This past weekend marked the start of the 2008-2009 College Football season and it saw mixed results for area programs

Coastal Carolina vs. Penn State University

Penn State University routed Coastal Carolina 66-10 as Evan Royster ran for three touchdowns and Derrick Williams had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The victory tied coach Joe Paterno with Bobby Bowden atop the career wins list for major college coaches with 373 victories. Paterno is in his record 43rd season as coach of the Nitany Lions.

"I haven't even thought about it, and I'm not going to," Paterno said about the milestone. "I can only say it so many times, it's not a big deal to me."

It was an easy opening win in what could be Paterno's last season, something that has been said several times in the past. PSU is ranked #19 in the most recent AP and USA Today rankings.

The Nitany Lions play Saturday against Oregon State on ABC at 3:30 PM EST.

Fresno State vs. Rutgers University

The Scarlet Knights came into Monday's game against Fresno State with high expectations for this year's offense despite losing Ray Rice to the NFL this past offseason. Returning this year are veteran leader quarterback Mike Teel and the two leading Big East receivers. Everyone expected the game to be an offensive shootout, but they apparently forgot to tell the teams involved.

The score at half-time was 0-0 and the Scarlet Knights managed just one touchdown in the second half, while the Bulldogs scored 24 points, including three touchdowns by running back Ryan Matthews.

A major problem for Rutgers was the play of the offensive line and the quarterback. Teel was rushed often and forced to throw an inordinate amount of dump passes. He ended the game with 263 yards and two interceptions.

"We just couldn't establish any rhythm in the passing game," Teel said. "We were all out of whack."

The scoreless first half was the result of several missed opportunities by the Scarlet Knights and an inability to move the ball by the Bulldogs. Fresno State went three and out on three of their six first half possessions and had just 69 yards of total offense in the first half.

After three strong quarters by the Rutgers defense, they appeared to run out of gas in the fourth quarter, giving up-- points and crushing any hopes of an opening day win.

"We found ways not to get it done today," Rutgers' head coach Greg Schiano said. "We didn't come out and play the way we were capable of playing today. We lost ugly and will learn our lesson."

Rutgers faces off against the University of North Carolina on Thursday September 11 in Piscataway. The game is on ESPN at 7:30 PM EST.

Army vs. Temple University

Temple opened their season with a 35-7 victory over Army on Friday night. Adam DiMichele threw two touchdown passes and capitalized on two Army mistakes to take a 21-0 lead within the first fifteen minutes of the game. Jamal Schulters made it 28-0 when he returned the second half kickoff 98 yards.

DiMichele finished 15-for-22 for 159 yards and had one interception.

After their last meeting, when Army beat Temple 37-21, the teams have seen a reversal of fortune. Army went on to lose six of their next seven games, while Temple mustered a record of 4-3 to end the season.

The Owls face UConn Saturday at noon at Lincoln Financial Field on ESPNU.

Villanova vs. West Virginia

West Virginia beat Villanova 48-21 in head coach Bill Stewart's Mountaineer debut. The Mountaineers built a 34-7 lead midway through the third quarter while the Wildcats never made a serious threat to take the game. They needed little help from their vaunted rushing attack, which averaged just under 300 yards a game last year.

West Virginia quarterback Pat White set careers highs by going 25-of-33, finished with 208 passing yards and broke Marc Bulger's school career record for total offense.

West Virginia scored on six straight possessions with half of the drives lasting five or fewer plays. Alric Arnett and Jock Sanders each caught two of White's scoring passes and the other went to Will Johnson.

Villanova scored on short TD runs by Antwon Young in the second quarter and Aaron Ball and Christopher Whitney in the fourth.

The Wildcats take on Lehigh University on September 13 at 1:00 PM EST in Villanova Stadium.

University of Delaware vs. University of Maryland

It took three quarterbacks but the Maryland Terrapins were able to edge out the Blue Hens---7 Saturday. Da'Rel Scott was the key to Maryland's victory, rushing for 197 yards in his first college start. He carried 26 times and had runs of 40, 37 and 26 yards.

"We came in with the game plan that we were going to load up and run the ball, so I was pretty prepared for it," Scott said. "I just wanted to let people know what I can do -- and help my teammates out."

Maryland finished with 271 yards rushing and only 126 yards through the air. They also missed three field goals.

This was a surprising loss for the Blue Hens, who have-- starters returning this year from a team that went to the Football Championship Subdivision title game last season.

The Blue Hens take on West Chester on September 13 at 6:00 PM EST at home.

Recently cut Eagles' defensive end Jerome McDougle signed with NFC East rival New York Giants on Sunday, one day after being cut by Philadelphia.

The Giants signed McDougle in hopes that he can help fill the void left by injured Osi Umenyiora, who is out for the season.

"I look good in blue. I feel good to be here, staying in the division, so not really much of a difference as far as guys you are going against, and I just feel good to be here, to be wanted, and I am just looking forward to doing some good things on this defense," McDougle told New York-area reporters. "I like the defensive scheme, it is sort of the same kinds of things that I came from a€" a lot of movement a€" and we get after it"

He should like the defensive scheme, since Giants' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was an assistant to Jim Johnson with the Eagles.

McDougle was a first round draft pick of the Eagles in 2003 and has largely not lived up to expectations. He has battled through several injuries, including a gunshot wound, and played in just 33 games over the course of five seasons. Despite having the training camp of his now six year career, the Eagles significant depth at defensive end couple with his track record of coming up short was just too much to keep him on.

"That was an extremely difficult decision for us with Jerome," said Eagles' General Manager Tom Heckert. "He's a great guy. He's worked his butt off to come back from a lot of adversity, and he's played well. I think he's not going to have any trouble finding work."

Heckert is certainly right about that.

Phillies' ace Cole Hamels has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the major leagues this year. He is third in the major leagues in innings pitched with 203, behind Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays and CC Sabathia of the Milwaukee Brewers. He has 174 strikeouts with a 3.01 ERA. He has two complete game shutouts and a WHIP of 1.03.

Tuesday night he pitched seven and a third shutout innings against the Nationals, striking out six. Hamels is the guy you want to face off against Johan Santana in the season finale against the Mets on Sunday. But does Hamels want to be that guy?

When asked about whether he would pitch on Sunday (Sunday would be the normal five days rest for Hamels, but due to the off day on Thursday, his normal spot in the rotation doesn't come up until Monday) Hamels replied,

"I think I just won a ballgame. That's all I'm thinking about."

When pressed on the issue, Hamels artfully dodged making a commitment to pitching in what will in all likelihood be the most important game of the season up until that point. It wasn't clear whether Hamels was simply being coy, or if he legitimately has an opinion on the matter and does not want to pitch ahead of schedule.

There has been some speculation that Hamels is worried about his arm since this is the first time in his career that he has pitched more than 200 innings in a season.

"I guess it's tough just because it's so late in the game and I haven't been really a good player or teammate with the injuries I've gotten in the past," Hamels said. "So it's kind of a sticky situation. I think this is something where I obviously want to get past this so I don't have to think about an injury-type situation ever again. I can come into every season and be healthy. I think that's the key that my teammates want to think about, that I want to think about."

There has also been speculation that since the Phillies rebuffed his request for a contract extension this past offseason, he is reluctant to put his health on the line.

There is no evidence that any of this is true and is just sports radio fodder, but it creates an interesting point. Regardless of the reason, this time of year you want your ace to reply to the question of "Do you want to pitch in the biggest game of the year?" with "Hell yes I do! Give me the damn ball!" With the biggest game of the year coming up, against the Mets, in Shea Stadium, against Johan Santana, on national TV, you do not want to hear,

"I don't know. I don't have a comment for that."

Chances are that he will pitch Sunday, especially with the recent struggles of sophomore pitcher Kyle Kendrick, who is currently slated to pitch in that game. All indications are that Kendrick is done for the year, to be replaced by J.A. Happ, who has minimal big league pitching experience and is absolutely not the guy you want pitching in such a pivotal game.

The Phillies are in a down to the wire Pennant race and this is the situation you have an ace for. Santana continues to be one of the best pitchers in all of major league baseball and this could go down as one of the greatest matchups in recent history. You want your ace to have that fire, to have that drive. To put it plainly, you want Cole Hamels to act like Brett Myers.

Say what you want about Myers, but he has the fire, the drive, the desire to be the guy with the season on the line. In early August Myers was taken out of a game by manager Charlie Manuel and then visibly got into an argument with him when they were both in the dugout. Myers was pissed off that Manuel removed him and wanted to stay in the game.

Hamels has the talent to be the ace, but does he have the character? We shall see.

Philadelphia Eagles' disgruntled cornerback Lito Sheppard continues to wonder what his role will be this season with the club. When asked about the upcoming season, Sheppard replied,

"I feel fine. I feel great. I feel healthy. I feel ready to play this season. But as for my role, that is yet to be determined."

According to his agent Drew Rosenhaus, his role could still very well be on another team.

"At least one team has made a recent trade proposal to the Eagles," Rosenhaus wrote in an email to the Philadelphia Daily News. "The Eagles didn't like the compensation and turned it down. I will not identify the team at this time. I think there is a very good chance Lito gets traded in the next few weeks."

It's four days before the start of the season and Sheppard is still here. Chances are that he remains an Eagle this season, and his role is the Nickel cornerback. The best thing for Lito to do for Lito is to not whine, not holdout, not perform in another Rosenhaus Video, but to just play and play well.

The fact that Lito is still here is an indication of the lack of interest in him around the league. If he goes out this season, shuts up, and plays like we all know he can, then his stock will rise significantly this offseason, ensuring him the phat contract he has been looking for.

Play, Lito, play.

Sixers' General Manager Ed Stefansky continues to show a bold and aggressive nature not often seen in Philadelphia outside of the Flyers with the announcement that they have signed veteran center Theo Ratliff to a one-year deal at the veteran's minimum of $1.4 million.

Ratliff, who played for the Sixers from 1997 to 2001, was reportedly offered more money to play elsewhere but preferred to return to Philadelphia. Even though he was not on the Sixers' roster when they made it to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001, Ratliff was a key component of the Larry Brown renaissance.

Since leaving the Sixers, Ratliff has played for Atlanta, Portland, Boston, Minnesota, and Detroit last season. He has career averages of 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.

Signing an additional big man was made a major priority two weeks ago when back up center Jason Smith tore his ACL.

Ratliff brings veteran experience to one of the youngest teams in the league, as well as one of the premier shot blocking talents in the league. He will add serious depth off the bench as well as leadership in the lockeroom.

Philadelphia Eagles' coach Andy Reid announced Wednesday that wideout Kevin Curtis is set to have sports hernia surgery and will be sidelined for an as yet undetermined, but significant, amount of time.

Curtis was injured during last Thursday's pre-season game against the Carolina Panthers and tried to practice this week, but struggled mightily.

"He tried to work through it but wasn't able to function very well with it during practice, so we decided to go this direction," Reid said.

Reid also indicated that he was not interested in bringing in any new wide receivers at this point, which does not bode well for the offense. With Reggie Brown also out, the starters against Friday's pre-season game against the New England Patriots are Desean Jackson in Brown's spot and either Hank Baskett or Greg Lewis playing for Curtis. Brown is still nursing a hamstring injury.

The Eagles signed Curtis as a free agent last season. He set career highs with 77 catches for a team-leading 1,110 yards and six touchdowns.

Well there goes the offense. Joe Horn anyone?

With five cemented starters in the rotation, it would appear as though the Phillies have found the second lefthanded arm for the bullpen that they have coveted all year. Touted prospect J.A. Happ was recalled to the big league club from AAA on Tuesday, replacing former starter Adam Eaton. Happ has allowed just four runs in two big league starts this season, but with all five starting pitchers in place, it would appear that his role the second time around will be out of the bullpen. Or will it.....

Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel stated to the media Tuesday that while Happ is starting this stint in the bullpen, he views him as a starting pitcher, not a reliever.

Responding to a question about whether Happ will get another shot at starting this season, Manuel replied

"Without a doubt there's a chance, yes," Manuel said. "We liked what Happ showed us."

So what does that mean for the other five starters already in the rotation?

"It means we're trying to get our starting pitching straightened out where we like it," Manuel said. "That's what that means. Two-thirds of the season is gone and we're trying to still find the best starting rotation we can put on the field."

It appears that the Phillies' skipper was putting his starters on notice, particularly Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick.

"One of the reasons [we brought him up] was we figured he's the best guy we had in Lehigh Valley and also he pitched two good ballgames up here and we liked the way he pitched," Manuel said. "And that means that he might be better than someone we have. We just want to see him pitch more."

Myers has struggled mightily this year, recording just his fourth win of the season Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals, his first since May 30. He spent three weeks in AAA trying to work out the problems in his command and velocity, as well as trying to get his "swagger" back. In his second start since returning from the minors, Myers looked solid, although it was against the worst team in the league and it is evident he still has some minor kinks to work out. Myers is viewed as they key piece to the puzzle if the Phillies hope to make the playoffs this year.

Recently acquired Joe Blanton has been less than stellar in his abbreviated two starts with the Phillies. In his last start Blanton only went two innings due to an extended rain delay. He did, however, manage to give up two runs before being chased off by the rain. Blanton has pitched relatively well in his short time in Philly and has been more the victim of untimely mistakes than poor pitching. That being said, it won't matter what the reasoning is if he continues to give up runs as he has so far. Blanton struggled in Oakland with the Athletics before the trade, going 5-12 with an ERA of almost 5, but has shown an ability in the past to win. Last year Blanton won-- games, and won 16 games in 2006. He is a contact pitcher who looks to get guys out early and often, which could conceivably pose some problems for him in hitter friendly Citizen's Bank Park.

With less than 24 hours to go in the MLB trade deadline, it looks increasingly like Blanton is going to end up being the Phillies major trade market acquisition and this puts a lot of pressure on the young righty. Coming into this season, and through the better part of it so far, the conventional wisdom was that the Phillies were in need of another legitimate number two or three starting pitcher. This deficiency was made even more evident when the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs acquired CC Sabathia and Rich Harden, respectively. The Phillies then went out and got Blanton, Harden's teammate in Oakland, after a lot of speculation that they were pursuing Mariners' disgruntled ace Erik Bedard. Many have questioned the acquisition of Blanton when the need for a starting pitcher was so obvious and when it appears that the Cubs got the significantly better Harden for less than the Phillies got Blanton for. Blanton is under a lot of pressure to succeed and prove Phillies General Manager Pat Gillick right.

Speaking of pressure, the pressure is not as intense for the other Phillies' starter seemingly put on notice, Kyle Kendrick. The expectations are significantly lower for Kendrick, just in his second season in the majors. Kendrick surprised many last year as the Phillies White Knight, going 10-4 in 20 games with an ERA of just 3.87. This season, however, he has somewhat fallen victim to the Sophomore Slump, going 8-5 in 21 games with an ERA of 4.70.

In Kendrick's defense, he has largely been the victim of poor run performance, a concept unheard of coming into this year's season. With a lineup consisting reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins, former MVP Ryan Howard, perennial All Star and MVP candidate Chase Utley, and perennial should have been an All Star Pat Burrell, many thought that offense would have been the last worry for the Phillies this year. They have struggled at the plate in the last two months, scoring 222 runs since June 1. Taking out the 20-2 game against the Cardinals in June, they scored a measly 202 runs. The Phillies scored 302 runs in April and May.

If Happ doesn't get traded before next season, he will almost certainly fill one of the five spots in the starting rotation, most likely Jamie Moyer's, as he will in all likelihood retire after the end of this season. This season, he is waiting in the wings, ready for the call at a moment's notice. With this team's rotation, that call could come any day.