News & Notes

* After a 17 year career that included a national championship in the 1998 season, Phil Fulmer is stepping down as head coach at the University of Tennessee at the end of the season. Fulmer had great success in his time in Knoxville, where he guided his alma mater to their first national championship in 47 years. But the program hit a lull and his 27-20 record over the last four seasons finally caught up with him.

* In other coaching carousel news, Toledo (2-6) head coach Tom Amstutz announced he will resign at the end of this season as well. Toledo beat Michigan earlier this year, but the Rockets are only 2-6 overall. Amstutz had a successful eight year run in which he went 57-38 overall and guided Toledo to four bowl games and two MAC championship game appearances.

* USC safety Kevin Ellison will probably be out the next 2-4 weeks due to a knee injury suffered in practice last week.

* Oklahoma defensive end Auston English left the Nebraska game early with an apparent leg injury. Head coach Bob Stoops said the pass rush specialist would be out “maybe 3 weeks,” which would include their matchup with Texas Tech on November 22.

* Colorado mighty mite running back Rodney Stewart is likely out for the rest of the season with a broken leg suffered on a horse-collar tackle against Texas A&M. The freshman has been a revelation for the Buffaloes this year, and he was quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch, so here’s hoping he makes a full recovery.

News & Notes

*Just when you thought Georgia’s injury situation couldn't get any worse, there's this. Running back Knowshon Moreno suffered a severely bruised elbow against Alabama and might have to miss the game against Tennessee in two weeks.

Tight end Tripp Chandler is also doubtful for the Tennessee game due to an aggravating shoulder problem. He also has an aggravating habit of dropping passes, but that’s another story. Backup tight end Bruce Figgins didn’t play against Alabama thanks to a separated shoulder that will likely require surgery. That leaves redshirt freshman Aron White and converted tackle Kiante Tripp to man the position in their absence.

If that isn’t enough, stud linebacker Dannell Ellerbe injured his knee in the first quarter against Alabama. Mark Richt said he “has an outside shot to play in the next game,” but he won’t be 100%.

*Cal running back Jahvid Best dislocated his elbow in the third quarter against Colorado State so he’ll be out of this week’s game against Arizona State. His 215.5 all-purpose yards per game (#3 nationally) will be missed, especially now that Jeff Tedford is giving Nate Longspare another chance to win the starting quarterback job.

*Undefeated UConn will be without their starting quarterback for at least the next 6 weeks. Tyler Lorenzen broke his foot against Louisville and will be replaced in the lineup by Zach Frazier. That means you can expect running back Donald Brown to continue getting the ball 30 times a game for the next several weeks. Tight end Steve Brouse is also expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks due to a broken leg.

*Thanks to Jonathan Crompton’s awful play so far this season, Phil Fulmer has opened up the quarterback job at Tennessee. Crompton was 8/23 for 67 yards against Auburn last week, and has only thrown 2 touchdown passes all season (both against lowly UAB). Nick Stephens will get more opportunities in practice and will probably see significant action against Northern Illinois in the hopes that one of the quarterbacks will step up in time to lead the offense against Georgia in two weeks.

*Cincinnati Heisman candidate and Pikes Picks favorite Tony Pike broke his left (non-throwing) forearm against Akron. Luckily he will probably only miss the next two games, which means redshirt freshmen Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson only have to hold down the fort against Marshall and Rutgers until Pike gets back for the matchup with UConn at the end of October.

*Colorado lost starting offensive tackle Ryan Miller for the season. Miller suffered a broken left fibula in the loss to Florida State and will apply for a medical redshirt for this season. That doesn’t leave Colorado in good shape up front against a Texas team that racked up 7 sacks a week ago.

*Washington quarterback Jake Locker suffered a broken right thumb against Stanford and will probably miss the next 6-8 weeks recovering. Ronnie Fouch will start in his place as Washington looks to avoid their first 0-5 start in 39 years. One interesting note: Locker has expressed interest in playing another position once he has a cast for his right (throwing) hand if it will help out the team. You can’t question the guy’s heart, that’s for sure.

WEEK FIVE - Preview

UPSET WATCH

Maryland @ #16 Clemson
Why it could happen: Clemson isn’t exactly setting the world on fire. For all their talent, they haven’t managed to put together a complete game yet this year. Maryland on the other hand seems to be hitting their stride since Chris Turner took over at quarterback.
Why it won’t happen: Clemson’s defense won’t allow Turner to make the same plays he made against Cal. James Davis and the running game put up 249 rushing yards against the Terps last year, and I expect them to approach that again this weekend. But it won’t be easy.
J.Pike’s Pick: Clemson 26, Maryland 18

Marshall @ West Virginia
Why it could happen: Marshall was up on West Virginia at halftime in last season’s matchup, and Mark Snyder finally has the Herd back on the winning track in 2008.
Why it won’t happen: West Virginia has struggled to find an identity early on, but they at least got back to the running game last week against Colorado. Pat White and Noel Devine have too much speed for the Marshall defense and they’ll find their way to the end zone more times than the Herd offense will.
J.Pike’s Pick: West Virginia 32, Marshall 27

UPSET WARNING

Northwestern @ Iowa
Why it will happen: Northwestern is better than anybody is giving them credit for so far. They play solid defense and have two playmakers on offense (QB C.J. Bacher & RB Tyrell Sutton) that Iowa can’t match. Northwestern can flat out manufacture more points than Iowa. Bacher will have a big day.
J.Pike’s Pick: Northwestern 27, Iowa 17

Colorado vs Florida State
(@ Jacksonville, FL)
Why it will happen: Florida State is one of the worst offensive teams in the nation right now. The play they have gotten from their quarterbacks the past 7+ years has been atrocious, and it has led to the deterioration of the offense to the point it’s at now. The Noles still like to talk trash and attempt to intimidate their opponents before the game (see photo evidence from last week's loss to Wake Forest), but that doesn’t work as well when you’re a .500 team. In fact it just makes you look like a bunch of morons. Colorado running back Rod Stewart will send Florida State away on a Downtown Train with a 2-2 record.
J.Pike’s Pick: Colorado 21, Florida State 13

Northwestern (+8) over Iowa
There’s no way Iowa is 8 points better than Northwestern because I think Northwestern is better than Iowa straight up.

Ole Miss (+23) over Florida
Florida isn’t clicking offensively yet this year and Urban Meyer is too busy complaining about the new clock rules to fix it. Last year it was his running backs’ fault the Gators couldn’t run the ball. You might want to take a look in the mirror sometime, Urb? Houston Nutt will have Ole Miss ready to play and they’ll make it a game into the fourth quarter.

Cincinnati (-10) over Akron
Now that Tony Pike has proven himself at quarterback, I expect Cincinnati to continue putting up 40 point games against inferior opponents such as Akron. Cincy wins big as Pike continues his late bid for the Heisman Trophy.

Rice (-18½) over North Texas High
Rice quarterback Chase Clement is actually pretty good. Facing one of the best high school teams in the state of Texas might be imposing for Hurst L.D. Bell, but Clement will have no problems. Rice will roll to a four touchdown win. At least North Texas High can get back to concentrating on winning their district and making State after this beat down.

Other games I like, but don’t feel good enough about to give them “Lock” status:
Duke (-7) over Virginia
Arkansas (+27½) over Texas
Colorado (+6) over Florida State
Purdue (+2½) over Notre Dame
Marshall (+15½) over West Virginia
Navy (+16) over Wake Forest
Oregon (-19½) over Washington State

Thursday Night Game Preview

West Virginia

at
Colorado

(Thursday, 7:30 pm, ESPN)

West Virginia seems to be suffering from an identity crisis so far in the Bill Stewart era. Not only are the Mountaineers averaging a very un-West Virginia-like 164 yards rushing per game, they have been outgained by East Carolina and Villanova(!) in their two games this season. The defense hasn't been very good and for some reason they seem to be trying to turn Pat White into a pocket passer.

Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins enters the game on a hot streak, completing over 70% of his passes so far in this young season. He's a gamer who has a bolstered rushing attack behind him thanks to the addition of highly touted true freshman Darrell Scott. Scott hasn't had that breakout game yet, but the West Virginia defense and a thursday night ESPN audience might be just the right time.

The bottom line is this: if West Virginia returns to the same offensive game plan that won them 33 games over the last three years, Pat White and Noel Devine will lead a speedy ground attack that will stay one step ahead of the Buffaloes on the scoreboard. If not, Colorado will have every opportunity to win it in front of what is sure to be a rowdy, drunken home crowd. I'll err on the side of what I've seen so far this season (offensive game plans by the WVU staff that don't take advantage of the talent on hand) and go with the home team.

J.Pike's Pick: Colorado 31, West Virginia 27

News & Notes

* Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn named JC transfer Dax Crum the starting quarterback. That leaves Karsten Sween, who started for the Cowboys the past two seasons, relegated to backup duty. Which begs the question: what the hell kind of name is “Dax Crum”?

* USC’s Matt Sanchez and Joe McKnight each suffered minor injuries in practice. Both are expected to be fine for the regular season, but this offense has been slipping recently, and these are two first time starters who could use the repetitions to gel with the rest of the offense.

An interesting side note to the Sanchez injury – redshirt freshman Aaron Corp is taking the snaps with the first team offense in his place instead of the highly touted Mitch Mustain. I’m guessing Pete Carroll is going to receive an angry call from Momma Mustain soon.

* Virginia Tech lost another wide receiver when Frank Beamer suspended Zach Luckett from the team indefinitely. The Hokies top four receivers from last season all graduated and the top three heading into ‘08 have all been lost due to injury or suspension. Now Poly must rely on true freshmen to get the job done. Tyrod Taylor better be ready to take over the QB job full time because he’s the only playmaker left on this depleted offense.

* Colorado named Demetrius Sumler the starting running back ahead of stud true freshman Darrell Scott. Sumler is a fine player, so all this means is the Buffs will have excellent depth in the running game.

* Tennessee tight end Brandon Warren has been cleared to play this season after transferring from Florida State. Two years ago Warren was one of the most impressive freshmen in the country, and he’ll make an immediate impact at Tennessee.

This news couldn’t come at a better time for the Vols either. After losing tight ends Chris Brown and Brad Cottam to the NFL draft, projected starter Jeff Cottam injured his knee in practice and will be miss the first half of the season.

* Purdue running back Jaycen Taylor tore up his knee and will miss the 2008 season. Kory Sheets will take over full time, but he doesn’t have quite the same ability Taylor does.

* SMU senior quarterback Justin Willis has been demoted to third string on new head coach June Jones’ depth chart behind somebody called Bo Levi Mitchell. Willis has started for the Mustangs the past three years so the move comes as a surprise.

* As expected, UCLA has named Kevin Craft the starting quarterback. Craft, a transfer from San Diego State, got the nod in large part because Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan are the two most injury-prone players to ever play major college football. But Craft can play a little bit too, so expect him to have a fine season playing for Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow.

* Ralph Friedgen has changed his starting quarterback again. Chris Turner, who played well in spots last season, has been replaced in the lineup by injury-plagued Jordan Steffy. Josh Portis, a transfer from Florida, is expected to see action as well. Friedgen said Portis has as much athleticism as any player he’s ever coached, so expect him to contribute a highlight reel play at some point this year.

* In another quarterback competition that went as expected, Cal has named Kevin Riley the starter over Nate Longshore. Long”spare” has been playing mediocre football for far too long, and Riley proved in the Bears’ bowl win over Air Force that he has what it takes to succeed in Jeff Tedford’s offense.

* Oregon quarterback Nate Costa suffered an injury to the same knee that caused him to miss all of last season. As of now the severity of the injury is unknown, but I have a hunch that Justin Roper is warming up in the bullpen already. Get your panic buttons ready Duck fans.

* Miami has suspended projected starting quarterback Robert Marve for the season opener against Charleston Southern. That means true freshman Jacory Harris will have the first shot at filling the ballerina slippers of Kirby Freeman and Kyle Wright.

* Gene Chizik has chosen a winner in the heated quarterback competition at Iowa State. Austen Arnaud will get first crack at the job. Phillip Bates will see the field though - he played wide receiver last season and has too much athleticism to keep on the sidelines.

* N.C. State redshirt freshman Russell Wilson was tabbed by head coach Tom O’Brien as the starter for the Thursday night opener against South Carolina. Wilson beat out incumbent Daniel Evans, Nebraska transfer Harrison Beck, and Justin Burke, who is transfering to Louisville.

* Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone tore up his knee and will sit out the season. The Domers were already thin at tight end, so it will be up to incoming freshmen to handle an important position in Charlie Weis’ offense.