Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio made one of the gutsiest calls Saturday night when his team lined up for a 46 yard field goal to force a second overtime against the Fighting Irish. Rather than attempting the game tying field goal, he called for the holder to take the snap and toss a TD pass to tight end Charlie Gantt for the thrilling 34-31 victory. The down side of the win was coach Dantonio was hospitalized early Sunday morning...
As fall weather came upon Happy Valley this Saturday there was doubt as to who would lead the Nittany Lions under center come kick-off time. True freshman Robert Bolden, a name unknown until 3 days ago, surprisingly got the nod from coach Joe Paterno. Seeing how Penn State slaughtered the Penguins 44-14, it appears the ole ball coach knew exactly what he was doing. The Nittany Lions were slow out of the gate, but when the second half kicked-off...
Either freshman QB Robert Bolden is that good or everyone else under center in Happy Valley is just that bad. Coach Joe Paterno is doing something he has never done in Penn State history-starting a freshman QB to open the season. Paterno admitted any of the three QBs could have started, but Bolden had a slight edge over walk-on Matt McGloin and Kevin Newsome. McGloin is more of a one dimensional QB with a strong arm. Newsome has a strong...
Penn State’s Evan Royster passed up on the NFL draft to play one more season under legendary coach Joe Paterno. The senior tailback returns to the Nittany Lions as the most dangerous weapon on offense. The 6’1”, 213 pound speedster and visionary amassed 2,918 yards in just 3 years and is only 481 yards shy of breaking Curt Warner’s (3,398 yards) school record. As the senior leader puts on the pads one final time, he has a legitimate shot...
The first part of this Iowa news series received such a warm reception by Hawkeye Nation, hopefully part two promises more of the same. Apparently, Hawkeye football in Iowa is more popular than corn subsidies. Iowans from Sioux City to Waterloo either left comments or shot-off emails, sticking up for their head coach, with some using a few choice words to do so. Nonetheless, I would not expect any different from any true college football fan in coming to the aid and defense of their...
It’s time for Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema to make a move or to move on. Ever since the Iowa grad took over for Barry Alvarez, his Badger teams have been derailed from any major bowl or conference title. In his first season, he came out strong with a 12-1 record and won the Capital One Bowl 17-14 over Arkansas (’06). Wisconsin figured they landed a gem for a head coach, but his highly regarded teams quickly faltered (9 wins in ’07...
Last season when Tate Forcier led the Wolverines in a last second game-winning drive over Notre Dame, it was announced that “a star was born.” Since that victorious September afternoon, Tate Forcier has done nothing for the program to exemplify that cry. At this year’s Big 10 media day, senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk called out the Wolverine’s signal caller for failing to be a leader off the field and failing to show that he deserves to be the starter....
When the topic of overrated college football coaches comes up, names such as Jim Tressel, Mark Richt, Rich Rodriguez and Les Miles are often tossed around. Out of these four coaches, two, (Tressel and Miles) have a BCS National Championship trophy to show. However, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is rarely mentioned in such conversations. Why is this? I get that he and Iowa have always been media darlings, and I understand his Hawkeyes have been the proverbial fly in the ointment for Penn State...
