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Syracuse
38, Michigan 28
One
realizes that ABC has built a deep, veteran stable of college
football announcers, when you consider that the team of Brent
Musburger, Dan Fouts and Jack Arute - three solid announcers -
is the network’s third team.
Now,
I know everyone has an opinion on Musburger and, for the most
part, that opinion is usually negative. But I think that is
unfair because Musburger has had a long and distinguished broadcasting
career. His accomplishments, both above the field and in the broadcast
booth, would put him in a Hall of Fame for sports announcers,
if there were such a place.
I
think, though, Musburger opens himself to criticism with his
extraneous remarks in-between plays. But while he surely says
some things that make you groan, he still does a great job describing
the play as a play-by-play announcer. His experience helps him
to anticipate action and look for penalty flags, while his control
of his voice and his ability to make it rise to the occasion,
without sounding phony, distinguishes him amongst his peers.
Musburger’s
call of Syracuse’s second touchdown, which gave the Orangemen
a 14-0 lead, is a good example of the best and worst of Brent.
Syracuse fullback Rob Konrad was left wide open at Michigan’s
20 yard line and could have walked into the endzone. Musburger
immediately recognized the easy touchdown and made a great call,
blaming Michigan’s defense for leaving him so wide open.
Few
announcers could have matched Musburger’s energy and excitement
in that call. But then, he ruined the moment by later leading
into the commercial with the groaner, “There’s trouble in River
City.”
Argh!
Overall,
Musburger did a good job Saturday, better than most of his critics
will admit.
Musburger’s
partner, Dan Fouts, is a solid, but flawed announcer. Fouts
seems to make fewer insightful comments (i.e. comments that makes
viewers say, “Oh! I didn’t know that.” or “Oh!, that’s an interesting
point.”) than many other color announcers. He tends to re-describe
a play too much during a replay instead of explaining its nuisances.
He
also is hesitant to criticize in some instances. There were
two great examples from Saturday’s game. The first came at the
end of the first half when Syracuse got the ball at their 35 with
46 seconds lift. Before the Orangemen broke the huddle, Fouts
explained what they would need to do to get a score. However,
Syracuse decided to kneel on the ball and run out the clock, instead
of trying to get a last-second score. When Musburger asked Fouts
what he thought about that move, Fouts could only joke that he
didn’t like to kneel on the ball when he was quarterback and that
Michigan fans probably are happy to see Syracuse quarterback Donovan
McNabb kneeling.
He
didn’t answer Musburger’s question and never said whether he agreed
or disagreed with Syracuse’s decision. With a set up like that
from Musburger and time to respond, Fouts has to be more direct.
The
other example came in the third quarter, after Syracuse had made
it 38-7, when Michigan freshman phenom quarterback Drew Henson
threw a ball five yards short to a wide-open receiver after having
great protection. It was obviously Henson’s fault - he had plenty
of time and a wide-open receiver. Fouts, though, did not criticize
the much-ballyhooed quarterback, saying only that he may have
short-armed the throw.
Fouts,
though, did have his moments. On a failed Michigan screen
pass, he explained that the play was ruined after the Wolverine
tailback went left while the rest of the offense went right. He
also criticized Michigan’s play-calling after a failed fourth-down
attempt. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “It’s fourth
and three, but they are throwing it 20 yards downfield.”
Sideline
reporter Jack Arute is one of the best at that job. He proved
that again this game by adding value with solid sideline reports
and an interesting interview with McNabb’s father.
Glitches:
1. ABC had problems with the time/score box on Syracuse’s
first drive. 2. Arute encountered microphone problems at
the exact moment he was about to give Syracuse coach Pete Pasqualone’s
rule about reporting injuries from the sidelines. 3. When
ABC’s halftime show come on, the lights in the studio didn’t.
Hosts John Saunders and Todd Blackledge looked like they were
telling ghost stories in the dark. The lights were turned on by
the time Saunders and Blackledge returned to view after the first
set of highlights.
How
does crow taste?: At the beginning of the second half, Musburger
and Fouts got on the officials for disallowing a Syracuse interception.
They called it a “terrible call” after a first replay made it
appear that the Syracuse defensive back made the catch. They didn’t
say the officials might have missed that call; they outright blamed
them for making a “terrible call.” However, by the end of the
next play, a different replay proved the officials correct. Kudos
to ABC for finding and showing the replay; boos to Musburger and
Fouts for being so quick and so harsh in their criticism of the
officials.
Loud
and clear: ABC on-field microphones were picking up Pasqualone’s
rants loud and clear by the end of the game, after it was long
decided. I guess that’s what an empty Big House can do for a network.
Unanswered
questions: Why didn’t ABC switch the audience to the Florida
St-N.C. State game after the third quarter when Syracuse led 38-7?
Sure, Michigan added three touchdowns in the final quarter - the
last coming with three seconds left - but I think most fans would
have rather watched the end of the biggest upset in college football
so far this season than the end of this game.
Grade:
B-, too many glitches, too few provocative points by Fouts.
Last week: To see Randy's review
of NBC's Notre Dame-Michigan and George's
coverage of CBS's Ohio State-West Virginia, click
here.
To
see George's review of ABC's Kickoff
Classic telecast, click here.
To see George's picks/previews
of this week's games, visit Saturday
Selections.
|
 With
just a few games between ranked teams, CNN's College
Football Preview Show focused on Texas at UCLA, Syracuse
at Michigan and Notre Dame at Michigan State.
Reporter Ivan Maisel, noting that UCLA used a vendetta to
beat Arizona and Washington last year, said Texas will rely
on the "revenge factor" after losing 66-3 to the Bruins
in 1997. Maisel, in Pasadena to cover the game, predicted
the Bruins will take advantage of the Longhorns young defense.
Alberts' pick: UCLA in a close game.
Lorenz did another good job of keeping the show moving
and getting out of the way so Albert could share his opinions
on the big games.
Albert continued his diatribe against Syracuse, focusing
again on their inconsistency and their propensity to "find
a way to lose." Not in love with the Wolverines, he added
that Michigan's defense needs to regain its fire or they'll
be in trouble. Alberts' pick: Michigan
High-flying Notre Dame visits Michigan State this weekend
and Alberts said he likes the fact that Notre Dame
is playing physical, attacking football. As upbeat as he
is about the Fighting Irish, he seemed just as upset
about the Spartans defense.
He showed a clip of last Saturday's blowout loss to Oregon
with two Michigan State defensive linemenjogging and went
ballistic, "These young men wouldn't play for me on any
defense. And I'll tell you what, they keep playing like
that they're not gonna play for Nick Saban either." Alberts'
pick: Notre Dame
The ex-Nebraska star made a good point about like
Syracuse, Michigan and Michigan State that play tough early-season
schedules, saying that Arizona State, Michigan and Syracuse
are virtually eliminated from the national title picture
while Nebraska, Penn State and Florida are just getting
ready to roll.
Meanwhile, Jim Huber delivered a nice feature on Penn
State coach Joe Paterno, who is expected to notch his
300th career victory against Bowling Green. It's well known
that he has won two national titles and holds the record
for most bowl victories but Huber pointed out that JoePa
has sent more than 200 players to the NFL, had 23 guys picked
in the first round, and four inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Best stat: Since starting 5-0 last year, Michigan
State is 2-7. Does coach Saban still have a shot for the
Cleveland Browns job (as rumored)?
The gaffe: Maisel, referring to Texas and new coach
Mack Brown, who came from North Carolina, inadvertently
said "North Carolina hasn't been able to put in their full
defensive package yet."
Bold Statement: Alberts said Toledo's Chris Wallace
might be the best quarterback on the field in his team's
game against Ohio State, something the Buckeyes' Joe Germaine
probably wouldn't agree with.
Bold Statement II: Albert isn't sold on the Heisman
Trophy candidacy of Kentucky QB Tim Couch, saying
"Well come on. Tim Couch - great player. But please no more
padding the stats against teams like Eastern Kentucky. Play
somebody. I want to see this guy in the SEC." UK plays EKU
today.
Needs Work: Tom Rinaldi's feature about UCLA quarterback
Cade McNown is good with quotes from coach Bob Toledo
and ex-Bruins QB Troy Aikman. But, since the story talks
of McNown's "winding road" to UCLA, wouldn't it have been
a good idea to interview someone from his family or some
UCLA teammates?
Grade: B (Randy)
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|
|
 “College
Gameday” opens each week like a Heisman running back
bursting through a Division-III defensive line. The
opening segment bounces around the nation, hitting all the
key games and stories currently in college football.
In the
opening segment this week - along with looking ahead to
Saturday’s big games - Gameday took a quick look back at
the big losers from last week. The feature was adequate
in examining the spin that the schools put on the tough
losses, but with this show, the real good stuff almost
always come from the studio, specifically hosts Chris
Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit.
Fowler
runs the studio like a great option quarterback, dishing
the ball to Corso or Herbstreit at the right moment.
But while Fowler leads the offense, the electricity that
powers College Gameday are Corso and Herbstreit - two men
who aren’t afraid to make predictions.
For
example, here are some of their predictions for this week’s
games. (Check back after Saturday to see how they did):
On
Nebraska-California: Corso said “Forget about it,” on
whether Cal can beat a beat-up Nebraska team. [Nebraska
24-3]
On
Missouri-Kansas: Herbstreit said Missouri will be 2-0
after today. [Missouri
41-23]
On
Syracuse-Michigan: Herbstreit predicts Michigan, while
Corso said Michigan will rebound from last week’s loss to
Notre Dame and beat Syracuse by two touchdowns. [Syracuse
38-28]
On
Texas-UCLA: Corso said “UCLA is a very good football
team and will prove it today. ... UCLA wins, and they score
45 points.” Herbstreit also thought UCLA would win but believed
that Texas would “keep it close.” He also said to keep an
eye on UCLA freshman tailback DeShaun Foster. [UCLA
49-31; Foster seven rushes for 44 yards]
On
Notre Dame-Michigan St.: Herbstreit said Notre Dame
“will look impressive for the second straight week,” and
that if Michigan St. continues to play as poorly as it has,
“this will get ugly quick.” Corso predicted that “Notre
Dame wins by a touchdown.” He also called the Spartans the
biggest “flop” so far in college football this season. [Michigan
St. 45-23]
On
Arizona St.-BYU: Herbstreit and Corso think Arizona
St. will win, but Corso said it would be a “close thriller.”
[BYU 26-6]
On
Georgia-South Carolina: Herbstreit likes Georgia and
their freshman quarterback Quincy Carter, while Corso likes
South Carolina. [Georgia
17-3]
Corso
also predicted that Prairie View would end its 78-game losing
streak this week, while Herbstreit said Ohio State would
win 55-10 over Toledo. (Last week, Herbstreit correctly
predicted the Ohio State score.) [Prairie
View led early but lost, 22-14; Ohio State won 49-0]
And
here are some of their predictions for the season:
1. Corso said “UCLA is my favorite to win the Pac-10.”
2. Herbstreit said Colorado should be 5-0 when they
play Kansas St. 3. Corso thinks Tulane might spoil
the Bowl Championship Series party by going 11-0
Things
that makes you go hmmm: 1. Corso said that unlike
in the past, when teams could rebound in the polls after
an early-season loss, this year the computer-based Bowl
Championship Series doesn’t care when a team losses. 2.
Herbstreit called J.R. Redmond “the best athlete in the
nation.” (I think it is appropriate to remind you that I
predicted Redmond would win the Heisman this year.)
Good
lines: 1. Corso: Michigan last week “played like
the Tin Man in the “Wizard of Oz.” No heart.” 2.
Gary Danielson on the Texas-UCLA game, which features Heisman
candidates in UCLA quarterback Cade McNown and Texas running
back Ricky Williams: “I hate talking Heisman this early
in the season, but I love talking about great players.”
(I wish more people felt that way.) 3. Tony Barnhart:
“They [North Carolina] should have beat Miami of Ohio even
if they had Coach Corso as their quarterback.” 4.
Fowler: “We have an expert here on bouncing back from tough
losses...” [meaning Corso]
This
week’s best feature easily was Steve Cyphers’ interview
with Penn State coach Joe Paterno. I only wish ESPN would
have shown more of that interview.
The
other features (Curry Kirkpatrick on Mack Brown leaving
North Carolina and Larry Beil on resurgent Notre Dame) were
average, but the discussion in the studio afterward
was more interesting.
On Mack
Brown: Barnhart said “Mack Brown will get the players,”
while Herbstreit predicted that Brown will make Texas
a perennial Top 10 team in four or five years, citing
the wealth of high school talent in Texas and the wealth
of the school’s alumni.
Corso
talked about three coaching tips that he gave to Brown
years ago: 1. You’re going to lose but don’t lose the
team. Take the blame for loss. 2. Surround yourself with
good people. 3. Get to know the school’s athletic director
and president well, in case the first two suggestions don’t
work out.
Corso,
though, suggested that Florida St. might steal Brown away
in a few years, when coach Bobby Bowden decides to retire.
Herbstreit disagreed saying Texas will pony up the money.
After
the Notre Dame feature, Corso and Herbstreit made their
predictions for tonight’s game. (see above)
Grade:
A-. The features, except for the Paterno interview, were
a little weak, but the overall effort was very good on a
dull college football week. (George)
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To
see George's review of ABC's
Kickoff Classic telecast, click
here.
To see George's picks/previews
of this week's games, visit Saturday
Selections.
|
