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Jul 05, 2009 Dec 25, 2009 52 10
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Mid Major College Football Week 10: Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Rocks: Wayne Younger, QB, Florida International- Younger who started in place of the injured Paul McCall did not give his team an opportunity to win Saturday. He only completed 14 of his 38 pass attempts for 178 yards. He was not able to find the endzone and turned the ball over three times. All three of the interceptions came in the fourth quarter and were in FIU territory.
Paper: J.D. Brookhart , Akron- The Zips pick up their second victory of the season over Kent St. Akron and Coach Brookhart keep the Wagon Wheel in Akron. The Zips totaled more yards, controlled the clock and forced turnovers in the victory over the Golden Flashes.
Scissors: Case Keenum, QB, Houston- A huge win over Tulsa for Keenum and the Cougars. Completed 40 of his 60 pass attempts for 522 yards and three scores. Keenum also added another 21 yards on the ground, but most importantly got the victory to improve the Cougars to 8-1. Keenum was not only putting up big numbers, but led his team to a big victory after being down eight points in the fourth quarter.
Mid Major College Football Week 8: Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Rocks:
Idaho Defense- Giving up 70 points is never a good sign for a defense that came into Week 8 with only 1 loss. The Vandals defense gave up 662 total yards including 484 yards on the ground. Idaho also allowed Nevada to convert on all three of their fourth downs and gave up 27 first downs.
Paper:
Mike Price, UTEP-Big win for the Miners on Wednesday night game in prime time. They were able to pick up the big conference win in addition to gaining some national exposure. They had a well balanced attack with 175 yards rushing and 271 yards in the air. UTEP also controlled the clock and finished with two late scoring drives in the final seven minutes to give them the win.
Scissors:
Andy Dalton, QB, TCU- In one of the biggest games of the season for the Horned Frogs, Dalton came up huge to keep their BCS hopes alive. He completed 13-24 pass attempts for 241 yards and three scores. Dalton managed the game very well and did not turn the ball over. This win at BYU is an important confidence booster for both TCU and Dalton.
Mid Major College Football Week 6: Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Rocks:
Riley Dodge, QB, North Texas- For the second game in a row, Dodge has not been able to protect the ball and that is why the Mean Green are now 1-4. Dodge completed 24 of 38 passes for 209 yards, but threw three interceptions. North Texas only lost 38-34, and one of the picks thrown was returned for a touchdown. Dodge needs to protect the ball a lot better and put the Mean Green in situations to win close games.
Paper:
Chris Ault, Nevada- Congrats to Coach Ault as his 200th career victory comes against Louisiana Tech. He is the sixth active NCAA FBS coach to do so. He is in good company with coaches such as Joe Paterno, Mack Brown, Jim Tressel, Frank Beamer and Bobby Bowden. The Wolfpack started out slow this season, but have now won their last two games.
Scissors:
Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan- LeFevour was once again unstoppable against Eastern Michigan. He went 16-22 and 318 yards passing. He threw three touchdowns in the air and added 44 rushing yards and also three rushing touchdowns. He now has 8 rushing scores and 12 passing touchdowns on the season. He is the reason why the Chippewas sit atop the MAC West Division at 5-1 (3-0).
Mid Major College Football Week 5: Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Rocks:
Greg Alexander, QB, Hawaii- Alexander was not able to find the end zone at all against Louisiana Tech which led to the 27-6 defeat against Hawaii. Greg also threw for under 200 yards and threw two interceptions. The offensive line did not help as Alexander was sacked 5 times before being knocked out of the game. It was also the first time in 62 games that Hawaii did not score a touchdown.
Paper:
Robb Akey, Idaho- Akey led the Vandals to a big win against Colorado State this weekend as Idaho improves to 4-1 on the season. They are 1-0 in the WAC and will be going into San Jose State next week with loads of confidence. Although it was a close game, Idaho was very balanced as they finished with over 400 total yards on offense and forced CSU to turn the ball over twice.
Scissors:
Case Keenum, QB, Houston- Although Houston lost, Keenum again had a fantastic game. He threw the ball an astonishing 76 times and completed 51 of his attempts for 536 yards. He also threw 5 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Donald Buckram, RB, UTEP- Staying in the same game, Buckram helped UTEP shock Keenum and Houston in a wild shoot-out. Donald averaged over 8 yards per carry and finished with a total of 262 yards on the ground. He also found the end zone four times.
Mid Major College Football Week 4: Rocks, Paper, Scissors
Rock:
Darren Fletcher, RB, Southern Miss- Last week he was outstanding and this week Fletcher didn't help his team. Aside from having 70 yards receiving, Fletcher only had 27 yards on the ground, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. The Golden Eagles lost by a touchdown and Fletcher was not able to find the end zone once during the game. He needs to score for Southern Miss to win games.
Paper:
Gary Patterson, TCU- Still undefeated after playing a decent ACC team in Clemson. Even trailing much of the game, the Horned Frogs kept it close and were able to come away with the win in the end. The defense had big stops throughout the game including stopping the Tiger three times on fourth down attempts.
Scissors:
Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan- LeFevour completed 74% of his passes against Akron as CMU won easily 48-21. LeFevour threw for 197 yards, one interception, but had four touchdown passes. If you didn't think those stats were enough. Add to the mix that LeFevour also rushed for 140 yards and scored twice on the ground. So in total, he finished with 6 scores and over 300 yards of total offense.
Mid-Major College Football Week 3: Rocks, Papers, Scissors
Rocks: This group is for the players who did nothing to help their team or themselves. Their team would have been better off without them. The player did not play up to his potential and in the end hurt his teams chances of winning.
Paper: Coaches who stuck to their game plan throughout the week and it showed off on Saturday. These coaches made sure the players were focused throughout the game and made the appropriate decisions to put their team in a better position to win.
Scissors: Players who tore it up this week with big numbers all around. Thanks to these players, they give their team a shot of being competitive and give their team opportunity to win games.
Week 3:
Mid-Major College Football Week 2: Rocks, Papers, Scissors
Rocks: Brandon West, RB, Western Michigan
The Broncos suffered a tough loss to Indiana this past Saturday 23-19. The offense was decent, but Brandon West averaged 2.4 yards per carry and finished with 36 yards on the ground. West didn't even find the end zone and against a team like the Hoosiers who rank 7th in the Big 10 in total defense, the Broncos should have had more success on the ground.
Paper: Ricky Bustle, HC, Louisiana-Lafayette
Although it could be easy to give this to Kevin Sumlin, of Houston or Butch Jones at Central Michigan, there has to be some recognition for the Sun Belt conference and Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin Cajuns. Ricky Bustle led his team to a 17-15 win over Big 12 foe, Kansas State Wildcats on the road. They were down early on, but then jumped out to a 14-3 lead at half. Late in the fourth quarter, KSU came back to go up 15-14 and then with less then a minute left, the ULL, kicked the game-winning field goal to solidify a 17-15 victory of KSU.
College Football Week 1: Rocks, Papers, Scissors
Rocks, Papers, Scissors is a new weekly column for the football season which will focus on the best players and coaches of the week along with players who ended up hurting their team or didn’t add any production to their teams efforts. (Thanks to my friend, Steve Mendelsohn, who helped me out with the idea).
Rocks: This group is for the players who did nothing to help their team or themselves. Their team would have been better off without them. The player did not play up to his potential and in the end hurt his teams chances of winning.
Paper: Coaches who stuck to their game plan throughout the week and it showed off on Saturday. These coaches made sure the players were focused throughout the game and made the appropriate decisions to put their team in a better position to win.
Scissors: Players who tore it up this week with big numbers all around. Thanks to these players, they give their team a shot of being competitive and give their team opportunity to win games.
2009 MMM Air Force Falcons Preview
Coming off back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time since Troy Calhoun took over as head coach at Air Force, the Falcons look to the 2009 season as the year that they actually win a bowl game under Calhoun. The team ranked first in the conference in rushing offense and was fifth in total defense. This year the team should be even more productive as some of their young guys are more experienced and have an extra year under their belts.
Last season Tim Jefferson, a freshman at the time, played extremely well at quarterback. He threw for 655 yards, adding another 387 on the ground with a total of eight touchdowns. Although Jefferson has shown tremendous upside and talent, running back, Asher Clark will be competing for the starting quarterback position. He led the team in rushing last year with 588 yards and five touchdowns. He might not be the passer that Jefferson is, but he knows how to get it done on the ground. Regardless if Clark is under center, he will be touching the ball many times this season.
2009 MMM SMU Mustangs Preview
Could this be the year where the Mustangs finally earn a postseason appearance in over 20 years? The Mustangs were competitive in a handful of their losses last season. Four of their losses were by a touchdown or less. With one year under coach June Jones’s command, the Mustangs enter 2009 with hopes of a major improvement from last year’s 1-11 campaign.
Last year was the first year under the new offense, so expect some better production in their second season in the system. Bo Levi Mitchell returns at quarterback where he threw for 2,865 yards as a true freshman. As to be expected when starting a true freshman Mitchell struggled at time, but also showed promise. He will need to improve his consistency, and cut down on interceptions. Good news for Mitchell is the return of Aldrick Robinson and Emmanuel Sanders at receiver. Both players are extremely talented and can make big plays. Robinson led the team with 1,047 receiving yards and added 59 catches.
21 Year Old Grambling Player Passes Away
Henry White who recently transferred from Hill Junior College in Texas to Grambling State became sick after a pre season practice on August 14. He spent the past 12 days in Shreveport hospital where he officially passed away Wednesday morning.
The strange piece to the story is that the cause of death is unknown. White was 21 years old, healthy and in great shape. He also has passed all of the necessary physicals that he needed to pass to play. There is an investigation going on as to how such a healthy kid could fall ill during conditioning and why even after 12 days, people are still confused to what was actually wrong with White.
2009 MMM Marshall Thundering Herd
The Thundering Herd have not seen a bowl team since 2004 and coach Mark Snyder hopes to end that draught in 2009. Every part of the Marshall team needs improvement. The offense ranked 10th in the conference with 330 yards per game and the defense was eighth in the conference giving up an average of 418 yards per game. Both units will need to get better if the Herd want to become bowl eligible in 2009.
The offense returns seven starters that only averaged 20 points a game. Mark Cann looks to be the starter at quarterback for now. Cann had a very back and forth season. He had 14 touchdowns, but also 13 interceptions. Cann will feel the pressure to do well because his backup, Brian Anderson, made some noise last season in the one game he started. Anderson threw for three touchdowns, 177 yards and completed 14-19 of his attempts. If Cann does not play well early on, look for Anderson to take over the starting role.
Nevada Wolfpack Lose Two Recruits
The Nevada Wolfpack basketball team has announced that two of their recruits will be academically ineligible for the first semester in 2009. Devante Elliot and Jerry Evans, two recruits for the Wolfpack, will not be able to enroll this fall semester. In order to improve their academics, they will both will stay at home in effort to improve their test scores. There is also a possibility, that both players might look to play somewhere else.
The Wolfpack had a solid 2009 season, making a deep run into the WAC tournament and lost in the first round of the CBI tournament.
2009 MMM Rice Owls Preview
Coach David Baliff finished 2008 with a 10-3 record and a Texas Bowl victory over Western Michigan. This was a significant improvement from Baliff’s first season where the Owls went a dismal 3-9. Although the future looks bright for the program, they enter 2009 with some key losses on both sides of the ball.
John Thomas Shepherd looks to have the edge at the starting quarterback position this year, as Chase Clement has graduated. Shepherd is a senior and although he does not have a lot of playing experience, he has been around the system and has watched and learned from Clement over the years. Another option at quarterback might be the transfer from Alabama, Nick Fanuzzi. He is a sophomore and brings athleticism to the position. He can run and throw the ball and depending on Shepherd’s success, Fanuzzi might take over at the position.
With C.J. Ugokwe gone, the running game should be split between Jeramy Goodson and Tyler Smith. Goodson returns as the leading rusher from a season ago, but Smith is younger and has more upside. Smith is only a sophomore who did not play last season due to a major knee injury.
2009 MMM Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Preview
The Bulldogs enter 2009 with some realistic expectations of competing to be the WAC champions. The defense was the backbone of a team that went 8-5 and finished their season with an Independence Bowl victory over Northern Illinois.
The offense returns all of their leaders including Ross Jenkins, Daniel Porter and Phillip Livas. Jenkins threw for over 1,000 yards last season, but needs to improve on his efficiency. The passing offense was ranked 9th in the conference, only averaging 156 yards per game, which will need to improve along with Jenkins cutting down on the interceptions.
The rushing attack really carried the offense last season and might to continue that trend in 2009. Porter should have another 1,000 yards plus season. Last season he had nine touchdowns and was is an All-WAC selection. Livas is not only dangerous through the air, but also on the ground. He led the team in catches last season with 43 and added another 337 rushing yards on the ground. To compliment the speed of Livas is R.P. Stuart who is a big target for Jenkins. Stuart should be a solid number two target who is athletic enough to run the ball when the Bulldogs need him.
2009 MMM Houston Cougars Preview
Junior quarterback, Case Keenum, returns after having a stellar sophomore season where he threw for over 5,000 yards and 44 touchdowns. The passing offense was the second best in the country and Keenum will have plenty of weapons again this season. Tyron Carrier, the leading receiver from last season, should be the primary target. Patrick Edwards hopes to be productive as he is coming off his injury from last season. The receiver position is pretty deep, so Keenum should never have a problem with who to get the ball to.
Bryce Beall is back in the backfield as he had an amazing freshman season where he set a team record for rushing yards with 6.3 yards per carry. Beall rushed for 1,272 yards and also was dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield. He finished with 496 yards receiving and four touchdowns through the air.
2009 MMM Wyoming Cowboys Preview
After a disappointing 4-8 season last year, the Cowboys hired head coach David Christensen to get back to being a winning club. The defense last season put up respectable numbers as they ranked third in the conference in total defense and only gave up 189 yards through the air. The offense was not as successful and coach Christensen will have the tough task of turning around an offense that ranked dead last in the nation in scoring.
The Cowboys will be able to start new as they will have a new starting quarterback and running back in the 2009 season. As of now it looks like Karsten Sween will get the job at quarterback where he has been inconsistent in the past at times. He will have to continue to improve and stay focused to keep his job. Considered one of the best weapons on offense, Darius Terry will be getting the carries in the backfield. He didn’t get a lot of playing time last year due to the other talented backs, but this season he will be the man in the backfield.
The line did a decent job of protecting the quarterback last year as they only allowed 1.50 sacks per game, which was good for 4th in the conference. They are returning most of the line from last year including tackle Ryan Otterson and Clayton Kirvin, so with the added experience should turn into even better production up front.
2009 MMM Utah State Aggies Preview
After another losing season, the Aggies have brought in new head coach, Gary Anderson, to try and turn the program around. Utah State has not witnessed a winning record since 1996. The Aggies did show signs of promise last ear as they beat Hawaii, New Mexico State and Idaho.
Their playmaker on offense returns at quarterback, Diondre Borel. He is a dual threat who led the team in passing and rushing last season. He added 11 passing touchdowns and rushed for five. When the ball is not in Borel’s hands, sophomore running back, Robert Turbin, will be getting a lot of the carries.
Utah State loses their leading receiver from last season, so Nmandi Gwacham and Stanley Morrison will need to step up and give Borel some targets to throw to. The line has to step up as well. They need to be better on protecting the quarterback and open up holes for Borel and Turbin to get through.
2009 MMM Nevada Wolf Pack Preview
Coach Ault and the Wolf Pack are expecting big things in Nevada this season. The Wolf Pack finished 7-6 last season with a loss to Maryland in the Humanitarian Bowl, but they are returning some key players on both sides of the ball, which is good news for Nevada fans. Four of their losses last year were by seven points or less.
The offense has plenty of weapons to support their Pistol style offense. Colin Kaepernick is back at quarterback and provides a dual threat at the position. Last year, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and threw for more than 2,000. He was also the second Nevada player ever, to be named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2008.
The Wolf Pack will have a pair of backs who can get it done on the ground. Vai Taua rushed for 1,521 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Taua was not only reliable on the ground, but also through the air. He caught 30 passes for 3 touchdowns and 243 yards in the air. Due to a knee injury, Luke Lippincott, was not able to play much in 2008, but will provide some depth at the position in 2009. He hopes to return to the form he was in before last season, where he rushed for over 1,000 yards.
2009 MMM Memphis Tigers Preview
Expectations will be flying high in Memphis this season, the second ranked offense in the conference last year returns a majority of their playmakers and an experienced defense. The Tigers have a bit of a chip on their shoulders from their ugly loss to South Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl last season.
Akrelon Hall returns at quarterback where last year he passed for 2, 275 yards and rushed for 200. As long as Hall keeps his thumb healthy, he has the talent to become one of the better quarterbacks in the conference. The downside is the line is only returning one starter from a year ago, where the line averaged giving up only 1.31 sacks per game. Other guys have to step up in order to protect Hall.
Great talent in the backfield and at receiver surrounds Hall. Leading rusher, Curtis Steele, returns for his senior season. Last year, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and was named the 2008 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year. He averaged 5.6 yards a carry last season and looks to put up similar numbers as long as the line provides the blocking.
2009 MMM Northern Illinois Huskies Preview
Coming off a disappointing loss to Louisiana Tech in the 2008 Independence Bowl, the Huskies look to make significant improvements in the 2009 season. Second year head coach, Jerry Kill, helped turn around a 2-10 team in 2007 into a team that finished .500 in the regular season and made it to a bowl game. Now coach Kill has to get over the hump and win a bowl game at Northern Illinois.
The offense returns Chandler Harnish, who led the team in passing and rushing yards last season. Although he threw for over 1,500 yards, he also threw more interceptions then he did touchdowns which is something that Harnish will need to work on for the offense to be successful and put up points. Harnish will need to look to a group of inexperience receivers to get the ball to. Nathan Palmer should be the number one target, while freshman Ron Walker looks to make an immediate impact in the air.
Although, Harnish can get it done on the ground, the Huskies have plenty of speed in the backfield that could provide some balance to the offense. Me'co Brown, Chad Spann, and Ricky Crider should all see some decent time in the backfield. These guys will take some pressure off of Harnish and have him focus more on being consistent and completing a better percentage of his passes then running the ball.
Mid Major Teams Make the Preseason Cut
Last week the first Preseason top 25 poll was released and if the rankings are correct, it might bode for good things to come for the non-BCS conferences. This year marks the most non-BCS teams in the top 25 since the BCS began in 1998. Out of the four teams that made the top 25, three of them are in the top 20. Boise State (No.13), Utah (No. 18), TCU (No. 20) and BYU (No.21) all made the cut and will hope to prove to the rest of the football world that they deserve to be in the top 25.
This is a huge step in the right direction for drawing more attention to the mid major conferences. To be recognized before the season has even started says something about the quality of football that is being played within these conferences and this should benefit the non-BCS conferences in receiving more attention and becoming more attractive to bigger bowls.
2009 MMM Kent State Golden Flashes Preview
The Golden Flashes finished last season 11th in the nation in rushing and 36th in total offense. They hope to build upon their success this season, and end a 37-year drought without making a bowl appearance. Although, Kent State finished with a 4-8 record last year, they did show glimpses of promise that were washed away by turnovers and lack of execution.
Anthony Magazu and Giorgio Morgan will be in competition for the starting job at quarterback. Magazu brings intelligence and knows how to protect the ball. Morgan some action as a true freshman and has great arm strength.
2009 MMM New Mexico State Aggies Preview
New head coach DeWayne Walker enters the 2009 season with a lot of rebuilding to do at New Mexico State. The Aggies are coming off a 3-9 season where they finished 118th in the nation in rushing offense, but 10th in passing. Walker will bring a more defensive mind-set to the Aggies, who finished fifth in the conference last season in total defense, giving up close to 380 yards per game.
The starting spot at QB will be between Junior, Jeff Fleming and freshman Tanner Rust. Fleming is a transfer from Fullerton JUCO, where he threw for 1,900 yards, 24 touchdowns and was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2008. Rust is an incoming freshman who will be a dual threat through the air and the ground.
Whoever is the starter will have Marcus Anderson as their number one target. Anderson found the end zone nine times last season which tied him for first on the team. Another JUCO transfer, Marcus Allen, looks to make an impact in 2009 as another wide out who can get it done on the ground.
Marquell Colston is back in the backfield where he led the team with 384 rushing yards and four touchdowns. We should see a lot more of Colston this season as Walker is known for having a balanced attack. A group of experienced linemen should help pave the way for Colston and keep defenders off the quarterback.
2009 MMM Toledo Rockets Preview
After a 3-9 season, new coach Tim Beckman looks to make improvements in the 2009 season. The Rockets have the talent, skilled athletes and the experience to have a break out season.
Aaron Opelt returns at quarterback for his senior season and brings a lot of experience, having started since his freshman season. His 2,176 passing yards and twelve touchdowns is nothing to write home about, but he is surrounded by other talent.
DaJuane Collins and Morgan Williams will be splitting time in the backfield which seemed to work last year as they combined for 1,710 yards rushing and eleven scores. Williams also finished ninth in the conference in total purpose yards with 949 yards as a freshman.
Opelt will miss Nick Moore at wideout, but Stephen Williams should be able to fill that void. He is big, fast and has the experience to be a big play threat for the Rockets and if with 72 receptions this season, he will become the all-time leading receiver for Toledo.
2009 MMM Colorado State Rams Preview
Coming off a victory over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl, coach Steve Fairchild and the Rams hope to improve upon their 7-6 season. There was a lot of progress shown in Fairchild’s first season, but his second will be tougher with the lack of experienced players.
The quarterback position is up for grabs between Klay Kubiak and Grant Stucker. Klay is the son of the Houston Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak. Kubiak earned the backup position last year as a starter and gives him the most playing experience this year out of the group. Stucker is a senior who finally saw playing time last season including his first touchdown in the New Mexico Bowl.
There is also no clear-cut decision on who will be running for the Rams in 2009. Whoever will be in the backfield will have a solid and experienced line in front of them. The rams return four starters on the line who helped the rushing offense average 147 yards per game last season, which was good for 58th in the nation.
Rainbows Think Notre Dame Is For The Gays
The University of Hawaii has suspended head football coach Greg McMackin for 30 days without pay for his offensive remarks about the Notre Dame Irish Football team. McMackin has also volunteered to take a 7 percent pay cut from his salary.
McMackin apologized to the Irish and those that were offended by his comments. "I know most of the coaches in the country are rooting for us to beat Notre Dame," McMackin said. "Charlie gives this talk, ‘We do something special at Notre Dame,’ and (the players) get up and they do this little cheer … this little faggot dance."
That's right, the head football coach of a Division I university (who recently played in a BCS game) called an opposing team's players "faggots". McMackin should be thanking his lucky star that he still has a job, much less that he was only suspended for a month of the off season.
McMackin's seemingly sincere apology may be enough to redeem him amongst the season ticket holders, but you can be certain that the Hawaii athletic administration will make sure that this was McMackin's first and final slip up of his career.
What is especially ironic about the situation is that a man who represents a athletic department who refers to itself as the "Rainbow Warriors" had the nerve to call someone else gay.
In other news, a middle aged Dallas man was taken to the hospital after being found having a laughing fit from watching sports center over the weekend...
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2009 MMM Tulane Green Wave Preview
Head coach Bob Toledo is spending yet another off-season trying to rebuild the Green Wave’s ever struggling defense. To help assist him in his effort, Toledo hired the defensive minded Steve Stanard as defensive coordinator. The hiring of Stanard marks the Green Wave’s third defensive coordinator in three seasons. Stanard has 14 years of experience as a d-coordinator, which includes stints at Colorado State, New Mexico State, South Dakota and Nebraska Wesleyan.
Stanard will take-over a defense that ranked 119th just a season ago, 113th against the run and 106th in scoring. However, many believe that the team has many more problems than just the defense. After all, football is a team game and one-side of the team cannot be the sole reason behind a 2-10 record. Toledo intends on using 2009 to disprove all his critics and show that the Green Wave can be a competitive team.
The defense will return six starters from 2008 along with 21 letter winners that give the team a lot of depth and experience. The most notable of all those returning, is red shirt senior Corey Sonnier, who led the Green Wave defense with 86 tackles during 2008. Sonnier is expected to step into the leadership role and will be an essential component of Stanard’s defensive scheme.
Mid Major Football Programs Lacking Financially
As is expected, non-BCS schools do not pull in as much revenue as BCS schools do. Recent statistics from The Orlando Sentinel. TCU brought in the most revenue out of a non-BCS school in 2008 with a little over $43 million. That is about $80 million less then Texas who ranked number one with $120 million.
What is even more of a eye-opening statistic is that Louisiana-Monroe, out of the Sun Belt Conference, earned close to $8 million in revenue. The difference in the amount of revenue between Texas and Louisiana-Monroe is absurd.
I know people may make the case that lower revenue teams are still competitive with higher revenue teams, which is true, but it is still lopsided. Up until the 57th spot, it is all BCS teams who generate the most revenue.
2009 MMM Idaho Vandals Preview
Coach Robb Akey has been improving his win total each season at Idaho. The Vandals are returning plenty of starters this season, which should lead to an increase in their win total from last season.
With a solid recruiting class, the Vandals should be more talented and add more depth on both sides of the ball. Nathan Enderle returns at quarterback and he brings with him two years of starting experience. Max Komar and Preston Davis return at wideout and hope to give Enderle some solid weapons in the air. Dewey Hale, a former defensive back, also showed some positive signs during spring practice.
Deonte’ Jackson returns in the backfield after rushing for 696 yards last season. Jackson finished 10th in the WAC averaging 56 yards on the ground per game. The offensive line looks to improve upon last year where they allowed 3 sacks per game that placed them 111th in the nation.
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