Trav's Thoughts

Welcome to College Football Saturday. There's a crisp chill in the air and it's raining here in the pacific northwest. And that means summer has just about run its course. It was a pretty mild summer, but you can really feel the difference in the air now. There's no way this little rain can be confused with a summer type shower.

We're watching East Carolina State at NC State this morning. The Pirates are ranked #15 and struggling a bit. They needed an interception return for a TD to grab an early 7-0 lead. But the offense hasn't been able to get organized yet.

The Wolfpack has its own difficulties on offense, going with a platoon system at QB. But they did settle behind freshman QB Russell Wilson, who engineered a late 1st quarter drive. NC State was able to get the tying TD, and then hold ECU on the ensuing possession to force a punt.

The Pirates really have their hands full in a rivalry game with a young and hungry Wolfpack crew. NC State tied the game in the 3rd quarter, but ECU came right back with a big run to re-take the lead at 21-14.

The Undefeated Irish are at Michigan State today. I know it's only 2-0, but I like the way undefeated sounds!

The Spartans have a strong running game led by senior RB Javon Ringer, who has rushed for 498 yards on 104 carries in 3 games. MSU could be vulnerable in the passing game though, as senior QB Brian Hoyer has only completed 44% of his passes so far with 2 interceptions to only 1 TD.

Irish sophomore QB Jimmy Clausen has settled in pretty well. He has thrown 5 TD passes, but does have the 4 interceptions. The running game is chugging along behind the platoon of sophomores Robert Hughes and Armando Allen. But the star of this offense so far is sophomore WR Golden Tate, who has caught 10 passes for 220 yards and 2 TDs.

This is the first road game for ND this season.

I don't follow Alabama football, but my pal Jennifer does so I figured I'd give the Tide a shout today. 'Bama is ranked #9 after a 3-0 start. The Crimson Tide are at Arkansas today, and blowing out the Razorbacks by a score of 35-7. Alabama is led by senior QB John Parker Wilson, who has thrown for 41 TDs and over 6000 yards in his career. I've heard Wilson mentioned as an excellent pro prospect and a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. Good luck Jen!


My pal Dixie's Vols have their hands full today as #4 Florida heads down to Knoxville.

The Gators are led by junior QB Tim Tebow, last year's Heisman Trophy winner. This season he has completed 61% of his passes for 393 yards and 3 TDs. He also leads the team in rushing. Florida hasn't lost to Tennessee since Urban Meyer took over the Gator program, and the Gators look to extend that streak to 4-0 today.

The Vols are led by junior QB Jonathan Crompton, who has thrown for 429 yards, 2 TDs, and 3 interceptions in the first two games. Senior RB Arian Foster leads a strong running game that averages 222 yards per game, which is 19th in the nation. Tennessee will need a near perfect game to beat Florida today.

Arizona State hosts #3 Georgia in a key inter-sectional game. Both teams have potent offenses led by pro prospects at QB. But Geogia had to struggle last week to get past South Carolina, and ASU lost at home in OT to UNLV. That loss dropped the Sun Devils out of the AP Top 25.

Both teams average over 450 yards of total offense per game. Georgia is a bit more balanced, while ASU is led by senior QB Rudy Carpenter's 71% completions, 975 total yards, and 6 TDs to 2 interceptions.

It could be a scorefest.

#17 Oregon is at home against Boise State. The Ducks are having a tough time keeping quarterbacks healthy. Sophomore Justin Roper went down with a knee injury last week, so sophomore Jeremiah Masoli gets the start this week. Masoli did get some snaps in two games this season, so he should be ready to guide the Ducks' high powered offense.

Boise State is led by efficient freshman QB Kellen Moore. Moore has completed 76% of his pass attempts for 454 yards and 2 TDs. The stability of this offense is provided by senior RB Ian Johnson, who is one of the experienced Broncos remaining from the improbable Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma a couple years ago.

This will be a clash of the Ducks' offense, 3rd in the nation in total yards gained, against the Broncos' 28th ranked defense.

I hope you are enjoying this last Saturday of summer!