College football team NEWS & UPDATES thread

[Beyond the Bets]

If you have any news you want to share specific to the team you follow closely, post it here in this thread.

We've already got a Kansas State 'expert' on board, but since it's the team I follow closest, I think I'll co-pilot. Try to bold the team name prior to your post so the rest of us can immediately tell what it's about.

[Beyond the Bets]

Austin Meek of the Topeka Capital-Journal reports via Twitter that K-State players Arthur Brown and Bryce Brown could potentially be held out early on in the season. The Brown brothers were cited in the bombshell Yahoo! Sports report that is sure to sink Miami's football program.

Arthur (linebacker) and Bryce (running back) are two of K-State's best players, and will be relied upon heavily this season. It would be a major, major blow if the Cats aren't able to play them, and it would definitely influence my perception of the team going forward.

UPDATE: GoPowercat.com's Rob Cassidy reports that the NCAA has "no concerns" with the Brown brothers playing at K-State.

[TheBrick]

BTB has graciously accepted me as the college football expert for my Boston College Eagles. I'll use this thread for any and all news BC related, as well as insight into upcoming games, and any picks I may have. I would like to thank BTB once again, and I look forward to interacting with all of you.

Can't wait until Sept 3rd, when the Eagles take on Northwestern at home. Right now, BC sits as a 3 point favorite. I'd be surprised to see the line move much, likely only a half point either way from here on out. But, we all know how KEY that half point is around the 3 number. Be back with more soon...

[aTm Coop]

Howdy! I've been selected by BTB to be the correspondant for your Fightin' Texas Aggies for the 2011 season. Needless to say, the off season has been quite an adventure in College Station with a potential (and in my opinion probable) move to the mighty SEC.

Expectations are high this season as Aggie fans eagerly await the 2011 campaign. The Ags are loaded on offense, and a return to the Wrecking Crew days of the past are being counted on defensively.

I will attempt to break down each game from a numbers perspective and hope to provide some solid analysis to help you with the 'game within the game.'

The season kicks off on Sunday, Sept. 4 with a nationally televised game vs. June Jones and the revitalized SMU Mustangs from Kyle Field. The Ags are currently listed as a -15.5 favorite and the O/U is holding at 56. We'll break down this game closer to kickoff. The Aggies begin the season as the #9 ranked team in the country, their highest pre-season ranking in some time.

Coop
@coopinhtown

[Beyond the Bets]

Welcome aboard. Excellent introduction, too.

What do you think about A&M's over/under win total?

[The Cosmic Kid]

I hope you guys get stuck in the Big 12... :(

[TheBrick]

BC held its second intra-squad scrimmage tonight at Alumni Stadium. The big story on the field was the play of improving sophomore quarterback Chase Rettig, as he completed 18 of 25 for 231 yards.

Four of the five drives he led ended up with points, unfortunately 3 of those scores were field goals. I'm not quite sure what to make of that, as red zone offense was a problem last season, and field goals of 20, 22, and 25 yards, show a lack of punch inside the 10 yard line. But on the flip side, the defense was very strong in the red zone last season, and they will need to be again this year, as they usually play a bend but don't break type of style on defense.

The biggest news of the night for the Eagles didn't happen on the field. It was announced that star running back Montel Harris is expected to miss 3 to 4 weeks after sustaining a knee injury. This is the same knee which Harris tore last season, when he missed the last regular season game and the bowl game. Ideally, I'm hoping the news of Harris' absence for the opening game vs Northwestern will move the line off of the current line of -3. If the line moves to -2.5, I'll be pouncing, as I feel there will be plenty of value at that line. I'll have plenty more on that game as kickoff approaches, only 17 days remain ...

[Beyond the Bets]

This is a great post. As more people sign up, I hope this type of write-up becomes the standard. My goal here is to essentially create a giant media guide that updates in real time. By having everything in one spot, we should be able to keep tabs on each team fairly easily.

Now, whether or not we can organize these threads better, or create a subforum, I have no idea.

Anyways, quick question on Rettig: Is he legitimately the next Matt Ryan, as some in/around BC are suggesting? From everything I've heard, he has been playing incredible, and by the time this kid is a senior, the Eagles could be legitimate ACC front-runners.

That is, assuming there still is an ACC. Thoughts?

[ChiefZilla]

Watched a buddy of mine do a fantasy college draft tonight and some dude got auto-drafted the BC defense with the sixth overall pick (yes, the BC defense in the first round).

So my question for you, Brick the BC expert, is do you think that's good value? LOL

[TheBrick]

(08-17-2011 11:32 PM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  Anyways, quick question on Rettig: Is he legitimately the next Matt Ryan, as some in/around BC are suggesting? From everything I've heard, he has been playing incredible, and by the time this kid is a senior, the Eagles could be legitimate ACC front-runners.

That is, assuming there still is an ACC. Thoughts?

Is he the next Matt Ryan? Are we talking Matt Ryan in his senior year? Well then, absolutely not. Now, if we're talking Matt Ryan in his sophomore year, I feel that would be more realistic. The optimism surrounding Rettig is reasonable, most notably because of the Eagles new offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers. Rogers was formerly the quarterbacks coach of the Minnesota Vikings. I expect Rogers vast knowledge of the game, especially from the quarterback's point of view to be extremely beneficial to the growth of Rettig's game.

Rogers will also bring a more open offense to Chestnut Hill. It was easy to see that Rettig struggled in former OC Gary Tranquill's run heavy offense. I see bright days ahead for Rettig, as he has a young group of receivers who will all grow up with him. With Rogers' help and tutelage, I see Rettig improving vastly, but Matt Ryan, probably not, more like Matt Hasselbeck.

[Beyond the Bets]

I wrote a season preview on BC a few weeks ago.

I've got them pegged as a 6-6 team. Here is how I've broken down their schedule. Any swing games you feel strongly about?

[TheBrick]

(08-17-2011 11:37 PM)ChiefZilla Wrote:  Watched a buddy of mine do a fantasy college draft tonight and some dude got auto-drafted the BC defense with the sixth overall pick (yes, the BC defense in the first round).

So my question for you, Brick the BC expert, is do you think that's good value? LOL

BC had a historically stout defense against the run last season, and they also overachieved in the red zone, and forced an abundance of turnovers. Will they be able to repeat that performance? Not likely. On a majority of snaps, they play a base 4-3, with LBs dropping into a zone coverage. The biggest question on defense is the lack of a pass rush. This is a bend but don't break defense, and they thrive on inpatient offenses. If they play an offense who likes to grind, they are susceptible to being nickel and dimed to death. I know your question was in jest, but I figured I'd take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about the Eagles defense. Be well my friends ...

---

(08-18-2011 12:00 AM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  I wrote a season preview on BC a few weeks ago.

I've got them pegged as a 6-6 team. Here is how I've broken down their schedule. Any swing games you feel strongly about?

In my mind, the first 2 games will likely make or break the season. And I feel like the result of the first game will heavily influence the result of the second.

The other game I have circled is the game at Maryland. With this game being only 5 days before they play Florida State at home in a Thursday night ESPN game, I feel like it will be a trap game.

BC has won in Death Valley before, and it wouldn't surprise me if they do it again. Time and time again, Clemson seems to get frustrated when playing BC's style. The Eagles like to make it into a war of attrition, and some teams just aren't made out to compete that way.

[Beyond the Bets]

I have BC listed as a 10-point dog at Clemson in my projected point spreads.

[TheBrick]

(08-18-2011 08:27 AM)Beyond the Bets Wrote:  I have BC listed as a 10-point dog at Clemson in my projected point spreads.

10 points seems a little steep, but I understand the line. I guess what I was trying to communicate before was that I feel BC has a decent chance at winning outright, even as a 10-point dog.

[Beyond the Bets]

Right, no. I absolutely agree.

[TheBrick]

Montel Harris spoke to Dan Duggan at the Boston Herald regarding his knee injury. Harris said that after the Eagles first scrimmage, he felt a lot of soreness, the MRI came back clean, but he decided to have it scoped anyways.

A lateral tear of the meniscus was found, which is the same injury he suffered last season. This could be catastrophic news for the Eagles, as the original 3 to 4 weeks diagnosis could be well off. Harris said that red-shirting is a possibility, though not one he highly considering right now. Red-shirting might not be the worst case scenario for the Eagles. As it would be much worse if Harris attempted to come back too early and wasted his senior year by either never being 100% or re-injuring himself.

Harris has circled the Duke game on Sept 17th as his earliest possible return. I find that to be very optimistic. Harris' injury and possible return could become a major distraction to this team during the season. Right now, we know he will be missing at least the first two games (vs Northwestern and at Central Florida), both critical games for BC if they want to finish with a winning record. More to come soon, thanks for reading everyone ...

[Beyond the Bets]

Good stuff as always. If you get a chance, might want to dust off a resume for the Boston Globe. Never know when they might need a correspondent on the beat.

This could be me reading your articles -->

[wazzufan]

from eDuck:

PULLMAN-- Intense. It's the only word to appropriately explain the action during the Cougs' Thursday morning practice. Bodies were flying, collisions were plentiful all over the field and tempers were flaring from the jump, with several skirmishes breaking out. The Cougar D played big and had the offense's number, and sophomore safety Deone Bucannon set the tone with several big plays.

i must have missed the part where it said wazzu will go 1-11.

[SkyBlues42]

As we get closer to the first game, I'll begin to break down the Ducks and their game against LSU, but for now:

http://tinyurl.com/3opcgpk

My favorite part:

"Who's got the marijuana"

Harris response: "we smoked it all"

Not what you'd like to see before the season starts, especially with Darron Thomas in the car.

At least Chip is behind his QB-- "I'm not punishing someone for being a passenger"

Good thing there isn't a 3-strike rule for automobile incidents, since this would be Thomas' third one.

[wazzufan]

(08-19-2011 04:35 PM)SkyBlues42 Wrote:  At least Chip is behind his QB-- "I'm not punishing someone for being a passenger"