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Reviews
from past weeks: 1
2 3
4
5 6
7
8 9 10
11 12
13 14
A
Full Day Of College Football Coverage
By George
Stahl and Randy Williams
We here at ArmchairQB.com
usually pick one or two big games each week to review. Last week,
Ricky Williams' push for Division I-A's rushing record in the Texas
A&M-Texas game was an obvious choice, as was the virtual
Big East championship between Syracuse
and Miami.
But this week,
which games were we to ignore? The most storied rivalry in
college football (Army
vs. Navy)? The final WAC championship game (No.
17 Air Force vs. BYU)? Or what were basically the semifinals
for three teams vying to play in the national championship game
(No. 3 UCLA at Miami;
No. 2 Kansas State
vs. No. 10 Texas A&M; and No.
1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Mississippi State)?
We couldn't,
in good conscience, discriminate against any of these games. So,
we spent a busy Saturday in front of the television, much to the
chagrin of our wives. George handled
the early games, while Randy reviewed
the late contests. Here's
the best and worst of the day in college football.
(Obviously,
we couldn't see every moment from all the games, but we tried.
If
you saw anything that we missed, please let us know, via e-mail
or the ArmchairQB.com bulletin
board.)
Thanks
for your help!)
Broadcasts
and announcers:
Army 34 Navy 30 - noon
CBS - Sean McDonough,Terry Donahue, Mike Mayock
Air Force 20 BYU
13 - 1 pm ABC - Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Dean Blevins
Miami 49 UCLA 45 - 2 pm
ESPN - Ron Franklin, Mike Gottfried, Adrian Karsten
Texas A&M 36 K-St. 33
- 4:30 pm ABC - Brent Musburger, Dan Fouts, Jack Arute
Tennessee 24 Miss. St.14
- 8 pm ABC - Keith Jackson, Bob Griese, Lynn Swann
Bad Jobs:
1. Second-half interviews by ABC's Jackson and Griese
of SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer, a BCS insider, and Florida State
coach Bobby Bowden. It wasn't a bad idea to talk to these men but
it was inexcusable to interview them during play of a league title
game involving the NCAA's only unbeaten team. The interview with
Bowden was in particularly ridiculous, occuring as play continued
on the Georgia Dome field. Neither conversation was worth the time
and effort.
2. Donahue said that if he were coach of Army, he would consider
switching quarterbacks after the second fumble. Not a bad point,
but as he was finishing his statement, Army was in the process of
switching QBs. Didn't he or anyone else at CBS see the backup warming
up on the sidelines? Where was my favorite sideline reporter (sic)
Mike Mayock?
3. CBS, at halftime of Army-Navy, only showed the score and
highlight of one Division I-AA playoff game, Connecticut-Georgia
Southern. Why just that game? Studio analyst Lou Holtz's son, Skip,
is the head coach at Connecticut.
4. Like UCLA, ESPN was caught out of position on Miami's
second touchdown. The all-sports network was using an on-field camera
angle from behind the defense when Miami threw a two-yard touchdown
pass to a receiver left uncovered by UCLA. ESPN quickly switched
to a better camera with a better angle; however, the switch was
so quick and abrupt that viewers didn't have time to adjust before
the catch was made.
5.
CBS didn't mention the rain in Philadelphia until after Army's second
fumble in the first quarter.
Good shots:
1. ESPN showed UCLA receiver Brian Poli-Dixon working to get
open in the back of the endzone as quarterback Cade McNown scrambled
on the Bruins second touchdown.
2. Shot of McNown counseling Poli-Dixon on the sidelines
after the wideout fumbled in the fourth quarter.
3. ABC's Jackson ringing a Mississippi State cow bell in
the third quarter.
Best/worst
interchange:
A quick exchange between Nessler and Danielson showed why Danielson
is a solid announcer and Nessler sometimes is lacking. Air Force,
leading 14-13, had a first down with less than two minutes left
and just one BYU timeout remaining. The Falcons could have ran out
the clock by just kneeling on it; however, they handed the ball
off to running back Spanky Gilliam, who scored a touchdown. As he
broke away from the pile, Nessler exclaimed, "This one is over."
To which, Danielson
immediately responded, "No, it's not. ... That's the worst
thing that could have happened." Nessler still not realizing
where Danielson was going with this, asked about a two-point conversion.
Danielson said no, explaining that the problem is that BYU will
now get the ball back. He said scoring while you are trying to run
out the clock is "one of the biggest mistakes that you could
make." It was a little shocking that it took Nessler so
long to realize the point Danielson was trying to make.
Glitches:
1. Poor work by ABC's camera crew prevented fans from seeing
the first-quarter interception by Kansas State's Jeff Kelly.
2. A mysterious voice, possibly a technician's, was heard
over the first play from scrimmage in ABC's Air Force-BYU game.
3. CBS inadvertantly started to show a commercial in the
third quarter as the two teams huddled between plays.
4. After Danielson taught Nessler about scoring while trying
to run out the clock (see above), he was heard
over a commercial seconds later, saying "I've always waited
for something like that to happen."
5. At times, viewers could hear Franklin or Gottfried talking
to the production crew, asking about replays and such.
Good
lines:
1. "Is everybody awake in Starkville (Miss.)?"
- Jackson, after a late punt return by Kevin Prentiss gave Mississippi
State a 14-10 lead.
2. "He [the running back] almost had to fair catch that
thing." - Nessler, after a high flip by Air Force quarterback
Bonds on an option.
3. "Bill Snyder is giving his players earplugs so they
don't hear (of Miami's 49-45 win over UCLA)." - Fouts, wondering
if the Kansas State players would relax after learning of the Bruins
being knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Stupidest lines:
1. "It is now up to Kansas State and Tennessee, baby.
No more polls. Let it be decided on the field, where it should've
been all along." - Musburger, calling for a national title
game between the Wildcats and Volunteers. Unfortunately for Mr.
Big Mouth, 10:30 still remained in the first half with K-State leading
17-3.
2. "That's a huge loss for Kansas State." - Fouts,
after quarterback Michael Bishop was sacked for a 17-yard loss.
Good stats:
1. ABC showed that Air Force had scored on 33 straight drives
that included a first and goal right before the Falcons made it
34.
2. ABC noted that Kansas State had won as many games in the
10 years since Bill Snyder became head coach (77) as it had won
in the 30 years before him.
3. An ESPN graphic displayed a list of winning streaks that
Miami had ended: Notre Dame in 1989 (23 games), Nebraska in 1984
(22 games), Oklahoma in 1988 (20 games), Florida State in 1991 (16
games) and in 1986 (14 games).
4. ESPN showed UCLA had a 49% third down conversion rate
in the fourth quarter this year.
5. ABC noted that Tennessee is 3-0 against top-10 teams while
Kansas State is 0-1 and UCLA is 0-0.
Strongest
comments:
1. "(Wisconsin is) the worst football team to play in
the Rose Bowl." - CBS studio analyst Craig James.
2. "If you don't like holding, then you won't like playing
against BYU, because they are the best at it in college football."
- Danielson, after Blevins solid sideline report that an Air Force
lineman was complaining to coaches about BYU players holding.
3. "Since the pressure started gettin' in his face,
he really hasn't done much." - Jackson, on Mississippi State
quarterback Wayne Madkin.
4. "You can handicap it all you want, but it's going
to [Texas running back] Ricky Williams."Gottfried after Franklin
read an ad for the latest issue of ESPN magazine, which includes
a handicap of the Heisman Trophy,
5. "No one since the days of Charlie Ward has run the
quarterback draw as well as Michael Bishop." - Musburger
Hmm:
1. Unlike recent years, ABC's John Saunders and Todd Blackledge
remained in studio, instead of being on site at the SEC Championship.
2. Franklin said before the UCLA-Miami game that the college
football world could be a step closer to a playoff if there are
three undefeated teams on Sunday and Ohio State is not included
in the BCS.
Say what?:
1. McDonough, going to halftime after a high-scoring Army-Navy
first half, called it a "typical Army-Navy game." What?
Navy was ahead 24-19 and the 43 combined points were the most in
a first half in the rivalry's history, beating the old record of
41. The game ended up being the highest scoring in Army-Navy history,
but yet McDonough continued to call it "typical."
2. There were 43 points scored in the first half of the Army-Navy
game, but only seven in the first half of the WAC championship?
3. Karsten said with more than 10 minutes left in the game
that Miami's defense had "passed the gut check test."
What? By that point, the Hurricanes already had allowed 38 points.
Foresight:
1. Danielson said he expects both Air Force
quarterbacks, injured Blane Morgan and backup Cale Bonds, to play.
Morgan came in during the second quarter. After one series, though,
Danielson noted that Morgan was limping badly and that he wouldn't
be surprise if Morgan doesn't return. However, soon after that statement,
Blevins reported from about a foot away from Morgan that it sound
like the injured quarterback was going to return. An excellent
job by Blevins.
2. Donahue immediately questioned a two-point conversion attempt
by Army in the second quarter, saying he thought it was too early
for that. That failed attempt threw Army out of rhythm, forcing
the Cadets to attempt and to fail two more two-point conversions.
Unanswered
questions:
1. What happened to CBS' Mike Mayock as he was about to report
on the tragic fall of a few servicemen? After an Army touchdown,
a group of servicemen fell to the turf at Veterans Stadium after
a railing gave way as they leaned on it to pose for the camera.
Mayock was just about to report on the incident from the field when
he was interrupted by somebody. Mayock began to explain that he
was trying to do a report and that he was not part of the Academy;
however, he was never able to give his report. (Click
here to read more about CBS' coverage of the accident)
2. Why were there so many empty seats in the upper deck of
the Orange Bowl in the UCLA-Miami game?
Army-Navy
Accident:
CBS, led by sideline reporter, did an adequate job following the
broken railing story from the Army-Navy game. Mayock, when he was
able to report (see above), described the incident very well and,
because of his Philadelphia background, was able to provide background
on the controversy surrounding the stadium issue in Philadelphia.
However, Mayock
made a big mistake in quickly reporting that the worst injury appeared
to be a broken leg. Considering the length of time that the game
was delayed - action was halted for 31 minutes - it became apparent
that the injuries were either more severe or officials were being
extremely cautious. Mayock, who is not a doctor and probably couldn't
get too close to the injured, probably should have kept any instant
medical analysis to himself. About 25 minutes after his first report,
Mayock said what many viewers already had concluded and feared,
that there were probably more serious injuries than the broken leg.
McDonough and
Mayock gave their strongest comments of the game during their coverage
of the accident. McDonough called Veterans Stadium "a dilapidated
facility," and Mayock added that "the condition of the
stadium leaves an awful lot to be desired." McDonough later
talked about how hot the offices at the stadium were on Friday as
CBS conducted its meetings and as they visited Eagles coaches.
McDonough made
another good point later, when he said this accident is a good lesson
for the football players from Army and Navy. He said they must go
ahead and complete the game, despite the tragedy that had occurred,
much like they would on the field of battle.
Best opening:
CBS chided studio analyst, and now South Carolina coach, Lou Holtz
on his new job. (Click
here to read more about Holtz's new job). Studio host Tim Brando
asked Holtz, "If anything happened this week?" Meanwhile,
studio analyst Craig James and the rest of CBS technical crew wore
South Carolina sweatshirts. Holtz, who said it was tough leaving
the "soft money" in television, poked fun at James saying
his South Carolina sweatshirt was "too big in the shoulders
and too tight at the waist."
Nice touch:
1. ABC's outstanding updates of Miami-UCLA during the Kansas
State-Texas A&M game. Studio host John Saunders kept viewers
abreast of the happenings at the Orange Bowl.
2. Sean McDonough's well-written introduction to the Army-Navy
game, which was read over scenes of the Cadets and Midshipmen marching
into Veterans Stadium. One problem: CBS didn't show the national
anthem live.
3. ABC showed part of the Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry's
pregame speech.
Skycam:
CBS unveiled Skycam during its Army-Navy game with mixed success.
The camera, which was positioned directly over the field, similar
to one used by NBC in NBA games (What are they?), provided
some nice shots, especially of the academies marching on the field
before the game and on Army's second touchdown, a 69-yard run by
backup quarterback Joseph Gerena. However, the camera was disconcerting
at times and provided bad angles on other occasions. It is best
used on replays, rather than for live action. CBS was using
that camera when Navy scored its third touchdown on a 69-yard completion.
As the play progressed, the receiver was getting smaller and smaller
as he streaked down the field away from the camera.
Top Jacksonism:
"If Tennessee sticks it in for another six, you might hear
the door slam," - just prior to a clinching touchdown pass
by Tee Martin.
Best play-by-play:
1. Franklin. He was ready and excited for this game.
Along with a solid call, Franklin consistently gave quick analysis
on plays, setting up points for his partner, Gottfried.
2. McDonough. In a game filled with anonymous players,
McDonough seemed to have a story to personalize each Cadet and Midshipmen
that made a play. Plus, he effectively filled the time during the
game's half-hour delay.
3. Jackson. Still solid after all these years. The retiring
announcer did his usual bang-up job, offering anecdotes, insight
and play-by-play rolled into one.
Best color
analysis:
Danielson. He saw and commented on things - such as penalties
and downfield events - not shown on camera. Plus, the underrated
announcer was consistently quick and effective with his play analysis.
Worst color analysis:
Griese/Fouts. Pick your poison - neither one of these guys
was worth listening to. Both men know the game but do poor jobs
of conveying this to viewers.
Best sideline
reporting:
1. Blevins. He reported on the game, not on stories
prepared before the game. His reports were timely and provided viewers
with important informations (see the Morgan report
above)
2. Swann. Did an excellent job of updating key injuries,
noting that Mississippi State running back James Johnson's groin
injury limited him to just one workout in the past two weeks and
reporting that Tennessee defender Jeff Coleman tore the medial collateral
ligament in his knee in the third quarter. Also, was quick to report
that the Mississippi State sideline was warned in the third quarter
for yelling at officials.
3. Karsten. He covered very well the injury situation of stud
UCLA linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo, updating his status a couple
times. He also confirmed a Gottfried suspicion early in the game
that UCLA was lethargic. Karsten reported that many Bruins were
late going into the game on some plays.
Worst announcing duo:
Musburger and Fouts. When Jack Arute is the star of your
broadcasting team, you know you're in trouble. My goodness, these
guys spent half of the telecast referring to each other as "My
friend." Doesn't the Guru
have a copyright for that phrase?
Musburger never shuts up, drapes his speech in superlatives
and tries too hard to be cute. Saturday, he constantly referred
to Kansas State QB Michael Bishop as "the Bishop" and
kicker Martin Gramatica as "Automatica."
Fouts offers little insight and routinely stumbles over words. A
former star NFL quarterback should tell the viewers more about quarterback
play, something the ex-Charger rarely does.
Back
to top
To see last week's reviews of Texas A&M-Texas and Miami-Syracuse,
click here.
To see George's
picks/previews of this week's games, visit Saturday
Selections.
To post a comment, go to the Speak
Out page.
Click on the name to e-mail your opinion to either George
or Randy.
|
 By
George Stahl
Chris
Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit previewed a Saturday
full of big games from the Orange Bowl, site of Saturday's
UCLA-Miami game.
The crew
were on their game, as they looked at today's games and their
possible ramifications to the Bowl Championship Series. Here
are some of their predictions: (Click on the game to read
more about it in George's Saturday
Selections.)
Army
vs. Navy - Herbstreit takes Army, while Corso, a former
Navy coach, picks the Midshipmen.
No.
17 Air Force vs. BYU - Herbstreit and Corso predict
Air Force will win in a low-scoring game. Fowler said he is
not sure he agrees, citing the fact that backup quarterback
Cale Bonds is starting for the Falcons.
No.
3 UCLA at Miami - Herbstreit, who for weeks had hinted
that he might pick Miami in this game, instead says UCLA wins
big, citing the Bruins' ability to force turnovers. Corso
also takes UCLA.
No.
2 Kansas State vs. No. 10 Texas A&M - Corso says
Kansas State has the best offensive balance in college football
and predicts the Wildcats will win by three touchdowns. Herbstreit
agrees but thinks it will be closer than three touchdowns.
No.
1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Mississippi State - Herbstreit
says Mississippi State needs to have a strong running game
to win, but he doesn't see it happening against a tough Tennessee
defense. Herbstreit says the Volunteers win big. Corso also
likes Tennessee, citing the team's offensive balance, but
thinks the game will be "closer than the experts expect."
Fowler, though, agrees with Herbstreit and thinks the Vols
win big.
Bowl
predictions:
1. Tony Barnhart, from the site of the SEC Championship
in Atlanta, said Tennessee could still win part or all of
the national championship if the Volunteers lost Saturday.
He said Tennessee, which has 41 first-place rights, could
retain the top spot in the AP poll with a win in the Sugar
Bowl against Ohio State.
2. Herbstreit thinks Ohio State will play in the Sugar
Bowl.
3. Corso thinks Syracuse and Florida will play in the
Orange Bowl.
Best
stats:
1. Fowler noted that 34 double-digit favorites have lost
this season. No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kansas State and No. 3
UCLA are each double-digit favorites.
2. Fowler said that since 1979, Miami is 10-0 in games
after losing by 20 or more points.
3. Corso said the top three teams have won a combined
50 straight games.
4. Corso said Tennessee has been in the opponents'
red zone 42 times this year. In those 42 visits, the Volunteers
have scored 92% of the time and have committed only one tuneover.
Best
features:
1.
Steve Cyphers on Texas A&M linebacker Dat Ngyuen, a Butkus
Award finalist.
2. The plays of the year, which could have been longer.
3. Tony
Barnhart on Tennessee wide receiver Peerless Price.
4. Dan LeBatard on the Miami mindset after last week's
drubbing by Syracuse.
Hmm:
1.
Fowler noted the irony in Branndon Stewart starting for Texas
A&M. Stewart originally went to Tennessee to help the
Volunteers win a national championship, which is something
he can do as an Aggie on Saturday.
2. Corso created his own formula to determine who should
play in the all-important Fiesta Bowl - margin of victory
against Top 25 opponents, with more emphasis on road wins
vs. home wins. Based on that, Tennessee and UCLA are the top
two teams (before Saturday's games, of course).
3. Tony Barnhart said Mississippi State running back
James Johnson and Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin came from
the same Mobile, Ala., neighborhood.
4. Corso called Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop
the most exciting, spectacular player in college football.
Grade:
A. A wonderful warm-up for championship Saturday. (George)
Back
to top
To see
George's picks/previews of
this week's games, visit Saturday
Selections.
To post a comment, go to the Speak
Out page.
To e-mail your opinion to George, click
here.
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