W. Virginia 70 - 63 Baylor (Final)

Well, you can't say that Baylor's coach isn't committed to his game plan.  His guys gave up ten touchdowns to WVU today, and were little more than a sieve for most of the game.  But with only three minutes to go, he kicked it deep to give his defense one more chance.  They failed, of course, and WVU ran out the clock.

This game will get a lot of publicity, and it will help Geno Smith's Heisman campaign.  After all, he was 45-51 for 656 yards and eight touchdowns.  He had one receiver (Stedman Bailey) with 303 receiving yards, and another (Tevon Austin) with 215 receiving yards.  Oh, and Smith ran for another 31 yards as well.

But Baylor's Nick Florence was almost as good:  29-47 for 581 yards, 5 TD's, and 1 INT.  The truth is that both QB's benefited from some of the worst college defense I have ever seen.  Time and time again, guys would catch passes and race down the field with virtually no serious response from the defense.  This is not sound football -- and to me, it's not even that entertaining.  If I want to watch touch football, I'll just go down to the park.

Anyway, Baylor's record in UCFC games falls to 14-18-3.  WVU wins its fifth UCFC game in a row, and its record in UCFC play is now 15-7.  But next week, the Mountaineers take the big trophy to Austin, Texas.  And I don't think they'll score 70 points down there.

W. Virginia 70 - 63 Baylor (3:08 left in 4th Quarter)

Sigh.

OK, you know the drill.

West Virginia scores.

West Virginia kicks off.

Baylor takes the ball.

Baylor scores.  This time it was an eight-yard pass from Nick Florence to Terrence Williams to cap a 75-yard drive.

Whatever.  None of it matters unless Baylor can stop WVU.

W. Virginia 70 - 56 Baylor (5:55 left in 4th Quarter)

Again, Baylor, WHY ARE YOU KICKING IT DEEP?  Don't you realize that your only hope was to get an onside kick?  Don't you know that if Geno Smith gets the ball, he will score?  This time it was a 75-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard pass from Smith to Stedman Bailey.  I have no idea who was supposed to be guarding him today, but whoever it was has been useless.

W. Virginia 63 - 56 Baylor (10:49 left in 4th Quarter)

In all seriousness, I don't understand why these teams keep kicking off to each other.  It literally makes no difference where on the field the other team gets the ball -- they just keep scoring.  This 76-yard drive ended with a seven-yard pass from Nick Florence to Antwan Goodley of Midland H.S. in Midland, TX.  So now it's back to Geno Smith.

W. Virginia 63 - 49 Baylor (13:55 left in 4th Quarter)

Well, that didn't take long.  From his own 13, Geno Smith throws an out pattern to Stedman Bailey, who catches the ball at the WVU 35, only to find that there is no one from Baylor between him and the end zone. He dashes the rest of the way untouched for his fourth TD reception of the game.  He now has 264 receiving yards.  Meanwhile, here are the latest numbers for Smith:

38-43, 577 yards, 7 TD's, 0 INT's.

The two teams have now combined for 113 total points, which I'm pretty sure is a UCFC record.

W. Virginia 56 - 49 Baylor (14:14 left in 4th Quarter)

A few runs -- topped off by a one-yard plunge from QB Nick Florence -- get it done, and Baylor has shaved WVU's lead to seven.

Here are Florence's numbers today:  21-35, 448 yds, 3 TD's 1 INT.

Now Geno Smith -- who has already thrown 6 TD's today -- is under pressure to score yet again.

W. Virginia 56 - 42 Baylor (end of 3d Quarter)

When play starts again, Baylor will have a 3d and 2 from the WVU 17.

W. Virginia 56 - 42 Baylor (1:10 left in 3d Quarter)

I stepped away for awhile, and Baylor scored on a 37-yard pass from Nick Florence to Terrence Williams.  Then the Bears stopped WVU, and now they are sitting at the WVU 37 on another drive.  So this thing's not over after all.

W. Virginia 56 - 35 Baylor (5:16 left in 3d Quarter)

And that's probably your ballgame.  WVU zooms down the field with the usual efficiency, and Andrew Buie dashes into the end zone from one yard out for his second TD of the game.

Smith is now 36-40 for 486 yards, 6 TD's, and 0 INT's.  He has more TD passes than incompletions.  Tevon Austin has 13 catches for 207 yards.  Stedman Bailey has 10 catches for 173 yards.

W. Virginia 49 - 35 Baylor (7:52 left in 3d Quarter)

Baylor drove down to the WVU 29, but Aaron Jones missed his second field goal of the game.  WVU will take over with a chance to put the game away.

W. Virginia 49 - 35 Baylor (9:13 left in 3d Quarter)

Geno Smith is great, and his receivers are great, but it is very hard to overstate how bad Baylor's defense has been.  This time they have WVU 3 and 12 at the WVU 48.  Smith drops back to pass, dances around for about 10 seconds, and then hurls a pass all the way down to the Baylor 15 -- where Tevon Austin is completely undefended.  Austin scoops in the catch and strolls into the end zone, looking for all the world like a kid playing in his back yard.  I have no idea what the Bears' defense was doing on that play.

The two teams have now scored 84 points, so they have covered the over.  WVU is also covering the 11-point spread, at least for now.

Here are Smith's latest numbers:  34-38, 436 yards, 6 TD's, 0 INT's.

W. Virginia 42 - 35 Baylor (12:01 left in 3d Quarter)

On 3d down, Baylor made the usual completed pass for a first down, but then the receiver -- Terrence Williams of W.T. White H.S. in Dallas, TX -- fumbled the ball, which was scooped up by West Virginia.  But then the call was OVERTURNED, and the pass was ruled incomplete, so Baylor gets to punt.  So instead of taking over at the Baylor 28, WVU will get the ball at its own 16.

I was going to say that this is a huge deal, but given WVU's performance so far, it may not be that important.

The WVU folk -- who have now seen the officials uphold Baylor's TD on the last play of the first half (WVU thought the Baylor QB had crossed the line of scrimmage before the pass was thrown) and who have also seen the officials overturn a fumble that would have given WVU possession in Baylor's territory -- are now complaining about the Big XII officials.  To which I say, if they think it's bad in Morgantown, wait until they go to Austin next week.

W. Virginia 42 - 35 Baylor (12:31 left in 3d Quarter)

And, we're off again.  WVU takes the kickoff, drives to the Baylor 45.  On 1st and 10, Baylor tries a blitz.  Smith throws to Tevon Austin at the Baylor 35.  Since Baylor was blitzing, there are no safeties close to Austin, and he dashes into the end zone for WVU's sixth TD of the game.

Smith's numbers now look like something you'd see when you were playing Madden against the computer:  29-32, 350 yards, 5 TD's, zero interceptions.

W. Virginia 35 - 35 Baylor (Halftime)

Unbelievable.  With two seconds left on the clock, and Baylor on its own 33, there wasn't much for Baylor QB Nick Florence to do but flip the ball to Lanear Sampson of North Mesquite H.S. in Mesquite, TX at the WVU 45 and hope for the best.  Since I'm used to watching SEC football, I kept waiting for someone to come over and whack Sampson to end the half.  But this is Big XII football, so naturally Sampson ran UNTOUCHED ALL THE WAY TO THE END ZONE TO TIE THE GAME.  Just a horrific effort by WVU's defense on that play.  Truly unforgivable, even by the standards of this game.

We haven't had a lot of drama in some recent iterations of the UCFC, but we're getting it today.  I have no idea what will happen in the second half, other than that both teams will probably score and score.  Look at these numbers from the two QB's:

Florence (Baylor):  11-16, 296 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT.
Smith (WVU):  26-28, 288 yards, 4 TD's, 0 INT.

W. Virginia 35 - 28 Baylor (29 seconds left in 2d Quarter)

The WVU defense finally sacks Nick Florence on a key 3d down play, and the Bears punt, giving WVU the ball at its own 13.  As you would expect, Geno Smith leads the champs on a very easy 87-yard touchdown drive that ends with Stedman Bailey's third TD reception of the first half -- this one coming on a corner-out pass from the Baylor 2.  Suddenly, WVU is on top for the first time all day.

W. Virginia 28 - 28 Baylor (4:54 left in 2d Quarter)

Same old, same old.  Tevon Austin of Dunbar H.S. in Baltimore, MD returns the kickoff 41 yards to put WVU in business at its own 41.  A few plays later, Geno Smith flips a 20-yard pass to Stedman Bailey to tie the game again.

At this point, it's just silly for the teams to try regular kickoffs.  They should be going for onside kicks every time.

W. Virginia 21 - 28 Baylor (6:22 left in 2d Quarter)

Well, WVU is a perfect fit for the defensively-challenged Big XII.  It takes less than a minute for Nick Florence to find Tevin Reese of Temple H.S. in Temple, TX, who is behind the WVU defense.  Reese catches the ball at about the WVU 45 and races the rest of the way untouched for a 65 yard TD.  The Bears re-take the lead.

Now Florence has thrown for 210 yards, while Smith has thrown for 171.  We're pretty much watching flag football at this point.

W. Virginia 21 - 21 Baylor (6:55 left in 2d Quarter)

Can Geno Smith respond to the Baylor challenge?  YES HE CAN!  WVU's Heisman candidate brings back the Mountaineers with a spectacular 47-yard TD pass to Steadman Bailey, who (like Smith) attended Miramar H.S. in Miramar, FL.  We're all tied up again.

W. Virginia 14 - 21 Baylor (9 minutes left in 2d Quarter)

That didn't take long.  The Bears zip 23 yards in less time than it will take to write this entry, and Glasco Martin -- whose jersey says "Martin IV," so apparently the Glasco Martins have been around for awhile -- picks up his second TD of the game with a two-yard run.

So far, Baylor's quarterback has been great.  Here are the stats for Nick Florence of South Garland H.S. in Garland, TX:  8-11 for 145 yards and 1 interception.

Now the pressure is back squarely upon Geno Smith and co.

W. Virginia 14 - 14 Baylor (10:03 left in 2d Quarter)

The Mountaineers go three and out, so we get a rare appearance from punter Corey Smith of Musselman H.S. in Inwood, WV.  His punt goes to Levi Norwood, who is from Midway H.S. in Woodway, TX.  Norwood reels off a 45-yard return to put Baylor in business at the West Virginia 23.  So now the edge has tilted back toward the Bears.

W. Virginia 14 - 14 Baylor (11:49 left in 2d Quarter)

West Virginia breaks serve!  The Baylor Bears drove down the field as usual -- but then stalled at the WVU 16.  Aaron Jones of Crowley H.S. in Crowley, TX came in to kick a 33-yard field goal -- but he missed.

So the champs take over with a chance to grab the lead.

W. Virginia 14 - 14 Baylor (42 seconds left in 1st Quarter)

OK, it is ON now.  West Virginia storms straight down the field, and Geno Smith of Miramar H.S. in Miramar, FL tops off the drive with a 7-yard pass to J.D. Woods of Golden Gate H.S. in Naples, FL.  The champs have re-tied the game.

W. Virginia 7 - 14 Baylor (2:39 left in 1st Quarter)

So far this looks like the sort of shoot-out the bookmakers were expecting.  Baylor takes the kickoff, goes straight down the field, and Glasco Martin of Stony Point H.S. in Round Rock, TX rushes in from 7 yards out to put the challengers on top.

The crowd at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium is not happy.

W. Virginia 7 - 7 Baylor (5:32 left in 1st Quarter)

When I wrote that last entry, West Virginia had first and goal in Baylor territory.  Soon afterward, Andrew Buie of Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, FL. blasted in from one yard out to tie the game.

W. Virginia 0 - 7 Baylor (6:01 left in 1st Quarter)

Just back from lunch, and the challengers have already scored.  Baylor takes the lead on a one-yard run from Jarred Salubi, from Waco H.S. in Waco, TX.

W. Virginia v. Baylor

According to Google Maps, Morgantown, West Virginia (home of the Mountaineers) is 1,303 miles from Waco, Texas (home of the Baylor Bears).  Given these facts, it is hardly surprising that WVU and Baylor have never played each other.  And if college football were operating properly, they wouldn't play each other this year either.

But West Virginia and Baylor have both been caught up in the uncertainty resulting from the mad scramble among the conferences that has shaken up the college football world.  Fearful that the Big East would fall apart, and not welcomed by either the SEC or the ACC, WVU was thrilled with the chance to tie its fortunes to that of the Big XII conference -- although I have my doubts about how long this arrangement will actually last.  Meanwhile, Baylor -- very fearful that it could fall into the ranks of the Rices and SMUs who used to belong to a major conference -- is also thrilled to still be in the Big XII.  And so today the 3-0 Bears will travel to Morgantown for WVU's first ever Big XII game.

Ironically, for all their conference worries, both Baylor and West Virginia are playing very well these days.  Baylor is number 25 in the AP poll, while WVU is number 9.  And while the schools have had little contact, the two head coaches know each other well.  Dana Holgorsen (the WVU coach) and Art Briles (the Baylor coach) were both on the Texas Tech staff under Mike Leach from 2000 to 2002, and both teams favor Leach's dramatic spread offense.  In fact, the over/under for this game is a remarkable 83.

The Vegas odds show WVU as a favorite by anywhere from 10 to 11 1/2 points, and that sounds right to me.  It would be stunning for WVU to lose their first conference game at home, even to a dangerous Baylor squad.

Baylor

We think of our ancestors as living much more settled lives than we do.  But consider this biography.  Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor was born in Kentucky on May 5, 1793.  After fighting in the War of 1812, he practiced law in Kentucky, which his uncle (Jesse Bledsoe) represented in the U.S. Senate.  He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1819 to 1820.  But then he resigned his seat (at the age of 27) and moved to Alabama.  There he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives and later represented Alabama in the federal House of Representatives from 1829 to 1831.  But he lost his seat in the election of 1830.  While in Alabama, he was also ordained a Baptist minister.

In 1839 (at the age of 46), he left Alabama and moved to Texas.  There he held various posts, serving as a district judge for 25 years.  He died in Texas on January 6, 1874 at the age of 80.  While in Texas, he also led the movement to start a Baptist university.  The university was chartered by the Congress of the Republic of Texas -- which was still a separate country at that point -- on February 1, 1845 -- and it was named after the remarkable Mr. Baylor.

Baylor University started life in Independence, Texas, but moved to Waco, Texas in 1885.  Baylor started playing football in 1896, and was a charter member of the old Southwest Conference, where it stayed from 1915 until the conference expired in 1996.  It then followed the University of Texas into the Big XII conference, where it remains to this day.  As a private school competing against the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, Baylor has had a relatively mediocre football history.  In fact, the schools' all-time record is 544-539-44.

But recently the Bears have been on a roll.  Last year they went 10-3, beating both Texas and Oklahoma, and knocking off the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl.  Much of that success was due to Robert Griffin III, who became Baylor's first Heisman trophy winner.  But this year they are off to a 3-0 start with wins over SMU (59-24), Sam Houston State (48-23), and Louisiana-Monroe (47-42).

Today's game against West Virginia will be Baylor's 35th appearance in an Unofficial College Football Championship Game.  The Bears took the title on October 20, 1928 with a 28-7 win over Centenary (who had taken the title from Texas A&M the week before).  A few weeks later, they lost the crown to Texas.  But the UCFC spent much of the 1930's in Texas, and Baylor played in 17 UCFC games between 1928 and 1938.  They held the title for four weeks in a row in 1937 before losing it to Texas again.  Baylor did not regain the crown until September 14, 1991, when they beat Colorado 16-14.  In fact, they played in eight UCFC games in 1991, going 5-3 in those contests.

Since then, however, they have only had three more shots at the title.  On October 11, 1997, Nebraska beat them 49-21.  On October 17, 1998, Texas A&M beat them 35-14.  And on October 18, 2008, Oklahoma State beat them 34-6.  Their all-time record in UCFC play is 14-17-3.

Wrap Up: 2012 Week 4

The biggest win of the week was Oregon's dominating performance over Arizona. They shut out an Arizona offense that beat Oklahoma State 59-38. There are plenty of teams that can rack up points. Oregon can score points everyone knows this. But the big difference between the SEC teams and the rest of the country has been defense. Alabama can completely shut down an offense. So when you match them up with a team that can score but can't play solid defense, Alabama wins. By shutting down Arizona, Oregon showed they can play defense. At this point if they stay undefeated and Alabama stays undefeated those two teams will play for the championship.

Another team that had a big test this last week was Florida State. They did win their game, but they allowed Clemson to score 37 points. This means Florida State is really good, but they are not on the same level as an Alabama or now an Oregon.

The other big story from the weekend in terms of the top teams was the struggle that LSU had with Auburn. Everyone remembers how awful the LSU offense looked last year in the championship game and no one wants to see that again. Struggling to score points against a not very good Auburn team was enough to drop them down the line.

We have talk a bit about the Big 12 and the Big 10. The Big 12 are in rare territory. The top two teams representing the Big 12 are the current UCFC title holders, West Virginia, and upstart Kansas State. The voters always look first to the big programs like Oklahoma and Texas and so this actually hurts the Big 12's chances of making the BCS championship game unless odd things happen. It will be interesting to see how West Virginia does in their first Big 12 game this weekend against Baylor.

The other team that deserves some mention here is Western Kentucky.  I talked last week about coaches being the big story and part of the story was Willie Taggart. He continued to build his resume with a solid win over Southern Mississippi 42-17. I don't know how Western will close out the season, but I would not be surprised to see Taggart sign with a major program at the end of the season.

Here are the games I'm interested in this week.

Ohio State at Michigan State
I find it hard to believe, but Ohio State may end up winning the Big 10. If they knock of Michigan State I wouldn't be surprised to seem them start creeping up the polls.

Texas at Oklahoma State
As I said the pollster want a big named school to represent the Big 12. If Texas wins in a convincing manner I wouldn't be surprised to see them jump past West Virginia and Kansas State.

Oregon State at Arizona
I'm very intrigued by Oregon State and want to see them keep winning. It would be great if the Pac 12 came down to Oregon State and Oregon.

W. Virginia 31 - 21 Maryland (Final)

A good game between these two old rivals -- a game worthy both of their rivalry and the UCFC.  Maryland gave it everything they had -- and WVU might have been a bit flat -- but quality told, and the better team prevailed.

Maryland falls to 9-11 all-time in UCFC play.

West Virginia wins its fourth consecutive UCFC game, and the Mountaineers' are now 14-7 in UCFC games.  Next week, WVU will return to Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium to put the title on the line against the Baylor Bears.

W. Virginia 31 - 21 Maryland (4:33 left in 4th Quarter)

Maryland's possession went nowhere, as the Terps were buried under a combination of silly penalties and WVU blitzes.  Finally, on 4th and 21, Perry Hills flung the ball down the middle of the field -- where it was intercepted by a WVU defender who should have simply let the ball hit the ground.  So WVU takes over on its own 29 yard line, and the Mountaineers will win the game.  But WVU will not cover the 26-point spread, and their impressive young coach, Dana Holgorsen, looks like he's about to blow a gasket on the sidelines.  He knows that this type of performance will not get it done against the best teams in the Big XII, and he's right.

W. Virginia 31 - 21 Maryland (5:48 left in 4th Quarter)

The Terp defense holds again, and UMD will take over on its own 44 yard line.  The Terps have been very aggressive about blitzing WVU, and their second-half defense has been quite solid.

W. Virginia 31 - 21 Maryland (7:25 left in 4th Quarter)

Just when this game appeared to be over, Perry Hills came out slinging.  He drove the Terps out to their 44, and then he hit Stefon Diggs, a receiver from Good Counsel H.S. in Gaithersburg, MD.  Diggs broke into the clear and went 56 yards for a touchdown.  So the WVU lead is back down to 10 points.

W. Virginia 31 - 14 Maryland (8:18 left in 4th Quarter)

It was never realistic to expect that Maryland could shut out WVU for the entire second half, especially after the Mountaineers get such a critical turnover.  Geno Smith (26-38 for 320 yards, 3 TD's, and no interceptions) puts together another great drive -- and this one ends with Tavon Austin's third touchdown of the day, a 34-yard strike down the middle of the field.  Austin now has 11 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns, and he and Smith have been the difference in this game.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (12:56 left in 4th Quarter)

Maryland's last drive ended because, on 3d and 19 from the WVU 47, Marcus Leak dropped a pass that probably would have given the Terps a first down.  And this drive just ended because Marcus Leak -- after making a first down -- fumbled a ball that was recovered by the Mountaineers at their own 32.  If those two plays had gone differently, this game might have gone down to the wire.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (end of 3d Quarter)

Maryland did punt.  But the Maryland defense held for the third time in a row, and WVU punted once more.  The Terps will take over at their own 24, and the Twitter feed from the WVU athletic department has gotten querulous.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (4:43 left in 3d Quarter)

WVU punted after their first possession of the second half.  Then UMD punted.  Then WVU punted again.  And then UMD put together a nice little drive that left them with a first and 10 at the WVU 38.  But a sack pushed them into a 2d and 17 at the WVU 45, so we'll probably have another punt pretty soon.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (14:54 left in 3d Quarter)

WVU takes the kick to start the second half.  The Mountaineers will start on their own 22.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (Halftime)

Hills not only came back, he actually drove the Terps into position for what could have been a critical field goal.  But Maryland missed a 41-yard attempt, and WVU takes its 10-point lead into the locker room.

WVU is going to win this game, but UMD looks much improved from the rag-tag group that fell apart at the end of last season.

By the way, this is a bad-uniform game.  WVU has abandoned its usual blue-and-gold unis for gray shirts, gray pants, and a gray helmets with blue and gold trim.  Maryland has responded with an almost all-white look (including a white and light-gray helmet based on the Maryland flag).  Both looks have a sort of bad-high-school look to them, and are exactly the sort of thing that encourages UVA and Georgetown types to look down on the Terps and the Eers.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (45 seconds left)

Well, this could be the ballgame.  Maryland's freshman QB, Perry Hills, has been playing pretty well.  But just now he was in the pocket when the whistle blew for a false start.  Everyone stopped except for Terrence Garvin, a WVU linebacker from Loyola Blakefield H.S. in Baltimore, MD.  Garvin blasted Hills in the back, and Hills has since left the game with an injury.  There was no flag on the play.  If Hills can't come back, any chance UMD had will be gone.

W. Virginia 24 - 14 Maryland (52 seconds left in 2d Quarter)

After an exchange of punts, WVU's offense came out with an air of "This Has Gone on Long Enough."  They   put together a very nice drive that ended with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Smith to a wide-open Tavon Austin (of Dunbar H.S. in Baltimore, MD).  Something went wrong for UMD on that play, because there was no one within five yards of Austin.  His second TD reception of the day means that he has six catches for 114 yards, and will soothe the WVU fans.

W. Virginia 17 - 14 Maryland (7:40 left in 2d Quarter)

West Virginia QB Geno Smith (of Miramar H.S. in Miami, FL) brought the Mountaineers back into the Red Zone, but he was sacked on 3d and 8 from the MD 13 by A.J. Francis of Gonzaga College H.S. in Washington, DC.  So the Mountaineers turned to Tyler Bitancurt (of W. Springfield H.S. in Springfield, VA), and his field goal gave them a 3-point lead.

W. Virginia 14 - 14 Maryland (12:16 left in 2d Quarter)

Well, we have a game so far.  On 3d and 8 from the WVU 12, Maryland's quarterback Perry Hills (from Central Catholic H.S. in Pittsburgh, PA), threw a touchdown pass to Marcus Leak (from Parkwood H.S. in Charlotte, NC).  Brad Craddock (from Tabor Christian College in Adelaide, Australia) added the extra point, and suddenly we are all tied.

The skies are cloudy over Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, and the WVU fans are not happy.

W. Virginia 14 - 7 Maryland (12:30 left in 2d Quarter)

We had a noon kickoff, and at noon I was out getting lunch with the rest of the Go Heath family.  By the time I got back, the game had begun with the usual fusillade of points.  West Virginia jumped out to a 14-0 lead with a 51-yard fumble return and a 44-yd pass from Geno Smith to Tavon Austin, and it appeared that the expected rout was underway.  But then Maryland struck back with a 42-yard touchdown pass of its own to make the score 14-7.  Even more surprisingly, Maryland's defense then stopped the Mountaineers, and the Terps are in the midst of another drive.  They are currently facing 3d and 8 on the WVU 12.

W. Virginia v. Maryland

Last year, Maryland played for the UCFC against Clemson (they lost 56-45 in a blazingly dramatic game.  On that occasion, we prepared an entry summarizing the history of the Maryland program and its role in the UCFC.  You can read that entry here.

It's a drive of 206 miles from the University of Maryland, in the DC suburb of College Park, to WVU's campus in Morgantown.  Culturally, however, the gap is harder to measure.  On the one hand, the city folk in  DC have long amused themselves by mocking their country cousins to the west.  On the other hand, both Maryland fans and WVU fans are notorious for their poor behavior -- and both groups are sneered at by the well-bred Georgetown and UVA types who play such a major role in DC's professional class.

So it makes sense that the Maryland/West Virginia game has long been a staple of early-season football drama in the Mid-Atlantic.  This will be the 49th meeting between the two rivals in what has generally been a very entertaining and competitive series.  They met every year from 1980 to 2007, took off 2008 and 2009, and are now in the midst of a series scheduled to last until at lest 2017.  Last year, West Virignia pulled out a wild 37-31 victory in College Park to pick up their sixth consecutive win over the Terps.  The Mountaineers now lead the series 25-21-2.

Maryland is going through a difficult transition with second-year coach Randy Edsall.  Despite playing close games with Clemson and West Virginia, the Terps were dreadful against almost everyone else, finishing with a record of 2-10.  They're off to a 2-1 start this year, with close wins over William & Mary (7-6) and Temple (36-27) and a close loss last week to UConn (21-24).  The UConn loss was embarrassing for Terp fans, as Edsall came to Maryland from UConn.  Nevertheless, through three games the Terps appear to be playing with more discipline and defense than they showed last year.

None of that is likely to do Maryland much good today, however.  This may be the best WVU team in that school's long history.  The Mountaineers are the number 8 team in the nation, and they are riding a streak of three crushing victories in UCFC games.  Vegas has WVU winning this game by 26 points, and that sounds about right to me.

Wrap Up: 2012 Week 3

I know we are only three weeks into the season, but to me this week was all about the coaches.

Kentucky's loss to Western Kentucky is a great example. I can't imagine Joker Phillips will still have his job at the end of the year. A win like that also puts the Western Coach, Willie Taggart, on the market to a bigger program. He won at Western last year. Came back this year and after being ranked preseason as one of the worst teams in the country is already outperforming.

And what about Bobby Petrino? With the complete collapse at Arkansas, Petrino's stock has to be through the roof. The good thing too about Petrino is that he did something stupid, but not something so horrible it makes him a hard hire. I know some people in Kentucky dream of getting Petrino, but he's too big for the likes of UK. I'm sure Tennessee will be going after him along with every team in the Big 10, except for Ohio State. The Big 10 is now looking to be even worse than the ACC in football and if you're any school besides Ohio State you have to be very concerned moving forward about being completely left behind.

Another coach who will now get some serious scrutiny is Lane Kiffin at USC. There have always been question marks around his ability to coach as well as his ability to not break rules. He came in this season with the top ranked team and now the season is blown apart just a few weeks in. I don't think Kiffin will lose his job at the end of the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some rumblings over hiring him in the first place. When you look around the PAC 12 right the teams are stacked with big time coaches. In this offseason Washington State hired Mike Leach, Arizona hired Rich Rodriguez, UCLA hired Jim Mora Jr., and Arizona State hired Todd Graham. So far all these hires look good as these teams are all sitting with winning records.

If we look outside of coaching I think the biggest story of the week, outside of Alamaba, Arkansas, was Florida State. For the past few seasons they have been ranked but struggled on a weekly basis to show themselves as being an elite team. Wake Forest isn't that good, but they have given teams in the ACC headaches the last few sasons, but this time no problem Florida State delivered the same 52-0 beat down that Alabama gave Arkansas. This impressed me and for the first time in years I think Florida State may actually be as good as they are ranked.

The second biggest story was Notre Dame embaressing Michigan State. The Big 10 is on path to become a conference completely dominated by Ohio State, once Urban Meyer gets rolling, and otherwise completely irrelevant.

Besides West Virginia defending against Maryland next week, here are the games I'll be interested in following.

Arizona at Oregon
     It will be interesting to see how far Rodriguez has managed to bring Arizona.

Clemson at Florida State
     Now we get the real test of Florida State.  If they can shut down Clemson, then they can shut down any offense in the country.  That will be their big test in this game.  I secretly root for Clemson so I'll be looking for the upset.

Kansas State at Oklahoma
    This is KSU's chance to become the top dog of the Big 12.  All they have to do is beat Oklahoma.  If Oklahoma can throddle KSU and FSU struggles against Clemson look for Oklahoma to move up in the polls. 

Colorado at Washington State
     Each week WSU's offense has been getting better and better.  This week they are at home against a horrible Colorado team.  I'm expecting a huge blowout this week and all the Leach love to start pouring out of Pullman.

W. Virginia 42 - 12 James Madison (Final)

After that initial offensive explosion, the Mountaineers mercifully called off the dogs and let JMU escape with some dignity yesterday. Geno Smith, WVU's great QB, still went 34-39 for 411 yards and five touchdowns as West Virginia looked awesome for the third consecutive UCFC game. The Mountaineers run their all-time record in UCFC games to 13-7. JMU falls to 0-1 in UCFC games.

Up next, West Virginia goes home for a final tuneup against the Maryland Terrapins before they start Big XII play. Based on what I've seen so far, I will be stunned if they lose that game.

W. Virginia 28 - 0 James Madison (10:15 left in 2d Quarter)

This will probably be my last entry for this game, until I write the final wrap-up. WVU has been totally overwhelming. Let me explain what's going on here. The WVU coach, Dana Holgersen, is a disciple of Mike Leach -- he was on Leach's staff at Texas Tech from 2000-2007, back when Leach was terrorizing the Big 12 with his pass-happy offense. Holgersen runs the same basic attack that Texas Tech used -- the Mountaineers spread the field, give the ball to Geno Smith, and then let him create plays. Smith is really good -- in this game he's 17-20 for 218 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. His receivers are also excellent -- especially Stedman Bailey (7 catches for 109 yards so far today) and Tavon Austin (6 catches for 89 yards in this game).

Last year, which was Holgersen's first in Morgantown, the Mountaineers had three losses -- to LSU at home (21-47), to Syracuse in the Carrier Dome (23-49), and to Louisville at home (35-38 in OT). And WVU didn't score more than 35 points in any of its last four regular-season games. But evidently they had some sort of breakthrough when they were preparing for the Orange Bowl, where they scored 70 points against a good Clemson team. So far this season, in their two games against Marshall and JMU, their first team offense has scored a touchdown almost every time it has gotten the ball. I am now very curious as to how the Mountaineers will do in their first season in the Big XII.

W. Virginia 21 - 0 (1:58 left in 1st Quarter)

That drive was 9 plays, 77 yards. It's like watching a metronome. Geno Smith, WVU's excellent quarterback, has already gone 12-15 for 142 yards and two touchdowns. JMU is a very good Division I-AA team, but they are simply not competitive with the Mountaineers. It begins to look as though Rhode Island (JMU's next opponent) will not get a shot at the UCFC after all.

W. Virginia 14 - 0 James Madison (6:29 left in 1st Quarter)

Like I was saying before, they get the ball -- they score. They get the ball -- they score.

W. Virginia 7 - 0 James Madison (10:16 left in 1st Quarter)

You have to understand that WVU literally scores a touchdown almost every time they get the ball. They scored 70 points in the Orange Bowl against Clemson, 69 points against Marshall, and they have scored on their first possession here -- a 10 play, 71-yard drive that took only 3 minutes and 7 seconds.

W. Virginia 0 - 0 James Madison (14:57 left in 1st Quarter)

Root took us straight to a half-empty FedEx Field, where the latest battle for the UCFC has just kicked off!

W. Virginia 0 - 0 James Madison (Pre-Game)

OK, the Pirates held on for the 7-6 victory. Now will we get a post-game show, or do we go straight to WVU/JMU?

W. Virginia 0 - 0 James Madison (Pre-Game)

We may miss the beginning of this game. It's supposed to be televised on the Root Sports Network, which specializes in Pittsburgh sports. But right now Root is showing a Pirates game. The Pirates lead the Cubs 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cubs have the bases loaded.

W. Virginia v. James Madison (in Landover, Md.)

WVU and JMU are not that far apart -- only 168 miles -- but they are very different institutions. WVU is soaked in the long and complex history of its sports-obsessed state, while JMU has only been playing football since 1972. The Mountaineers and the Dukes have met only once before. That was in 2004, up at Morgantown, WV, and the Mountaineers rolled to a 45-10 victory. They will be heavily favored to roll up a similar margin today -- or they would be, if anyone were giving odds on the game (I couldn't find any on the usual web pages).

For reasons that I don't fully understand, this game is being played at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins. FedEx Field, which sits out in the suburbs of Prince George's County, Maryland, is almost uniformly hated by Redskins fans, who miss watching the Skins at RFK. They regularly share stories about how terrible it is to get to FedEx Field, how poor the atmosphere is once you arrive, and how long it takes to get home. And that's when the Redskins are there. The DC Metro Area is not exactly a hot-bed of college football (Saturday is when Washingtonians normally run errands), so I don't think you'll see a lot of the locals heading out to old FedEx to watch the Mountaineers and the Dukes. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the stadium were only about half-filled.

That would be a big break for the Dukes, who need all the breaks they can get. But WVU looked awesome two weeks ago against Marshall, and I will be stunned if JMU can stay within 20 points of the Mountaineers.

James Madison University

If you drive down I-81 toward southern Virginia (or up I-81 toward northern Virginia) you will go through the lovely town of Harrisonburg, Virginia (population 49,973). If you pay attention as you go through town, you will see James Madison University -- a school with over 17,000 undergraduates, making it one of the largest universities in the Old Dominion.

JMU, as it is known to the people who talk about it, began life in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg. At first, it was basically a technical or junior college. In 1916, however, it was authorized to award bachelor's degrees. By this time it had been renamed the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg.

The term Normal School is confusing now, and was probably confusing then. (According to Wikipedia, it derived from the French ecole normale, which referred to a school that established teaching standards or "norms.") Anyway, in 1924 was re-named the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. It kept that name until 1938, when it was named Madison College after James Madison, whose estate was in Orange, Virginia -- about 52 miles away from Harrisonburg.

After that the school continued to grow. In 1946, men were first enrolled as regular day students. In 1954, the school was authorized to grant master's degrees. In 1966, the school became fully co-educational. In 1976, it was renamed James Madison University. And in 2009, it was granted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. These days, it is one of the most highly-regarded regional universities in the country, and is filled with students from the crowded (and education-obsessed) suburbs of Northern Virginia. Virginia has kept UVA and William and Mary at roughly the same size even as the state's population has soared, and JMU has greatly benefited from the overflow.

JMU's sports teams are known as the Dukes -- after Samuel Page Duke, who was the president of the school from 1919 to 1949. The Dukes started playing Division III football in 1972, but in 1980 they shifted to Division I-AA. They have an all-time record of 250-192-4, and they won the I-AA national championship in 2004, and they stunned Virginia Tech 21-16 in 2010. Their current coach, Mickey Matthews, has been there since 1999 and has an all-time record of 98-61. This season the Dukes are 2-0 with home wins over St. Francis (Pa.) (55-7) and Alcorn State (42-3). They are currently number 4 in the country in Division I-AA (I know that division has been renamed but I refuse to use the new name).

This will be JMU's first chance to play for the UCFC.

Wrap Up: 2012 Week 2

Unlike week 1, week 2 in college football held a lot of exciting stuff.

Let's start with Arkansas. Maybe they were looking forward to next week when they will play Alabama, but they tripped up in a big way this week losing 34-31 to the University of Lousiana-Monroe in overtime. If Arkansas had visions of making the BCS title game that all came crashing down Saturday.

Sticking with the SEC let's take a look at the two newcombers Missouri and Texas A&M. Both were hosting their first SEC opponents as SEC teams and both were hyping up their chances of success. I actually thought that both teams had a shot at winning as Georgia tends to choke up at least one game a season and Florida doesn't seem that good, but Georgia stomped Missouri and Florida managed to get the win. This actually bolstered the SEC in many ways. If we take a look at the new Massey Comparison we'll see that the SEC and PAC 12 increased their control over the top of college football. 

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. USC
4. Oregon
5. South Carolina
6. Georgia
7. Oklahoma
8. Michigan St
9. Stanford
10. Kansas St
Why you might ask did the PAC 12 fair so well this week?  Well because Oregon State beat Wisconsin, Arizona beat Oklahoma St, UCLA beat Nebraska, and Arizona State beat Illinois.  These are not supposed to be the top teams in the PAC 12, but they all won over major conference opponents.  Three of those wins came over Big 10 teams and so we are left with the notion that the Big 10 is floundering.  We are also left with the idea that you shouldn't schedule a team like Savannah State for your season opener as Oklahoma State did.

West Virginia will be back defending The Unofficial College Football Championship next week against James Madison, but let's see what other games of interest I'll be keeping an eye on.

Alabama at Arkansas
     This is now Arkansas' season.  If they can beat Alabama it won't get them into the BCS, but it would bring down Alabama from the top and right now what else do the Razorbacks have.

Tennessee Tech at Oregon
     One word "Eaglebait."

Wake Forest at Florida State
     This will be Florida State's first test of the season and so it will be interesting to see how good they are.  Wake has played a spoiler in the ACC the last few seasons so you never really know how good or bad they will be on any given week.

Notre Dame at Michigan State
     Right now Michigan State is the top dog of the Big 10 and Notre Dame is trying to push themselves up into the top 10 realm.  This may well be the game of the week over Arkansas, Alabama.

USC at Stanford
     Another big game early in the season.  Everyone will be watching this one closely to see just how good USC is.

University of Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn
     With Auburn struggling can Louisiana-Monroe pull off two upsets over SEC teams in a row?

Western Kentucky at Kentucky
     According to the Massey Comparison WKU is ranked 74 and Kentucky 68.  This should be a good game, and if Kentucky loses will mark the end of their head coach.

         

Wrap Up: 2012 Week 1

The first week of the college football season is always a bit odd. You don't really expect any big stories because you expect the top 25 teams to roll their opponents, but there is always that anticipation of something unique happening. Of course this week all the build up was for the Alabama, Michigan game. Could the SEC dominance continue or would Michigan be able to represent the Big 10 and show that they were a conference worth watching. Well we got the answer in a blowout win for the Tide and so we are left to assume that the SEC will have at least one team at the end of the season playing in the BCS title game.  Now the focus starts to narrow on who will be there in the end.

One of my favorite college football ranking sites is Massey Ratings.  It is a meta rating site where he ranks the teams based on their ranking across many ranking systems.  It was interesting to see the shift at Massey after the opening week.  Here are the preseason rankings.

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Oregon
5. USC
6. Oklahoma St
7. Arkansas
8. Stanford
9. Michigan
10. Wisconsin

Here are the rankings after week 1

1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Oregon
4. USC
5. Oklahoma
6. Oklahoma St
7. Arkansas
8. Florida St
9. Michigan St
10. South Carolina

The Michigan loss hurt the big 10 and USC and Oregon are now up there as the 3 and 4 team behind Alabama and LSU.  I would imagine this will be the image we see for quite some time and of course what's intersting is to think that as we move toward a four team playoff system we are currently in a situation where the majority believe the four best teams represent only two conferences.

With the UCFC title holders off next week we look to see what big matchups lay ahead. 

Here are the games I'll be interested in.

Western Kentucky at Alabama 
     Growing up in Kentucky I'm keeping hope that WKU can pull one of the greatest upsets in college football history.

Georgia at Missouri
     There is a lot of hype of Georgia, but they always seem to blow games early in the season, so this might be an upset.

Eastern Washington at Washington State
     It would be fantastic if Eastern could pull off the Idaho, WSU double.
 
Vanderbilt at Northwestern
     I always find this to be a fun game.

W. Virginia 69 - 34 Marshall (Final)

There really isn' t much to say about the rest of the game -- West Virginia had this game well in hand at halftime and simply kept rolling in the second half. This is WVU's second UCFC game in a row, and they have scored 139 points in those two games. Geno Smith's numbers today look like something you'd see in a video game: 32 of 36, 323 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Oh, and Smith also carried eight times for 65 yards. West Virginia ended up with 649 yards of total offense. Of course, they did give up 34 points and 544 yards. But that merely underscores the fact that they should be right at home in the defensively-challenged Big 12 Conference.

West Virginia retains the title it won in the 2012 Orange Bowl, and its all-time record in UCFC play is now 12-7. This was Marshall's first appearance in a UCFC game, so the Thundering Herd is now 0-1 in such games.

West Virginia has a bye next week, so they will hold the title for at least two more weeks. Their next defense will take place at Fedex Field, home of the Washington Redskins, on September 15. Their opponent will be the James Madison Dukes.

W, Virginia 34 - 10 Marshall (1:02 left in 2d Quarter)

The last time we saw WVU they were scoring 70 points in the Orange Bowl. And now they've put up another 34 points in the first half of this game. This was a 67-yd drive that ended with a 9-yard pass from Smith to J.D. Woods. The Eers have gone for 413 yards in the first half. Here are Geno Smith's passing numbers: 18-21 for 185 yards and three touchdown passes.

I think the James Madison Dukes can officially start getting excited, because in two weeks they will be playing WVU for the UCFC.

W. Virginia 27 - 10 Marshall (6:54 left in 2d quarter)

The WVU offense is actually getting better. That time the Mountaineers needed only 3 plays to go 82 yards -- the touchdown being scored on a 6-yd pass from Geno Smith to Tavon Austin. WVU already has 339 yards of total offense.

W. Virginia 20 - 10 Marshall (7:11 left in 2d quarter)

Marshall's offense, at least, is now showing some spirit. The Herd march back down the field and kick a 34-yard field goal. Unfortunately for them, they now have to kickoff to West Virginia.

W. Virginia 20 - 7 Marshall (9:25 left in 2d quarter)

That didn't take long. WVU took the kickoff and immediately drove 69 yards for their third touchdown -- the drive being topped off by a 24-yd run from Andrew Buie. So for now, at least, the usual service has been resumed.

W. Virginia 13 - 7 Marshall (11:16 left in 2d quarter)

Well, you just never know with the UCFC. WVU was on the verge of going in for a touchdown that would have put them up 20-0, when they were stopped at the goal line . The Thundering Herd, who had looked utterly hapless since the game began, then went on a 98-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by Trevon Van. Now, suddenly, we have a game again.

W. Virginia 13 - 0 Marshall (13 seconds left in 1st quarter)

WVU had a fourth-and-goal at Marshall's three-yard line, and decided to eschew the field goal in order to go for a touchdown. I thought it was an odd call for a team with a 13-point lead in the first quarter. In any event, it did not work -- WVU's great quarterback, Geno Smith, was stuffed when he tried to run the ball into the end zone. So Marshall takes over at its own 3 yard line.

W. Virginia 13 - 0 Marshall (4:53 left in 1st quarter)

This is looking pretty easy for the Mountaineers. Two possessions, two long drives, two easy touchdowns. This time it was a 67-yd drive that ended with a 3-yd run by Shawne Alston. Right now this is almost like watching a practice drill.

W. Virginia 6 - 0 Marshall (9:05 left in 1st Quarter)

West Virginia stops Marshall, gets the punt, and goes on a 95-yard drive that looks pretty much effortless. Geno Smith hits Stedman Bailey with a 32-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in 2012. Surprisingly, WVU misses the extra point, but their fans will be very encouraged by this start.

W. Virginia 0 - 0 Marshall (10:47 left in 1st)

Another battle for the UCFC is under way!