This week?s issue of The Docket will be slightly abbreviated due to my having to evacuate Houston with Hurricane Rita coming strong. The Gulf Coast just can?t seem to catch a break and my thoughts and prayers go out to all who are in the path of this storm.
To date, The Docket?s record for the 2005 NCAA Football season stands at 6-4-2 and if I can maintain a 67% winning tally, this will be an extremely successful season. I am encouraged about that possibility so let?s move on to this week?s games.
PENN STATE at NORTHWESTERN ? September 24th, 12:00 EDT
The 2004 defensive effort of the Nittany Lions was one of the best in the nation and it should have been good enough for Joe Pa?s team to compete for the conference title. However, in order to win games, you have to be able to score points and Penn State simply was not able to do that. The good news in Happy Valley this year is that QB Zack Mills is finally gone as his performance worsened with each year that he ?led? this squad. Michael Robinson takes his place in 2005 and it looks as if this offense may finally have found some rhythm and just might have enough to manage a winning season for only the second time since 1999.
Defense is something that Northwestern seems to know very little about as demonstrated by the fact that they have allowed over 1,300 yards and nearly 90 points in their last two games. Arizona State dropped a whopping 52 points on their ass in last week?s game, making the defense look very bad in the process. The Wildcats have held the Lions to a single touchdown in their last two meetings but have little chance of pulling off the hat trick this year with the personnel at their disposal. Their scoring output has been pretty good thus far as they have averaged 32 points per game but the Cats scored a total of only 31 points on Penn State over their last three games and I expect more of the same this week.
Penn State?s running game is off to a solid start, averaging 187 yards in the first three games and RB Tony Hunt is gaining an average of 7.6 yards every time he touches the ball. Even more encouraging is the 239 passing yards per game that Robinson has managed thorough the air for 10.6 yards per completion, not to mention the 35 points per game the Nits have logged so far. The offensive line is made up of five players who all started last year and that experience is showing early on. The defense has performed as expected by allowing only 13 points to South Florida in the opener and 3 points to Central Michigan last week. In the Lion?s second game, they held Cincy to 10 points until the Bearcats scored twice in the final minute. The Nittany Lions are particularly tough on the ground as they are allowing only 47.3 rushing yards per game.
Joe Pa has to bow out sooner or later and you can bet your ass it will only be on his terms. That probably means only after a winning season and with a 3-0 start the Nits are poised to go 4-0 for the first time since 1999. A win against Northwestern would be the 100th for Penn State since joining the Big Ten in 1993 and this is the best spot to achieve that milestone with Minnesota and Ohio State up next.
The Verdict: PENN STATE (-8.5)
EAST CAROLINA at WEST VIRGINIA ? September 24th, 3:30 PM EDT
East Carolina can hang their hat on the fact that they won their 2005 opener even if it was against Duke and even if it was by only three points. Everyone needs something to brag about and this might be all the Pirates get this year as they look to be the whipping post of Conference USA with little chance to win another game unless it is against Central Florida in October. In the mean time they will show up for their games with nothing to look forward to except the long bus rides home.
This is the team that lost to Wake Forest last week who had previous losses to Vandy and Nebraska. This is the team that allowed the Deacons to rush for 407 yards in that game. This is the team that hired Skip Holtz as their new Head Coach this season and this is the team that will pay the price for that decision. Despite the job Holtz did when he was at UCONN, that was a long time ago and he has spent the last six years propping up Dear Ole Dad on the sidelines at South Carolina. If East Carolina thinks he is going to be the one to turn a round a program that won only three games over the last two seasons, I am afraid the school is in for a rude awakening.
"I think it's going to be a great test for our defense this week, especially after last week," Holtz said. "I'm sure that West Virginia, right now, is salivating at that, licking their chops, watching the film and thinking they're going to turn and line up and they're going to play power ball and control the football." Really Skippy, what makes you say that?
Oh yeah, this is the team that has six different players who have rushed for over 75 yards this season and don?t look now but this is also the team that ripped Maryland's defense for 301 yards rushing in a 31-19 victory last Saturday. This is the team that is now 3-0 on the season and with rival Virginia Tech on deck, I don?t expect a letdown as this game has all the makings of a perfect confidence builder as they get ready to host the Hokies. This is the team that should to roll at home.
The Verdict: West Virginia (-22)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS vs. AKRON ? September 24th, 6:00 PM EDT
This week, the Akron Zips finally get to play at home and have to be feeling pretty good about their effort last week even if it was against Division I-AA Middle Tennessee State. The 17-7 win follows their game against Purdue where they actually were able to hold their own in a 49-24 loss even if the score doesn?t reflect it. Akron has covered the number in each of those games by 10 and 16 points respectively.
Zips? QB Luke Getsy has now passed for over 600 yards in just two games but is completing only 55% of his passes and although he has thrown four touchdowns, he has also thrown three interceptions. His arm is the only real offensive threat as the running game has only produced 149 yards thus far this season. The defense gave up 211 yards on the ground to Purdue and then held MTSU to just 54 yards rushing but now faces a Northern Illinois team with multiple weapons.
The Huskies are drawing some attention this year after opening their season with solid road performances against Michigan and Northwestern and then they hosted I-AA Tennessee Tech last week, who they annihilated by a score of 42-3. In the match-ups with the Big 10 opponents, NIU lost both games but were able to accumulate 411 and 539 yards of total offense and came within a last second failed two point conversion of upsetting Northwestern. If it were not for five very uncharacteristic turnovers, the outcome of the Michigan game might have been reversed so this team has been playing a high level.
In an offense that has been mostly run oriented in years past, QB Phil Horvath has opened up the passing game in logging 701 yards to his talented receivers. Not that the running game is being forsaken as RB Garret Wolfe was extremely impressive in the first two games but left the game last week with a shoulder injury. He should be ready to go for this game and may very well have his way against the Zips? run protection.
I have taken an interest in this Northern Illinois team since last season because I have been impressed with their talent, toughness and discipline. The five turnovers in the game with Michigan does not at all reflect their ability to hang on to the ball as they were the best in the nation in lost turnovers last year with only one. I see the Huskies as being able to establish the ground game early against the Zips who will have to stack the line against Wolfe allowing the passing game to capitalize often.
The Verdict: NORTHERN ILLINOIS (-6.5)
To date, The Docket?s record for the 2005 NCAA Football season stands at 6-4-2 and if I can maintain a 67% winning tally, this will be an extremely successful season. I am encouraged about that possibility so let?s move on to this week?s games.
PENN STATE at NORTHWESTERN ? September 24th, 12:00 EDT
The 2004 defensive effort of the Nittany Lions was one of the best in the nation and it should have been good enough for Joe Pa?s team to compete for the conference title. However, in order to win games, you have to be able to score points and Penn State simply was not able to do that. The good news in Happy Valley this year is that QB Zack Mills is finally gone as his performance worsened with each year that he ?led? this squad. Michael Robinson takes his place in 2005 and it looks as if this offense may finally have found some rhythm and just might have enough to manage a winning season for only the second time since 1999.
Defense is something that Northwestern seems to know very little about as demonstrated by the fact that they have allowed over 1,300 yards and nearly 90 points in their last two games. Arizona State dropped a whopping 52 points on their ass in last week?s game, making the defense look very bad in the process. The Wildcats have held the Lions to a single touchdown in their last two meetings but have little chance of pulling off the hat trick this year with the personnel at their disposal. Their scoring output has been pretty good thus far as they have averaged 32 points per game but the Cats scored a total of only 31 points on Penn State over their last three games and I expect more of the same this week.
Penn State?s running game is off to a solid start, averaging 187 yards in the first three games and RB Tony Hunt is gaining an average of 7.6 yards every time he touches the ball. Even more encouraging is the 239 passing yards per game that Robinson has managed thorough the air for 10.6 yards per completion, not to mention the 35 points per game the Nits have logged so far. The offensive line is made up of five players who all started last year and that experience is showing early on. The defense has performed as expected by allowing only 13 points to South Florida in the opener and 3 points to Central Michigan last week. In the Lion?s second game, they held Cincy to 10 points until the Bearcats scored twice in the final minute. The Nittany Lions are particularly tough on the ground as they are allowing only 47.3 rushing yards per game.
Joe Pa has to bow out sooner or later and you can bet your ass it will only be on his terms. That probably means only after a winning season and with a 3-0 start the Nits are poised to go 4-0 for the first time since 1999. A win against Northwestern would be the 100th for Penn State since joining the Big Ten in 1993 and this is the best spot to achieve that milestone with Minnesota and Ohio State up next.
The Verdict: PENN STATE (-8.5)
EAST CAROLINA at WEST VIRGINIA ? September 24th, 3:30 PM EDT
East Carolina can hang their hat on the fact that they won their 2005 opener even if it was against Duke and even if it was by only three points. Everyone needs something to brag about and this might be all the Pirates get this year as they look to be the whipping post of Conference USA with little chance to win another game unless it is against Central Florida in October. In the mean time they will show up for their games with nothing to look forward to except the long bus rides home.
This is the team that lost to Wake Forest last week who had previous losses to Vandy and Nebraska. This is the team that allowed the Deacons to rush for 407 yards in that game. This is the team that hired Skip Holtz as their new Head Coach this season and this is the team that will pay the price for that decision. Despite the job Holtz did when he was at UCONN, that was a long time ago and he has spent the last six years propping up Dear Ole Dad on the sidelines at South Carolina. If East Carolina thinks he is going to be the one to turn a round a program that won only three games over the last two seasons, I am afraid the school is in for a rude awakening.
"I think it's going to be a great test for our defense this week, especially after last week," Holtz said. "I'm sure that West Virginia, right now, is salivating at that, licking their chops, watching the film and thinking they're going to turn and line up and they're going to play power ball and control the football." Really Skippy, what makes you say that?
Oh yeah, this is the team that has six different players who have rushed for over 75 yards this season and don?t look now but this is also the team that ripped Maryland's defense for 301 yards rushing in a 31-19 victory last Saturday. This is the team that is now 3-0 on the season and with rival Virginia Tech on deck, I don?t expect a letdown as this game has all the makings of a perfect confidence builder as they get ready to host the Hokies. This is the team that should to roll at home.
The Verdict: West Virginia (-22)
NORTHERN ILLINOIS vs. AKRON ? September 24th, 6:00 PM EDT
This week, the Akron Zips finally get to play at home and have to be feeling pretty good about their effort last week even if it was against Division I-AA Middle Tennessee State. The 17-7 win follows their game against Purdue where they actually were able to hold their own in a 49-24 loss even if the score doesn?t reflect it. Akron has covered the number in each of those games by 10 and 16 points respectively.
Zips? QB Luke Getsy has now passed for over 600 yards in just two games but is completing only 55% of his passes and although he has thrown four touchdowns, he has also thrown three interceptions. His arm is the only real offensive threat as the running game has only produced 149 yards thus far this season. The defense gave up 211 yards on the ground to Purdue and then held MTSU to just 54 yards rushing but now faces a Northern Illinois team with multiple weapons.
The Huskies are drawing some attention this year after opening their season with solid road performances against Michigan and Northwestern and then they hosted I-AA Tennessee Tech last week, who they annihilated by a score of 42-3. In the match-ups with the Big 10 opponents, NIU lost both games but were able to accumulate 411 and 539 yards of total offense and came within a last second failed two point conversion of upsetting Northwestern. If it were not for five very uncharacteristic turnovers, the outcome of the Michigan game might have been reversed so this team has been playing a high level.
In an offense that has been mostly run oriented in years past, QB Phil Horvath has opened up the passing game in logging 701 yards to his talented receivers. Not that the running game is being forsaken as RB Garret Wolfe was extremely impressive in the first two games but left the game last week with a shoulder injury. He should be ready to go for this game and may very well have his way against the Zips? run protection.
I have taken an interest in this Northern Illinois team since last season because I have been impressed with their talent, toughness and discipline. The five turnovers in the game with Michigan does not at all reflect their ability to hang on to the ball as they were the best in the nation in lost turnovers last year with only one. I see the Huskies as being able to establish the ground game early against the Zips who will have to stack the line against Wolfe allowing the passing game to capitalize often.
The Verdict: NORTHERN ILLINOIS (-6.5)
