edition