We are a little over a week into summer, the 4th of July is at the end of the week, and now is a great time to go to the beach. But for college football fans, July is a horrible month. Unless your team shows up in the police blotter, or gets a verbal commitment from an upcoming senior, this month is a slow crawl towards the start of fall camp.

Johnson wants to make it 6 years of bowling

If it isn’t already in your RSS Feeds, July is a great month to head over to Saturday Soundoffs. Eric, who has joined the ITB staff, has started his two-a-days which are excellent. Yesterday he took a look at Colorado State and North Dakota State.

Former Navy coach and new Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has his hands full this year with the Yellow Jackets. Johnson will be installing a new offense, but is stuck with the talent left from Chan Gailey. Under Johnson, Navy went to five straight bowl games, but it looks as if his personal run will end this year…or will it.

As Adam and I talked about in the last episode of the In The Bleachers Podcast, we both think that BYU has a chance to crash the BCS Bowl party this year. The Mountain West Conference Connection has found some predictions that has said that BYU or Utah could end up in the top 5. BYU with their schedule and number of returning starters could finish in the top 5 after winning every game this year, but I think Utah has a little shot of finishing in the top 25, but will not finish in the top 5.

JayPa’s bocce outfit

USC is quickly piling up the blue chip recruits once again this year, and with the ongoing Reggie Bush investigation, there are plenty of rumors of possible violations by the Trojans. Over at the Barking Carnival TaylorTRoom looks at the history of college football recruiting cheating which he breaks into four parts.

Recruiting and Happy Valley are not mixing right now. If you are like me and a member of BWI’s Lions’ Den, you probably have noticed that there have been a lot of bickering and fighting over losing recruits to Rutgers and Pitt in the past few weeks. There is one person that is still the #1 lightning rod for the fans to pick on, Jay Paterno. Jay has been spending a lot of time blogging for Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and word has gotten out that he played in a celebrity bocce tournament. Maybe if the younger Paterno spent more time on the recruiting trail or developing quarterbacks than playing with balls, he wouldn’t get such grief.

Kate doesn’t need coffee to make her hot

July also brings out my favorite…the preseason football polls. I have no problem with people voicing their opinions on who they think are the top 25 teams, but there should be no “official” polls till after the 3rd or 4th week of the season. On the Bleacher Report John Lynch takes a stab at his Top 25 preseason poll. As you can tell by some of the comments, they are not too happy who he has in it. My favorite argument is how certain fans always think their team(s) is overlooked or disrespected. Calm down people, let them play a game first before you flip out.

It has been a rainy end of June here in Pittsburgh, but it is nothing compared to what is going on in the Midwest. Head over to Mizzourah and find out how you can help people who have been victimized by the floods.

Finally, the Heisman Pundit is back with an improved, updated, new-looking site. He’s great as always, and I have an email in to him to come on the In The Bleachers Podcast (hopefully Wednesday) to talk about the Heisman hopefuls for 2008. While we are waiting check out his new article asking; Is it really that important to have a quarterback who is an elite NFL-prospect in your program?

Note: This is part of our ongoing “FCS Week” feature here at ITB. Continue to check back this week for more news and analysis from around the Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA.)

For fans of college football’s top teams, this is usually the time of year when we obsess about preseason rankings, compulsively assess the situation of our teams’ conference rivals, and often completely forget to worry about that small state or private school down the road that was given a half million dollar check to essentially be blown out in a warm-up performance. Yet for the fans of those schools, and for the fans of Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) schools everywhere across the country, the prospect of such a game presents the challenge of the lifetime, and a chance to rise from relative obscurity to national prominence for at least one Saturday afternoon. Last year we were given a crash course in just what an inter-subdivision upset could mean, with Corey Lynch’s blocked field goal against Michigan serving as the iconic image of the season. While this year’s matchups may not present the kind of earth-shattering implications as Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan did, beginning on August 28th dozens of these FCS teams will be chasing that same dream, and trying to play the role of David against their respective Goliath’s. Over the next week we’ll be counting down the Top 10 most likely FCS over FBS upsets of 2008, as well as discussing the trends of these upsets and just what it takes for these smaller programs to take down even proven FBS winners. Keep in mind this list is just an assessment of the FCS teams with the best chances to take down certain FBS teams; meaning, among other things, that there could be more or less upsets than the ten I have listed here. Today we’re looking at my tenth through eighth most likely upsets for 2008, and starting at a very familiar place…

#10: Appalachian State at LSU (August 30^th)

Louisiana State University is fresh off of a National Championship in which the Tigers won the SEC and pounded Ohio State 38-24 to take the title of the number one team in America. Surely such a team would be unstoppable against a lowly FCS team, wouldn’t it? The answer is probably a very solid “of course,” but when discussing Appalachian State one almost needs to throw all of last season’s accolades out the window. So let’s start with what we know. LSU has a quarterback “situation” after Les Miles finally booted oft-troubled quarterback Ryan Perrilloux from the team this spring, with redshirt freshmen Jarrett Lee and former Harvard transfer Andrew Hatch in the mix for the starting job come August 30^th. The Tigers return thirteen starters overall but do lose some key players to the NFL, most notably Outland trophy winner Glenn Dorsey at DT, leading rusher Jacob Hester at RB, and top tacklers Craig Steltz and Ali Highsmith on the defense. Starting quarterback Matt Flynn also departs, as does wide receiver Early Doucet and both starting cornerbacks. While LSU certainly has the talent to eventually replace these players (with the possible exception of Dorsey) it won’t be easy, and despite a fairly light slate in September it’s not unreasonable to expect the Tigers to go through some growing pains, especially on defense.  It’ll be interesting to see if this lack of championship experience at critical positions like quarterback and safety effects the way Les Miles runs his team. We all know he’s a gambler in every sense of the word, but without his most trusted offensive and defensive tools the Tigers may not find the kind of returns they expected on their early season gambles.

By now every college football fan in America is acquainted with the Appalachian State Mountaineers, and thankfully no longer on account of the Boone, North Carolina school’s reputation for being “hot, hot, hot.” I could go on documenting the 2007 Mountaineer season in detail but frankly it boils down to this; upset Michigan, make it to the playoffs, win a third straight FCS National Championship game. The fact that ASU lost conference games to Wofford and Georgia Southern almost seems irrelevant, but it does prove one thing, and that is that the Mountaineers are by no means invincible. While the offense was the top ranked in the country last season (averaging 488 yards per game) the Mountaineers only return five starters for ‘08 and must find a way to replace a 1000-yard rusher in Kevin Richardson, their three top reeivers (including second round draft choice Dextor Jackson), as well as three All-American offensive lineman. This is an extremely tall order and although Appalachian State remains one of the most talented teams in the FCS it is unlikely that they’ll be able to come out with the same explosiveness that they did against Michigan last season. Things look a little clearer on the defensive side of the ball as Appalachian State returns seven starters including all three linebackers in Jacque Roman, DJ Smith, and Pierre Banks. Nevertheless, there are still questions surrounding the defense, which finished the year a ho-hum 70^th in the country while allowing 380 yards per game. ASU loses all four starting members of the secondary including All-American and NFL-bound safety Corey Lynch, who was the cornerstone upon which ASU’s championship defenses had been built. The fact that three of those starters were three-year starters cannot be overlooked, and despite an infusion of young talent this group looks impossible to replace and likely will struggle against a very good LSU receiving corps. Even with the secondary concerns this is still a talented team led by what some are calling a legitimate Heisman trophy contender in QB Armanti Edwards, and as always they are very well coached and well schemed in the spread offense which gave Michigan’s supposedly more talented defense fits last year. With the entire front seven back on the defensive side of the football they should improve against the run, which will be critical if they’re to stifle an LSU running game which could lean heavily on Keiland Williams and Trindon Holliday. Jerry Moore refuses to let this team get complacent and while they’re not going to sneak up on LSU like they did Michigan, they certainly have no shortage of self-confidence.

I know what you’re thinking; lightning couldn’t possibly strike twice, could it? In all honesty it likely won’t, as even a quarterback depleted LSU presents considerable problems for an Appalachian State team which figures to compete for a fourth consecutive National Championship. Nevermind this SEC speed fallacy everyone keeps talking about, the real difference between LSU and Michigan will be attitude and outlook. Simply put nobody is going to underestimate the Mountaineers after last year, and playing under the lights in a nationally televised contest like this could be a much bigger issue for a more inexperienced ASU team. Despite the fact that LSU’s quarterback position remains uncertain, the Tiger’s have talent and depth at all the skill positions and matchup considerably well against the Mountaineer secondary. Armanti Edwards is going to look good against virtually anyone, but it will be interesting to see how he does without the majority of his supporting cast from last year’s upset, particularly his top-three pass catchers. By the same token it will be interesting to see how the LSU quarterback, whether it be Lee or Hatch, comes out against ASU’s defense, and whether or not LSU plays a more conservative brand of offense. This should be a competitive game and although this LSU team is not nearly as vulnerable as Michigan was last year the Mountaineers have proven they don’t back down to anyone and that’s why I give Coach Moore and his squad at least a fighting chance against the defending FBS National Champions.

#9: Wofford at South Carolina (September 6^th)

Is this the year Steve Spurrier finally gets the Gamecocks to the top of the SEC East standings? Upon first inspection it very may well be, as South Carolina returns seventeen total starters including ten on the defensive side of the ball from a team that went 6-6. But it seems like you never can tell with Spurrier and SC and despite an infusion of talent in the program they’ve still had their ups and downs during his tenure. Case in point the offense, which has failed to eclipse 24 points per game during Spurrier’s three years here, largely due to inconsistent quarterback play. While the good news for 2008 is that presumed starter Chris Smelley has experience (six starts in two years) the bad news is that he’s been inconsistent and doesn’t have the mobility Spurrier would prefer. SC’s other options may be limited however, as highly touted redshirt freshmen Stephen Garcia’s legal troubles have continued and he was suspended for the spring, while last year’s third string QB Tommy Beecher has struggled with accuracy and interceptions in limited duty. The fact that Smelley and Beecher combined for a mind-boggling eight picks in the spring game is cause for concern, especially considering the team lost its top offensive playmaker (RB Corey Boyd) to the NFL. Fortunately the defense returns virtually intact, but questionable performances against Louisiana-Lafayette (252 rush yards), LSU (290 rush yards), and Arkansas (541 rush yards) last year underscore potential matchup difficulties against run-based offenses. South Carolina has been a streaky team over the past few seasons and while they haven’t lost to an FCS school under Spurrier they did barely survive a 27-20 scare against Wofford in a 2006 season which was Spurrier’s best here.

Wofford is actually the fourth smallest school in Division I but you wouldn’t have known it by the way their football team played last year. The Terriers, who won the Southern Conference championship in 2007, have been something of a minor power in the FCS under head coach Mike Ayers, who has been named conference coach of the year four times since 2000.  Wofford runs an old-school meets new-school wingbone offense along the lines of what Paul Johnson ran at Navy, with the South Carolina school typically among the FCS leader’s in rushing yard per game (second in the country at 309 ypg in 2007.) Last season was a landmark year for the Terriers, who went 9-4 with wins over FCS heavyweights Appalachian State and Montana before losing in the quarterfinals of the playoffs to Richmond. While they don’t return a majority of starters from offense or defense from last year’s team (10 full time returning starters) they do get back 43 letterwinners and six “nonstaters” who started at least two games. While Wofford loses its top rusher from last year there is a precedence of plugging in pieces to the offense as the team has had to replace its top rusher four of the last five seasons. Likewise, even though Wofford will have to break in a new quarterback in 2008 they won’t exactly be going with a bright-eyed freshmen, as senior Ben Widmyer, who actually started against NC State last season, will have the inside track to win the job in the fall. He’ll be pushed by a talented group of young players, including Navy transfer and option protégée Robby Davis. Even with the losses to graduation this remains a potent and well coached offense, and because of the uniqueness of its scheme and ability to “plug and chug” it has the potential to give South Carolina problems.

I admit this pick may be going out on a limb (especially when you consider Wofford’s last win against the Gamecocks came in 1917) but I swear that until South Carolina and Spurrier can establish some constancy at the quarterback position this team is going to be schizophrenic. Yes South Carolina is an SEC program which returns 17 starters and yes they managed wins against Kentucky and Georgia last season, but the reality of the situation is that they’ve been slow starters under Spurrier and their run defense has been mediocre. Spurrier and his team barely survived a Wofford upset bid in 2006 where Wofford came within a 4^th and five conversion of tying the game at 27. Instead the Terriers fell 27-20 but they proved they could compete with South Carolina. This year Wofford gets two weeks to prepare for this game and because of their unique offense and the fact that South Carolina will be coming off a tough home game against Georgia I give the Terriers and their 1,350 student enrollment a fighting chance against Spurrier’s Gamecocks, making this my ninth most likely upset of 2008.

#8 Delaware at Maryland (August 30^th)

Maryland is one of those teams that is tough to get a read on. Ralph Friedgen did an absolutely amazing job here between 2001-2003 as he lead the Terps to three consecutive 10-win seasons including an ACC championship in 2001 and two impressive bowl wins in 2002 and 2003. Yet they’ve been streaky the past four seasons, finishing 5-6 in 2004 and 2005, 9-4 in 2006, and 6-7 last season. Much of this has been due to offensive inconsistency and mediocre quarterback play, which seems ironic considering both the legacy of Maryland quarterbacks of the past and the offensive background of Friedgen (hmm, remind you of another Maryland football team?) The starter on opening day is anyone’s guess, as three quarterbacks once again will take the battle into camp to see who will lead the Terps for at least the start of 2008. Remember that this was a team which was up and down in 2007, finishing the regular season off 6-6 before losing a tight game in the Emerald Bowl to Oregon State. They had their moments of dominance in wins over then 8^th ranked Boston College and 10^th ranked Rutgers, but they also lost to a mediocre North Carolina team and looked just o.k. against Villanova and Florida International. This year the Terps return eight starters on offense including four on the line, which to be fair dealt with a number of injuries last season. In addition to this they get five starters back on defense including middle linebacker Dave Philistin, an absolute beast who should be on track for all-conference honors. Nevertheless, the Terps have questions in the secondary with the loss of three starters, and will have to answer them in a hurry against what is traditionally one of the best passing attacks in the FCS. Talent wise the Terps are better than people give them credit for, but just like South Carolina their offense will only go so far as their up-to-now inconsistent quarterback play will take them, especially with the loss of their top two running backs from last season.

Delaware is coming off yet another successful season under head coach KC Keeler in which the Blue Hens went 11-4 and made it all the way to the National Title game before falling to Appalachian State. Offensively UD was among the Nation’s very best in 2007, finishing sixth in the country at 460 yards per contest. They do lose an outstanding quarterback in Joe Flacco to the NFL but they get another potential NFL prospect via transfer Rob Schoenhoft, who spent last year as the backup for Ohio State. Schoenhoft is a former four-star quarterback out of high school who happens to be a perfect fit for Coach Keeler’s offense with his 6’6 frame and strong arm, and should adapt well with a veteran cast of pass catchers around him (including former Pitt transfer and NFL prospect Robbie Agnone at TE.) While UD does have to replace three offensive lineman there is a tradition of developing solid O-lines here and I don’t see any reason for that not to continue in 2008. A talented group of running backs waits in the wings; including Wisconsin transfer Jerry Butler, who sat out 2007 with a leg injury. Defensively Delaware should be much improved, as nine starters return to a defense which ranked 50^th in the nation last year, including former Notre Dame DE Ronald Talley. In case you haven’t gotten the picture by now, this is a team and a program which thrives off of getting FBS transfers.  

I think the perception out there right now is that Delaware will be in a rebuilding year with the loss of a quarterback like Flacco and a runner like Omar Cuff. I don’t totally disagree with that notion but you have to remember that KC Keeler is very good at getting his teams fired up to play FBS opponents and that the Blue Hens remain one of the most talented squads in the FCS. Delaware put up 581 yards of total offense in a win at bowl-bound Navy last year and typically bring a large number of fans to mid-Atlantic contests (Maryland, in contrast, does not usually draw well for OOC games.) While Maryland does return eight starters on offense they have been a traditional slow-starter under Friedgen and haven’t shown great offensive production early in the year. I’m not sold on any of the quarterbacks here and even though they do get Josh Portis back he hasn’t taken a “live-fire” snap since 2005 and he’ll have to do against a Delaware defense which returns nine starters. Maryland’s heavy losses in the secondary are the most concerning aspects of this game as the Blue Hens return three starting wide receivers and a legitimate NFL prospect in the tight end Robbie Agnone. If the Blue Hens can protect Shoenhoft up front then he may very well be the next Flacco as he has the size, arm strength, and accuracy to play on the next level. Because of Keeler’s track record and the overall talent on Delaware’s roster I give them a good chance against the Terrapins, who will likely struggle out of the blocks offensively with continued questions at the quarterback and running back positions.

Check back tomorrow for my seventh through fifth most likely upsets!

No matter how good your are, there is usually someone out there who is better. That is however, unless your name is Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, or maybe even Tim Tebow. The world of College Football is no different than any other sport. Recruiting is year round and no matter how safe you think your job is, there is some young cocky freshman that think he can come in and take your job.

Looking through some of the teams this year, I have found some quarterbacks who might be looking over their shoulder this year at either a young freshman, or even a transfer that has to sit out this year.

Fans have Mallett not Dick on their mind

For the last two seasons, the Arkansas Razorbacks relied on the running back tandem of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones to carry their offense. They went even as far as to line up McFadden at quarterback in the Wildhog formation and let him run the offense. With new coach Bobby Petrino, he will bring a passing attack to Arkansas which should put more pressure on Casey Dick to get the job done. Dick was never a polished passer throwing for 1700 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 2007, and I think he will be a little over his head in Petrino’s system.

Casey Dick has been the brunt of a lot of jokes and criticisms from Razorback fans. In 2006 he split time with Mitch Mustain, and when Mustain transferred after the season, he was the full time starter in 2007. Casey is a senior this year, and the person directly behind him in the depth chart is his brother Nathan. No, Nathan is not going to take his job, but Razorback fans are already drooling for the 2009 season when Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett becomes eligible. When the Razorbacks struggle, and they will this year, Dick will once again hear the boo birds from the hometown fans which will not make his job any easier.

When I attended the 2006 Orange Bowl between Penn State and Florida State, I thought I saw a glimpse of the future for Seminoles fan with the way Drew Weatherford played. At that time he was a redshirt freshman and I thought he had the arm and the mobility to be a top notch college football quarterback. Combined in 2006 and 2007 he has thrown for 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while having his best completion percentage year his redshirt freshman year.

Now it is 3 seasons and a few injuries later and Weatherford is hoping to make it through the 2008 season as the starting quarterback. Drew is coming off a knee injury that had him miss the entire spring. He no longer has to worry about Xavier Lee, since he has transferred, but if Weatherford struggles the Seminoles could look to the future and play a younger quarterback. Fans are already wondering if Christian Ponder or incoming freshman E.J. Manuel should get reps.

I have been a big fan of Stephen McGee ever since he had that gutsy performance against the Longhorns back in 2005. He’s a polished runner of the option with good smarts and a decent arm. So why is he on this list? McGee was a big supporter of former Aggie coach Dennis Franchione and he made it pretty clear that he wasn’t happy when Franchione left. And why would he? He was the center piece of his offense.

McGee’s backing of Franchione could be his undoing

Now new head coach, Mike Sherman, comes to College Station and things could be different for McGee. After two solid seasons, his job was opened up and now could be in jeopardy. Sophomore Jerrod Johnson, a speedy big quarterback with a strong arm has been challenging McGee for the starting job. All signs right now point to McGee keeping the job, but don’t expect it to be set in stone. A slip up here or there and Johnson could see the field for good.

In my opinion, a two quarterback system is only good if the quarterbacks are of the same breed and similar skill set. If you have a guy who is a slasher like say Tyrod Taylor, and another who is a passer, like Sean Glennon, I don’t think it is good for your team. It is too easy for teams to predict what you are going to do as an offense when you have either quarterback in. But whoever is the #1 quarterback at Virginia Tech is not going to feel safe at all in that position.

Last season, Glennon lost his job to Taylor after his poor performance against LSU and expressed it to the media that he was not happy with Coach Beamer’s decision. He later won his job back and led the Hokies to an ACC Title and an Orange Bowl apperence. Many Hokie fans think that Glennon doesn’t have what it takes to win the big game in their minds. But he did win the ACC Title game against Boston College, and if not for a defensive breakdown in the last 4 minutes of the game, they would’ve beaten Boston College in the regular season also.

Tyrod reminds Tech fans of the past…of Michael Vick. They see the explosiveness and the creativity he brings to the field since he can make plays with his feet. But in the Orange Bowl he looked lost and it wasn’t his fault. Quarterbacks need to get in a rhythm and by swapping the two in and out, that does not allow them to get in a rhythm in the offense. But I have a feeling that we will be seeing both of them play this year, and I can promise you that both will be out there afraid of making mistakes and getting pulled.

I saved the most surprising candidate for last. In 2007 this quarterback led his team within 14 points of a BCS National Title, and most pundits (myself included) thought that coming into the 2007 season that Todd Boeckman was going to be the weak link on the Buckeye offense. Not only was he not the weakest link, Boeckman was one of the most effiecnt passers in all of the NCAA for a good portion of the season but struggled down the stretch throwing 6 interceptions to only 2 touchdowns in his last three games against Illinois, Michigan, and LSU.

I suspect Boeckman will bounce back, but there is a huge shadow lurking behind him. It is the shadow of the #1 recruit in the nation Terrelle Pryor. Buckeye fans are already licking their chops at the mere thought of Pryor taking the field. Many know that Pryor still needs to polish his passing game, but won’t hesitate to wonder and possibly call for him if Boeckman struggles. Plus, it has already been speculated that Pryor will see some time ala Tim Tebow and his freshman year. So if he does well, that will only help his case to get on the field earlier.

The Buckeyes have a lot of talent returning and fans are expecting another Big Ten title and possibly a 3rd straight shot at a BCS title, but will it be Boeckman behind center at the end of the year? I would bet so…but you never know.

Like it or not, some teams’ win-loss record rides on the shoulder of the man under center. If he gets hurt or has a bad year, that team could go from having 10 or 11 wins to only 7 or 8 wins. Looking through the teams, I have found at least 5 quarterbacks who have to stay healthy all year if their teams want to have a chance at success this season.

Gator Fans cringe at the thought of a hurt Tebow

Question, how do you go and find a replacement for someone who threw for 3200 yards, 32 touchdowns, ran for 895 yards and 23 touchdowns? The answer is you don’t. With an improved defense, the Gators have all eyes set on the SEC Championship and another BCS Championship. The one person that could derail all of those plans is the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

With the type of offense that Urban Meyer runs, Tebow takes a lot of hits. Luckily last season, when Tebow had his broken, non-throwing hand, the Gators had a few weeks off before their Bowl Game. I suspect this year, Meyer might not be as liberal with Tebow late in games with the lead. He might come out and rest because as Gator fans know, he is the horse that will pull Florida’s buggy this season.

On the same lines as Tebow, this player led his team in both rushing and passing in 2007. Pat White threw for 1700 yards and 14 touchdowns while running for another 1300 yards and 14 touchdowns. Under new head coach Bill Stewart, the Mountaineers can expect to run the same type of offense as in years past with the coach whose name I will not mention. West Virgina did lose Steve Slaton to the NFL draft, but expect Noel Devine to pick up on his missing productivity.

Now if you take a look at the two losses West Virginia had last season, South Florida and Pittsburgh, there is one thing that stands out in each of those losses. In both of those games, the Mountaineers lost Pat White for the majority of that game due to injury. That right there tells you how important he is to their offense. In those two games they combined to score 22 points. So needless to say, Patrick White must stay healthy this season if West Virginia wants to go BCS bowling and possibly play for the BCS Championship.

One final, dual threat quarterback that has to stay healthy this season is Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour. The Chippewas were the 2007 MAC Champions and it was due mainly to the play of LeFevour. In 2007, like Pat White, he was the leading passer and rusher for the team throwing for 3600 yards and 27 touchdowns while rushing for 1100 yards and 19 touchdowns.

The Chippewas have three decent BCS teams on their schedule, at Georgia, at Purdue, and at Indiana. If LeFevour can put a good showing up against those teams, he will get some serious main stream media attention. Even so, with him in the lineup, one would have to expect that CMU is one of the favorites to win the MAC this year and head back to the Motor City Bowl. Without him and his offensive production, Central Michigan will be lucky to get the needed 6 wins to become bowl eligible.

Tech fans hope Harrell’s arm doesn’t fall off from all the passing

Moving away from the running and passing quarterbacks, to the traditional drop back quarterbacks, the first person on this list is Texas Tech’s record setting passer Graham Harrell. Harrell’s passing numbers last season are seriously mind boggling. In 2007, he threw for 5700 yards, 48 touchdowns, and a 71% completion percentage. It helps to have a great go to receiver like Michael Crabtree who caught 134 balls for almost 2000 yards.

It isn’t a secret that the Red Raiders are going to air the ball out when you play them. Sometimes Harrell will put the ball in the air upwards of 70 times in a game. They use the short passes to supplement their lack luster running game. This will be Graham’s 3rd year as starter for Texas Tech, and it would be hard to believe that their backup could put up numbers half as good. The Red Raiders are on a lot of lists to be a surprise team this year, and the only way they will do that is if Harrell stays healthy all season.

Moving from a possible surprise team of 2008 to one of the surprise teams of 2007, the Arizona State Sun Devils. It was a big joke around the college football world when former coach Dirk Koetter listened to his players and named Rudy Carpenter the quarterback in 2006. Koetter got fired after the season, but Carpenter continued to shine. In 2007, Rudy threw for 3200 yards and 25 touchdowns for an Arizona State team that went 10-3.

Carpenter is back for his senior season and the Sun Devils are hoping not to repeat the end of the 2007 season where they lost 3 of their last 5 games. One can’t really blame Carpenter for those losses because he played well in all of those games. He brings 3 years of starting experience to the table for Arizona State and with a schedule that has Georgia coming to town and traveling to USC and California, Carpenter has to stay healthy for the Sun Devils to come close to repeating what they did last season.

A special Hat Tip to Greg Gowins, runner up in the 2007-08 ITB Bowl Bonanza for this little gem.

In a current lawsuit between Walmart and the people of Texas, there has been some disagreement on where the court proceedings would be held. One group wants the proceedings held in San Antonio, Texas and the other wants it held in Bentonville, Arkansas. So the honorable United States District Judge James R. Nowland chose the site of this proceeding. His reasoning for his choice is as follows:

“The Court is sympathetic with the Defendant’s argument. Sure the Defendant’s Corporate Representative, a resident of Arkansas, would feel great humiliation by being forced to enter the home state of the University of Texas, where the legendary Texas Longhorns have wrought havok on the Arkansas Razorbacks with an impressive 55-21 all time record.

On the other hand the court is sympathetic with the Plaintiffs’ position. Plaintiffs might enter Arkansas with a bit of trepidation as many residents of Arkansas are still seeing retribution for the “Game of the Century” in which James Street and Darrell Royal stunned the Razorbacks by winning the 1969 National Championship.”

Don’t get me started on the 1969 National Champion Texas Longhorns (thank you very much Tricky Dick), but the Judge closes with ordering the proceedings to take place on June 11, 2008 at 9am at the location of Texarkana Federal Building on 500 State Line Avenue, TX/AR 71854. You can read the entire document here.

Last week I talked about some quarterbacks that can use the 2008 college football season to take the next step from good to great. In this segment I am going to look at six quarterbacks that are going to be under the spotlight this year. Whether it be because their team has high expectations, or that they slid a little under the radar last year and won’t take anyone by surprise this season.

Stafford plays with a chip on his shoulder

With the preseason magazines set to come out this month and next, you will be hard pressed to find a top 5 without the Georgia Bulldogs in it. Their junior quarterback, Matthew Stafford, is one of the main reasons why the Bulldogs are ranked so high. If he progresses this year like he did between his freshman and sophomore year, Stafford has a chance to get some Heisman consideration. In his freshman year, Stafford threw for over 1700 yards with 7 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, then improved last year throwing for 2500 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In all the important categories his stats improved; interceptions went down, touchdowns went up, and completion percentage went up (52% to 55%). Now he has the weight of the world on his shoulders with the Bulldogs being National Title favorites. He will be under the microscope each week, and the Bulldogs have one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

Since Pete Carrol has come to USC, they have been national title contenders pretty much every season. This year is no different, even with the Trojans losing their starting quarterback from last year. Some thought that the 2008 season would be the start of the Mustain train in Southern California, but the experience of Mark Sanchez was too much for Mitch Mustain and Sanchez will be the starting quarterback this fall. Sanchez did well filling in when Booty was hurt last season, throwing for almost 700 yards with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. It is a good thing he got his feet wet because the Trojans don’t start out the year with any warm up games. Game one has them traveling to play at Virginia, and game two is when the Ohio State Buckeyes come to Southern California. Luckily for Sanchez, he has a 5-star studded backfield and wide receiver core to support him, but that might put a little more pressure on him because if USC struggles, all fingers are going to be pointed squarely at him.

Last season in the Big 12 North, Kansas and Missouri took the division by storm. They even set up an end of the year match up between the two teams for the Big 12 North title. Chase Daniel and Todd Reesing were main reasons why their teams faired so well during the season. Both quarterbacks are undersized as far as the protypical quarterback is concerned, but their heart and determination make up for it. Reesing’s stats last year had him throwing for 3400 yards with 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. One big knock against Reesing and the Jayhawks was that they did not play either Texas or Oklahoma in 2007. Kansas’ only loss was against Missouri and in the Orange Bowl, Reesing played superb against a tough Virginia Tech defense. With Oklahoma and Texas on the schedule this year, as well as a trip to South Florida, teams will be well prepared for Reesing this year, so it will be interesting to see if his play will continue to soar.

Harper hopes to take pressure off the running game

Daniel’s stats in 2007 are almost mind boggling. He threw for 4300 yards, 33 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a whopping 68% completion percentage. Chase is on a lot of short lists for the Heisman Trophy award this year, which he finished in the top 3 in 2007. There is no Oklahoma on the schedule for the Tigers this year, but a game at Texas and starting the season against Illinois should be tough tasks for the Tigers. The Tigers lost Tony Temple to graduation as well as their talented TE Rucker. Stopping Daniel will be task #1 for all defensive coordinators, but the question is, can it be done?

Not a household name, but Rutgers’ senior quarterback Mike Teel will be entering his third year as starting quarterback of the Scarlet Knights. In those few seasons, Rutgers went from the laughing stock of college football, to a top team in the Big East Conference. So I am sure you are asking, why the heck is Mike Teel on this list? Plain and simple, the Scarlet Knights no longer have Ray Rice to carry the load for them. Mike Teel will be asked to do a lot more with the football than in years past. He has to make the difficult throws and protect the football if Rutgers want to challenge for the Big East title. In his two years as starter, his touchdown, passing yards, and completion percentage has grown, but his interceptions has stayed the same (13 each year). He has to get that number under 10 and get that completion percentage over 60%. Their first game should be a fun test for Teel, with the Fresno State Bulldogs coming to New Jersey. All eyes will be on Teel and the Knights to see if they can derail this year’s version of the Hawaii Warriors.

Quick, can you name me the quarterback who played the best in the ACC in 2007? I bet many of you think it is Matt Ryan, but you are wrong. CJ Spiller and James Davis get all of the press clippings, but it is Cullen Harper who should be getting some attention. Last season Harper threw for almost 3000 yards with 27 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a completion percentage at 65%. Harper has the luxury of having two great backs behind him to take some of the pressure off of the passing game, but at the same time it is up to him, to keep up the good play so that the running game works so effectively. Clemson is a favorite to win the ACC and opens up at home against Alabama. Teams might load up in the box and force Harper to air it out, which leaves the team’s hopes of a BCS bowl bid, square in his hands. I think this is a guy you could possibly see at the Heisman Ceremony come December.

A special thanks to Adam Nettina for keeping this blog afloat for the past few weeks. Even though he has a strange infatuation with Phil Steele, he does great work and is a big asset to In The Bleachers. You will see Adam hopefully throughout the offseason and into next season. I apologize for my lack of writing, the NHL Playoffs have been keeping my mind off of college football, but I am re-energized and ready to start talking more about the 2008 season.

My favorite position to analyze is the quarterback, they are the ones that are either the heroes or the goats of the game. If a quarterback is lucky enough to start as a sophomore or freshman, they are given a little more leeway since they are younger and are more prone to mistakes. But what makes them an elite quarterback is their ability to take the “next step” to that higher level. I have identified 7 quarterbacks that have the talent, started early, and now it is time for them to take the next step.

Deacon Fans have high hopes for Skinner

In 2006, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were the feel good cinderella story of the year and one of the big reasons why was the play of their freshman quarterback Riley Skinner. Skinner had a good year as freshman quarterback throwing for over 2000 yards with 9 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. In his second year his passing yards went up a little, as did his completion percentage, but his interceptions went up to 13, and he missed two games in the 2007 season. He did have 12 touchdown passes, but you always want your QB to have more passing touchdowns than interceptions. For Skinner to make that next step, he has to improve on those interception numbers and not turn the ball over as much.

The next person on my list, might be a bit of a surprise, but if you look at his play from one season to the next you will understand why he is on it. Colt McCoy had a stellar freshman season with the Longhorns, which landed him on many lists for Heisman hopefuls in early 2007. But McCoy’s play early on in 2007 was very much less than stellar. In his first 5 games against less than average opponents, McCoy threw 8 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions. He ended the season with 22 and 18, and with a lower completion percentage than the year before. With the losses in the skill positions on offense, the pressure is going to be even greater on McCoy to protect the ball and produce points. So we should find out early if Texas will get back the McCoy of his freshman year or not.

Matt Grothe has been a big pain in the neck to Big East coaches his first two years at South Florida. Each of his first two seasons he has hovered around the 1 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio, which as I stated earlier must improve for him to become elite, but also Grothe disappeared down the stretch for the Bulls in the later half of 2007. Teams have focused on him and now it is up to the Bulls coaching staff to become creative and find ways for Grothe to exploit opposing defenses. USF has the chance to vault to the top of the Big East, but the Bulls will only go as far as the arm, and legs of Matt Grothe take them.

Ty’s job is riding on Locker’s shoulders

Some call him the savior, some call him the second coming of Ron Paulus, but any way you put it Notre Dame is excited to have Jimmy Clausen under center. I will be honest here, I was not a big Clausen fan, but he did well in his first season under center considering the fact that Notre Dame had no rushing game and their offensive line had more holes in it than a cheese grater. But as we all know, Domer fans are not patient, they want results now. Hopes are high for Clausen after his lack luster performance (10-of-27 passing for 183 yards) in the Irish’s spring game. Clausen has a strong arm and the toughness to be a good quarterback, but whether he takes that step up this year or next is another question. If the Irish are going to go bowling this year, it will be because of this man.

At 6 foot 3 inches and 225 lbs, Jake Locker has a big frame which he needs to play quarterback the way he does. In his first season as Huskies quarterback, Locker threw for over 2000 yards and ran for over 900 more. The two glaring bad points with him are that his completion percentage was below 50% and he threw one more interception than touchdown. Not bad at all for a freshman, so why is he on this list? Well his coach Tyrone Willingham, the guy who recruited Locker, is running on borrowed time. He needs to win now to keep his job for another season, and for that to happen Locker has to improve his offensive output, and decrease his turnovers. That is not going to be an easy task playing in the Pac 10 where the Huskies won 2 games last year, and 4 overall.

I save the best for last, well the quarterback with the best name. John Parker Wilson will be a three year starter when the 2008 season begins for the Crimson Tide. It will be his second year under Nick Saban. Unfortunately for him, he will no longer have his favorite target DJ Hall to throw to, but with the way the Tide have been recruiting, there will be some young freshman ready to step in. The main problem with Parker Wilson is his consistency. He will go stretches of games where he is just plain lack luster, even against team where he should be padding his stats. The past two years Alabama snuck into bowl games with a 6-6 record, and I don’t think Tide fans would be happy if they had anything less than 9 wins this year. Parker Wilson is a senior now, the leader of the team. He needs to completed over 60% of his passes and keep his interceptions below the double digit mark. If he does that, you will see the Tide challenging for the top of the SEC West, if not, no New Years Day bowl for Alabama.

Former LSU and oft-troubled quarterback Ryan “Hunk Fiji” Perrilloux has officially transferred to FCS middleweight Jacksonville State.

What This Means: While I can’t say I’ve had much sympathy for Perrilloux, I think this is a mutually beneficial situation that he’s stepping into. Considering Jacksonville State didn’t have any scholarship quarterbacks on the roster he’s clearly doing them a favor by stepping into a tough situation, while Head Coach Jack Crowe is doing him a favor by virtually guaranteeing him a starting spot. But don’t just assume Perrilloux will dominate at a lower level and play his way back into NFL prospectdom. He’s bound to be on a short leash considering he’s taking over for a quarterback who was kicked off the team, and has shown a propensity for finding trouble in the past even when he knows he’s run out of fifth chances. If nothing else, this gives us another reason to tune into the Jacksonville State-Georgia Tech matchup on August 28. Something tells me Bristol is scrambling to get involved in this one.

BYU running back Manase Tonga was ruled academically ineligible for the 2008 season, and will have to take a redshirt before reapplying to the University if he wants to play in 2009.

What This Means: Not a whole lot. Don’t get me wrong, in an offense based on role players Tonga was one of BYU’s best last year. A solid blocker and receiver out of the backfield, he ran for 305 yards and eight touchdowns for the Cougars in limited duty. But BYU is stacked in the backfield, returning both MWC Freshmen of the Year Harvey Unga (1227 yards, 13 TD) and a finally healthy Taufui Vakapuna (252 yards in ’07, 445 yards in ’06.) Unga is truly as talented as they come, while Vakapuna, when healthy, is an absolute load to bring down. When you throw in highly touted redshirt freshmen J.J. DiLuigi to the mix, BYU has one of the best backfields in the entire country even without Tonga.

The Big East reportedly was in negotiations to bring Memphis into the conference as a possible expansion team, then reportedly was not.

What It Means: It seems like just yesterday we were still writing Big (L)east and never missing an opportunity to make the constant aside about how much the new Big East sucks. That being said dumping Temple and moving to an eight team football conference hasn’t been bad at all for the Big East, and despite basically perpetual calls for adding a ninth team by fans and media members I don’t know if this is something that needs to be rushed along. I do know one thing, and that’s that Army, Navy, and Notre Dame aren’t going anywhere, so when the Big East does decide to expand, it will either have to come internally (like ‘Nova moving up from the FCS) or will have to come from Memphis or East Carolina.

ACC Athletic Directors decided to scrap possible plans for adding a ninth conference game.

What This Means: Boo-hoo. I know the folks in SEC and Pac-10 country are whining over this as usual, but being from ACC country I applaud this move. Why? Because we have great regional games here on the east coast, games that often feature matchups between the ACC and Conference-USA or the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Conference. People love to knock these “lower” matchups because of how easily they perceive the ACC slate to be, but God forbid the sport of college football be extended out of hallowed SEC conference. Personally, I’d much rather see a highly motivated CAA team try to knock off a mid-level ACC team than be subjected to seeing Clemson put up 70 on Duke.

League Commissioner John Swofford has announced that the ACC will no longer participate in the Humanitarian Bowl after 2008, a move which will terminate one reluctant ACC team’s annual pilgrimage to the Smurf Turf.

What It Means: With the approval of the Congressional Bowl this was bound to happen, as the ACC is now affiliated with nine (count them: NINE) bowl tie-ins for 2008. Considering the ACC probably won’t have nine bowl eligible teams, it makes sense to cut ties with Humanitarian Bowl, which has always been looked on as something of a punishment by fans and media members. For the record, I hate it when people knock Boise, which really is a pretty awesome city in one of the coolest regions of our country. Maybe not a cup of tea for some Miami fan in December, but hopefully my Midshipmen can jump on this in 2009 and give me a decent excuse to get out to Sun Valley for some skiing.

Mailbag, did you say Mailbag?

I like to think myself a fairly astute observer of the college football game, especially the non-BCS conferences. So, in an effort to make our slow crawl into the college football preview season a little more interesting, I’ve decided to set up a “Non-BCS Conference Mailbag” over here at ITB. Basically we can do this one of two ways. One, you send your questions, comments, concerns, or queries to guyontheright-at-gmail.com and I answer them here on the blog, OR I make up questions by people named A. Howard Rogers and post the answers on the blog. Frankly I’d rather try the first option, so let’s have at it.

I was rather critical of Les Miles earlier in the month for his less than harsh punishment(s) of star quarterback Ryan Perrilloux. But today, Miles finally had enough and kicked the blue chip quarterback off the team for good. On one hand I applaud Miles, but on the other, I wonder what the heck took him so long to do this?

From the beginning we all knew that Perrilloux was no saint. Let’s look at some of the trouble he has been in while being at LSU:

1. Late 2006 - Perrilloux was questioned by federal officials for his role in a counterfeiting ring being investigated in his hometown of LaPlace. Perrilloux had tried to pass to counterfeit $20 at a LaPlace area convenience store. He was never arrested for this but did community service work.

2. May 2007 - Cited by Baton Rouge Police for attempting to enter a downtown gambling casino with false identification. He was not 21 at the time. Punished for the summer (Ouch!). Reinstated for fall practice.

3. October 2007 - Perrilloux was in a barroom brawl near the LSU campus. He was questioned by Baton Rouge Police but not arrested. Miles suspended him for the Nov. 3 Alabama game, however, and he did not make the trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala. He re-joined the team two days after the game.

4. January 2008 - Skipping classes and team meetings. Miles suspends him from the team, yet allows him to go to the White House with the team to be honored by President Bush. He is one of the few members of the team to shake the President’s hand. The suspension was lifted late during the Tigers’ spring drills.

I can see giving a person a second chance, but he had a history of bringing trouble with him, and part of the blame has to go to Miles and the LSU staff. They knew what they were getting into when recruiting Perrilloux, yet looked the other way to get a superstar on their team. Well guys, you got your National Title, so everything is alright.

There is no doubt that Perriloux will try and transfer to another program, but what program would want to take a chance on a kid like this? I know there is one or two out there, but I believe he will end up in the ranks of the FCS Division. He would be too much of a distraction to only be able to have for one year for an FBS team to take a chance on him.

Just to get you in the correct mood for this post, watch this first:

First we start in the nation’s heartland where new coach Bo Pelini has visions of bring back Nebraska football to the way it was in the mid 90s, but don’t expect any miracles to happen for this year. That doesn’t mean there is not optimism for the Husker fans. There have been reports that fans have paid in excess of $95 to see a practice game. Seriously, we’re talking about practice here, not a game, but practice. Corn Nation has a list of the teams for the practice game over on his site. Sometimes I wonder about that guy, he would rather watch how the hogs are doing up front than the skilled guys.

Mitch couldn’t beat out Sanchez

Keeping in the Big 12 North, the Missouri Tigers might not even have enough players to field a team for their spring game. The latest is backup O-Lineman Austin Wuebbles got arrested when the cops found marijuana and a metal marijuana smoking pipe. It doesn’t end there, Wuebbles also had a fake ID and beer in his car. Instead of having football practice, maybe the Tigers’ coaching staff should hold practice on how to act like a normal adult. But I got to hand it to Big Head, even when faced with all this trouble for his team, he still knows how to rub one in on his rival.

The players over at UCLA must have a little bit of Allen Iverson syndrome since the seniors thought they were too good to practice. Actually it is a time honored tradition where the Seniors skipped a practice, but most of Bruin Nation, including offensive coordinator Norm Chow, isn’t laughing at all. I thought all that Senior skip stuff was only done in High School? Maybe it is a sign to Bruins fans that this year’s team might resemble a high school one. But even with the missed practice. head coach Rick Neuheisel has seen enough of the quarterback battle to name Patrick Cowan the starter over Ben Olson.

One way to get out of practice is to not attend class and get ruled ineligible to participate in practice in the Spring. That was what happened to USC’s Joe McKnight. McKnight dropped a class in the Spring and that put him below the 12 credits needed to participate. This should have no bearing on his fall eligibility though. Unlike McKnight, Mark Sanchez took full advantage of his time on the field last year and in spring practice this year. So much so that Pete Carroll named Sanchez the starter for the fall over Mitch Mustain. I don’t think this is much of a surprise given that Sanchez has been with the program for awhile, and has game experience. But one has to wonder if Mustain is second guessing his decision to transfer to USC and not another team with a quarterback situation that would’ve better suited him.

Ryan doesn’t need practice!!

If you are envious of Joe McKnight not having to go to class and therefore forfeiting his right to practice, Ryan Perrilloux has one upped McKnight. Not only did Perrilloux not practice with LSU much (if at all) this spring, he got in trouble at a local bar, he was suspended due to violating team rules, and has academic problems (says Miles). One writer says that LSU should dismiss Perrilloux for these violations, but we all know that won’t happen, especially in the SEC. One would think that a player that has gotten into so much trouble would either have to work in practice to get his job back, or be off the team all together. No way, Miles tells us that it was all a misunderstanding, no one knows what is going on inside his team but him and that Perrilloux is key to the success of the Tigers.

In Hawaii I am sure they are longing for Yesterday, but without Colt Brennan and his cast of characters, including June Jones, the Warriors are trying to find out in practice what kind of team they will have this year. This team will have to travel to Florida to play the Gators early in the season, ouch! This Hawaii football blog is a good source of info for the Warriors and how they are progressing through the 2008 Spring practice drills.

Finally, I will be heading up to State College to watch the annual Penn State Blue and White practice Game. One of the battles I have been watching closely is the quarterback one. Both Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin have looked good in practice, and even though many think it is Clark’s to lose due to Paterno’s allegiance to the older one, I think this will continue into the fall. And maybe into the season. This is a case where I believe we could seen another two quarterback system in Happy Valley, like in 1999 with Kevin Thompson and Rashard Casey. For more coverage of the happenings in the Valley, check out the Blue and White Roundtable.

Well all in all I got 18 practices in, not bad but no where near as good as Mr. Iverson.