Shame Watch: Arizona 70, Idaho 0

Idaho came down to Tempe on Saturday tied for the nation's longest overall losing streak (10 games) and also the longest losing streak against I-A opponents (16 games). They did nothing to indicate these trends will change. Arizona's 35 point second quarter put the game out of reach pretty quickly. It was the Wildcats first shutout since 1996, and it was their most lopsided win since 1921's 74-0 win over the Texas College of Mining and Metallurgy (now UTEP).

The Wildcats scored rushing touchdowns of 1, 1, 2, 3, and 5 yards, plus passing touchdowns of 3, 5, 7 and 12 yards. Then there was the odd play of a Wildcat dropping a punt only to see his teammate pick it up and run for an 87-yard touchdown. Idaho converted only 1 of 12 third downs. Total yardage: Arizona 521, Idaho 112. (On the positive side, their 64 yards rushing were 64 more than Clemson managed against Alabama.)

Sophomore QB Nathan Enderle was 10-25 for only 48 yards. It was his tenth career game, but it was the sixth in which he has thrown three or more interceptions. Backup Quin Ashley threw only two passes--one was incomplete while the other was intercepted.

Next week, the Vandals return home and welcome I-AA Idaho State next week. Idaho State lost to Boise State 49-7 on Saturday.

Shame Watch Congratulations

Congratulations are in order for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They ended 2007 with a ten-game losing streak--tied for the nation's longest active streak--and they let a 24-13 third quarter lead get away when Northern Illinois scored midway through the fourth to take a 27-24 lead. They even fumbled away their next drive, but quarterback Adam Weber marched his team down the field for a 10-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 1-yard TD run from Duane Bennett with 22 seconds remaining to seal the 31-27 victory. Sophomore Weber played decently last year, starting all 12 games as a freshman (2895 yards, 24 TDs), with the exception of one category--his 19 interceptions tied for the second most in the nation in 2007. However, 2008 began nicely 24-37, 298 yards, 2 TDs, and most importantly no interceptions. Bennett, also a sophomore, carried the ball 18 times for 92 yards with a 61-yard TD scamper in addition to his game winning dive.

Congrats again, Golden Gophers, and best of luck next week at Bowling Green.

Shame Watch also wishes to congratulate

• Duke on ending their 9-game losing streak in David Cutcliff's first game as head coach with a 31-7 victory over I-AA James Madison. Of course, their I-A losing streak is still alive.
• UNLV on ending their 8-game losing streak with their 27-17 win over Utah State.
• South Carolina on ending Steve Spurier's career longest five-game losing streak once they got things in gear in the second half of their 34-0 win over NC State on Thursday night.
• Ole Miss on winning Houston Nutt's debut, beating Memphis 41-24, and they ended their five-game losing streak to I-A opponents.

Kansas State 45, OSM{North Texas} 6

Here's how the North Texas Mean Green started their 2008 season: Run for no gain. Substitution infraction. Run for a three yard loss. Incomplete pass. Thirty yard punt returned 38 yards for a touchdown. But they got a break when the touchdown was called back for a holding penalty, but Kansas State got a 4-yard TD run on their first play of office.

Things did improve for North Texas as the day went along, but not much. Only one other drive lost yardage. All of Kansas State's scoring drives were at least three plays long. North Texas converted only 2 of 13 third downs and managed only 205 yards of total offense while giving up 471 yards to Kansas State. However, they did win the turnover battle, getting an interception and a fumble without turning the ball over themselves. The interception led to their only score, a 9-yard TD pass from sophomore QB Giovanni Vizza to Alex Lott at the end of the third quarter, but the extra point was blocked. But still, their 39-point loss is a better start than last season's 69-point loss at Texas. There are small victories.

Next week North Texas returns to Denton, TX, to host Tulsa, who won 45-22 at UAB today. This could be big for the Shame Masks. If North Texas beats Tulsa, and then Tulsa beats New Mexico, and if New Mexico State doesn't win at Nebraska or UTEP, then the New Mexico and New Mexico State game would unite the two Shame Masks.

Shame Watch: Rice 56, SMU 27

Friday night's slate of games saw four teams take to the field to kick-off their 2008 campaigns. All four--Temple, Army, Rice, and SMU--hope fair better than 2007, in which they had a combined record of 11-37. (This included Army's win over Temple and Rice's last second win 43-42 win over SMU, as well as Army's win over Rhode Island, a I-AA team that finished 3-8. Rice had the only win over a winning team, 7-6 Southern Miss.) Temple however did finish 2007 on something of a role, winning 4 of their final 7, and they rolled over Army tonight, 35-7. It was the Black Knights' seventh straight defeat.

I was however more concerned about the SMU-Rice game. While SMU ented with a ten game losing streak, tied for the longest in the country, there was a new hope in Dallas. After finishing 1-11 last season, SMU put together the richest salary for a non-BCS conference team ($2 million, 21st highest overall) to lure passing guru June Jones from Hawai`i. Jones has become used to winning at Hawai`i, going 11-3 in 2006 and then an undefeated 2007 regular season before losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Would this winning carry over and return the Mustangs to the "Pony Express" days of 1980-85 when they were the winningest program in the country? (Without the playing of the players of course.)

SMU started promising. True freshman starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell started about as strongly as could be expected, throwing for 26- and 19-yard touchdown passes in the first quarter to take a quick 13-0 lead in his first quarter. However, the missed extra point on the second one proved to be the turning point as the Rice Owls rallied quickly thereafter, took a 14-13 lead on the final play of the first quarter and never looked back. Rice eventually won 56-27. Mitchell finished 25-43 for 244 yards and three TDs. He did however throw three interceptions, one of which was returned for 55 yards for a touchdown.

It is generally tough to find a silver lining in an 11 game losing streak, which at the moment is the longest active streak. However, next week SMU hosts Texas State, a I-AA team that finished 4-7 last season. While that may end the losing streak, the streak against I-A teams looks like it might continue when they play at Texas Tech the next week, but with June Jones at the helm, I have to think SMU's second winning season since the NCAA death penalty in 1987-88 shouldn't be too far away.