On Campus
By Jeff Kirik and Bob Jarzomski Erie Times-News staff bloggers
Erie Times-News staff writer Bob Jarzomski and sports editor Jeff Kirik team up to bring you On Campus,   Read more about this blog.
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Posts tagged ‘Spartans’
Posted: October 1st, 2012

Let’s us recap Week 5, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 14 Ohio State at No. 20 Michigan State

Final score: Buckeyes 17, Spartans 16

Pregame rant: First road of the season won’t be an easy one for the Buckeyes in their Big Ten opener. How well sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller handles this will determine if Ohio State remains unbeaten.

Miller has seven rushing TDs, seven passing TDs, but more importantly, he’s completing 61.2 percent of his passes. Last season, he only completed 54.1 percent of his passes.

He may find it much tougher to execute against the Spartans, who have only given up two passing touchdowns. Ranked sixth in the nation in total defense, Michigan State is giving up just 3.94 yards a play.

Post-game commentary: Michigan State intercepted Miller once, forced two more turnovers, but didn’t corral the Ohio State quarterback when it mattered.

Miller rushed for a game-high 136 yards, threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State a 17-13 lead late in third, but more importantly, picked up a big first down to help the Buckeyes close out the game.

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Posted: September 24th, 2012

Here are three games worth watching in Week 5.

Game of the week: No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) at No. 20 Michigan State Spartans (3-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m., WJET (ABC)

Pregame rant: First road of the season won’t be an easy one for the Buckeyes in their Big Ten opener. How well sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller handles this will determine if Ohio State remains unbeaten.

Miller has seven rushing TDs, seven passing TDs, but more importantly, he’s completing 61.2 percent of his passes. Last season, he only completed 54.1 percent of his passes.

He may find it much tougher to execute against the Spartans, who have only given up two passing touchdowns. Ranked sixth in the nation in total defense, Michigan State is giving up just 3.94 yards a play.

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Posted: September 24th, 2012

Let us recap Week 4, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 10 Clemson at No. 4 Florida State

Final score: Seminoles 49, Tigers 37

Pregame rant: So much talent on both teams here, but if the Seminoles are a national title contender, they’ll handle the Tigers.

Allowing just 103.33 yard a game and a total of three points, Florida State is first in the nation in total defense and scoring defense, but two of its three wins are against FCS schools Murray State and Savannah State.

Clemson will test that defense with its array of playmakers lead by junior quarterback Tajh Boyd, who is 63-of-86 for 747 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

Post-game commentary: The Tigers just couldn’t keep up with the ‘Noles, who scored 28 straight points after falling behind 31-21 in the third quarter.

EJ Manuel had a sensational game, going 27-of-35 for 380 yards and three touchdowns. Too bad Clemson and FSU are in the same division in the ACC. Like to see a rematch of those two.

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Posted: September 17th, 2012

Here are three games worth watching in Week 4.

Game of the week: No. 10 Clemson Tigers (3-0,0-0 ACC) at No. 4 Florida State Seminoles (3-0, 1-0 ACC), Saturday, 8 p.m. WJET (ABC).

Pregame rant: So much talent on both teams here, but if the Seminoles are a national title contender, they’ll handle the Tigers.

Allowing just 103.33 yard a game and a total of three points, Florida State is first in the nation in total defense and scoring defense, but two of its three wins are against FCS schools Murray State and Savannah State.

Clemson will test that defense with its array of playmakers lead by junior quarterback Tajh Boyd, who is 63-of-86 for 747 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

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Posted: September 17th, 2012

Let us recap Week 3, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 2 USC at No. 21 Stanford

Final score: Cardinal 21, Trojans 14.

Pregame rant: The Cardinal want to prove they’ve been more than Andrew Luck, but they’re going to need a lot of luck to get past the Trojans.

Barkley has 10 touchdown passes to only one interception and has only been sacked twice, but the Trojans haven’t been tested. If Stanford can take an early lead, it will be interesting to see how Barkley fares when the defense knows he’s passing.

Post-game commentary: No Luck needed in this one. The Cardinal pounded out 202 yards rushing with senior Stephan Taylor going for 153 and a score on 27 carries. As for Barkley, he was just 20-of-41 for 254 yards, no touchdowns and two picks.

The good news for USC is it lost early. The bad news is the Trojans still have to play Oregon. A loss Nov. 3 to the Ducks will end all hopes of an opportunity to play for a national title.

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Posted: September 12th, 2012

Let us recap Week 2, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 7 Georgia at Missouri

Final score: Bulldogs 41, Tigers 20

Pregame rant: Sheldon Richardson set it off by describing Georgia as playing “old-man football” following the Bulldogs’ 45-23 win against Buffalo.

“I watched that game. I turned it off, too,” said Richardson in a story by the Columbia Tribune. “It’s like watching Big Ten football. It’s old-man football.”

That’s big words, big fella.

Post-game commentary: The ‘Dawgs welcomed the Tigers into the SEC with a harsh dose of “grown-man football” as Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray called it. Georgia forced three turnovers and scored the game’s last 24 points to prevail.

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Posted: September 4th, 2012

Let us recap Week 1, shall we?

Game of the week: No. 24 Boise State Broncos at No. 13 Michigan State Spartans

Final score: Spartans 17, Broncos 13.

Pregame rant: Since stunning Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos have been giant killers. They’ve recently had signature victories against Texas Christian (2010 Fiesta Bowl), Virginia Tech (2010 opener) and Georgia (2011 opener).

What do all four of those wins have in common? They were on a neutral field.  With quarterback Kellen Moore now gone, can’t wait to see how Boise State does in East Lansing against the Spartans, who were 7-0 at home last season.

Post-game commentary: This game shows just how important a quarterback is to a mid-major. Last season, Moore wins that game for the Broncos. Junior Joe Southwick was just 15-of-31 for 169 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.

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Posted: December 31st, 2011

Penn State has the task of slowing down Houston senior quarterback Case Keenum./AP Photo.

What a way to start the work week in 2012.

Watch six bowl games from noon till midnight.

Don’t lose your job over it, but just take an extended lunch or dinner break to check out some really good bowl matchups.

Ticketcity Bowl (Dallas, Texas) – No. 20 Houston (12-1, 8-0 C-USA) vs. No. 24 Penn State (9-3, 6-2 Big Ten), noon, ESPNU.

The Big ?: Can Penn State’s 10th ranked defense, which allows 300.92 yards a game, slow down the nation’s top offense? Houston is averaging 599 a game.

My pick: Houston. Although the Cougars didn’t even win their conference title game, that’s far less to overcome than what the Nittany Lions have dealt this season. The Jerry Sandusky situation has changed everything at Penn State.

Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) – No. 12 Michigan State (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Georgia (10-3, 7-1 SEC). 1 p.m., ABC.

The Big ?: Whenever an Big Ten teams plays an SEC team, the same question surfaces. Can the Big Ten school match the speed of the SEC school?

My pick: Georgia. Speed rules.

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Posted: December 6th, 2011

Let us recap week 14, shall we?

SEC title game – No. 18 Georgia (10-3) vs. No. 1 LSU (13-0)

Pregame rant: Don’t sleep on the Bulldogs here. One, this is in essence a home game for Georgia because the game is in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Two, the Bulldogs have won 10 straight. Three, their two losses are to ranked opponents – No. 9 Boise State and No. 14 South Carolina. With all that being said, LSU is still the favorite, but if Georgia can be within striking distance late, the Tigers could start feeling that pressure to win to reach the BCS title game.

Postgame commentary: Like Arkansas, Georgia made it interesting – for a half – against LSU before getting hammered, 42-10, in the Georgia Dame. Tyrann Mathieu is the real deal for the Tigers. Turned the game around on that punt return for a touchdown. Now the match up is set: No. 1 LSU vs. No. 2 Alabama in the BCS title game. Who will win the rematch?

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