college football no trash zone

[cwsox]

kochthis, fair enough

 

[witesoxfan]

Just would like to get a name out there....

 

Scott Rislov, starting QB at San Jose State. I saw him play football as a 5th or 6th grader....I think that was the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life(in person, that is)....well, maybe seeing the Sox clinch the division in 2000 was sweeter, but as far as local sports goes, that was it. A friend of mine told me he could be drafted this year because the QB is a weak spot for this year's draft. I just assumed he was correct. Do you know how f***ing cool that would be to have a Pierre, SD athlete playing at the professional level? IIRC, the last player in any sport to do that was Floyd Bannister(he was born in Pierre atleast). I think some may remember him from 1983.

 

Go SJSU, or atleast go Rislov!

 

Also, I'd like to say that I'll probably be hoping Nebraska does some really good things this year. See, my grandpa, who was about the biggest Nebraska fan I knew, just recently did die.....it was tougher then I expected, because going to my grandparent's house just kind of had a weird feeling, because I almost expected him to come out and just see us and mingle witht he family, but I did realize he had died. It still hasn't settled in yet. Anyways, I'm probably going to be turning into a Nebraska fan atleast for this year, and I will probably become a big Nebraska fan in years to come.

 

And for what it's worth...in my NCAA Football 2004, Syracuse is the most prestigous school to go to. Something like 3 straight national championships, 35 or 36 consecutive wins, and we've had a coach of the year winner, and one of my receivers got 2 receiver of the year awards, the Maxwell award, and the Heisman in probably the most lobsided Heisman victory in history. I also made another coach, just for the hell of it, and he got offered the Notre Dame job after the end of his half a year with La Tech, and Notre Dame's school prestige is 3 stars out of 6(meaning they have sucked in my dynasty mode). So my other job is to turn them around. Should be a lot of fun!

[IlliniKrush]

Just would like to get a name out there....

 

Scott Rislov, starting QB at San Jose State.  I saw him play football as a 5th or 6th grader....I think that was the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life(in person, that is)....well, maybe seeing the Sox clinch the division in 2000 was sweeter, but as far as local sports goes, that was it.  A friend of mine told me he could be drafted this year because the QB is a weak spot for this year's draft.  I just assumed he was correct.  Do you know how f***ing cool that would be to have a Pierre, SD athlete playing at the professional level?  IIRC, the last player in any sport to do that was Floyd Bannister(he was born in Pierre atleast).  I think some may remember him from 1983.

 

Go SJSU, or atleast go Rislov! 

 

Also, I'd like to say that I'll probably be hoping Nebraska does some really good things this year.  See, my grandpa, who was about the biggest Nebraska fan I knew, just recently did die.....it was tougher then I expected, because going to my grandparent's house just kind of had a weird feeling, because I almost expected him to come out and just see us and mingle witht he family, but I did realize he had died.  It still hasn't settled in yet.  Anyways, I'm probably going to be turning into a Nebraska fan atleast for this year, and I will probably become a big Nebraska fan in years to come. 

 

And for what it's worth...in my NCAA Football 2004, Syracuse is the most prestigous school to go to.  Something like 3 straight national championships, 35 or 36 consecutive wins, and we've had a coach of the year winner, and one of my receivers got 2 receiver of the year awards, the Maxwell award, and the Heisman in probably the most lobsided Heisman victory in history.  I also made another coach, just for the hell of it, and he got offered the Notre Dame job after the end of his half a year with La Tech, and Notre Dame's school prestige is 3 stars out of 6(meaning they have sucked in my dynasty mode).  So my other job is to turn them around.  Should be a lot of fun!

Was he their QB last year? I can't remember who was QB when we (Illinois) played you last year. Ya, that was the game we blew, at home, on a last second field goal. Unbelievable. Your QB was pretty good and one of the little small receivers had amazing, amazing hands...he was making one handed outstretched catches and stuff...and boy was he quick.

[witesoxfan]

I assume Rislov must have played in that game. If memory serves correctly, SJSU's coach went with the Spurrier deal(I think is who does it), where he'd go with one QB in the first half and another in the second half. That didn't work out well, because the QB not named Rislov always sucked. So they just used Rislov as the starter. I believe they started that after the Stanford game(where they got killed...something like 63-26 or something. It was a decent game until the second half started).

[IlliniKrush]

Illini update (this thread has gone too long without a post):

 

Aug. 6, 2003

 

The Illini football team took to the grass practice fields at the football complex on Wed., afternoon to kick off training camp with its first session of the 2003 season. Dressed in only helmets and shorts for the first two days, the Illini still were able to mix in a healthy dose of team action with over 30-minutes of 7-on-7 and full team work.

 

"Generally, I was pleased. It was a good first practice," head coach Ron Turner said. "We did come out a little tight today and the biggest thing will be getting them to relax. I love the attitude of this team."

 

SCOUTING THE CENTERS: Last season, Duke Preston was trying to fill the shoes of departed center Luke Butkus as he prepared for the starting role in 2002. In 2003, the junior is a veteran on the line and becoming a solid leader. Preston, despite being in his first year, helped lead the Illini's school record-breaking offense and aid in Antoineo Harris' 1,330 yards rushing, which also set the single-season mark.

 

"Duke really progressed as the season went along last year," Turner said. "He gained a lot of confidence and has found himself one of the leaders on the line. He came into camp in the best shape of his life and I am very excited about his potential this season."

 

Preston, a San Diego native, is backed up by junior Dave Hilderbrand. Hilderbrand has served as a reserve at guard and center over the last two years, playing primarily on special teams. He returned a kickoff two yards against Northwestern in 2002.

 

"Dave has settled into the position at center," said Turner. "But he could also be a big contributor at the guard position as well. He is becoming a versatile player for us and will have a huge role on the team."

 

THE INVITEES: Checking in along with the 2003 rookie class on Tuesday were eight invited walk-ons. Due to NCAA rules, the coaching staff is not allowed to mention the new additions until the official reporting date. So here are the players that complete the new incoming group, including a pair of local talents: PK Justin Brantley, Fr. (Detroit, Mich./St. Martin DePorres); FB Gerard Jackson, Jr. (Miami, Fla./Dodge City JC); WR Spencer Jensen, Fr. (Lockport, Ill./Lockport); LS Tyler Keely, Fr. (Oswego, Ill./Oswego); LS Justin Kovach, Fr. (Batavia, Ill./Batavia); WR Frank Lenti, Jr., Fr. (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel); DB Drew McMahon, Fr. (Champaign, Ill./Central); and DB Tyler Rouse (Champaign, Ill./Centennial).

 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Illinois football team will conduct its next four practice sessions in Champaign at the football complex. Here are the following practices times for the next five days:

 

Thurs., Aug. 7 3:30 p.m. Practice #2 (Champaign)

Fri., Aug. 8 1:15 p.m. Practice #3 (Champaign)

6-8 p.m. Fan Appreciation Day (Memorial Stadium)

Sat., Aug. 9 10 a.m. Practice #4 (Champaign)

Sun., Aug. 10 9:45 a.m. Practice #5 (Champaign)

1-5 p.m. Players Report To Rantoul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, i guess Marlin Jackson's court date has been set. He is the preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year and would be a huge loss to UMs chances this year.

 

The OSU picture was taken yesterday without Clarett, he is still being held out of practice (though not suspended), and it sounds as if OSU is preparing to play this season without him.

[IlliniKrush]

Totally agree with this great article, i love qbs with brains and that lead their teams to wins by playing smart football, making solid decisions, and running for first downs

 

 

Also, this hits on just one of the reasons that college football is better than the nfl, or more fun and interesting, if you will:

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great QB is now a luxury, not a necessity

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Ivan Maisel

ESPN.com

 

 

When Oklahoma won the national championship in 2000, Sooners coach Bob Stoops wore out his vocal cords defending the talent of his quarterback. Senior Josh Heupel couldn't throw the ball 20 yards without duck hunters reaching for their rifles. Heupel couldn't outrun anyone, either.

 

But, Stoops argued, without his brains and his leadership, Oklahoma would have been just another good team.

 

 

Oklahoma expects consistency not greatness from Jason White.

Three years later, the Sooners are favored to win another national championship, this time with a senior quarterback, Jason White, who has made only four starts in his career. Stoops, perhaps bowing to the obvious, perhaps dreading the thought of another season of playing Johnnie Cochran for his quarterback in the court of public opinion, said last week at the Big 12 Conference preseason press gathering that "You don't have to have a great quarterback to win a national championship."

 

Well, duh. Stoops isn't dissing White, or Heupel, or the other quarterbacks in recent years who, if they made it to the NFL at all, rarely rose above clipboard holder. He's stating what has become a fact in college football life: Unlike the NFL, great college quarterbacks are more often the icing than the national championship cake.

 

College and NFL stars such as Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb never came close to playing for No. 1. Among the winners of the coveted ring are quarterbacks such as Jay Barker of Alabama (1992), now a morning drive-time sports radio host in Birmingham; Tommie Frazier of Nebraska (1994-95), in the mortgage business in Omaha; and Craig Krenzel of Ohio State, who returns for his senior season after directing the Buckeyes to a 14-0 record and a surprise national championship.

 

Nebraska fans will surely argue that Frazier was a great quarterback in running an offense that included a large dose of option. There's no question that a debate on what makes a great quarterback could tax the limits of the Internet.

 

But what Stoops is referring to, as are the other college coaches and NFL scouting personnel surveyed by ESPN.com, is the guy who doesn't necessarily make Mel Kiper's hair stand a little taller. It's the quarterback with an arm as strong as it is accurate, feet that provide an escape route when the offensive line collapses, and the brain that can extrapolate a coming blitz from the way a linebacker snaps his chin strap.

 

The reasons why that guy can be succussful underline the appeal of college football and highlight the differences between playing on Saturdays and playing on Sundays. To a man, college coaches and NFL scouting personnel surveyed by ESPN.com agree with Stoops. A great quarterback is a luxury item, not a necessity. Says Virginia Tech quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers, who taught McNabb at Syracuse, "You better be good on defense. You better be good on special teams. Or, you have to be a dominating running team."

 

Says Penn State offensive coordinator Fran Ganter, who has won two national championships as a member of Joe Paterno's staff, "I totally agree with (Stoops') statement. Joe always says that the first thing, foremost and most important, in a quarterback is his leadership ability, and that he has a hold on the team. His ability, and how he throws, is secondary. You win championships with defense. Every one of them played great defense."

 

A Winning Combination

Since 1950, only two quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy and led their team to the national championship in the same year: Danny Wuerffel of Florida (1996) and Charlie Ward of Florida State (1993).

 

Compare that to the NFL, where four quarterbacks have been named Most Valuable Player and won the Super Bowl in the last 14 seasons alone: Kurt Warner of St. Louis (1999); Brett Favre of Green Bay (1996); Steve Young of San Francisco (1994); and Joe Montana of San Francisco (1989).

 

 

 

There's no better example of a team that finished No. 1 without a star at quarterback than the 1992 Alabama team. The Crimson Tide defense included four players who would become first-round draft choices. Barker, then a sophomore, completed 4-of-18 passes in Alabama's 34-13 upset of No. 1 Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

 

"Our coaches were able to hide my weaknesses," Barker says. "My job was, don't make mistakes, play field-position football, set up the defense. You've got to put it in the quarterback's mind that, 'We're not going to call on you much, but when we do, you've got to make plays.' Coach (Gene) Stallings did that. He told me, 'You've got to realize that we can't make mistakes.'"

 

The recipe that Ohio State used last year is typical of this type of team: a stout defense, outstanding special teams, a talented tailback in Maurice Clarett, and Krenzel, a quarterback who, while he didn't have a Smith & Wesson for an arm, compensated with his brains and his leadership.

 

"He better at least be a guy who is not going to screw it up," says Buckeyes offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, "and will allow everyone around him to do what they can do."

 

A year ago, Krenzel completed nearly 62 percent of his passes in the regular season. The molecular biology major earned a high grade in making the right decisions.

 

"Somewhere in the game, that type of quarterback is going to have an opportunity to make a play whether you want him to or not." Bollman said. "It may be a scramble, or he pulls it down and runs, or he makes a right decision on a pass play. Craig's pretty good at making decisions."

 

Krenzel took 30 sacks last year. In some quarterbacks, that indicates an inability to pull the trigger, or the wait for a receiver to become wide open, instead of anticipating when he will be wide open. However, Bollman described Krenzel as conservative.

 

 

Craig Krenzel's decision making was a key to Ohio State's title run.

"A lot of people may say that he holds the ball and takes shots," Bollman says, "but then he has times when he has made some very big plays by pulling it down and running. He pulled it down 47 times on plays where he was not called to run, and he averaged seven yards. It was interesting seeing him grow into the role he had as the year transpired."

 

Krenzel's ability to run sheds light on another reason that college football teams can thrive without great passers. College football has as many as a dozen different styles of offense, from the option and other offenses where the quarterback is the third running back in the backfield, to the five-receiver set that is designed to stretch a defense from sideline to sideline. In the offseason, Rogers said, "I might go see a Wake Forest, a USC, an Oklahoma. In the NFL, an expert can't tell much difference from team to team."

 

"In the NFL," Miami offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski said, "everybody is good. It's a copycat league in both offensive and defensive philosophy as well as the talent level. It's much more the same."

 

Each college offense demands different skills to run it, and, of course, different skills to defend it. The range of talent in college football isn't that wide. Coaches love to say that football is a game of mismatches. Take your best player, and maneuver him into position so that he can exploit the opponent's worst player. That's difficult to achieve in the NFL, where there are only 32 teams, all of them skilled. Among the 117 teams in Division I-A, the players range from NFL-caliber to barely out of high school. The mismatches are more easily found.

 

"In the college game, more games are lost than are won," Chudzinski said. "In the NFL, more games have to be won. In college, you're dealing with 19-year-olds instead of 30-year-olds who have been in the NFL for 10 years and have been in that offense or defense for a long, long time. College kids are straight out of high school and still trying to figure out where the biology department is."

 

NFL teams have more trouble finding mismatches. When they do, in the case of a quarterback who fails to measure up, the defense pounces. In the college game, the disparity in skills and talent can be so great, that a young quarterback can be brought along slowly, or, in Barker's case, hidden. That's especially true in the first month of the season, when the best teams "buy" home games from smaller I-A schools.

 

“ Joe (Paterno) always says that the first thing, foremost and most important, in a quarterback is his leadership ability, and that he has a hold on the team. His ability, and how he throws, is secondary. ”

— Penn State offensive coordinator Fran Ganter

 

"In college," says Baltimore Ravens director of pro personnel Phil Savage, "because of the nature of the situation, you can get Craig Krenzel some experience at the beginning of the season and get the kid rolling.

 

"In the NFL, he may never get his feet on the ground. A college quarterback can get away with things. A pro quarterback has tighter windows. A college kid might see a couple of good defensive backs and three or four guys who are hanging on for dear life. In the NFL, you get three, four, or in nickel, five or six guys who are good," Savage says. "In college, a guy who is not dead accurate, it's an incompletion or a defensive back drops it. In the NFL, it's an interception."

 

In other words, that's why a quarterback like Chad Pennington spends over two seasons signaling plays before he gets on the field and calls them. Once the college conference seasons begin, however, and the skill level across the line of scrimmage is much more the same, that cushion begins to disappear.

 

 

Rogers recalls two of his most recent quarterbacks: McNabb and Matt LoVecchio. McNabb, now one of the NFL's best, led Syracuse to the 1998 Big East championship and a BCS bid, and LoVecchio led Notre Dame to eight consecutive victories and a BCS bid as a freshman in 2000.

 

"A great quarterback can't do it all," Rogers said. "In McNabb's senior year, we were mediocre defensively. I would be surprised if we had one game where we scored less than 24 points. It was a hell of an offensive team. When we played defense, look at the Miami game. We won 66-13. That doesn't happen unless you have a McNabb. With LoVecchio, we turned the ball over eight times. We played decent defense and we played great special teams. We didn't throw much but we threw short passes and screens."

 

Rogers paused and summed up what every coach believes. "It's a hell of a lot easier to win with a great quarterback, I'll tell you that."

 

Easier, yes, but, as college football proves, not necessary.

[Spiff]

SI preview issue is out, obviously it means very little but it's good fodder.

 

Top 5 are:

1. Ohio State

2. Oklahoma

3. Miami

4. Texas

5. Georgia

 

teams of interest:

 

11. Florida State

13. Michigan

17. Notre Dame

32. Nebraska

54. South Carolina

55. Michigan State

59. Illinois

61. Boise State

64. Iowa State

75. Northwestern

79. Indiana

90. San Jose State

93. UNLV

 

and UMass is #7 in I-AA.

[BridgeportHeather]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game!

[IndySoxFan]

indiana at 79... atheon picked us to win only 1 game (indiana state). i did not know that they had a team. i am sure the state will be abuzz with anticipation of that matchup of powerhouses. hoosiers v. fight'n trees. i'll keep you all posted

[Spiff]

indiana at 79... atheon picked us to win only 1 game  (indiana state). i did not know that they had a team. i am sure the state will be abuzz with anticipation of that matchup of powerhouses. hoosiers v. fight'n trees. i'll keep you all posted

i think they could win 4 or 5! connecticut sucks, and they'll have a good shot to beat northwestern at home. plus, illinois, michigan state and kentucky aren't anything special, anything can happen.

[Spiff]

listening to talk radio at 2:15 in the morning, god knows why, but the host was talking about college sports etc. and he said, "If you are into college sports, whether it's casually or intensely, you probably know at least one person who is a Kentucky Wildcats fan and at least one person who is a Michigan Wolverines fan. If you know a Kentucky fan, they are more vocal in the winter and spring. And if you know a Michigan Wolverines fan, well they are just a pain in the ass all of the time."

[IndySoxFan]

i think they could win 4 or 5! connecticut sucks, and they'll have a good shot to beat northwestern at home. plus, illinois, michigan state and kentucky aren't anything special, anything can happen.

damn man, you read my mind.... those are the same games i was circling. being the opptimist... i look for iu to win 5. nice to meet an educated person once in a while

[Spiff]

damn man, you read my mind.... those are the same games i was circling. being the opptimist... i look for iu to win 5. nice to meet an educated person once in a while

haha it's kinda sad, but football is probably one of the only things i am somewhat educated on. over half my posts are in the off topic forum, i know jack about baseball.

 

i'll keep an eye on IU and see how accurate we are.

[IndySoxFan]

haha it's kinda sad, but football is probably one of the only things i am somewhat educated on. over half my posts are in the off topic forum, i know jack about baseball.

 

i'll keep an eye on IU and see how accurate we are.

bet.

[IlliniKrush]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

[IlliniKrush]

i think they could win 4 or 5! connecticut sucks, and they'll have a good shot to beat northwestern at home. plus, illinois, michigan state and kentucky aren't anything special, anything can happen.

not gonna beat Illinois

 

don't mean to be a jackass, but all IU has is lovecchio. we beat the hell out of IU at last year's homecoming, and i see that happening again at IU (and i'll be there)

 

that being said, ya they could beat nw, uconn, indiana st, maybe kentucky. but IU is not a very good football team. lovecchio should do a good amount of damage for that offense, though

[Spiff]

not gonna beat Illinois

 

don't mean to be a jackass, but all IU has is lovecchio. we beat the hell out of IU at last year's homecoming, and i see that happening again at IU (and i'll be there)

 

that being said, ya they could beat nw, uconn, indiana st, maybe kentucky. but IU is not a very good football team. lovecchio should do a good amount of damage for that offense, though

no such thing as a sure thing.

[IlliniKrush]

not gonna beat Illinois

 

don't mean to be a jackass, but all IU has is lovecchio. we beat the hell out of IU at last year's homecoming, and i see that happening again at IU (and i'll be there)

 

that being said, ya they could beat nw, uconn, indiana st, maybe kentucky. but IU is not a very good football team. lovecchio should do a good amount of damage for that offense, though

no such thing as a sure thing.

this is true spiff

 

but i better hope it's close to that, i mean if we lose to IU....i don't even know what to say to that

[BridgeportHeather]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

[IlliniKrush]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

Well, you have plenty of time to think of your post then

[BridgeportHeather]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

Well, you have plenty of time to think of your post then

We're not going out quietly. If we DO lose, it'll be very close.

 

Just watch out for our main defensive asset, Boomer Grigsby. In addition, Michael Souza is a pretty good QB!

 

You're gonna have your hands full.

[IlliniKrush]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

Well, you have plenty of time to think of your post then

We're not going out quietly. If we DO lose, it'll be very close.

 

Just watch out for our main defensive asset, Boomer Grigsby. In addition, Michael Souza is a pretty good QB!

 

You're gonna have your hands full.

Who????

 

Yes, we may lose to IU if we play like crap, but i really don't see us losing to you guys, Heather. That would be just awful and we'd probly have a 2-10 season if we are that bad

 

I don't think it will be a ridiculous blowout, but i think i'll be able to relax by the middle of the 3rd quarter without worrying about the outcome

 

Then again i said that about the San Jose st game (though san jose st is much better than ISU)

[Spiff]

When it comes to 1-A vs. 1-AA, it's rarely ever close.

[BridgeportHeather]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

Well, you have plenty of time to think of your post then

We're not going out quietly. If we DO lose, it'll be very close.

 

Just watch out for our main defensive asset, Boomer Grigsby. In addition, Michael Souza is a pretty good QB!

 

You're gonna have your hands full.

Who????

 

Yes, we may lose to IU if we play like crap, but i really don't see us losing to you guys, Heather. That would be just awful and we'd probly have a 2-10 season if we are that bad

 

I don't think it will be a ridiculous blowout, but i think i'll be able to relax by the middle of the 3rd quarter without worrying about the outcome

 

Then again i said that about the San Jose st game (though san jose st is much better than ISU)

Hey IF I am in town for the game, might you wanna sit together?

[IlliniKrush]

Koch This,

 

Don't forget our bet we shook on at Tuesday's game! 

What the hell did we bet on?

If ISU wins, you have to post something here. However, if ISU loses by a large margin, I have to post something here.

Well, you have plenty of time to think of your post then

We're not going out quietly. If we DO lose, it'll be very close.

 

Just watch out for our main defensive asset, Boomer Grigsby. In addition, Michael Souza is a pretty good QB!

 

You're gonna have your hands full.

Who????

 

Yes, we may lose to IU if we play like crap, but i really don't see us losing to you guys, Heather. That would be just awful and we'd probly have a 2-10 season if we are that bad

 

I don't think it will be a ridiculous blowout, but i think i'll be able to relax by the middle of the 3rd quarter without worrying about the outcome

 

Then again i said that about the San Jose st game (though san jose st is much better than ISU)

Hey IF I am in town for the game, might you wanna sit together?

Ya, as long as you wear orange and meet me in Block I (student fan group, similar to orange krush)