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Review from past weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
By George Stahl Unlike the unpredictability of baseball's home run record chase, ABC figured ahead of time that it was going to record history on Friday as Texas running back Ricky Williams needed only 63 rushing yards to break Tony Dorsett's Division I-A career record. Williams didn't disappoint, and - for the most part - neither did ABC. The alphabet network played up the Ricky Williams angle throughout the game, but especially before he broke the record. After each carry, ABC and play-by-play announcer Brent Musberger updated viewers with how much more Williams needed to break the record. ABC's coverage of Williams' pursuit of the record bordered on obsessive compulsive; however, I can't fault the network for making that its focus. By the time Williams got the record, Musberger was jacked. Here's his call of Williams' record-breaking 60-yard touchdown run: "Eleven yards shy of the record. Williams breaks a hole. Williams. Hello, record book. Ricky Williams runs to the Hall of Fame. Cuts back. Ricky Williams ... touchdown. Sixty yards, and the record is his." For some reason, not entirely clear to me, Musberger has become an announcer that sports fans love to hate and criticize. However, I think Musberger is one of those few announcers who can put goose bumps on viewers' arms with the excitement in his call. His main problem is that he describes too many plays with that voice. A 5-yard completion isn't the same thing as a 60-yard touchdown run for the record books. After the historic run, ABC did an O.K. job with replays and reaction. The network had a camera and sideline reporter Jack Arute on Dorsett as the former University of Pittsburgh great watched from the sidelines. Arute, who talked before the record and after with Dorsett, asked the proper questions. ABC had plenty of stats and footage ready to roll with Williams' record. It showed Williams first run four years ago, Dorsett's record-breaking run 21 years ago and listed all of Williams records. The problems with the post-record coverage included a lack of insight from analyst Dan Fouts, who couldn't explain how offensive linemen block even if he was reading from a textbook, and some poor camerawork. As Williams appeared to go to the crowd (possibly to see his mother?), ABC had to cut to a different shot because it didn't have a camera in place to show what was happening. Also, ABC did not show who and what the rushing records are in college football's other divisions. Too often the networks forget/ignore the other divisions in college football. Williams only has the Division I-A record, certainly a tremendous achievement, but who are the recordholders in the other divisions and how do they compare? Division I-A football is only a small part of the college football world. Overall, ABC's coverage was adequate, although not as good as Fox was in its coverage of the McGwire's 62nd home run. As for the rest of the game, it was more of the same from this three-man crew. Musberger was solid, although he occasionally says things throughout the game that make you cringe. Fouts adds little value to the telecast, and Arute is one of the best sideline reporters in college football. Among his many reports from the sidelines, Arute revealed how Texas A&M quarterback Randy McCown was motivating his teammates; that Texas coaches told Longhorn quarterback Major Applewhite to cut down on his dropback; and what each coach wanted to do in the second half. Arute works the sidelines; he doesn't just stand there. Glitches:
Best Lines:
Despite my earlier criticisms of Fouts, he did have two good lines
at the end of the telecast. Note: These are good lines, not
good insight, which is what we want from Fouts. Grade: B-. Williams coverage was adequate, but Fouts can't comment on anything but quarterback play. Back
to top By George Stahl Like Syracuse, CBS' No. 1 pair of Sean McDonough and Terry Donahue showed Saturday that it is one of the best teams in college football. Even sideline reporter Mike Mayock was bearable. The key to the team is Donahue, who has improved a lot during the season and should be considered one of the better analysts in the game. From the beginning, Donahue was making excellent points. Among his earlier insights, before the game got out of hand, he noted that:
While the analysis from the ex-UCLA coach has usually been sharp, Donahue has started to offer more of his opinion throughout the telecast. (Earlier in the year, in a review of the Florida-Tennessee broadcast, I had complained that Donahue needs to be more opinionated.) In the second quarter, Donahue agreed with Miami coach Butch Davis' call to go for it on fourth down. On the same drive, he later criticized Davis for going for it on a separate fourth down. Both times, he logically explained his opinion. Viewers value that kind of insight. Donahue also gave his opinion on matters outside of Saturday's game, saying that UCLA should be able to beat the young Miami team next week. Donahue probably has improved more than any other college football analyst this year. His partner, McDonough, is a solid but unspectacular play-by-play announcer. He's well-prepared and not going to make many mistakes; however, he also doesn't have the flair or the personality of a Keith Jackson or Dick Enberg. McDonough's preparedness showed Saturday as he changed his announcing with each change of score. As Syracuse began to pull away, McDonough focused more on the individual athletes than about individual plays. He seemed to have a story or a tidbit about each player who made a big play. In a normal, more competitive game, most of those stories go unheard. But McDonough nonetheless had them ready in case they were needed, which they were in this week's blowout. As for Mayock, he also had a decent game, although he still remains near the bottom of the list for sideline reporters. He deserves credit for talking to both coaches, especially Davis, whom he talked with as he walked off the field at halftime, down 45-7. Mayock also reported that Syracuse offensive linemen were complaining that Miami's defensive linemen were punching them. However, his interview with the parents of Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb was below par, as most of his questions dealt with what McNabb thought, not what the parents thought. He also didn't know how to smoothly give the play by play while still asking questions, which is something that NBC's Jim Gray does very well. Mayock has improved since I called him one of the worst sideline reporters in history in my review of the Florida-Tennessee broadcast but is still in the second division of sideline reporters. Other highlights and lowlights from Saturday's broadcast. Good shots:
Good points:
Things that
make you go hmm: Nice touch: CBS showed old footage of McDonough, a Syracuse alum, broadcasting a game while at the school. In a blowout, I thought this was fine thing to do. Say what?: After Syracuse made it 66-13, CBS ran a graphic that said the last team to score 60 points against Miami was Texas Tech, who scored 61 points on Nov. 1, 1940. A few minutes later, CBS showed a different graphic that said Miami's worst margin of defeat was 56 points to Texas A&M by a score of 70-14 in 1944. One of the two graphics is wrong because, according to the second graphic, Texas A&M - not Texas Tech - would have been the last team to get 60 or more points against Miami. Grade: B+. A solid effort in a disappointing game. Back
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