NCAA Football

[Pentegarn]

A bit early to start the NCAA football talk, but I got pretty excited when I heard the other day that Terrelle Pryor has committed to OSU. How's that taste Toolverine fan?

Not only did the Buckeyes get Pryor, they got 3 top rated offensive linemen to commit as well. Maybe OSU is ready to leap into the 21st century and adopt a full spread offense. Maybe they will finally be able to keep pace with the SEC. It is early, but I can't help but feel optimistic about this development!

[Colonel Flagg]

That was pretty much of a foregone conclusion. Dad wanted Penn State, but apparently they were never even in the running. :-(

[WhiteRat]

Originally Posted by Pentegarn

A bit early to start the NCAA football talk, but I got pretty excited when I heard the other day that Terrelle Pryor has committed to OSU. How's that taste Toolverine fan?

Not only did the Buckeyes get Pryor, they got 3 top rated offensive linemen to commit as well. Maybe OSU is ready to leap into the 21st century and adopt a full spread offense. Maybe they will finally be able to keep pace with the SEC. It is early, but I can't help but feel optimistic about this development!

They might as well go with the spread. Northwestern, Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois all run a version of the spread. That seems to be the trend with many teams as of late so why not jump on the bandwagon.

I'm very very excited for this upcoming season. Minnesota finished 1-11 (even losing to 1-AA North Dakota State) with a new coaching staff, schemes, and several true freshmen starting in the secondary. Maybe if 3 defensive starters didn't rape a passed out 18 year old and film it, we would've went bowling. We lost 6 games by a TD or less!

Anywho, even with such a terrible record, coach Tim Brewster pulled in the 17th ranked recruiting class according to Rivals.com, and the 14th best according to recruiting guru Tom Lemming. We had a consensus top 20 class by virtually all major publications, finishing third in the Big Ten behind OSU and Michigan. It's widely considered to be the best class in school history.

QB MarQuise Grey from Indianapolis, IN was the crown jewel of the class. Grey was invited to the prestigious Elite 11 qb camp and played in the US Army All-American game:


Represent:


Next year will not be pretty as we lose All-Big Ten safety Dom Barber (Marion Barber's little bro) and two starting linebackers as well as WR Ernie Wheelwright (67 rec.). Our offense is led by reshirt sophomore Adam Weber who threw 28 TDs against 19 picks. The sky is the limit for that kid. If our defense plays marginally better (returning sophomores need to grow up quick) than last year I still think we can grind out 5 maybe 6 wins.

[Pentegarn]

Minnesota didn't corner the market on losing to 1-AA schools though, remember Michigan v App St?

[WhiteRat]

Yeah, but at least Michigan can say they lost to a 3 time National Champion.

[Pentegarn]

Originally Posted by WhiteRat

Yeah, but at least Michigan can say they lost to a 3 time National Champion.

Still it was a 1-AA team. What was Michigan thinking when they set that up anyway? They had everything to lose and nothing to gain by setting that up. Meanwhile, App. St gets their biggest win of all time, and MU has to pay them crazy jack for the beatdown.

[WhiteRat]

Yes, they were a 1-AA team. They were also a team that happened to win three 1-AA National Championships in a row. North Dakota State isn't even a full fledged 1-AA team. They are in a provisional status as they were Division II only 3 years ago. Yes, Michigan losing to a 1-AA team was bad, but c'mon, when you give up over 200+ yards rushing to a slow fat white fullback from bum fuck North Dakota, that's not something be proud of.

[Pentegarn]

Originally Posted by WhiteRat

Yes, they were a 1-AA team. They were also a team that happened to win three 1-AA National Championships in a row. North Dakota State isn't even a full fledged 1-AA team. They are in a provisional status as they were Division II only 3 years ago. Yes, Michigan losing to a 1-AA team was bad, but c'mon, when you give up over 200+ yards rushing to a slow fat white fullback from bum fuck North Dakota, that's not something be proud of.

True, but at least MU's choke job eclipsed that to the point where nobody noticed. That is good news because you can recover from that.

[WhiteRat]

Yeah, that's true. No one gave two shits when we lost to NDSU as we were 1-6 at the time anyway. Michigan on the other hand....ouch.

[WhiteRat]

Sweet jesus it's spring practice time!

[Colonel Flagg]

And to think MLB hasn't even started yet (except for those two games in Japan).

Football.

[Pentegarn]

Football (American Football mind you) is king!

[WhiteRat]

Pentegran, I know you like your Buckeye action hot, hard, and raw so here's a juicy morsel of news that you may or may not find interesting:

Football-starved fans will have a unique opportunity to get a first glimpse of future Big Ten stars at 1 PM ET Saturday, April 19, during the 3½ hour BIG TEN TONIGHT: SPRING FOOTBALL SHOWCASE presented by Jimmy John’s. Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith will host the program from Chicago with live look-ins from that afternoon’s eight spring games in the Big Ten.

The show will take fans to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. At each stop, the Big Ten Network football analysts will give their early opinions on the 2008 season, break down important position battles and discuss which players could have breakout seasons.

Fans who want to watch their team’s spring game without interruption can log onto to BigTenNetwork.com for a live web stream. The service will be provided free of charge by the Big Ten Network in conjunction with PlayON! Sports. Big Ten Network worked with PlayON! Sports last winter to stream 10 men’s basketball games on BigTenNetwork.com.

Three Big Ten schools Michigan, Minnesota and Northwestern will conduct their spring games on different dates, and the Big Ten Network also will be on-hand to cover those events. BigTenNetwork.com will stream the spring games for Minnesota (7 PM CT on Friday, April 25) and Northwestern (noon CT on Saturday, April 26). Due to stadium renovations, Michigan’s spring game will be held on Saturday, April 12, at Saline High School, near Ann Arbor. Highlights and interviews from the game will appear on that evening’s Big Ten Tonight as well as on BigTenNetwork.com.

Last fall, the Big Ten Network became the first network in cable or satellite television history to reach 30 million homes within its first 30 days. The network is available through distribution agreements with DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-Verse, Insight Communications, WideOpenWest, RCN, Service Electric and more than 240 other cable operators.

Mucho propos to BigTenNetwork for accomadating fans like myself who have no access to the network. It needs to be August already, I can't wait for next season.

[Pentegarn]

I will have to stream that. Very few cable providers have the Big Ten Network.

Got to see the spring game last year, it opened my eyes as to what a mistake snatching up Antonio Henton was for OSU.

[WhiteRat]

How many fans typically show up to OSU spring games? I think Minnesota hauls in around 15k...

[Pentegarn]

Around 60k or so usually show up. The spring game is a huge deal in C-bus.

Buckeye football is pretty much all anyone cares about around here.

[WhiteRat]

Florida coach Urban Meyer will give a scholarship to any Florida student who can outrun one of three Gator players. Personally I think this is a great way for the students to interact with the program and hell, even try to get a free scholarship:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida coach Urban Meyer is searching for the fastest student on campus.
He's quite certain it's one of his football players -- Louis Murphy, Chris Rainey or Deonte Thompson. But just in case, he's having a race Saturday to find out for sure.


And what happens if someone beats his speedsters before the team's spring game?


"They're on scholarship," Meyer said.


It would be a long shot, especially after school officials held 40-yard dash time trials and didn't exactly find any real burners. Of the approximately 225 students who tried out, two covered the distance in 4.47 seconds, one ran a 4.48 and another was clocked at 4.49.


The fastest 15 students advanced to the finals Saturday. They will be split into three groups of five. Murphy will race one group, Rainey another and Thompson a third.


The players aren't exactly afraid of the competition.
"I'll blow them out," Rainey said. "I love challenges and I've got confidence in myself."


Thompson had a more detailed prediction.
"We should beat them by more than 5 (yards)," he said. "I think we will."
Percy Harvin was supposed to be the main attraction for the race, but he had heel surgery Monday and is out for two months.
That left Murphy, Rainey and Thompson as the fastest Meyer had to offer.
Murphy, a senior from St. Petersburg, caught 39 passes for 590 yards and six touchdowns last season. Rainey and Thompson, both redshirt freshmen, were two of Meyer's prized recruits in last year's top-rated class.
"I want to show the crowd a little sample of what I can do for the Gators," said Rainey, who is expected a play a significant role this fall. "I'm looking forward to it."


Although Meyer promised a full scholarship to any student who beats his players, the coach's reason for organizing the event wasn't to find a running back, receiver, defensive back or kick returner from campus.
The game will be televised on ESPN, offering Meyer a chance to spread his recruiting pitch about wanting to be "the fastest team in America," and having a race featuring three of his stars could help sell the school.


He also views the spring game as an opportunity for younger players to show their skills, meaning Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and other key starters probably won't get many snaps. So Meyer wanted to give fans something to look forward to while also giving back to the students.
"Our student body, you almost forget about them because they're (always) there," Meyer said. "You can't do that. Our first year, we went to every dorm, every sorority, every fraternity, just trying to give back because they're the home-field advantage, they're recruiting. Our kids meet the students on recruiting weekends. You can't forget them."
Florida also plans to hold a raffle that will allow one fan a chance to catch a pass from Tebow. Other winners will get to try to catch a punt, attempt a field goal and return a kickoff.


The highlight, though, will be the three 40-yard dashes.


"Anything can happen,' Rainey said. "But I don't think we're going to lose."

[Pentegarn]

I already saw this when they did that movie Mark Whalberg was in where he played the walk on that became part of the Philidelphia Eagles special teams.

[Colonel Flagg]

"Invincible" about the true life story of Vince Papale. I lived through those times, when Vermeil was a rookie coach (with virtually no support among the fans) and the team sucked big time. Aside from the personal slant, the story was very accurate from the standpoint of the franchise.

Sorry, rant off.

On another note, Penn State just got dealt a HUGE blow with the loss of Sean Lee to ACL surgery. One of the top LB's in the country, and he'll be watching the '08 season from the sidelines.

We Are. Penn State. We Are. So Screwed.

[liquidstatik]

This forum is more confusing to me than the politics one

[Pentegarn]

Originally Posted by liquidstatik

This forum is more confusing to me than the politics one

Vote Quimby!

[WhiteRat]

Just a reminder that bigtennetwork will be streaming several spring games today free of charge on their website.

http://bigten.playonsports.tv/

[WhiteRat]

Minnesota released their new football jerseys today:


Personally, I like the maroon on maroon best followed closely by the all white. Also, I dig the "Minnesota" across the front. The old ones had a tiny "M" around the collar. These are much better than the boring old ones:

[Pentegarn]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...TS06/304240002

Oh my, Michigan. How did that taste?

[WhiteRat]

Wisconsin safety Kim Royston is trying to do the same thing by transferring to Minnesota, but supposedly the Minn staff can't comment whatsoever on Royston until he starts class in September. I don't understand how OSU's staff can blab to the press about Boren's transfer given that the circumstances appear to be the same.