College Football Advance Capsules: Rodriguez-led Wolverines need win vs Connecticut
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — There will be plenty of pomp and circumstance at the Big House on Saturday.
Michigan officials plan to cut a ribbon at midfield of their new-look stadium and then the brother of a Wolverines player will lead the team onto the field with a stirring walk few thought he would ever be able to take.
For Rich Rodriguez, all that doesn't matter as much as something else: He could really use a win when his Wolverines host Connecticut in the season opener for both teams.
"All the hoopla is terrific," Rodriguez said. "But what matters most is at 3:30 when the ball is kicked off."
Rodriguez lost a school-record nine games two years ago, flopped to a 5-7 finish last season and then school officials acknowledged that college football's winningest program had broken major NCAA rules for the first time. They are awaiting an NCAA decision after appealing the allegation that Rodriguez failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance in his program.
All this comes as the school unveils $226 million in renovations that added towering structures of luxury suites along both sidelines at Michigan Stadium. And Michigan certainly didn't schedule a cream puff for the rededication of the iconic stadium that has retaken the lead as the nation's biggest with a capacity of 109,901.
The Huskies have 16 starters back from last year's team, which went 8-5 with wins at Notre Dame and against South Carolina, and endured the stabbing death of teammate Jasper Howard.
As much as Michigan has been pointing toward this game, UConn has been focusing on the matchup for a long time, too.
"We're definitely ready for this," running back Jordan Todman said. "Trust me, man, as soon as we realized we were playing Michigan, it's been on our mind — just constantly. When we were working out in the summer, we put the helmet up in the weight room just to remind us what we were working for."
Notre Dame transfer Zach Frazer, who spent the middle of last season on the bench with a knee injury, won the starting quarterback job in the spring over junior Cody Endres, who was suspended last month for an unspecified violation of team rules.
"One-hundred thousand people can be loud, but let's see how quiet we can make 'em," Frazer said.
For Michigan, all eyes will be on quarterback Tate Forcier, who started every game last season but was pushed fellow sophomore Denard Robinson in spring drills and summer workouts and highly touted freshman Devin Gardner.
Rodriguez refused to say who would be the No. 1 quarterback, but said all three might play in the opener because they have a grasp of his spread offense and unique talents.
"We've been running the same plays with all of the guys," Rodriguez said.
When the Wolverines were in the weight room last summer, they often saw Brock Mealer, whose brother, Elliott, is an offensive lineman on the team.
Their father, David, and Elliott's girlfriend, Hollis Richer, were killed when a man ran a stop sign near Toledo, Ohio, on Christmas Eve 2007. Their mother, Shelly, escaped with bruises, while Elliott Mealer tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder and redshirted his first season at Michigan.
Brock Mealer's surgeon told him the best he could hope for was to have the pain sensations go away with time and medication, but he dedicated his life to walking. He will be the one leading the Wolverines out onto the field Saturday.
Michigan State vows it won't overlook MAC's WMU
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State knows its time to back up preseason talk with a win over Western Michigan.
The Spartans, after all, are coming off a season that included a loss to Central Michigan.
"That was a horrible feeling," quarterback Kirk Cousins recalled.
The setback motivated the team to focus on avoiding another setback to a Mid-American Conference team.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and many of his players have openly said they're shooting to win the Big Ten title for the first time since 1990 and insist they have the pieces to end the drought.
"I know there are high expectations in East Lansing for their team — and rightfully so," Broncos coach Bill Cubit said.
Cousins is back as the Spartans' starter after throwing 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has a slew of options when he throws and hands off.
All-American linebacker Greg Jones leads a defense that was weak against the pass last season, but he's not about to boast about how well the Spartans will fare against a team breaking in a new quarterback and running back.
"The loss to Central taught us something because we looked too far down the line," Jones said.
A look into Cubit's past five seasons as the Western Michigan coach shows that would be wise because he helped the MAC team beat Iowa and Illinois.
"I was recruited by Western and know coach Cubit and how intense he is, and how good of a coach he is," Cousins said. "Not to mention, they have kids who are from Michigan and want nothing more than to come in here and win just like Central Michigan last year."
Alex Carder, who is from Shawnee, Kan., is expected to make his debut as WMU's starting quarterback at Spartan Stadium after throwing just seven passes last season.
"He's not a guy who will keep his emotions inside, sometimes that gets better of him," Cubit said. "We have to hope he's even-keeled, but he's a sophomore and he's going to be in front of 72,000 people."
Miami native Aaron Winchester is going to get a chance to be Western Michigan's No. 1 running back.
The Spartans should be bigger, faster and more talented than the Broncos on both sides of the ball, but that was the case last year, too, when they lost to CMU.
"I would certainly think it's been brought up," Dantonio said. "I hold the Mid-American Conference in high regards. All you have to do is look around on NFL rosters. They'll have our attention, and they'll get our best shot."
-- Larry Lage
Notre Dame's Kelly makes debut vs Purdue
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Brian Kelly set the rules early for his players: No earrings or ball caps, organize your lockers, keep your helmets on and pay attention to detail during practices that won't last more than 2½ hours.
And then there was one more really important decree from Notre Dame's new football coach — don't even think about hitting quarterback Dayne Crist.
Crist, who had knee surgery last November, has been an untouchable through spring and preseason drills.
That will all change Saturday when Kelly makes his Notre Dame debut and Crist his first start as the Irish face Purdue in the season opener for both teams.
"He's going to get tackled. He's going to get hit. He's going to have to run around," Kelly said.
Kelly will be on the sidelines for the first time since Cincinnati capped a 12-0 regular season by beating Pittsburgh 45-44 last Dec. 5, less than a week before he was announced as Charlie Weis' replacement.
And Crist, a little-used backup a year ago to Jimmy Clausen, will be playing for the first time since last Oct. 31 when was hurt in a game against Washington State. He led two touchdowns drives against Purdue last season while stepping in for a sore-toed Clausen.
"Dayne Crist is a guy who is going to have to use all of his tools. He's a pretty good athlete," Kelly said. "But we're not going to put him in a position where we get running hits on our quarterback. That's just not smart."
After appearing in just four games last season and completing 10 of 20 passes, Crist is now being counted on to run Kelly's rapid-paced spread offense, stay healthy and be the centerpiece of the new coaching staff's stated goal — win right away.
"It's a moment that I've waited for for a very long time," Crist said.
Kelly said his last-minute advice to Crist before the game will be simple.
"You don't have to win the Heisman today. Take what they give you, be patient and let the offense come to you. You don't have to force it," Kelly said.
Crist said he wasn't sure what Kelly's pre-game approach would be, whether he'd have a big motivational speech or just reinforce what he's been trying to get across the last nine months. And that's realize you're playing for a place with a great tradition.
"It will be as much an emotional time for him and the rest of the coaching staff as it is for us being their first game in Notre Dame stadium and everything like that," Crist said. "Coaches always know the message that they want to relate to their team, and coach Kelly is good at communicating a clear message. I don't think Saturday will be any different."
Keeping Crist off the ground Saturday will mean blocking one of the nation's best defensive ends in Ryan Kerrigan, who led the Big Ten in sacks last season with 13.
And if Saturday's game is a new start for Kelly and a defining moment for Crist, it's also a chance at renewal for Boilermaker quarterback Robert Marve, who transferred from Miami. Dealing with the din at Notre Dame Stadium shouldn't be a big deal since Marve's first collegiate start came against Florida at the Swamp in 2008.
"I'm looking forward to showing everybody what I've got," Marve said.
Just as Crist will be able to rely on junior wide receiver Michael Floyd, Marve can depend on Keith Smith, who caught 91 balls for 1,100 yards last season.
Purdue coach Danny Hope is confident Marve will be effective, even though he sat out a season after transferring. And like Crist, Marve has recovered from a knee injury. But he also has more experience than his Notre Dame counterpart: He made 11 consecutive starts for the Hurricanes two years ago.
"He has played in some big games," Hope said.
"There's some things he does very well. If we take care of Robert, if we have enough skill people on the perimeter for him to get the ball to, we have a chance to win, win against anybody. We'll go as our quarterback goes. That happens a lot. The opponent is in the same boat."
-- Rick Gano
Tennessee refusing to look past Tennessee-Martin
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As a child, Derek Dooley would make fun of Vince Dooley when his dad would make a big deal out of what seemed like a lesser opponent for Georgia.
Now the younger Dooley is in charge of his own Southeastern Conference team and appreciates his dad's insight as he prepares his Tennessee squad to face the Football Championship Subdivision's Tennessee-Martin on Saturday night.
"We used to joke about that as kids. Then you get into coaching and you realize he was right, for every time that you overlook somebody or you don't take them seriously, you get embarrassed," Dooley said.
UT Martin is the Vols' first FCS opponent since beating The Citadel 45-6 in 1983. It's the team that changed its nickname from the Volunteers to the Pacers in the '70s and eventually the Skyhawks to get away from being known as the "Baby Vols."
Some of the Skyhawks' regular supporters aren't backing them in this game. Despite being located 275 miles west of Knoxville, many UT Martin fans double as Tennessee fans during football season. Even the school's most famous alumna, hall of fame basketball coach Pat Summitt, has pledged her allegiance to her employer this week.
"There's a lot of people in our community that has (the Vols') Knoxville season tickets, and that's OK," Tennessee-Martin coach Jason Simpson said. "They split their support, and I understand that. I think it's like a little brother playing a big brother: who's the relative supposed to be for?"
There's little threat of Tennessee considering itself the bigger team in this case. The memories of a 2008 loss to Wyoming, one of the worst FBS teams at the time, is still much too fresh for the junior and senior Vols.
"I realized that nothing is given, everything is earned, everything is how you practice, everything is how you respect your opponent, everything is how you go out every Saturday," senior linebacker Nick Reveiz said. "They're not going to give you a win because you're Tennessee."
Both teams have too many new players to overlook anyone.
The Vols are debuting a new starting quarterback in junior college transfer Matt Simms, an untested offensive line, a young and undersized defensive line and a secondary that doesn't include All-American Eric Berry. Two redshirt freshmen and a true freshman, offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James, may start for Tennessee.
The Skyhawks also will be breaking in a quarterback with redshirt sophomore Derek Carr under center. They've also got a young offensive line and three freshmen receivers.
"It's a work in progress," Simpson said. "There's some talent offensively, but how they respond these first couple of games will be a tremendous task. It's certainly a challenge offensively, but we've got some solid players. We've just got to get them going in the right direction."
The Vols are also ready to put a tumultuous offseason behind them by getting back on the football field. They've stayed in the headlines this year with the fallout from Lane Kiffin's startling departure and a July bar brawl involving that led to two suspensions and a dismissal.
Both coaches know their players will have their share of nerves when they step into the 102,455-seat Neyland Stadium for the first time. As Simpson joked, "They'll have more at their concession stands at any time during the game than we ever have in our stadium."
But Dooley admits even he'll have a little bit anxiety about his first game at Tennessee.
"I think it's healthy to be a little nervous and to be a little on edge, because your mind's working," he said. "But you also have to maintain a cool head and learn how to control your fears and anxiety is important as a coach, just like it is as a player."
-- Beth Rucker
Rebels push adversity aside, ready for opener
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — It hasn't been an easy week for Mississippi's football team, which has had to deal with a wide array of emotions regarding the eligibility of transfer quarterback Jeremiah Masoli.
But as the Rebels prepare to face Jacksonville State in today's season opener, coach Houston Nutt senses a team that's not worried about off-the-field adversity.
"Absolutely," said Nutt, who's entering his third season with the Rebels. "I don't know if adversity is the right word. But we've had hustle, enthusiasm and everyone's looked good."
Ole Miss is coming off consecutive nine-win seasons, but is breaking in eight new offensive starters. Sophomore Nathan Stanley and Masoli are expected to share time at quarterback.
"You've got to go with the flow and the feel and who's moving the team," Nutt said.
Masoli has had a wild week. He was declared ineligible by the NCAA for the 2010 season on Tuesday, only to have that decision overturned by an appeals committee on Friday afternoon. He is eligible to play immediately.
The senior led Oregon to the Rose Bowl last season, but was kicked off the team after two run-ins with police in the offseason — including pleading guilty to a second-degree burglary charge.
Masoli had already received his undergraduate degree from Oregon, and enrolled in the Parks and Recreation graduate program at Mississippi. The NCAA sometimes will waive a one-year eligibility requirement for athletes who enroll in a graduate program not offered at the previous university, but the governing body balked at first, ruling his transfer was "contrary to the intent of the waiver opportunity," making him ineligible until 2011.
But the appeals committee reversed the ruling, and Masoli is expected to be a large part of the Rebels' offense.
Ole Miss will lean on their veteran defense while the young offense learns. Senior defensive tackle Jerrell Powe said he was eager to surprise people after the team was picked to finish last in the Southeastern Conference Western Division by the media.
"I'm ready to go out here, play and prove a lot of people wrong," Powe said.
Jacksonville State plays at the Football Championship Subdivision level, but has proven to be dangerous in the recent past, pushing Florida State to the brink last season.
In that game, Jacksonville State was winning 9-7 going into the final minutes before Florida State escaped with a 19-9 victory. Nutt said his team will respect the Gamecocks.
"They've been watching film," Nutt said. "They see the score. 9-7. All the way until the fourth quarter, so they know."
Nutt and Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe have a long friendship that dates back to the late-1980s, when Crowe was the head coach at Arkansas and Nutt was an assistant.
"I don't think (Nutt) gets the (credit for) how good a coach he is," Crowe said. "Blocking, tackling, getting them ready to play and special teams — for them to be picked last in the SEC? Ha. He has them right where he wants them."
Nutt has just as much respect for Crowe, who has won two OVC championships in 10 years at Jacksonville State.
"Jack's got a brilliant mind," Nutt said. "He's really good. He's called plays for Auburn and Arkansas and put a lot of points on the board."
-- David Brandt
Expect a few answers from Memphis, Miss. St.
Details finally began to leak out this week, yet still few know what to expect when Memphis and Mississippi State — and their tightlipped coaches — open the season Saturday.
Second-year Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen hasn't given reporters a lot of specifics this summer, won't talk about injuries and only announced a few key starters — including quarterback Chris Relf — Thursday on his radio show.
Larry Porter has had even less to say as the former LSU running backs coach prepares to make his debut as a head coach with the Tigers. With two guys who haven't been coordinators in a few years and a coach who never was one, exactly what Memphis will look like is even in question.
We'll know a lot more after Saturday's game in Starkville.
There are a few things we can expect, though. Mississippi State quarterback Chris Relf will be given every chance to become Mullen's next great quarterback. And by all reports he's earned the chance.
Relf spent much of last season as Tyson Lee's backup, then tantalized fans with a breakout game in a 41-27 win over Ole Miss last year that pushed the Bulldogs to 5-7. How far he's come since then will have a lot to do with whether Mississippi State can make its first bowl appearance since 2007.
"His whole mindset has changed," Mullen said. "I had to call him (Sunday) and he said he was right down the hall watching film.
Mullen said Relf's mental preparation and maturity changed this year.
"Last year watching Tyson he didn't really understand the commitment level it took," Mullen said. "After having a successful last game last year and the new pressure on him this year, then his whole demeanor has changed because it's now or never."
Mullen has also announced that Robert Elliott will start at tailback, noted a few true freshmen might see playing time and said a few might miss the opener because of academic concerns.
At least we know what Mullen's team will look like as the Bulldogs return several key players from a squad that pushed hard in every game last season.
Of the Tigers, it's hard to say anything of substance. Many key players from Tommy West's 2-10 squad are gone. Cannon Smith, son of Fed Ex founder Fred Smith, will be the starting quarterback and Greg Ray will start at tailback.
What the Tigers' tendencies are, what plays are their go-to options, just who will step up in important situations no one can say.
"We are looking at everything," Mullen said. "We have to focus on ourselves a lot and our fundamentals as we are getting ready to practice. You look at things from several schools to pick and choose to see what they are going to throw at us, but mostly we have to worry about the fundamentals of our team rather than theirs."
One of the few pieces of film that might be of any real help is tape of Smith's 2008 debut when he started for Miami against Charleston Southern. He got injured, though, and didn't play the rest of the season. He thinks the experience he gained at Miami and then sitting out a year after joining Memphis helped prepare him to be the starter.
"It definitely helps," Smith said. "Just in terms of practice time everyday going in and out against top competition always helps. Reps are the big key. You can't replace experience."
As for just about everything else, good luck. Porter's efforts to tighten down the flow of information aside, some of the mystery comes honestly. He really doesn't know what to expect from a roster made up of his newest recruits, holdovers from West's era and talented transfers from bigger schools.
Generalities come easier at this point than specifics.
"On Saturday night you'll see a team with tremendous resolve, a team that has a fighting spirit and willing heart, and is looking forward to pursuing victory," Porter said. "I can't wait, in terms of putting them on the field and letting them go. Again, we're taking a team out there that's new with no identity. I'm looking for the birth of an identity when we hit the field."
-- Chris Talbott
N.C. State eager to open against Western Carolina
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tom O'Brien figures the best way to keep his North Carolina State players focused on their opener is to remind them that they're playing "Carolina."
That it's Western Carolina — and not higher-profile North, South or East — doesn't matter to the Wolfpack coach.
"One thing about them, they have Carolina in their name," O'Brien said. "That's always a big game for anybody in here at State. This (N.C. State) team, I think, has a little chip on their shoulder. They have a lot to prove."
So does O'Brien, who begins his fourth season in Raleigh on Saturday night with a visit from the Catamounts of the Championship Subdivision. The accomplished former Boston College coach is still looking for his first winning season with N.C. State.
Still, he hopes that a lineup that includes one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's top quarterbacks, a surprise starter at tailback and a finally healthy top linebacker will be enough to push the Wolfpack over the hump and propel them to success.
"We're much more comfortable as a coaching staff. This team is as close to getting towards those teams that I coached at Boston College in terms of being a football team," O'Brien said. "I think this team has been focused throughout the preseason camp. I think they've worked extremely hard. We've created competition, which I like. I think competition will make everybody better."
Especially at running back, where former defensive back Dean Haynes unexpectedly was anointed as the starter ahead of freshman Mustafa Greene.
Haynes, who played on the offensive scout team as a redshirt last year, had been a backup at free safety while junior Curtis Underwood previously was listed as the starter after spring practice. Underwood enters the opener as the third-stringer.
"There was a time in spring practice when I contemplated" moving Haynes to offense, O'Brien said. "But I thought the first thing we've got to do was make sure we shored up the secondary before we shored up our running back, because we had some options there. ... Our options at the secondary were much brighter, and we had more options to play guys there, but was not satisfied with the way the running back situation was going, so we moved him there.
"He's a slasher. He's pretty decisive when he makes his cut — he gets his foot in the ground and he heads toward the goal line," he added.
The Wolfpack figure they know what they're getting with Russell Wilson, one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC who's back after a summer playing baseball in the Colorado Rockies' organization, though O'Brien said talented backup Mike Glennon also will play.
N.C. State is eager to see if linebacker Nate Irving, who missed all of 2009 with injuries he suffered in a car accident, can rediscover the form that made him the team's top tackler in '08.
If nothing else, he'll at least have a chance to see how he stacks up in a game situation against a Western Carolina team that went 2-9 last season and finished last in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts, who have never beaten a team from the Bowl Subdivision, will be without two key players — leading returning receiver Marquel Pittman and defensive end Trey Selby — who were suspended for the opener for violating undisclosed team rules.
"We've got to make sure we don't give them the big play," Western coach Dennis Wagner said. "It's a great situation for our kids to go and play North Carolina State. It helps us with recruiting in the state and gives our boosters and alumni in that part of our state the chance to come and watch us play. It's a little easier than getting over here to the western side of the state for some.
"It gives us an opportunity to find out right away where we're at and gives our kids the opportunity to play an instate BCS-type of school."
-- Joedy McCreary
Phillips, Strong ready to kick off new eras
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Charlie Strong and Joker Phillips lived around the corner from each other when they coached at South Carolina in 2002.
The friends would sometimes talk about coaching together again down the road.
In their conversations, Strong would be the head coach, molding the defense. Phillips would be the offensive coordinator up in the press box calling the plays.
Strong will finally landed a job and will make his head coaching debut for Louisville on Saturday. However, Phillips' view of his old friend will be from across the sidelines in his head coaching debut with Kentucky when schools meet in the Governor's Cup.
"We never envisioned this," Phillips said.
No one could have: Two friends in entirely different circumstances in the first meeting between two black head coaches in a state not known as the most socially progressive in the country.
Strong has been tasked with leading the Cardinals back to relevance after three disappointing seasons under Steve Kragthorpe while Phillips is being asked to build on the success the Wildcats enjoyed under Rich Brooks.
While respectful of the social implications of their respective hires as black head coaches, both are focused on getting their regimes off to a fast start.
"Yes, it's a unique situation ... but initially coach Strong doesn't want us to think about things like that," said Louisville defensive tackle Greg Scruggs. "He would consider that a distraction and this week there are no distractions, there's only one focus and that's UK."
The Wildcats are looking for their first four-game winning streak since the series was renewed in 1994. They'll have to do it in front of a record crowd at Cardinal Stadium, which has been expanded capacity to 56,000.
The facelift was approved when the program was in the midst of winning the Big East in 2006. Four years later, the Cardinals are hoping to stir the echoes under Strong.
The process might take awhile. The Cardinals were picked to finish last in the Big East, and when asked if his team reminds him of any he's coached in the past, Strong mentions the South Carolina program he joined in 1999 as an assistant to Lou Holtz. The Gamecocks didn't win a game that year.
Strong isn't exactly setting the bar that low, but allows the Cardinals will need to play well early to build confidence.
"We're going to need for somebody to step up and get guys to play better than they actually are if we're going to win the game," Strong said.
It's a philosophy in stark contrast to Phillips, who freely admits to overpraising his players, figuring if they believe they're great, they'll go out and play that way.
It helps that Phillips does have a special talent in wide receiver Randall Cobb.
The junior almost single-handedly willed the Wildcats to a fourth straight bowl game last season, scoring a combined 15 touchdowns in an offense that relied heavily on his versatility after quarterback Mike Hartline went down with a knee injury.
Hartline is back after winning a training camp battle over Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski, but the Wildcats will go as far as Cobb goes. Phillips has dubbed him the "face" of the program, but it'll be his legs that will carry the load.
"Nobody really stopped him" last year, Strong said.
Certainly not the Cardinals, who allowed Cobb to catch the game-winning touchdown with 4:28 remaining last year.
Kentucky hopes an improved passing game, more depth at receiver and a healthy Derrick Locke will take some of the pressure off Cobb.
"We'll run the ball regardless of what they do," Locke said. "We'll run. You want to play the pound game. We can stick it in there. I'll do that ... that's our strong point."
Louisville's strengths remain a question mark.
"I just don't know what we are right now," Strong said.
Strong hired former UNLV head coach Mike Sanford to revitalize an offense that dropped all the way to 91st in the country last year.
Senior Adam Froman beat out Justin Burke and Will Stein to become the team's fourth different opening game quarterback in as many years and running back Victor Anderson is healthy and hoping to return to his freshman form two years ago when he topped 1,000 yards.
The receivers are largely unproven and the defense is undersized. All of that is fine by Strong. He'll have time to go out and get bigger players. He's simply hoping the ones he has will buy into his system.
There is no "getting to know you" process at Kentucky, where Phillips spent the last seven years helping Brooks return the Wildcats to respectability. His job is to win games, now. It's a challenge he welcomes, even if it means having to beat one of his closest friends in the business.
"This is a huge rivalry no question about that, but it's a huge friendship too," Phillips said. "Our friendship will last longer than our rivalry between he and I at Louisville."
-- Will Graves
Fresno State hosts Cincinnati in season opener
When Fresno State visited Cincinnati last season, the Bulldogs outgained the Bearcats, controlled the ball for nearly 44 minutes and still ended up on the losing side of a 28-20 game that still rankles coach Pat Hill.
"It was a frustrating game," he said. "Against them we had to play a perfect game and we didn't. We had two flaws in the game and that created the difference."
While Fresno State controlled the game on the ground with 145 yards on 38 carries from eventual first-round pick Ryan Mathews, Cincinnati capitalized on a key interception and a quick-strike offense orchestrated by quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Mardy Gilyard to win the game.
All three of those players were drafted by NFL teams, providing a very different look to the rematch in this year's season opener Saturday night in Fresno, Calif.
Along with facing a new quarterback in Zach Collaros, the Bulldogs have to prepare for whatever changes new coach Butch Jones will bring after taking over when Brian Kelly left for the head coaching job at Notre Dame.
Hill has watched some late-season games when Collaros more than ably filled in for an injured Pike, looked at film from Jones' team at Central Michigan and a watched a tape of the Bearcats' spring game to learn as much as possible.
"There's a lot of unexpected coming into this game," Hill said. "We don't have a lot to base it on. That's the trouble with this opener for us."
Even the Bearcats aren't quite sure what to expect from themselves this season. Jones plans to use the same type of spread, no-huddle offense that was so successful under Kelly.
With Collaros leading an attack that has plenty of potential playmakers in running backs Isaiah Pead and John Goebel, receivers Armon Binns, D.J. Woods and USC transfer Vidal Hazelton and tight end Ben Guidugli, there doesn't figure to be much drop-off from last year's unit that was fourth in the nation with 38.6 points per game.
"I'm very eager to see what we look like," Binns said.
Collaros showed a taste of what he can do in four starts last season after Pike broke his forearm. He completed 75 percent of his passes, with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also poses much more of a running threat, rushing for 344 yards and four scores a year ago.
"He has unbelievable confidence," Jones said. "You can't rattle him. I think the big thing is that teammates around him believe in him. That they believe in him and that's the mark of a great quarterback. He has instant respect."
The Bulldogs also hope they have a capable fill-in for their departed offensive star in sophomore running back Robbie Rouse.
Rouse ran for 479 yards and four touchdowns last season, getting a chance to start one game late in the season when Mathews was sidelined by a concussion.
Standing only 5-foot-7, Rouse is out to prove he can carry the load after excelling in small doses last year behind Mathews.
"Last year at this time, I was just trying to get into a package and get on the field," Rouse said. "This year I'm the featured back and will do whatever I can to help the team win. I like to use my size to my advantage because I can see defense and they can't see me sometimes. That gives me the upper hand."
Rouse has the luxury of running behind a veteran offensive line that returns all five starters from last season. The Bulldogs also have quarterback Ryan Colburn back after he threw 19 touchdown passes a year ago.
He will be going against a rebuilt Cincinnati defense that has only six players who have ever started a game. Jones has switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense in hopes of having more size up front to contend with physical running games like Fresno State's.
The Bearcats allowed 39.4 points per game over their final five contests, including a 51-24 loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl that spoiled their chance at an undefeated season.
"We've had a chip on our shoulder ever since the Sugar Bowl ended," linebacker J.K. Schaffer said. "We've been working out hard, conditioning hard, practicing hard. We definitely have a pretty strong mentality coming into this game. We're ready to prove we can do it, just like our offense."
Fresno State has also put a lot of work into fixing a defense that struggled last season against spread teams like Cincinnati.
Hill has spent at least 10 minutes every practice working on stopping spread attacks. He expects to have better open-field tackling and wants his players to do a better job of staying in their gaps.
"We feel like we've made the improvement," Hill said. "We won't really see it until Saturday night against Cincinnati. It's not like starting off with a game that you can warm up in. This is going to be a big-time game against a big-time opponent who does some things on offense that are tough for anybody to defend against."
-- Josh Dubow
No Gerhart, but plenty of Luck for Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Stanford sophomore quarterback Andrew Luck engaged in a variety of football activities as he continued to find ways to improve after a successful freshman year. One of the more peculiar was his work on something Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh called eye discipline.
Luck received training from Stanford wide receiver coach Pep Hamilton and offensive coordinator David Shaw to help discipline eye movement pre-snap and post-snap.
"They put me in position to make my eyes look at the right things," said Luck, the Pac-10's top returning quarterback in terms of passing efficiency. "I think I've improved from playing last year, through spring and training camp."
Luck completed more than 56 percent of his passes last season in leading the Cardinal to their first bowl appearance in eight years. A broken right hand forced him out of Stanford's 31-27 loss to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl.
Luck will be the centerpiece of Stanford's offense when the Cardinal open the season against visiting Sacramento State on Saturday. Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart, who set the school record with 1,871 rushing yards last season, runs in the NFL these days. Luck will be called upon to take more offensive responsibility.
"I think as the returning starting quarterback I will naturally evolve into more of a leader," he said.
The starting running back remains undetermined, though Harbaugh has at least four to choose from, including returning backs Jeremy Stewart, Stepfan Taylor and Tyler Gaffney. Luck is the team's leading returning rusher.
Stanford has four of its five starting offensive linemen back, along with three-year starting fullback Owen Marecic, who will also start at inside linebacker for the Cardinal.
"I can get into the rhythm of the game a little bit faster," Marecic said. "Like in high school. I like being on the field and I just have to maintain focus and mental discipline."
Sacramento State, meanwhile, plays Stanford for the first time in football but there's some familiarity. Hornets coach Marshall Sperbeck spent 15 years at Foothill Junior College, just across a freeway from the Stanford campus, and Sacramento quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson made his college debut against Stanford when he played at UCLA in 2007. Running back Curtis Shaw is a Washington transfer.
"There was some good and some bad," Sperbeck said after the Hornets' final scrimmage. "We had a chance to look at some of our young guys. I thought both sides of the ball did some nice things at times but there were other times that could have been better."
The Hornets finished strong last season, winning three of their final four games. Bethel-Thompson appeared in six games, starting two.
Sacramento State's running game will be bolstered by the return of redshirt junior Bryan Hilliard, the team's leading rusher in 2007 and 2008. He missed last year following shoulder surgery.
"They do things that will put pressure on the defense," Harbaugh said. "They've done a nice job of building the roster to become more athletic."
Cal kicks off 2010 against UC Davis
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — California quarterback Kevin Riley has high expectations this year, even if the rest of the Pac-10 is counting the Golden Bears out.
Cal, which opens the season at home against UC Davis on Saturday, was picked to finish seventh in the conference in a preseason poll. Riley, one of 19 players who started at least five games for the Bears in 2009, thinks differently.
"This is going to be a great season, I know it is," Riley said. "I'm very confident in this team. We're having a lot of fun and I can't wait to play. This is my last year, maybe, ever playing football in my life so I'm going to go out with a bang."
The Bears finished 8-5 (5-4 Pac-10) a year ago and were beaten by Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl but lost several key starters, including running back Jahvid Best, a Heisman Trophy contender until he got injured late in the season.
They also have a new defensive coordinator and special teams coach this year. As a result, Cal enters the year unranked for only the third time since coach Jeff Tedford took over in 2002.
"From the outside looking in there aren't very high expectations," linebacker Mike Mohamed said. "For us on the inside, our expectation is to win the Pac-10 and go to the Rose Bowl. Some teams may be overlooking us ... but we're just going to go out there with a chip on our shoulder and try to win ballgames."
That doesn't mean the Bears' cupboard is bare.
Leading rusher Shane Vereen, top wide receiver Marvin Jones and Mohamed — the Pac-10's leading tackler a year ago — all return, as does Riley.
Riley has 23 starts in his career and enters 2010 as the conference's active leader in wins (15) and touchdown passes (37). He passed for 2,850 yards with 18 TDs and eight interceptions as a junior last season.
"I just think playing-wise I'm a lot more comfortable," Riley said. "(The offense) is going to be consistently a lot better and it should be. I think a lot of that comes with me being more mature running the offense and not trying to do too much."
Tedford, who needs eight wins to become the winningest coach in school history, believes Riley's experience will help the Bears overcome the low preseason expectations.
"His growth and development as a person, as a player, as a leader, is awesome," Tedford said. "His experience is really going to pay dividends for us. He's had the best camp I've ever seen him have and I think he's going into the season very confident. I have a lot of trust in him."
Cal is playing Davis, a Football Championship Subdivision school 65 miles north of Berkeley, for the first time since 1939. The Aggies won the Golden West Conference championship last season and are projected to repeat despite a late change at quarterback.
Two-year starter Greg Denham abruptly left the team in June after deciding to join the ministry. With few options, Davis coach Bob Biggs chose redshirt freshman Randy Wright as Denham's replacement.
"A lot of people were concerned when Greg decided to go into the ministry," Biggs said this week. "Randy Wright is very talented and has proven that in our scrimmages. I love the chemistry and leadership on our team. I've found over the years sometimes that's much more important than pure talent."
The Aggies were 6-5 in the GWC in 2009 and have been mulling options to move into another conference, including the Western Athletic Conference.
For now, though, Biggs and Co. are trying to prepare for Saturday's opener against a team the Aggies haven't defeated in eight previous meetings.
"We know we're probably at a disadvantage from an athletic standpoint," Biggs said. "It will be a great challenge for us but it's one our kids have been looking forward to. It seems every person I know or talk to wants to be at this game. It's exciting for our fans and our campus."
Burton holding tongue on starter vs. ASU
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State's monthslong, three-person battle at starting quarterback ended Monday with coach Dennis Erickson's announcement that Steven Threet would be under center for the opener.
First-year Portland State coach Nigel Burton, faced with a similar three-man race, decided to take a different tack in revealing his starter: he's keeping it under wraps, at least to everyone outside the team, until just before Saturday night's game in Tempe.
"To you guys, to the media? Sure. To Arizona State? Yes. To our team, no, it won't be a game-time decision," Burton said.
Burton's pull-the-sheet-back maneuvering should at least provide some intrigue for what the Sun Devils hope is a lopsided game.
Portland State hasn't had much success against bigger schools, winning two of 27 games all-time against FBS programs, including going 0-8 against the Pac-10. The Vikings are coming off three lackluster seasons under former NFL coach Jerry Glanville, who won two games last year and nine overall before resigning in November.
Arizona State follows up Saturday's game with a matchup against Northern Arizona, another Big Sky school that isn't so much an instate rival as a team that happens to be in the state.
The Big Sky two-step doesn't figure to be much of a challenge for a program with a history like Arizona State's, but the Sun Devils haven't exactly been living up to that history lately.
Arizona State had a promising start under Erickson, winning 10 games, a share of the Pac-10 title and a trip to the 2007 Holiday Bowl for the coach who won a pair of national titles at Miami.
Since then, it hasn't gone so well for the Sun Devils: consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1947 that have left Erickson with what looks to be a precarious hold on his job.
A good start, even against smaller schools like Portland State and Northern Arizona, will be essential to keep the criticism from continuing to pile up.
"We believe we're a much better football team than people give us credit for right now," Erickson said. "But watching us play the last couple years, we deserved that."
Threet holds the keys to a turnaround, at least for now.
A superb defensive team under Erickson — 13th in the nation in total defense a year ago — the Sun Devils have been held back by their offense.
Arizona State fired offensive coordinator Rich Olson in the offseason, replacing him with Noel Mazzone, who has installed a quick-hitting, spread-it-out offense designed to keep defenses confused.
Finding the right person to run the offense was going to be the key to making it work, so Erickson took his time deciding on a starting quarterback.
Threet, who sat out last season after transferring from Michigan, appeared to have the early line in spring, but Brock Osweiler and Samson Szakacsy made it a competition, preventing Erickson from making a decision until five days before the opener.
Threet was the most consistent of the three and earned the nod, though Osweiler is expected to play some on Saturday and the agile Szakacsy could be used in a change-of-pace mode during the season.
"I'm excited," said Threet, who started eight games for Michigan in 2008. "It's something that I've been working hard for, but it's just an announcement. I have to go on the field and win games now."
Portland state had a similar competition.
Senior Drew Hubel was the starter last year and has thrown for over 6,300 yards and 42 touchdowns in his career, but had knee surgery in the offseason, which gave junior Connor Kavanaugh and senior Tygue Howland a shot.
The strong-armed Howland was the opening-game starter in 2007 and 2008, but has been plagued by injuries, leading to a sixth year of eligibility.
Kavanaugh appears to be the front-runner, his mobility a good fit for the Pistol offense Burton installed, but who knows?
Burton isn't saying anything and he doesn't plan to until the last possible moment.
"I feel comfortable with any of the three names," Burton said. "I could probably drop them in a hat. I think the kids understand that whoever ends up taking the first snap doesn't mean they'll take the last one."
-- John Marshall
QB weekend at BYU includes Washington coach
PROVO, Utah (AP) — BYU is honoring some of its former great quarterbacks this weekend as the Cougars host Washington in the season opener.
One of them will be busy coaching the opponent.
Former Cougar Steve Sarkisian is entering his second season as Washington's coach. He's one of eight BYU quarterbacks selected to all-America teams that will be honored at halftime Saturday.
While the seven others will have a chance to be nostalgic, Sarkisian said his duties as head Husky outrank any loyalty to his alma mater.
"It's a business trip, for sure. I had some great moments there, some great wins there," Sarkisian said. "But ultimately, my concern is about these 105 kids that we have in this program and the 76 of them traveling with us to Provo. This is their weekend. This is their day, and so that'll be my focus."
BYU's quarterback weekend is also a fundraiser to endow scholarships. Former Cougars Virgil Carter, Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer and Sarkisian are all scheduled to take part. These are the players who established BYU's quarterback tradition and they will be there to see the next two candidates.
Instead of one starter, coach Bronco Mendenhall announced this week that junior Riley Nelson and freshman Jake Heaps will be sharing the job.
Nelson backed up Max Hall last season and played eight games as a freshman at Utah State in 2006 before leaving on a Mormon church mission, then transferring to BYU.
Heaps' only experience so far is fall camp and spring practice, which he took part in after enrolling early after choosing BYU over his home-state Huskies. He was Washington state's AP player of the year last fall at Skyline High School in suburban Seattle, passing for 3,191 yards and 45 touchdowns.
Heaps is a drop-back passer who fits the classic style of a BYU quarterback. Nelson is a bit more of a mix who is capable of running the ball.
Mendenhall said both played well enough during the first month of practice to make using a two-QB system the Cougars' best option this season.
Mendenhall said he didn't ask for feedback after making the decision.
"When I announced it there were a lot of nodding heads. Kind of the quiet support and those that have made a comment say it was the right decision and they're behind it 100 percent, which is the easy thing to say now," Mendenhall said. "For fans, for media and for everyone else, if it doesn't go well that'll be when the tough part comes."
The Huskies have no such questions at quarterback. The job still belongs to Jake Locker, who returned for his senior season rather than going to the NFL after passing for 2,800 yards and 21 touchdowns last fall. The first game of his unofficial Heisman Trophy campaign comes with a chance to avenge Washington's heartbreaking loss to the Cougars two years ago.
Locker's second rushing touchdown of the game put the Huskies just an extra-point kick away from tying the game with 2 seconds left, but after tumbling into the end zone, he threw his hands — and the ball — in the air and was called for excessive celebration.
The penalty pushed back the extra-point kick, which was blocked by BYU's Jan Jorgensen to preserve the Cougars' 28-27 victory. The penalty call was widely viewed as much more excessive than Locker's celebration and may have cost the Huskies a chance to take BYU to overtime.
"I think looking back on it I told them after the game I'm sorry that we were put in that situation and we lost the game because of it but I'm not sorry for what I did because I was enjoying the game, I was having fun. I wasn't trying to embarrass BYU at that point," Locker said. "I had scored a touchdown that had the potential to tie the game with no time left on the clock and to me that's pretty exciting."
And his plans for any post-TD revelry this week?
"I'll take the ball to the referee this Saturday for sure," he said.
-- Doug Alden
London era begins at Virginia with Spiders visit
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Marc Verica can hardly wait until Saturday night.
The senior quarterback at Virginia is a starter once again as the Cavaliers try to end a four-game losing streak in season openers when they play Richmond.
"To be able to come back and play my fifth year as the starting quarterback, there's no doubt about it that I'm very excited to take advantage of this opportunity," said Verica, the only quarterback on the roster to have taken a college snap.
First-year coach Mike London named Verica the starter in the spring. Verica said the air of renewed enthusiasm that arrived when London was hired last December has lingered through spring practice, summer workouts and the preseason.
"There's definitely a heightened level of anticipation because of all the things that have happened in our program the last few years, specifically the last year or so," he said.
Defensive tackle Nick Jenkins agreed and said everyone is "super excited" to play.
"The last three years, it's been kind of rough for us here, and we're excited to change things around," said the junior, who, along with Verica, is one of six team captains.
Adding intrigue to London's Virginia coaching debut is the opponent — Richmond.
London was the Spiders' coach the last two seasons, and guided Richmond to the 2008 FCS national championship.
Richmond will be led by Latrell Scott, who was the Cavaliers' wide receivers coach last year under Al Groh. Both staffs are stacked with coaches who have worked at both schools.
"I would not be human if I sat here and said it's another game," London said, embracing the emotion he anticipates. "It's not another game. That's my alma mater. I spent years there as a coach and a player and I won championships there with that team."
Scott took over a team that lost 15 senior starters.
"We're not a finished product by any means," he said. "We've got improvements to make. There are a lot of things that we still need to fix between today and tomorrow and Saturday."
While the Spiders claim to harbor no resentment toward London for bolting only a few days after Richmond lost in the Football Championship Subdivision playoff quarterfinals, defensive lineman Martin Parker said they will arrive at Scott Stadium with a statement to make.
A perennial playoff team, the Spiders were picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association this season. The league is the best in FCS, but they felt slighted.
"We just want to show everybody that doubt us, that question our ability as a team, that we have players on this team that they might not know about that will step forward and come up and be great players in this conference," Parker said.
Last season, the Spiders won at Duke and Virginia lost its home opener against William & Mary, another CAA power. And these Spiders have Aaron Corp, a Southern Cal transfer, at quarterback. He arrived in January and won a spirited battle with John Laub this summer, and joins a team that has two all-league wide receivers in Kevin Grayson and Tre Gray.
Corp will operate behind an offensive line that has added four new starters since the spring, and go against a revamped defense that has switched from the 3-4 to the 4-3.
Virginia's John-Kevin Dolce, a defensive tackle who would have been significantly undersized in the 3-4, is eager for the 6 p.m. start, and using his speed on the line.
"I think we've been waiting for a long time for this game," he said.
-- Hank Kurz Jr.
Game day finally here for Vanderbilt's new coach
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The lone scheduled meeting this season between the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference pits the leagues' only private universities.
The universities are similar, except for one thing: Northwestern has found the winning groove in recent years that Vanderbilt seeks.
The Wildcats have won six or more games nine times since 1995, they are coming off an 8-5 record and coach Pat Fitzgerald opens this season looking for a third straight bowl appearance.
In 2008, Vanderbilt went to its first bowl game since 1955. Then last year the bottom fell out and the Commodores went 2-10, losing their final eight games.
Vanderbilt senior center Joey Bailey doesn't care how Saturday night's game is publicized — Brain Bowl, Battle of Elites, call it whatever.
"We just want to win. We've been hungry all offseason," Bailey said. "We've been waiting for this day. We want to show we're going to be a team that's going to come hit you in the mouth. This day couldn't come soon enough for us."
Robbie Caldwell has had only about seven weeks to prepare for a game he's been waiting to coach most of his life, making his head coaching debut with Vanderbilt. He took over when Bobby Johnson retired July 14 and said he won't put pressure on his players to try to win for him in his debut.
"The way I look at it, we want to win every game. You can't win 'em all till you win the first one. We're going to go out there hopefully prepared to play the best we can, and we'll let that sort itself out," Caldwell said.
Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald knows firsthand how teams come together in tough times. He moved into his job after the death of Randy Walker in June 2006.
"They take a challenge as a motivator to play together as one," Fitzgerald said. "From all the things that I've read from down there, it seems like that's what has happened. We'll find a way to rise up to their level of passion on Saturday."
This will be only the third game between these teams and the first played at Vanderbilt. The teams split the first two games with the last a 20-20 tie in October 1952. Vanderbilt hasn't beaten a Big Ten team since 1957 with a road trip to Penn State. The Commodores' last home win over a Big Ten team? Reach way back to Oct. 3, 1942, when Vandy shut out Purdue 26-0.
For Northwestern, this will be only the 10th time ever the Wildcats have played an SEC opponent. That includes their 38-35 overtime loss to Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day. These teams know each other a bit because coaches have recruited a couple players who wound up going to the other school.
"I just met coach Johnson when we were on an ethics committee meeting for AFCA so I was looking forward to spending time with him. Obviously that's not going to happen now but looking forward to spending time with coach Caldwell," Fitzgerald said.
The similarities include the offenses. Vanderbilt went to a spread offense and tried to go no-huddle and hurry-up only to struggle in the transition. It only got worse when Larry Smith hurt a hamstring against Georgia Tech and missed the rest of the season. Vanderbilt scored only 16.3 points per game in 2009.
Northwestern averaged 79.5 plays with its version, third most of any team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Wildcats ran 115 plays against Auburn in that bowl loss.
The Wildcats are breaking in a new starter in Dan Persa with Mike Kafka gone. Persa has played in 21 games in his career, but this will be his first start. Persa is someone Vanderbilt recruited a bit so coaches are familiar with him.
"Their quarterback's very athletic so he's a great concern for us athletically," Caldwell said.
Vanderbilt is hoping that running back Warren Norman, the SEC freshman of the year in 2009, is healthy enough to play. He had his right knee scoped for some torn cartilage last week, but he practiced earlier this week. Fitzgerald said Norman is physical and can catch the ball really well out of the backfield.
But Norman's most dangerous at kickoff returner.
"You see his true speed as a kick returner, and he's one of the best in the SEC if not the country. It's going to be a challenge for our kickoff team, but we've been good on that unit too," Fitzgerald said.
-- Teresa M. Walker
Renfree's time is at hand for Duke
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Sean Renfree has the strong arm and understanding of the offense that Duke coach David Cutcliffe wants to see from his quarterback.
All he needs now is to calm the jitters before his first career start against Elon on Saturday.
"I get a little nervous at times thinking about it," Renfree said. "But I think it's exciting nervousness, like I'm ready to go and ready to start playing."
The sophomore spent most of last year on the sideline, both to watch Thad Lewis — a four-year starter who left as the school's all-time leading passer — and to recover from a season-ending knee injury that came late in the season. But Lewis is gone and Renfree is the new passer for a coach who was Peyton Manning's offensive coordinator at Tennessee and Eli Manning's head coach at Mississippi.
Considering the Blue Devils' struggles in running the football, Renfree will have to adapt quickly to keep Duke's offense moving.
"I expect him to be really sharp," Cutcliffe said. "He's got tremendous arm strength, the vision, he understands our offense extremely well, so I'm excited for him. I know he's been looking forward to this opportunity."
Renfree played just five games, turning in a strong performance in relief of Lewis to lead a win at Army in the second game. He also got some valuable reps against Kansas and Georgia Tech before suffering a torn right anterior cruciate ligament, which required surgery in November.
But he's got plenty of weapons around him in all-Atlantic Coast Conference receiver Donovan Varner as well as reliable wideouts Conner Vernon and Austin Kelly. He'll also work behind a line that returns four starters.
"Of course, as we all know, Renfree has only been tested to a limited degree in game action," Elon coach Pete Lembo said. "But it certainly sounds like the Duke team has a lot of confidence in him. And I think the way their offense is set up, there's enough short throws and enough screens that I'm sure with the multiplicity of their package, they can play to his strengths."
Vernon said Renfree's grasp of the offense has been his most impressive quality.
"He's a super smart quarterback, a supersmart kid," Vernon said. "I feel sometimes he comes up to the line and he knows what the defense is right off the bat. When he gets rolling and gets in synch, you can't stop him. There's nothing stopping him."
Duke suffered through a tough training camp last year in which Lewis suffered an ankle injury while numerous players came down with swine flu, leading to a clunker performance in the opening home loss to Championship Subdivision opponent Richmond. The Blue Devils have had an easier go of it in camp this time, though they find themselves facing a Phoenix team ranked No. 7 in the FCS poll.
Elon has a proven passer in Scott Riddle, who is trying to become the first player in Southern Conference history to lead the league in passing yards for four straight years.
The Blue Devils will soon find out whether Renfree is ready for a similar leading role.
"He's a pretty serious youngster," Cutcliffe said. "I've got to relax him a little bit in some way before Saturday, but he's tuned in right now."
-- Aaron Beard
Nassib ready for 1st QB start
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — When he was penciled in last year as the starter at quarterback for Syracuse after spring ball, Ryan Nassib was pleased. All the hard work was about to be rewarded.
Then Greg Paulus arrived on campus, and Nassib's chance disappeared quickly.
Rookie coach Doug Marrone tabbed the former Duke point guard as his starter right after preseason camp opened, and Nassib did a lot of watching and waiting last fall.
"He was disappointed that he didn't win the starting job," Marrone said. "But I never saw that on the field. He was out there competing, trying to beat out Greg each week."
Paulus, a star quarterback in high school, used his final year of college athletic eligibility in 2009, started every game, and now is an assistant basketball coach at Navy.
Syracuse is Nassib's team now, and the junior is wide-eyed in anticipation of the season opener at Akron on Saturday night.
"I feel like I'm a veteran now," said Nassib, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound finance major from West Chester, Pa. "I'm still kind of young, but I've been through a lot, seen a lot, and I took it upon myself to help bring the younger kids along. We are pretty young in some spots."
Although he was the backup to Paulus, Nassib saw action in 10 games, completing 36 of 68 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Nassib did not play in the season-opener against Minnesota, which the Orange lost in overtime. And when Paulus struggled against the tough South Florida defense, throwing five interceptions and suffering three sacks, Marrone wisely kept Nassib on the bench.
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