Catch the latest Buzz Around Team Camps for this Friday, October 10th:
Michigan via http://www.mlive.com
While Michigan struggled to get Illinois' powerful offense off the field in last week's 45-20 loss, they should have a slightly easier time Saturday against Toledo.
The Rockets still possess a solid attack, yet they don't have a player of Illini quarterback Juice Williams' caliber, explains The Ann Arbor News' John Heuser, in his weekly chat. The Wolverines offense should do well against a struggling Rockets defense, and Michigan may even wind up putting the game in the hands of its rushing attack.
"Toledo's defense has been lousy all season," Heuser says. "So this would be a great week for the Wolverines to get something going on offense.
"Toledo averages only 255 pounds up front and is allowing opposing QBs to complete 66 percent of their passes."
| Video: U-M weekly press conference 10.06.08 |
Michigan St. via http://www.freep.com
Michigan State's two most effective defensive players Saturday's against Northwestern could be Javon Ringer and Brian Hoyer.
No, Ringer won't pull double-duty at running back and strong safety. And Hoyer won't play nickelback in addition to quarterback against the Wildcats' potent spread offense. But if the pair can contribute to MSU with a big advantage in time of possession, it will limit the number of cracks Northwestern will get on offense.
"With them having a spread offense, they just keep going and going and going," Ringer said. "The reality of that is it can eventually wear a defense down. So it's not good for us if they're continually driving down the field with their no-huddle offense and our defense continually gets tired.
Purdue via http://www.jconline.com
If you're fired up about the prospects of Purdue pulling off the upset Saturday at Ohio State, you might want to skip this post. But if you don't mind staring some ugly history right in the face, by all means, read on.
Most Boilermaker fans are well aware that the Purdue football team has lost 16 in a row to Top 25 opponents. But with the Buckeyes up next, I thought I'd take a look at how they've fared against the Big Ten Conference's so-called "Big Three" — Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
Let's start with Penn State, and only include games played against the Nittany Lions since they've been competing in the Big Ten (1993). During that time, the Boilermakers are 2-10 overall and 1-5 in State College.
Against Michigan, Purdue is 12-41 overall and 4-27 in Ann Arbor. Against Ohio State, the Boilermakers are 12-36-2 overall and 5-24-2 in Columbus. Purdue's last victory at Penn State was in 2004, but the Boilermakers haven't won at Ohio State since 1988 and they haven't won at Michigan since 1966.
Ouch. That hurts. If this has tarnished your Gold and Black glasses, you might want to stop here. Because it's time to add up the numbers. Drum roll, please.
Purdue's combined overall record against Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State is 26-87-2. Its overall record in Ann Arbor, Columbus and State College is 10-56-2.
Washington via http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
The Washington Huskies are off this weekend, leaving their coaches to a task that might be even more difficult than winning a game has been — recruiting.
Coach Tyrone Willingham said Thursday the Huskies will have the NCAA-maximum seven coaches out on the road recruiting this weekend, an apparent indication that their efforts in that area aren't waning even if their futures are in serious doubt. But try as hard as they might, UW coaches will likely run into a lot of road blocks trying to sell recruits on the Huskies.
"It's very difficult right now," said Greg Biggins, a recruiting analyst for ESPN.com. "As they say in recruiting circles, the rumor or threat of a coaching change is more damaging than the coaching change itself. Right now, you have to understand Washington is being negatively recruited like crazy by other schools ... 'if you go to Washington, welcome to the hot seat, the coaches are not going to last the year.' The players are hearing that.
"But even without a hot seat, it's hard to recruit when you haven't won many games. So add the lack of wins with the possibility of a coaching change and it makes it almost impossible to recruit at a high level."
Pittsburgh via http://www.post-gazette.com
The walls of Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh's office lend credibility to the fact that he is a detail-oriented and organized coach. There are diagrams of offensive plays and formations and even those of defensive schemes from opponents past and present.
There are charts with statistical analysis and personnel production charts and a video machine that doesn't ever seem to be off, as Cavanaugh is constantly watching and breaking down film of practices and games.
It is a reservoir of extreme offensive football knowledge, all written or compiled by Cavanaugh. Yet every year since he arrived at Pitt in 2005 -- and going back to his days as the Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator -- his ability to coach has been questioned by fans and members of the media.
And the criticisms are always along these lines: His offense is too conservative, he is too in love with the run game, his offenses are poorly designed and his offenses are boring.
Cavanaugh hears these criticisms and he understands them and he understands why they exist. He agrees that sometimes his offenses probably aren't going to be that fun to watch if that's the kind of game plan the situation, personnel or matchups dictate. But he knows that the bottom line is winning football games, and he's certain that if the Panthers, now on a four-game winning streak, continue to win, nobody will complain about style points.
Boston College via http://www.boston.com
Boston College has gone back to the tradition of "Offensive Line U," which has produced a steady flow of offensive linemen to the National Football League the last several years.
The linemen are more cohesive than they have been since a new coaching staff came to The Heights and changed the system, the way they played, the way they thought. All that is missing now is the customary final bonding with the quarterback, who shows his appreciation of the linemen's work by taking them to dinner.
"Hasn't done it yet," BC center Matt Tennant said with a look over his shoulder to quarterback Chris Crane. "Maybe I'll let [defensive right tackle B.J. Raji] hit him in practice."
It is easier to joke these days at offensive meetings. Putting up 578 yards of total offense (428 passing yards) in last week's 38-31 win over North Carolina State was not only a confidence booster, it eased the tension that was building as the Eagles' offense sputtered the first few weeks of the season.
Syracuse via http://blog.syracuse.com
Check that. Syracuse University sophomore tailback Delone Carter is now considered doubtful to play in his team's Big East Conference football game at West Virginia on Saturday, said head coach Greg Robinson.
Carter, who has missed the last two games with an injured hamstring, has practiced this week. Robinson said Carter practiced well until Thursday when Carter told him the hamstring had tightened up. Robinson said he now considers that Carter is doubtful for the game on Saturday.
"He's got to feel well, feel like he can burst and go all out," Robinson said Thursday night on his weekly television show. "Right now, he doesn't."
Southern Cal via http://www.latimes.comOne play away. Mitch Mustain knows the phrase, knows the ramifications.
He traveled more than 1,500 miles from Arkansas to Los Angeles to become USC's starting quarterback. Spent more than a year learning a new offense. And went up and down the depth chart with hopes of sticking at No. 1.
Saturday's game against Arizona State at the Coliseum might have been Mustain's opportunity. But Mark Sanchez has recovered from a knee injury that briefly sidelined him during last week's victory over Oregon and provided Mustain with his first taste of real playing time for the Trojans.
So Mustain waits. And prepares. He is content, for now, knowing he is one play away from getting back onto the field and leading the offense.
"Certainly, this is the best spot I've been in since I got here," he said this week.
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