Other College Football Capsules: Nutt feels good about Mississippi QBs despite loss
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — There are plenty of reasons for Mississippi coach Houston Nutt to feel sour after Saturday's embarrassing 49-48 loss to Jacksonville State in double overtime.
But one of the things that gives him hope is he has two quarterbacks — sophomore Nathan Stanley and senior Jeremiah Masoli — who appear to have a firm handle on the offense. Ole Miss (0-1) faces Tulane (1-0) on Saturday in New Orleans.
"I feel good about our quarterback situation," Nutt said. "I feel a lot better now after a game."
Stanley completed 6 of 10 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns while Masoli completed 7 of 10 for 109 yards and an interception. Masoli led the Rebels on both touchdown drives in overtime.
It was Stanley's first start after throwing just 23 passes during his freshman season. He made one major mistake — a fumble that led directly to Jacksonville State's first touchdown — but otherwise looked calm and collected.
Stanley, who is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, isn't considered a great runner, but was able to avoid trouble a few times by moving around in the pocket.
"I thought the first touchdown pass he threw was great," Nutt said. "He had to avoid a blitz, find the receiver and get the ball down the field. He did an excellent job for his first outing."
Masoli, a transfer from Oregon, has plenty of game experience. The 5-foot-10, He led the Ducks to the Rose Bowl last season and accounted for 51 touchdowns over the last two years.
But he wasn't cleared to play by the NCAA until Friday afternoon, barely 24 hours before the game. Because of that, he didn't receive much practice time with the first team because Nutt thought he would have to use Stanley and junior college transfer Randall Mackey at quarterback.
Even with the distractions, Masoli had a decent game, rushing for 26 yards on five carries on top of his passing numbers. Like Stanley, he had one bad moment — throwing an interception in the fourth quarter that killed a promising drive.
It wasn't perfect, but Nutt was encouraged.
"I think Jeremiah with no practice was very, very good," Nutt said.
Nutt said he wasn't sure how long the two-quarterback system would last, but he likes what both bring to the field.
Masoli was the quarterback during most of the game's pressure moments in the fourth quarter and in overtime. But Nutt wouldn't commit to either one.
"We don't know yet," Nutt said. "I feel good knowing that I have confidence on putting them both out there."
Mississippi State offense much improved in Year 2
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State scored 49 points against Memphis in an easy victory on Saturday. That's the most the Bulldogs have scored in a game since 2002.
Impressive? Yes. But surprising? Second-year coach Dan Mullen doesn't think so.
"It's the overall understanding of the offense," Mullen said. "They've learned it and have run the plays. They understand the speed of the game on Saturday. That's a huge advantage from year one to year two."
Mississippi State ranked ninth out of 12 Southeastern Conference teams in scoring offense last season, but the Bulldogs are much more confident in their ability to score points in bunches.
Improved quarterback play is the most obvious difference. Redshirt freshman Tyler Russell completed 13 of 16 passes for 256 yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns against Memphis. Junior Chris Relf, who started, completed 7 of 9 passes for 116 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Mullen was pleased with his quarterbacks, but said all facets of the offense have improved. The Bulldogs (1-0) face a quick turnaround before playing Auburn (1-0) on Thursday in Starkville.
The Tigers beat Arkansas State 52-26 on Saturday.
"Obviously, quarterback play has been huge for us," Mullen said. "But our quarterback play was helped by the offensive line and the receivers. It wasn't just the quarterbacks making spectacular throws."
Mullen said he'll probably continue to go with a two-quarterback system against Auburn. Russell, who was named the SEC's Freshman of the Week on Monday, said time on the sidelines helps both quarterbacks play better when they're in the game.
"I have the headset on, I can hear the play call and see the defense react," Russell said. "So when I get out there I know what the defense is going to do."
Auburn coach Gene Chizik said the Bulldogs have shown an "unbelievable amount of improvement" over the past year, and the improved passing game is a big reason.
"They can throw the ball down the field much better than they could a year before," Chizik said. "They looked more confident with their offense.
Mississippi State's receivers have been the beneficiaries of the wide-open offense.
Brandon Heavens caught five passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Chad Bumphis nearly matched him with four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. The two sophomores play the same position, and split playing time almost evenly against Memphis.
Bumphis' good game wasn't a surprise. He led the team with 375 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2009 as a true freshman. But Heavens rarely played as the coaching staff worked to put about 25 pounds on his skinny 5-foot-10 frame.
Offensive coordinator Les Koenning said as the offense continues to add viable options, the playbook expands. But execution is still the most important issue.
"The thing we told our kids — it's not the play call, it's how you execute that play," Koenning said. "There's all kinds of plays. But it's not worth a darn unless you execute, and they went out and executed the plays (against Memphis) and that's what we're most proud of."
-- David Brandt
Tennessee expects defensive test in facing Oregon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — If there's a more explosive offense in the country than Oregon's, Tennessee coach Derek Dooley hasn't found it.
He's well aware that the Volunteers' defense is in for a true test when the No. 11 Ducks come to town on Saturday.
"Nobody ever stops" Oregon, Dooley said Monday. "You've just got to slow them down and try to be sound fundamentally and try to get some breaks here and there, and you've got to play well on offense."
The Tennessee defense was dominant in a 50-0 win over Tennessee-Martin on Saturday stopping runners at the line of scrimmage, snaring two interceptions and keeping UT Martin out of the red zone. The Skyhawks, an FCS team with young, undersized players, also didn't afford the Vols much of an opportunity to measure their abilities.
The Volunteers will get a much better idea of what kind of defense they have against Oregon's speedy spread offense led by quarterback Darron Thomas, a threat in both the passing and running game. The Vols also get the first shot of the season at defending LaMichael James, who rushed last season for 1,546 yards but was suspended for the first game because of an offseason harassment charge.
The Ducks showed just how explosive they can be by amassing a school-record 720 yards of offense in a 72-0 win over New Mexico in their home opener.
"This Oregon offense, they can put up some points, and we know that," Tennessee linebacker Austin Johnson said. "We obviously have to pick up our game a little bit. we know that, and we know that UT Martin isn't the same caliber as Oregon. We know we've got to come out fast, do what we need to do and shut them down."
Tennessee has been increasingly exposed to the spread offense, especially thanks to its annual meeting with Florida. The Vols finally had some success against the Gators' speed and misdirection last season, despite losing 23-13.
The Vols will get some help now that they are led on defense by former Boise State defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who beat Oregon twice in his four seasons with the Broncos. Wilcox helped shut down the dynamic offense in the 2009 season opener won by Boise State 19-8, the Ducks' lowest points total of the whole season.
Wilcox also has had a firsthand look at Thomas in Boise State's 37-32 win in 2008, when the then fifth-string freshman nearly led the Ducks to a come-from-behind victory in that game.
With his experience in the Western Athletic Conference, Wilcox — who played defensive back at Oregon — has seen plenty of spread offenses like Oregon's, and his defense led the WAC in total defense and scoring defense each of his four seasons at Boise State.
"Coach Wilcox had a great game plan against (the Ducks) last year, so we feel really confident with the game plan we're coming into," Johnson said. "Hopefully we can shut them down."
That game plan on the most basic level is to combat speed with speed. The Vols, who watched film on the Ducks during fall camp in August, will try to close gaps quickly on the defensive line as the linebackers and defensive backs hone in on the direction of the ball.
It also means playing with as much as energy and as few mistakes as the Vols did against UT Martin.
"We've got to make sure we're on our toes all the time and keying in on our assignments, and we should be good," Johnson said.
-- Beth Rucker
Kentucky aims to extend nonconference win streak
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky's road to playing in late December or early January the last four years has always started in the same place: September.
The Wildcats have used their early season nonconference schedule to build confidence — and pocket coveted victories — in pursuit of reaching the six-victory plateau necessary to become bowl eligible.
Though they're a pedestrian 13-19 in the Southeastern Conference since 2006, the Wildcats have been dominant against non-SEC foes. Kentucky (1-0) has ripped off 16 straight nonconference wins and will look to make it 17 straight on Saturday against Western Kentucky (0-1).
"It's just us getting better, our program taking strides," said linebacker Danny Trevathan.
Even if the Wildcats' nonconference victims list isn't exactly a "who's who" of college football.
The streak includes three victories over members of the Football Championship Subdivision, five over teams currently in the Sun Belt Conference and another three over Mid-American Conference schools.
One of those wins was a 41-3 romp over Western Kentucky two years ago. The Hilltoppers (0-1), currently in their second season as a full member of the Football Bowl Subdivision, have lost 21 straight games.
While not exactly the nation's toughest nonconference schedule, coach Joker Phillips is hardly apologetic. Life in the SEC is hard enough. The league has produced four of the last five national champions. There are plenty of tests awaiting once the schedule flips to October.
Besides, the Wildcats do play rival Louisville every year. Kentucky looked dominant at times in a 23-16 win over the Cardinals last week to collect its fourth straight win in the Governor's Cup.
When asked Monday if he sees a day when the Wildcats would schedule more than one nonconference game against a BCS opponent, he didn't exactly embrace the idea.
"No," Phillips said, flatly.
Some of the Wildcats, however, wouldn't mind a step up in class, something top-level SEC schools do regularly. Alabama and Florida will both host teams from major conferences this weekend. Trevathan thinks maybe it's time for the Wildcats to do the same.
"I think we've got the right coaching staff, right defense, right offense," he said. "I think everything is just in line for us."
There are perks to playing nonconference games against smaller schools, namely the venue. Kentucky will play the Hilltoppers at LP Field in Nashville in 2011 and 2013, giving the Wildcats a chance to play in an NFL stadium and showcase its product in recruit-rich Tennessee.
It also gives the Wildcats time to work out problems and build confidence. Though they're under .500 in the SEC since 2006 they are no long pushovers.
Kentucky has beaten at least one of the SEC's elite programs in three of the last four years. Part of that success lies in the confidence built during the nonconference season. The Wildcats got off to a solid start against Louisville, even if they faltered at times in the second half. Phillips called his team's play in the third quarter "horrendous."
It's a problem they'll try to fix against the Hilltoppers, who fell to No. 8 Nebraska 49-10 on Saturday.
"Coach says good teams can take care of business, but great teams finish teams and that's what we're trying to do," said Trevathan, who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 11 tackles against the Cardinals.
Though the Hilltoppers have struggled since making the transition to the FBS, Phillips remains wary, pointing to Jacksonville State's upset at Ole Miss last weekend.
He knows WKU has enough talent to do the same on Saturday, and while he's happy for the solid start, he knows it can be derailed in an instant.
"To have a great season, we got to beat Western, OK?" Phillips said.
-- Will Graves
Louisville hoping to erase miscues against EKU
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville coach Charlie Strong figures two teams beat the Cardinals last Saturday.
There was Kentucky, of course. And there were the Cardinals themselves.
Strong said the mistakes by his young and inexperienced team had as much to do with the 23-16 loss as Kentucky's potent duo of wide receiver Randall Cobb and running back Derrick Locke.
Louisville struggled throughout the first half and eliminating the mistakes will be the focus this week as the Cardinals (0-1) prepare for Eastern Kentucky (0-1).
"We thought we would execute better," Strong said. "We didn't. Obviously we are disappointed in the way we played and the way we executed."
Standing on the sidelines in his head coaching debut, the glorious opener that Strong had spent months preparing his team for was dashed in two plays as Kentucky scored on the opening drive and never looked back.
Any comeback attempt the Cardinals tried was cut short as penalties and missed assignments racked up.
"We needed to find playmakers on offense and defense and we didn't," the coach said.
Strong especially criticized his defensive line for creating zero sacks and his wide receivers for dropping simple passes, something that gave little for the 55,000 crowd to cheer about at the newly renovated Cardinal Stadium.
"You just want guys to be consistent in their play and we didn't have that on Saturday," Strong said. "The crowd was behind us and we didn't give them anything to cheer for."
Without those basic errors, Strong contends the outcome would have looked different.
"The game was there to be won," he said.
Sophomore center Mario Benavides admitted that the problems were team-wide.
"You can never blame it on one specific person," Benavides said. "But as much as it hurts we learned a lot of good things and we now know what to fix."
Benavides agrees with his coach that erasing some of the team's mistakes are the difference in winning or losing a game.
"Take away two or three of their big plays and fix two or three of our errors and it would have been a win for us," he said.
Thus, beating the Cardinal team that Louisville lost to will now a top priority.
"We need to focus on ourselves, not Eastern Kentucky," Strong said. "I am more concerned about us."
That isn't to mean that Strong isn't looking for his team's first win against the Colonels. As he begins to rejuvenate a football program that has spiraled in the past three years, the coach says he needs to get his side to taste victory.
"We need a win to get our program going and get our players motivated," Strong said.
Ultimately, though, it will be the players that turn the program around.
"(The coaches) did everything they could to prepare us for the game but we didn't execute," Benavides said. "We're going to correct our mistakes."
N.C. State's offense shows knack for the big play
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — With Russell Wilson slinging long passes and a talented crew of receivers catching them, North Carolina State certainly has plenty of big-play potential.
The competition is about to get a little tougher, but there's no doubt the Wolfpack want to keep it going.
"You don't have to go in and be 'the guy,' per se, all the time," receiver Owen Spencer said Monday. "When we shuffle in and out with receivers, we have the same caliber receivers and the same athletic ability as the guys who are starters."
Ahead for N.C. State (1-0) this week is Central Florida (1-0), the first of nine straight opponents that went to bowl games last season. And with an offense that is littered with inexperience up front and in the backfield — but plenty of speed and skill at wideout — the Wolfpack figure to rely on their productive pass game until their young rushers find their legs.
Wilson had his sixth career four-touchdown game, and surpassed 300 yards passing for the fifth time.
Spencer, who led the nation last year by averaging 25½ yards per reception, caught a 60-yard pass against Western Carolina.
T.J. Graham had two touchdown catches, each covering at least 25 yards. In all, four players caught passes of 20 yards or longer from Wilson in the season-opening 48-7 rout.
"It puts you in a comfort zone. When you feel as though you have to make that big play, you have the confidence in the other players that they can make the same caliber of plays, so you don't have to," Spencer said.
That's important because two other key areas of N.C. State's offense, coach Tom O'Brien said, are "a work in progress."
Of the five linemen who started the opener, only one — guard Andrew Wallace — had ever started a game before. The Wolfpack's starting left tackle, and protector of Wilson's blind side, was true freshman Robert Crisp — a five-star recruit and the jewel of the incoming class in February, but nevertheless, still a freshman.
And, neither starting tailback Dean Haynes nor backup Mustafa Greene had ever played in a college game prior to Saturday night. Haynes rushed for 69 yards and Greene added 35 in their debuts.
"I guess our offense, as a whole, put them at ease, so they didn't have to come in to make a huge play right away," Spencer said.
Instead, they left that to Wilson and his receivers.
Wilson, who spent the summer playing in the Colorado Rockies' farm system, was 21 for 31 for 306 yards in nearly three quarters of work against the Catamounts. In addition to his long passes to Spencer and Graham, he had a 20-yard strike to Jarvis Williams and a 25-yard completion to Steven Howard.
"There's probably a few little kinks. (He's) got to adjust his baseball arm to a football arm," Spencer said, laughing.
-- Joedy McCreary
Syracuse coach Marrone pumped after win
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Say this about Syracuse's Doug Marrone: He knows how to prepare with the best of them.
Fresh from a season-opening 29-3 victory at Akron, the Orange's second-year head coach was quick to remind everyone what lies ahead on Saturday night when Syracuse plays at Washington.
"Everybody knows that I'm big with the history of this program," Marrone said Monday as former Orange coach Dick MacPherson listened intently. "Syracuse is 1-11-1 in road games on the West Coast since 1964. We haven't done well out there, and we've had some darn good coaches and a lot of great players make that trip."
Well, not quite that many.
Actually, since 1964 Syracuse is 1-9-1 as the visitor against teams from the region — if you include games against Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma and BYU. (Marrone's total also included two losses further inland).
More importantly, Syracuse has lost its first road game of the season the past six years as it's struggled mightily to field a team that can compete in the Big East. Since Paul Pasqualoni was fired after the 2004 season, Syracuse has won only four of 35 conference games.
"It's another big challenge for us ... to start changing that," Marrone said. "What we're trying to make sure we teach this team is that we're creating some of our history ourselves. If we do things the same way, how do we expect different results?"
Marrone was 4-8 as a rookie last season as he tries to change the mentality of a team that's become too accustomed to losing. He's off to a good start this year, even if the first victim was an Akron team that's short on tradition and with a rookie head coach.
It was the Orange's first win in a season-opener in seven years.
"Learning how to win — I thought we did a nice job of that," Marrone said.
Junior quarterback Ryan Nassib was efficient in his first career start, completing 17 of 27 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns while gaining 58 yards on nine carries.
Nassib connected with Aaron Weaver for a 23-yard score on the game's first series and found Van Chew for a 26-yard touchdown just seconds before halftime for a 17-3 lead. Nassib's 287 total yards of offense is the best in the Big East so far and earned him conference player of the week honors on offense.
"I thought we did a nice job coming out strong on offense," Marrone said. "We went down the field and scored. When we have the tempo and are in sych, that's the ability we have on offense — to take the ball and score."
On defense, senior cornerback Mike Holmes made up for a dropped punt with the game-breaking play — a 57-yard touchdown return of a field goal blocked by senior linebacker Doug Hogue and junior defensive end Chandler Jones. Holmes also had six tackles, including a sack, and was tabbed Big East defensive player of the week.
Still, there were two botched extra points, two lost fumbles and an interception.
"There were mistakes made ... that we can't have as the season goes on," Marrone said. "That can cost you winning football games faster than anything else you do."
Syracuse's two-deep roster remained unchanged on Monday and overall (offense, defense and special teams) includes five sophomores and four freshmen.
"We had a lot of young players out there," Marrone said of his special teams. "I thought they got down the field well."
Notes: Syracuse last had a pair of player of the week honors in the same week in 2009, Mike Williams on offense and kicker Ryan Lichtenstein on special teams. The last time the Orange had offensive and defensive awards in the same week was 2004 when Diamond Ferri won both for his memorable performance at Boston College in the regular-season finale. Ferri scored two touchdowns on offense and one on defense to help Syracuse to a 43-17 win over the 17th-ranked Eagles. The win clinched the Orange's last bowl berth.
-- John Kekis
Washington trying to avoid hangover after loss
SEATTLE (AP) — Steve Sarkisian was almost defiant: Washington's season opening loss at Brigham Young would not be the definition of what the Huskies' season will become.
After months of build up, hyped by the return of quarterback Jake Locker, the Huskies were just ordinary in Saturday's 23-17 loss at BYU. It extended the Huskies' road losing streak to 13 and left plenty of questions about a Washington offense that was stymied in the second half and shut out.
"It's a game I think we all would have loved to have won and we all feel like we should have won," Sarkisian said. "But we will move on, learn and get better for it."
Sarkisian spent most of Monday rehashing the problems that emerged against the Cougars: inconsistency running the ball, some questionable play calls late when Washington was driving for a potential winning score and a number of special teams lapses.
Of course, Sarkisian's main task this week is making sure the disappointment from an opening loss that Washington fans were buzzing about for months, doesn't turn into a hangover this weekend when improved Syracuse comes to Husky Stadium.
The Orange are coming off a 29-3 win at Akron to open the season — their first win in a season opener in seven years.
"I think everybody to a man feels we were in the game, it was ours to win, we had a lot of opportunities to walk away with a victory and for one reason or another we didn't get it done," Locker said. "I think everybody is confident in the ability of this football team."
Locker himself spent part of Monday explaining some of his mistakes. Most notable was taking blame for a third-and-5 run late in the fourth quarter when Washington was driving for a potential go-ahead score. With BYU's defense dropping into coverage to protect against the pass, Sarkisian dialed up a QB run for Locker in the hopes of getting the first down or leaving himself with short-yardage on fourth down.
But Locker went opposite what his offensive line blocked and was stopped for a loss on the run. On fourth down, Locker's pass for tight end Chris Izbicki was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Eathyn Manumaleuna and fell to the turf with 1:51 left.
"I thought we moved the ball on that last drive really well and then just kind of stalled out there. That obviously was a big play for us," Locker said. "I called the wrong way, and that's going to cost you at that point in the game."
Locker finished 20 of 37 passing for 266 yards and a touchdown. He also carried 11 times, taking away some touches from running back Chris Polk, who had just 16 carries, but averaged more than 5 yards per rush.
Sarkisian said Locker's carries were built into their game plan and that likely limited Polk's looks.
"I'd like to see Chris get 20 carries a game, that's obviously the goal going into it every time," Sarkisian said.
One other significant change to come out of Saturday's game is alterations with the Huskies kickoff return team. Instead of having just one returner deep, the Huskies plan to go with two returners — Polk and freshman Jesse Callier — in the hopes of avoiding some of the return problems that occurred Saturday. The Huskies started two drives inside their 10 after miscues on kickoffs.
"I think there were some obvious blunders that jump out at you. But when you get down and you look at the effort and you look at the way that some of these young kids played, there is real optimism there," Sarkisian said. "As we grow and as these young kids grow and as we fine-tune our schemes and our techniques with them, we'll end up being better."
-- Tim Booth
News & Notes
Maryland stuns Navy 17-14
BALTIMORE (AP) — Navy dominated the time of possession, outgained Maryland by nearly 200 yards and made 15 more first downs.
None of this lessened the enjoyment the Terrapins derived from their 17-14 victory Monday.
Kenny Tate stopped Ricky Dobbs at the goal line with 34 seconds left, and Maryland stunned their in-state rivals to break a seven-game losing streak that began last October.
"Perseverance. That's all we've been preaching all summer," Terrapins linebacker Alex Wujciak said. "We knew we were going to face adversity in a game like this, we knew there would be plays when they gained a lot of yards. We just had to overcome it."
The Midshipmen (0-1) held the ball for nearly 19 minutes longer than Maryland (1-0), amassed 485 yards and collected 26 first downs. But in a game influenced by untimely turnovers and huge penalties, the outcome was decided by a gritty goal-line stand.
Trailing 17-14 with a fourth down at the 1, Navy decided to go for the win. Dobbs took the snap, went to his left and was met by Tate, who would not relent to the momentum Dobbs brought to the line.
"We should have kicked the field goal to send it into overtime," coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "In hindsight, we should have just kicked the ball."
Earlier in the drive, Dobbs was stopped on a third-and-8. But Maryland's Adrian Moten was flagged for grabbing the facemask on the play, and the Midshipmen advanced until Tate's big play.
"I thought I was going to be able to get it outside," Dobbs said. "I felt 100 percent confident that we were going to be able to punch it in."
Coming off a 2-10 season, the Terrapins came in as underdogs against a Navy team that went 10-4 and beat Missouri in the Texas Bowl.
But Maryland raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and then held on behind a defense that repeatedly excelled after Navy got inside the 20.
The Midshipmen had a 7½-minute edge in time of possession in the first half, yet trailed 14-7 after coming up empty on drives of 52, 63 and 66 yards.
In the second half, Dobbs lost a fumble at the Maryland 1 and was stuffed by Tate on the game's pivotal play.
"We had a lot of opportunities," Niumatalolo said. "We left 31 points on the field."
Dobbs ran for 63 yards and a touchdown, but the senior quarterback fumbled three times — losing two of them at the Maryland 1.
"I take sole responsibility for the occurrences here today," Dobbs said. "I didn't get the job done."
Niumatalolo said, "He's human. He's done some great things for us and won a lot of games for us. We all make mistakes. I made one at the end of the game."
There were plenty by both teams.
"Both of us turned the ball over when we wouldn't want to," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said. "Last year, we probably wouldn't have won this game. We found a way to hang in there. Hopefully, this will build confidence and be a positive experience for them."
Maryland never trailed despite allowing the Midshipmen to amass 429 yards rushing.
"I can't remember a time when we rushed for 400 yards and lost," Niumatalolo said. "There's no consolation in moving the ball."
Navy didn't punt until early in the fourth quarter, and the short kick was returned 57 yards by Tony Logan to the Navy 16.
Maryland promptly fumbled the ball away on a missed exchange involving backup quarterback Danny O'Brien — his only play of the game.
"We wanted to get Danny in the game," Friedgen said.
The Midshipmen pulled even at 14 with 1:52 left in the third quarter when Dobbs scored from the 1 on a drive that began with wide receiver Greg Jones running 53 yards on a reverse.
A crowd of 69,348 showed up for the second meeting between the teams since 1965. There's no telling when the next matchup between the two will be held.
"It's a great game," Friedgen said. "We ought to be doing it."
-- David Ginsburg
Robinson leaves no doubt about Michigan's starter
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Rich Rodriguez didn't have to keep mum when asked which quarterback will start Michigan's second game. Denard Robinson made the decision very easy.
"He's earned the start, for sure," the coach said Monday. "He played well Saturday and got everyone excited."
The sophomore started Saturday's opener against visiting Connecticut and rushed for 197 yards — the most ever by a Wolverines quarterback — and was 19 for 22 through the air for 186 yards and a touchdown to help Michigan top the Huskies 30-10. Robinson was named the Big Ten offensive player of the week Monday after his 383 total yards passed the 368 John Navarre amassed Oct. 4, 203, at Iowa.
All that after Rodriguez refused to reveal his choice of a starter until the game began. Robinson wasn't made available after the coach's weekly news conference, but Rodriguez said he doubts the attention is going to affect his young quarterback.
"He's a pretty humble guy," he said. "He'll be able to handle all the pats on the back. I think we just want him and the rest of the team to remember we're one bad day from everyone saying you can't do anything right."
Tight end Kevin Koger said Robinson's success through the air — he was almost exclusively a running quarterback last season — made it easier for him to run later in the game. A lot of those runs ended in hard hits, but that didn't seem to concern his coach or teammates.
"He took a lot of hits," Koger said of Robinson. "But he's a tough guy."
Now that he knows who's calling the signals, Rodriguez said he is hoping for even more from his offense as it gets ready to travel to Notre Dame.
"We can execute a lot better, especially offensively," Rodriguez said. "We were able to move the ball and get first downs, but if we blocked better downfield we would've had even more big plays."
The Wolverines gained 287 yards on the ground against Connecticut, but the absence of many long-yardage plays stuck with Rodriguez two days later. He's hoping for better blocking from his skill players when his team heads to Notre Dame.
"We didn't block on the second and third level as well as we're capable of," he said. "We can get better blocking from our running backs and receivers and even the offensive line downfield."
As much as a third of the traveling group might be freshman or redshirt freshmen, especially in the secondary. Rodriguez said overcoming any jitters will be key as many play their first game at Notre Dame Stadium.
"We've got to get them to grow up in a hurry," he said. "You really have to learn to keep your poise and have a sense of maturity. Especially on the road."
Rodriguez said receiver Roy Roundtree (internal bruising) and safety Carvin Johnson (knee strain) are doubtful for Saturday's trip. Safety Jared Van Slyke will miss the season with a broken collar bone.
USM coaches question WR DeAndre Brown's effort
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — While Southern Miss receiver DeAndre Brown may have undeniable talent, coach Larry Fedora isn't thrilled with his attitude.
In Thursday's 41-13 loss to South Carolina, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Brown caught four balls for 65 yards and a touchdown — but all of his catches came in the fourth quarter after the game was basically decided.
"If you look at his game from the other night there was nothing special on his part," Fedora said. "It wasn't even an average performance to be honest with you."
Fedora and offensive coordinator Blake Anderson questioned Brown's effort during Monday's press conference, particularly when plays weren't designed to go his way.
"It's not any different for him than it is for anyone else." Fedora said. "We expect him to play hard whether he's getting the ball or not and give everything he's got on every snap. That's not just DeAndre Brown, that's everybody."
Brown was also criticized for one play in the second quarter where he didn't make a play on a long pass down the right sideline despite having a one-on-one matchup with a much smaller cornerback.
"The technique of the route and him going up and getting the ball wasn't as good as he can do it and he knows that." Anderson said.
A first-team Conference USA selection in 2008, Brown caught 67 passes for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns as a true freshman. He caught 47 passes for 785 yards and nine touchdowns last season after coming back from a broken leg.
He's arguably the most touted recruit in school history, picking Southern Miss over several BCS schools.
"If he contributes, we can be phenomenal," Anderson said. "If he doesn't, the system's going to work without him."
The Golden Eagles face Prairie View A&M on Saturday in Hattiesburg.
Marshall reminds fans Coal Bowl goes beyond game
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall University says there's a lot more to the Coal Bowl than the football game with West Virginia University.
Activities this week include a street fair and concert in downtown Huntington on Thursday and a concert by Liza Minnelli on Sunday. Minnelli's show is scheduled for the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.
The street fair includes the nationally known band Little Texas. It starts at 5 p.m. with Little Texas taking the stage about 8:30 p.m.
Of course, there's also a football game. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
