SB Nation User Blog: rugman11

Stiffarmtrophy.com Projects Ingram as the Heisman Winner

rugman11 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:27:26 -0000

Stiffarmtrophy.com, which has correctly predicted each of the past seven Heisman winners--and more impressively, believe, predicted that Bradford would win last year but Tebow would receive more first-place votes--has released their final projections of the Heisman ballot, based on just over one-third of all votes. They are "reasonably confident that Mark Ingram will win the Trophy," with 48.1 percent of the maximum votes, followed closely by either Toby Gerhart or Ndamukong Suh ("With less than a two-point gap, it's too close to call"), with Colt McCoy a lock for fourth, and Tim Tebow a lock for fifth.

Of note, however, is that they are projecting that Ingram will actually receive the THIRD most first-place votes, with Suh receiving the most and Gerhart the second-most.

Notre Dame to hire Cincinnatti Head Coach Brian Kelly

rugman11 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:25:26 -0000

Notre Dame to hire Cincinnatti Head Coach Brian Kelly

"The problem isn't that the Irish are going with Kelly, who might turn out to be the next Urban Meyer, it's that it didn't appear that AD Jack Swarbrick and the powers-that-be made an honest run at the real Urban Meyer. "

Cody named finalist for Nagurski award

rugman11 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:45 -0000

Cody named finalist for Nagurski award

Terrence Cody is one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's best defensive player by the Football Writers' Association of America. Cody is joined by Iowa's Pat Angerer, Tennessee safety Eric Berry, TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes, and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

h/t LSUfreek and EDSBS

rugman11 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:01:17 -0000

h/t LSUfreek and EDSBS

Mark Ingram named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

rugman11 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:32:28 -0000

Mark Ingram named SEC Offensive Player of the Week

It was kind of an obvious choice, but Alabama running back Mark Ingram was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his 24 carry, 246 yard performance against South Carolina. It was the second time this year that Ingram has been so honored (Virginia Tech).

OK St.'s Dez Bryant suspended for the season

rugman11 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:23:06 -0000

OK St.'s Dez Bryant suspended for the season

"Bryant, an All-American who is ranked ninth overall on Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent Big Board, was ruled ineligible by the school because he failed to fully disclose his interaction with a former NFL player to the NCAA.

Oklahoma State has already begun the process of applying to the NCAA for Bryant's reinstatement, the school said. He sat out Oklahoma State's last game against Grambling State."

Creative Top 25

rugman11 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:44:32 -0000

I got bored at work this evening, so I decided to create the Top 25 that many bloggers and blog readers seem to be clamoring for: a Top 25 in which no team is ranked above a team it has lost to. I've heard many people complain about Penn State being ranked above Iowa or Oklahoma State being ranked above Houston, but I never really thought about how easy/difficult it would be to create a Top 25 in which no team was ranked above a team to whom it had lost. This Top 25 was creating using the 41 teams currently receiving votes in the AP and Coaches' polls and all of the teams to whom they have lost. Surprisingly, there are only two real awkward clusters. The USF/FSU/BYU/Oklahoma quadrangle appears at the end of the Top 25 because, while USF is at the top of that particular pyramid, I just don't think that they are better than the teams above them. You'll also find that USC and Ohio State are not on this list. That is because USC's bad loss was compounded by Washington's losses, which were compounded by Stanford's losses, which were compounded by Baylor's losses, etc. So, without further ado:

#1 - Alabama (4-0)
#2 - Florida (4-0)
#3 - Texas (4-0)
#4 - LSU (4-0)
#5 - Boise State (4-0)
#6 - Virginia Tech (3-1)
#7 - Cincinnati (4-0)
#8 - Houston (3-0)
#9 - TCU (4-0)
#10 - Iowa (4-0)
#11 - Michigan (4-0)
#12 - Penn State (3-1)
#13 - Oregon (3-1)
#14 - Oklahoma State (3-1)
#15 - Miami (2-1)
#16 - Georgia (3-1)
#17 - Georgia Tech (3-1)
#18 - USF (4-0)
#19 - Kansas (4-0)
#20 - Florida State (2-2)
#21 - BYU (3-1)
#22 - Oklahoma (2-1)
#23 - South Carolina (3-1)
#24 - Nebraska (3-1)
#25 - Cal (3-1)

Every assumption painted Greg McElroy as the cliché, "just ask him not to lose the game" kind of ...

rugman11 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:29:43 -0000

Every assumption painted Greg McElroy as the cliché, "just ask him not to lose the game" kind of passer in a paleolithic, run-based attack, but he's hardly been that: McElroy is not only third nationally (and best in the SEC) in efficiency, but also ranks third in yards per attempt, and is averaging just shy of 15 yards per completion.

h/t Dr. Saturday (emphasis mine)

Oh Nooooo!

rugman11 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:04:57 -0000

Oh Nooooo!

DeAndre Brown returns to the field.

rugman11 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:36:21 -0000

Lost in the hustle and bustle of this weekend was Southern Miss star sophomore receiver DeAndre Brown's return to action following last season's horrific leg break (warning: extremely graphic) against Troy in the New Orleans Bowl. Just nine months later he was back in action Saturday against UCF, totaling seven catches for 75 yards. Brown lit up Conference-USA as a freshman, catching 67 passes for 1117 yards and 12 TDs, including a 12 reception, 221 yard, 4 touchdown day against Rice last October. Brown aggravated the injury this summer but, after sitting out last week's opener against Alcorn State, he was back in action again. It's great to see him come back from that injury (especially given the experience Bama has with receivers breaking their leg) since he has such great talent. I wish him the absolute best moving foward.