Fourth and inches… (week of Sept. 8, 2007)

By T Erickson  |   Thursday, September 06, 2007  |  Comments( 12 )

College Football
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Talk about shocking the college football world ... No disrespect to Appalachian State. They are a fine football team, and by the way, the only team from North Carolina to win any sort of NCAA football title. But, c'mon. When you have the tradition, a national recruiting base, outstanding facilities, a Numero Cinco Ranking with a legit shot at the national title game this year, AND the ghost of Bo watching over you, how can you permit a D-IAA team to come into your crib (The Big Crib, er, House, no less) and make you look silly? The Wolverines tumbled 27 spots in this week's AP poll--the biggest freefall in the history of the polls. Will anyone be surprised if Lloyd Carr is respectfully asked to step down at the end of the season regardless of whether Michigan goes 11-0 the rest of the way?

►Lucky Choice: The shifting sands of Heisman hype... Like a couple of tigers Siegfried & Roy used to pull out of thin air in Las Vegas, Georgia Tech's Tashard Choice (196 yards, two TDs versus Notre Dame) and Nebraska's Marlon Lucky (233 yards rushing, three TDs rushing, one TD receiving) have magically appeared on everyone's Heisman radar. If Marlon and his teammates gets really Lucky on Sept. 15 against the USC defense and he happens to shred them as easily as he did the Nevada Wolfpack, then he'll clearly become a leading candidate. No such luck for Tashard, who doesn't have a Choice regarding who, where, or when the Ramblin' Wreck play this week. A huge game against Samford just won't cut it, TC, but don't worry. G-Tech has plenty of big games coming up on the schedule for you to strut your stuff.

►More Heisman talk at the water cooler ... the usual suspects all turned in eye-popping stats ... Hawaii's Colt Brennan tossed six TDs against D-IAA Northern Colorado, and Brian Brohm (Louisville), Darren McFadden (Arkansas), Steve Slaton and Pat White (West Virginia) all posted the numbers necessary to maintain traction on the watch list. John David Booty (USC), and Colt McCoy (Texas) did not. Some folks are ready to throw Ben Olson (UCLA) on the list after connecting for five TD passes over Stanford last week. Hmmm ... let's wait and see how he fares this Saturday when his former buddies from BYU visit Pasadena.

►Speaking of BYU ... Cougar fans gotta be happy with newbie QB Max Hall and his performance against Arizona last Saturday. He went 26 of 39 for 288 yards and two TDs, which bettered his predecessor's showing last year ever so slightly. (John Beck was 28 of 37 for 289 yards and one TD last year against the Wildcats). Just as impressive was redshirt freshman Harvey Unga. Making his first start ever, Unga racked up 196 total yards (68 on the ground, 128 receiving, two TDs) and was honored with the MWC Offensive Player of the Week award. Also noteworthy was BYU's stingy defense which held Arizona pointless for 59 minutes of the game, finally allowing a score in the final seconds of mop-up time.

QUICK HITS

► Worst name change... I'm holding this over from last week. D-IA is now supposed to be called the "FBS" and the D-IAA is now supposed to be the "FCS." Everywhere you read about college football, everyone is using both categorizations. Is that the politically correct thing to do? If you don't like it, say something. Start a fan revolt and petition the NCAA. I'm not using 'em, so there.

►Let's get this straight ... For you UCLA and BYU fans needling each other back and forth on your smack boards, "The Granddaddy of Them All" is a trademarked name referring to the Rose Bowl Game because it is the oldest and most prestigious bowl game in college football ... It is not another name for Rose Bowl Stadium. The 94th Rose Bowl Game will be played on Jan. 1, 2008, just a few hours after the 119th Rose Parade.

►Coaches on the hottest seats ... Yep, I checked and they're still there ... Arizona's Mike Stoops, Virginia's Al Groh, and Mississippi State's Sylvester Croom.

►Potential BCS Busters ... Everyone here holding strong through Week 1 ... Hawaii, TCU, BYU, and Boise State.

►Look out, coach! ... Tom O'Brien, former head coach at Boston College, leads the North Carolina State Wolfpack into dangerous territory this weekend ...

►Potentially looking at the longest season of despair? ... Notre Dame fans.

►Best Electronic College Football Database? ... Collegio Football (www.sophosoft.com). You will be amazed by the amount of information and ease of navigating the program. It's like having a mini-media guide for all 119 D-1A teams at your fingertips.

►Tressel says he was rooting for Michigan last week? ... Some Buckeye Nuts might find that difficult to swallow, but I'll buy it. It is only to Ohio State's advantage to play the highest-ranked Michigan team it possibly can in late November.

►You're either suspended or you're not, right? ... What's with Wisconsin running back Lance Smith being suspended from road games but being cleared to play at home? Smith was arrested on battery charges in July and originally suspended from the team. AD Barry Alvarez reinstated Smith's home game privileges. He'll miss the UNLV game this week, as well as road games at Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State and Minnesota.

►Big ouch ... Tulsa has lost prized Oklahoma transfer RB Courtney Tennial to a season-ending knee injury. Tennial was the Golden Hurricanes' leading ground gainer last season with 862 yards and 14 TDs. Get well soon, Courtney.

►Quick Snap ... presented by the 83rd East-West Shrine Game, Jan. 19, 2008 in Houston on ESPN:

When was the last time that Ohio State played an unranked Michigan team in The Rivalry Game?

Be quick and be correct. Send your answer to quicksnap@realfootball365.com. The first email received with the correct answer wins you a limited edition two-card set of 2007 Rose Bowl Game trading cards. The winner will be announced in next week's Fourth and inches...

►Best Games of the Week ... TCU Horned Frogs at Texas Longhorns ... BYU Cougars at UCLA Bruins ... Miami Hurricanes at Oklahoma Sooners ... North Carolina State Wolfpack at Boston College Eagles ... Oregon Ducks at Michigan Wolverines ... Fresno State Bulldogs at Texas A&M Aggies ... Boise State Broncos at Washington Huskies ... South Carolina Gamecocks at Georgia Bulldogs ... Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Penn State Nittany Lions ... South Florida Bulls at Auburn Tigers ... Virginia Tech Hokies at LSU Tigers ...

►Upset Specials of the Week ... Last week (1-3) ... Washington Huskies over Boise State Broncos ... TCU Horned Frogs over Texas Longhorns ... BYU Cougars over UCLA Bruins ... South Florida Bulls over Auburn Tigers ...

Todd Erickson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the author of Road to the Rose Bowl (Silverback, 2005) the definitive book on the last 50 years of match-ups and tradition in the Rose Bowl Game.

Get more original college football insights at Realfootball365.com
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