Oklahoma is at a crossroads with a talented but inexperienced head coach. Virginia is on the rise, thanks in large part to its best quarterback in a decade. And East Carolina is in the tank. Three programs spread across three of the top six conferences in college football saw their fates shift in various ways…
Among the more fun developments of the 2017 college football season has been the prominence of running backs. College football never exactly commoditized the position to the extent of the NFL, wherein the early part of the 21st Century running backs were treated as wholly expendable. Still, college running backs weren't celebrated as a whole…
Once upon a time, the California Golden Bears were known for their high flying passing attack. It isn't quite as prevalent today (they aren't exactly leading in a lot of statistical passing categories this season). Still, the point is when you think Cal Golden Bears, you think passing. For this edition of the Worst, we're…
Every week, The Open Man’s Trenise Ferreira examines the topics around sports that are making us mad and asks: WHY THOUGH? USC Fans – Are You For Real Calling For Helton to Be Fired? Word? Earlier this week, I opined about the fate of USC football if they don’t kick it into high gear down…
We’re six games into the season and USC is sitting in first place in the Pac-12 South, touting a 5-1 record. This comes after the Trojans routed Oregon State at the Coliseum last weekend, 38-10, and two weeks after they fell to Washington State on the road at Pullman, turning in a disappointing 30-27 loss.…
So...what can be said about Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate's performance in a 45-42 Saturday at Colorado that wasn't already expressed by an exasperated Buffs cheerleader? While the utter shock on one observer's face nicely summarizes Khalil Tate's FBS quarterback record 327 yards rushing with four touchdowns on the ground and a fifth passing, plenty more…
A perusal of the Power Five conference standings reveals that the Big 12 Conference, which a month ago was in the unusual position of being praised, is the only P5 league with just one undefeated team. Oklahoma, with its victory at Ohio State in Week Two, and Oklahoma State, with a dominating 3-0 start, were…
It's time for another edition of the Third Phase. It's a column for the punting enthusiasts. This also assumes you're a punting enthusiast, in which case WELCOME! You can find previous columns here. At long last, another college football week has come and gone. And it seems like there is always some sort of punt…
Teams banking on transfer quarterbacks have gotten mixed results, is South Carolina an ACC spoiler again, what to make of Miami and more. Each week in this space we’ll take a look around the Atlantic Coast Conference and examine the most important happenings. TRANSFER TRIUMPHS AND TROUBLES: Three ACC teams staked their seasons on quarterbacks…
So, it seems this college football season is heeding the words of former Miami Hurricanes tight end: C'mon, fellas, let's get weird. G-Reg's alma mater warrants a kickoff mention in this week's Four Downs. Miami snapped its seven-game losing streak to rival Florida State in dramatic fashion. The U's come-from-behind victory over the 'Noles provided…
Allow me to preface the first Saturday Six-Pack of October with this inscrutable fact: October owns. I spent this past Sunday as I do every Oct. 1, setting up Halloween decorations around the homestead. It's tradition in my household to add something to the collection every year, and for the first time, my son picked.…
You would think two East Texas college football programs like SMU and Houston would have a rivalry that dates back to the '20s or '30s. That is not the case, however. The Cougars didn't join the Southwest Conference until the 1970s. Their first season of football in the conference didn't start until 1976. Houston hadn't…
We head into the first weekend of October, and a clear 1-2 lead the Heisman Trophy race. Penn State's Saquon Barkley remains atop the projection this week, barely holding off Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. The two occupied each of the top spots in every publication used to tabulate this week's ranking, and hold a sizable…
Bryce Love is following the same path from the Bay Area to New York that previous Stanford running backs Toby Gerhart and Christian McCaffrey traversed. Love's 303-yard rushing performance against Arizona State propelled him into the forefront of early-season Heisman conversation, and puts him on a pace to break Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record. At…
Mid-week Fun Belt makes its return tonight in Statesboro, where Georgia Southern hosts Arkansas State. I am a longstanding and ardent supporter of Mid-Week Fun Belt; this October precursor to internet darling November #MACtion may not get quite as much attention, but has delivered plenty of its own memorable moments in nearly a decade of…
