College Football Reporters

Should Notre Dame still be in the BSC

Since Lou Holtz left in 1996, Notre Dame has gone 79-56, and yet it keeps its status as a BCS school by just placing in the top 8. If they were any other school they would never see a BCS bowl. Other teams are happy to see Notre Dame in a bowl game since they have lost their last 9. Notre Dame has the most consensus national championships and has produced more All-Americans than any other Football Bowl Subdivision school. Additionally, seven Fighting Irish football players have won the Heisman Trophy. But are they still relevent in 2008?

In the 2007 season, Notre Dame went 3-9, with their only wins coming against UCLA, Duke and Stanford. Their loss to Navy on November 3 snapped an NCAA-record 43-game winning streak over the Midshipmen, dating back to the Heisman Trophy-winning tenure of Roger Staubach at the Naval Academy. The team ranked near the bottom of Division 1-FBS in both rushing yards per game and total yards per game. Along with being third from last in scoring per game, the team was shut out twice en route to its first nine-loss season ever. Weis attributed the team’s downfall to his own mistakes, including his failure to use full-speed practices and to develop his players properly, as well as to the graduation of star quarterback Brady Quinn. Weis’ dismal performance in his third season, while several of his predecessors had won national championships in theirs, only served to inflame the debate over the controversial firing of Tyrone Willingham after his third season with the Irish three years earlier, when the team went 6-6, including its second bowl appearance in Willingham’s brief tenure. Despite the poor season, which was saved from being Notre Dame’s worst ever only by its finishing the season with a pair of wins over Duke (1-11) and Stanford (4-8), Weis nonetheless managed to recruit one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

So the talent is there according to the services that rank high school prospects. What is holding Notre Dame back? Is it the cupcake schedule? Poor coaching? The blame can’t to to Tyrone Willingham. Other coaches have put their stamp on their program in the same time Coach Wies has been on the job (see Urban Meyers).

Bowl	W/L	Opponent	PF	PA
Fiesta Bowl	L	Colorado	24	41
Orange Bowl	L	Florida State	26	31
Independence Bowl	L	LSU	9	27
Gator Bowl	L	Georgia Tech	28	35
Fiesta Bowl	L	Oregon State	9	41
Gator Bowl	L	North Carolina State	6	28
Insight Bowl	L	Oregon State	21	38
Fiesta Bowl	L	Ohio State	20	34
Sugar Bowl	L	LSU	14	41

September 12th, 2008 by thelab in SEC, Notre Dame, NCAA | No Comments

Week 2 College Football Roundup

East Carolina upsets No. 8 West Virginia, Ohio State struggles past Ohio and Washington’s late TD celebration leads to a shocking loss.

BYU ECU Florida Miami Ohio Ohio St Top 25 Washington West Virginia September 8th, 2008 by thelab in SEC, Top 25, Notre Dame, ACC, NCAA, Video, WAC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Conf USA, Independents, Mid-America, Mtn West, Pac 10, Sun Belt, Florida Gators, Miami FL, Cincinnati, South Florida, West Virginia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Central Florida, East Carolina, Ohio, Brigham Young, Georgia, LSU | No Comments

Week 1 College Football Roundup

College Football Top 25 August 31st, 2008 by thelab in SEC, Top 25, Notre Dame, ACC, NCAA, Video, WAC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Conf USA, Mtn West, Pac 10, Florida Gators, USC, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Bowling Green, Brigham Young, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Hawaii | No Comments

College Football Week 1 – What we learned

1.     Beanie is banged up – “No, the x-rays came out negative, but when the trainers came and said to me that it’s more of a foot thing, they didn’t use the phrase turf toe. They did use the phrase the x-rays were negative.” — COACH TRESSEL
2.     USC looks like they are ready for their match up with Ohio State.
3.      SEC hands down is the best conference in the nation.
4.     The Big 12 is a hand down the 2^nd best conference.
5.     Michigan should do a better job scheduling their first game.

Beanie Wells Big 12 Michigan Ohio State OSU SEC USC Utah August 31st, 2008 by thelab in SEC, NCAA, Big 10, Big 12, USC, Michigan, Ohio State, Utah | No Comments

2007 College Football Award Winners

2007 Award Winners
Bronko Nagurski Award	Glenn Dorsey	LSU
Ted Hendricks Award	Chris Long	Virginia
Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award	Glenn Dorsey	LSU
Rimington Trophy	Jonathan Luigs	Arkansas
Walter Camp Award	Darren McFadden	Arkansas
Davey O’Brien Award	Tim Tebow	Florida
Fred Biletnikoff Award	Michael Crabtree	Texas Tech
Outland Trophy	Glenn Dorsey	LSU
Doak Walker Award	Darren McFadden	Arkansas
Jim Thorpe Award	Antoine Cason	Arizona
John Mackey Award	Fred Davis	USC
Chuck Bednarik Award	Dan Connor	Penn State
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award	Matt Ryan	Boston College
Lou Groza Award	Thomas Weber	Arizona State
Ray Guy Award	Durant Brooks	Georgia Tech
Maxwell Award	Tim Tebow	Florida

Arkansas Chris Long Darren McFadden Florida Glenn Dorsey LSU Matt Ryan Michael Crabtree Texas Tech Tim Tebow December 7th, 2007 by thelab in SEC, Florida Gators, USC, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Penn State, Texas Tech, Arkansas, LSU, Arizona State, Arizona | No Comments

2007-08 Bowl schedule

2007-08 College Football Bowl Schedule
BOWL	LOCATION	DATE/TIME	NETWORK
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Utah vs. Navy	San Diego	Dec. 20, 9 p.m.	ESPN HD
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic	New Orleans	Dec. 21, 8 p.m.	ESPN2 HD
Papajohns.com Bowl Southern Miss vs. Cincinnati	Birmingham, Ala.	Dec. 22, 1 p.m.	ESPN2 HD
New Mexico Nevada vs. New Mexico	Albuquerque, N.M.	Dec. 22, 4:30 p.m.	ESPN HD
Pioneer Las Vegas UCLA vs. BYU	Las Vegas	Dec. 22, 8 p.m.	ESPN HD
Sheraton Hawaii Boise State vs. East Carolina	Honolulu	Dec. 23, 8 p.m.	ESPN
Motor City Purdue vs. Central Michigan	Detroit	Dec. 26, 7:30 p.m.	ESPN HD
Pacific Life Holiday Arizona State vs. Texas	San Diego	Dec. 27, 8 p.m.	ESPN HD
Champs Sports Boston College vs. Michigan State	Orlando, Fla.	Dec. 28, 5 p.m.	ESPN HD
Texas TCU vs. Houston	Houston	Dec. 28, 8 p.m.	NFL Network
Emerald Maryland vs. Oregon State	San Francisco	Dec. 28, 8:30 p.m.	ESPN HD
Meineke Car Care UConn vs. Wake Forest	Charlotte, N.C.	Dec. 29, 1 p.m.	ESPN HD
AutoZone Liberty UCF vs. Mississippi State	Memphis, Tenn.	Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m.	ESPN HD
Valero Alamo Penn State vs. Texas A&M	San Antonio	Dec. 29, 8 p.m.	ESPN HD
PetroSun Independence Alabama vs. Colorado	Shreveport, La.	Dec. 30, 8 p.m.	ESPN HD
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces California vs. Air Force	Fort Worth, Texas	Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m.	ESPN
Roady’s Humanitarian Georgia Tech vs. Fresno State	Boise, Idaho	Dec. 31, 2 p.m.	ESPN2
Brut Sun South Florida vs. Oregon	El Paso, Texas	Dec. 31, 2 p.m.	CBS
Gaylord Hotels Music City Kentucky vs. Florida State	Nashville, Tenn.	Dec. 31, 4 p.m.	ESPN HD
Insight Indiana vs. Oklahoma State	Tempe, Ariz.	Dec. 31, 6 p.m.	NFL Network
Chick-fil-A Clemson vs. Auburn	Atlanta	Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.	ESPN HD
Outback Wisconsin vs. Tennessee	Tampa, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2008, 11 a.m.	ESPN HD
AT&T Cotton Missouri vs. Arkansas	Dallas	Jan. 1, 2008, 11:30 a.m.	FOX
Gator Texas Tech vs. Virginia	Jacksonville, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2008, 1 p.m.	CBS
Capital One Michigan vs. Florida	Orlando, Fla.	Jan. 1, 2008, 1 p.m.	ABC HD
Rose Bowl presented by Citi Illinois vs. USC	Pasadena, Calif.	Jan. 1, 2008, 4:30 p.m.	ABC HD
Allstate Sugar Hawaii vs. Georgia	New Orleans	Jan. 1, 2008, 8:30 p.m.	FOX
Tostitos Fiesta Oklahoma vs. West Virginia	Glendale, Ariz.	Jan. 2, 2008, 8 p.m.	FOX
FedEx Orange Virginia Tech vs. Kansas	Miami	Jan. 3, 2008, 8 p.m.	FOX
International Rutgers vs. Ball State	Toronto	Jan. 5, 2008, Noon	ESPN2 HD
GMAC Bowling Green vs. Tulsa	Mobile, Ala.	Jan. 6, 2008, 8 p.m.	ESPN HD
Allstate BCS Championship Game LSU vs. Ohio State	New Orleans	Jan. 7, 2008, 8 p.m.	FOX

December 5th, 2007 by thelab in SEC, Top 25, Notre Dame, ACC, NCAA, WAC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Conf USA, Independents, Mid-America, Mtn West, Pac 10, Sun Belt, Florida Gators, USC, Penn State, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, LSU, Arizona State, Hawaii | No Comments

AP College Football Top 25 Poll Week 4

AP College Football Top 25 Poll Week 4

AP Associated Press national rankings poll Top 25 university college football NCAA 2007 votes week 4 September 26th, 2007 by thelab in SEC, Top 25, ACC, NCAA, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, Florida Gators, USC, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Rutgers, West Virginia, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, California, Oregon | No Comments

Nissan and ESPN The Magazine Join Forces for College Football Gridiron Blowout Tour

Nissan continues its collaboration with ESPN The Magazine to sponsor the ESPN Gridiron Blowout Tour. This year’s tour provides college football fans with the ultimate tailgating experience through a number of fun interactive activities and an opportunity to win a trip to see famed football legends at the most prestigious individual awards ceremony in sports - the Heisman Trophy Presentation. An estimated 1,000,000 fans will attend the tour locations across the country.

The 10-city ESPN Gridiron Blowout Tour visits college football marquee match-ups where fans can watch ESPN college football coverage in the Nissan Lounge, a viewing space equipped with comfortable couches and flat screen televisions. Fans also get to play games and even get the chance to win an all-expense paid trip for two to the Heisman Trophy presentation - a reception for esteemed Heisman recipients and candidates as well as key members from the Heisman Foundation and National Football League.

As sole presenting sponsor of the Heisman Trophy, Nissan invites fans to log on http://www.theheismanvote.com where they can cast their vote for their favorite college football stars. Last year, a staggering 16,183,682 fan votes were cast to dictate the fans’ one vote for the Heisman. Computer voting kiosks also will be displayed at the ESPN Gridiron Blowout Tour so fans can easily access the site at tour stops. Additionally, in-game Heisman Trophy vignettes that highlight Nissan’s involvement in college football and feature the history of the Heisman Trophy, will be showcased alongside the Heisman Trophy itself, giving fans access and the opportunity to have their picture taken with the most venerable trophy in sports.
Read more…

September 26th, 2007 by thelab in SEC | No Comments

USC No. 1 in preseason AP poll

After a season of chasing, Southern California is again the team being chased. And that’s just the way coach Pete Carroll and the Trojans like it. For the third time in the past four years, USC begins the college football season No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25.”It’s exactly where we hope and expect to be,” Carroll said. “It’s a symbol of what we’re all about.”

Southern California received 62 of 65 first-place votes and 1,622 points from a panel of media members. USC easily outdistanced No. 2 LSU in the poll released Saturday. The Tigers received two first-place votes and 1,511 points. They haven’t started a season ranked this high since 1959, when they were preseason No. 1.

No. 3 West Virginia received the other first-place vote. The Mountaineers have never been ranked higher in the preseason. No. 4 Texas and Michigan round out the top five, and defending champion Florida is sixth.