Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Troy 45, OSM{North Texas} 17

Let's see, North Texas did participate in causing Troy to miss three PATs.

Okay, that's about it. Troy forced two turnovers and scored 15 points in the first quarter and never looked back.

And strangely, this is not the worst headlines to come out of Denton, TX, this week. "I don't think we have a problem with drugs, but I will say that it's every coach's prerogative to test his team," North Texas head coach Todd Dodge said. "It's a great tool to help players stay away from drugs and temptations. When I talked to my team about drug testing all of them, I told them that if there was one young man on our team who secretly needed help, if it saved one young man from getting in trouble or ending up dead, then it is worth it." This was according to the Denton Record-Chronicle article that said that of the 86 players tested earlier in the season, 15 failed.

The Mean Green next hits the field against Western Kentucky on Saturday.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Navy 34, GGSM{SMU} 7

Generally, in a football game, the plan goes like this. Score points to take the lead, and then run the ball to kill the clock and go home a winner. Navy did just this on Saturday about as well as a team can against SMU. In a driving rainstorm, the passing attack of SMU got bogged down with an interception on the third play. Three rushes later, Navy was in the end zone. After two more incomplete SMU passes and a rush for -1 yard, Navy got the ball back and started running again. Second string QB Jarrod Bryant had started the previous two games after starter Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was injured, but Bryant was on a 20-yard run on the second drive. Okay, send in third stringer sophomore Ricky Dobbs. Dobbs went on to carry the ball 42 times for 224 yards and 4 touchdowns. Not too shabby. In fact, under his direction, Navy's ground game was so solid, that he did not even attempt a pass. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo's Navy was the first I-A team in 11 years to not attempt a single pass in a game. Ten different Midshipmen rushed at least once, and together they amassed 404 yards on 77 carries. And they outrushed SMU by 417 yards because the team known in the 1980s as the "Pony Express" left Annapolis with thirteen fewer yards rushing than they came with. Navy won the time of possession battle 42:32 to 17:28.

SMU now has a week off before hosting Memphis on November 8.

Shame Mask Congratulations

Idaho won a game! Idaho won a game! Idaho won a game!

After taking a early lead thanks to Princeton McCarty's 54-yard TD run, the Idaho Vandals allowed New Mexico State two second quarter touchdown passes. However, this time, Idaho decided to rally. They tied the game just before halftime with a 3-yard TD pass from Nathan Enderle to Daniel Hardy. The low scoring second half saw only two field goals, but luckily for the Vandals, both came from the toe of Tino Amancio and thus Idaho beat their first I-A team since October 14, 2006, a span of 23 games. Congratulations!

By my count, this makes SMU's 18-game losing streak to I-A teams the current longest.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Houston 44, GGSM{SMU} 38

Argh! The Mustangs came agonizingly close to giving June Jones his first victory over a I-A team, only to let it slip away at the end. SMU jumped out to an early lead thanks to two TD drives led by freshman QB Bo Levi Mitchell, who scored his first career rushing touchdown near the end of the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Mitchell had his best game in college, going 29-39 for 375 yards and 4 TDs against only two interceptions, and he added a carreer high 3 yards rushing.

Houston cut the lead in half, ending the second quarter trailing only 21-14. However, the could only manage a touchdown and field goal in the third quarter against two more TD passes from Mitchell, including a 70-yarder to Aldrick Robinson, the leading receiver in the nation, on the final play of the quarter. Thus, with fifteen minutes left, the Mustangs were up 35-23.

After trading punts to open the fourth, Houston's Casey Keenum started his rally. A quick Cougar touchdown was countered by an SMU field goal, but then Keenum led Houston quickly down the field, covering 60 yards in just five plays, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Bryce Beall with 2:34 left. SMU now lead just 38-36, but they were able to successfully stop the game tying two point conversion. Unfortunately, they could only run 12 seconds off the clock on their next drive, which left Keenum plenty of time to complete his second TD pass of the game with 24 seconds left. Keenum's 404 yards were a season high for the nation's second leading passer. He has thrown for at least 360 yards in all seven games this season.

Next up for SMU is a game of contrasting styles. SMU takes their second worst in the nation rushing attack into Annapolis where Navy boasts the fourth best. On the other hand, SMU is seventh in the nation in passing, whereas Navy is next-to-last. Could this be the breakthrough the Mustangs need? They've lost 17 straight against I-A opponents.

Louisiana-Monroe 35, OSM{North Texas} 23

North Texas started Saturday's game just about as well as possible, stuffing Louisiana-Monroe's 3rd and 1 to force a three-and-out followed by a 27-yard punt on the games initial drive. After getting a first down, the Mean Green also had to punt. Then the Louisiana Warhawks stepped on the gas. Their other three first quarter drives ended in a 54-yard TD run from QB Kinsmon Lancaster, a 69-yard TD pass from Lancaster to Luther Ambrose, and a 49-yard run from Rodney Lovett. Lancaster added a 5-yard TD run early in the second quarter. Lancaster finished 12-21 for 171 yards and the one TD and carried the ball 10 times for 95 yards and two TDs.

To the credit, North Texas after falling behind 28-0 early in the second quarter did not roll over. Far from it. QB Giovanni Vizza engineered several long drives, including a 17-play field goal drive following Lancaster's TD run. His final two drives resulted in touchdown passes to cut the lead to 35-23, making this the Mean Green's closest loss of the season. Vizza's 37 completions, 61 attempts, and 362 yards were all season highs.

This was North Texas's eighth straight loss, the longest such streak in the nation. Next week, they welcome Sun Belt co-leader Troy to Denton.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Tulsa 37, GGSM{SMU} 31

Heading into this game, Tulsa was 6-0, winners of 7 straight dating back to last season. The Golden Hurricane had the nation's most prolific offense, ranked 5th in passing yards per game and 10th in rushing yards per game, totaling 600 yards of total offense per game. SMU, on the other hand, had beaten only I-AA Texas State this season, and had lost 15 straight to I-A opponents. The Mustangs are ranked 1th in the nation in passing yards per game and have two of the top five receivers in country. But, they were last in the nation in rushing.

So much for the stats. SMU took a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter and held it until late in the third when Tulsa tied it at 24. But, on the very next play, SMU's true freshman quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders.

However, Tulsa tied the game again when QB David Johnson capped an 18-play, 88-yard drive with a 33 yard touchdown pass on 4th and 21. Bo Levi Mitchell counted this time with an interception on the very next play. Mitchell is leading the nation in interceptions, but only three players have attempted more passes this season. Though very ill-timed, this was his only interception on the day against four TDs, both career bests against I-A teams. He also had a career high -5 yards rushing. The team's 151 yards rushing increased their season total to 356.

A.J. Whitmore put Tulsa ahead with an 8-yard TD run a minute later, but the Mustangs kicked back by blocking the PAT. Mitchell's rally in the final two minutes fell short with two incomplete passes at the Tulsa 26 to turn it over on downs.

June Jones's tenure in SMU has not started well, but his Mustangs do seem to be improving. Will he beat his first I-A team next week against Houston and the nation's second leading passing attack? Who knows?

Louisiana-Lafayette 59, OSM{North Texas} 30

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns entered Saturday's game with North Texas as the leading rushing team in the nation averaging 331 yards per game. Not a good sign for North Texas. The Mean Green did however manage to hold the leading rusher Tyrell Fenroy to only 92 yards and only one touchdown although considering that in his last three games he rushed for 192, 183, and 297 yards with 3 TDs in each game, he might have just been tired. QB Michael Desormeaux led the way on ground with 123 yards, his fourth 100-yard game on the ground this season. He had a nice day throwing the ball, too, going 14-20 for 217 yards and three TDs.

WR Jason Chery pitched in, too, with an 81-yard TD run. His 9 rushes on the season include TD runs of 47, 87, and now 81 yards. Plus, he caught three passes today--all for touchdowns (17, 49, 57 yards). Oh, and he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Not a bad day.

I should probably say something about North Texas. Giovanni Vizza was 29-44 including 2 TDs and a season high 361 yards. Cam Montgomery's 20 carries and 116 yards were also season highs. Thanks to this offensive performance, their 29-point loss was their closest game this season. Previous losses were by 39, 30, 38, 57, and 32 points.

FIU 42, OSM{North Texas} 10

North Texas began this game by bending severely when they allowed a 17-play, 69-yard drive. But, they didn't break, standing strong when FIU went for it on 4th and 1 at the North Texas 10. They broke quickly on the next drive, which FIU's Paul McCall connected on a 65-yard TD strike to T.Y. Hilton. Their next drive ended when FIU blocked a punt for a touchdown. The next drive ended with QB Giovanni Vizza's first interception of the night. On the one after that, they failed to convert on 4th and 1 at the FIU 24, which was followed two plays later by McCall's 73-yard TD pass to Hilton. McCall was 11 of 19 on the night for 234 yards and 4 touchdowns.

GGSM{UCF} 31, SMU 17

Shame Mask apologies are in order for the UCF Golden Knights. Due to a busy week, I was unable to post about their glorious 31-17 victory over SMU to pass along the Golden Gopher Shame Mask.

Tied 10-10 at halftime, UCF switched quarterbacks to Michael Greco, who threw two touchdown passes.

Congratulations.