The College View 2006 Week 1

The College View

Northern Illinois @ No. 1 Ohio State (-18)
Kickoff: 3:30
TV: ABC

Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novak will start senior quarterback Phil Horvath against the Buckeyes. Last year Horvath completed 70.6% of his passes. That percentage was the highest in D1 last year. Horvath's efficiency rating of 159.45 was 6th in the country. He's easily your starter, right? Wrong. Unfortunately for Horvath he broke his non-throwing arm near the end of the season last year, and as good as those numbers were, sophomore Dan Nicholson stepped in and defeated the Huskies' nemesis Toledo 35-17. Horvath will start, but Nicholson will play.
There isn't a question who the tail back will be for NIU. Garret Wolfe, the 5’7 172 pound senior, is the leading returning rusher in college football. In 9 games last year he ran for 1,580 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. For his career he has 3,236 yards. Wolfe may get some spells from his body double Montell Clanton (5'7 176 pounds). To help you out, Wolfe wears #1 and Clanton wears #32. Horvath and Nicholson will definitely try to connect with Britt Davis. Davis caught a Northern Illinois record 42 passes last year and had at least 1 catch in every game. 5 seniors start for Northern Illinois on defense. 3 of those seniors will be in the secondary, identical twin cornerbacks #11 Alvah Hansbro and #12 Adriel Hansbro along with safety Dustin Utschig.

If you’re a true Buckeye fan you already know everything about this year‘s team, right? If you don‘t know everything, what‘s wrong with you? The Buckeyes are ranked #1 in the country, defeated Notre Dame soundly in the Fiesta Bowl, and have beaten Michigan 4 out of the last 5 years. Come on, man. Get with it.

The View
The Buckeye coaching staff had to go to extreme measures to prepare the defense for the diminutive but extremely quick, Garret Wolfe. They tried recruiting 4th and 5th grade boys from nearby Indianola Alternative Elementary to play the role of Wolfe. To get the boys running at Wolfe’s speed the coaches borrowed some experimental turbine-jet propulsion shoes from Ohio State’s mechanical engineering program. However, the boys’ parents wouldn’t sign off for their little ones to get pummeled by grown men while wearing jet propulsion shoes. Word had it that some of the fathers were very tempted by the offer of free tickets to next year’s Youngstown State game. Even without help from the kids, Ohio State will handle everything NIU has to offer. Remember Darren Sproles and Kansas State? Wolfe might be better than Sproles, but Northern Illinois is not better than K-State.

Ohio State- 38 NIU- 17


Tennessee-Martin @ Ohio (off)
Kickoff: 7:00
TV: What’s that?

The Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks have a few changes this season. Last year's coach, Matt Griffin, departed for Murray State and starting quarterback Brady Wahlberg graduated. Former offensive coordinator Jason Simpson takes over for Griffin who lead the Skyhawks to their first winning season (6-5) since 1997 and junior Drew Jackson should get the nod at quarterback. The 'hawks have an experienced running back in Donald Chapman (1,396 yards) and two talented wide receivers with Taurean Stephens (651 yards/5 tds) and Jamar Akbar (18.2 yards a catch/4tds). The defense is lead by senior linebacker David Gilmore who had 91 stops and 4 sacks last year.

The Bobcats offense will be directed by last year's starting quarterback Austen Everson. Everson completed 47% of his passes, threw 4 touchdowns and had 11 interceptions. Everson has WR and punt return extraordinaire Scott Mayle to throw the ball to. HB #5 Kalvin McRae looks to take most of the hand offs. McRae chalked up 1,153 rushing yards last year. That was good enough for 3rd on the Ohio all-time single season rushing list. Everson does have sophomore Brandon Jones and Illinois transfer Brad Bower pushing him for the quarterback spot. The Bobcats' defense is anchored by 3 senior linebackers; Tyler Russ, Michael Graham, and 1st team All-MAC middle linebacker Matt Muncy.

The View
Tennessee-Martin might not be very familiar to you. In fact, you may easily have thought that the school was named after Tee Martin. He was the starting quarterback on the Tennessee Volunteers' 1998 championship team. As a public service I will differentiate the two for you. “Tee” is Tamaurice Nigel Martin's nickname. Tennessee-Martin's nickname is Skyhawks. Tee Martin was born in Mobile, Alabama. Tennessee-Martin is located in, get this, Martin, Tennessee. Tee Martin was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 5th round of the 2000 NFL draft. Tennessee-Martin graduate, DB Fred Thomas, is an 11 year NFL veteran on the New Orleans Saints. Tee Martin's head coach at Tennessee was Phil Fulmer. Tennessee Lady Vols head basketball coach, Pat Summitt, is a graduate of Tennessee-Martin. Tee Martin is a man, Tennessee-Martin is a university. I hope that clears things up.

Ohio should get the victory Saturday, even if some of the Skyhawks' fans try to slip some GHB in the Bobcats' Gatorade.

Ohio- 33 T-Martin- 14

No. 3 Notre Dame @ Georgia Tech (+7)
Kickoff: 8:00
TV: ABC

This game is being tabbed as the game of the day Saturday. Every “expert” is salivating over Notre Dame’s offense. The “experts” (and even the ladies) have a good reason to drool, Brady Quinn. The early Heisman front-runner has plenty of weapons to choose from with under-rated tailback Darius Walker, wide receivers Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight returning to an offense that ranked 4th in passing and 10th in total offense last year. To go along with these weapons is an offensive line that is anchored by senior center John Sullivan and senior left tackle Ryan Harris.
However, as it has been said before, defense wins championships. Notre Dame’s defense, especially the secondary, was awful last year. That same defense will be tested by Georgia Tech’s great wide receiver Calvin Johnson and 4th year starting quarterback Reggie Ball. Georgia Tech’s defense, under defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, is consistently ranked in the top 25 in total defense. Notre Dame better not look past the Rambling Wreck or the Irish’s season could be wrecked at the starting line.

Notre Dame- 31 Georgia Tech- 28

No. 3 USC @ Arkansas (+8.5)
Kickoff: 8:45
TV: ESPN

Pete Carroll will have two new faces in the USC backfield this year. Quarterback John David Booty and running back Chauncey Washington replace Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. The good news for Carroll and Trojan fans is that Booty and Washington (and almost every other USC player) were highly touted blue chip recruits.
Arkansas will rely on Casey Dick and Felix Jones to lead the Razorbacks offense against a talented USC defense. Defensive lineman Keith Jackson and linebacker Sam Olajubutu get the daunting task of stopping the Trojans’ offense.

The View
If you are an Arkansas Razorbacks fan (what are you doing in SE Ohio?!) this could be a good news/bad news season for your team.

Good News-
Your team was 12th in the country with 217 rushing yards per game and Freshman of the Year Darren McFadden is back to lead the ground attack.

Bad News- Darren McFadden is coming off of toe surgery and most likely won’t play in this game. Also, your team was 108th in the country in passing yards per game and 65th in scoring offense last year.

Good News-
Your team has Robert Johnson and highly touted freshman Mitch Mustain at quarterback.

Bad News-
USC has 4th year junior John David Booty ready to take the reigns of a high powered offense.

Good News-
Your team’s first game is a night game on ESPN.

Bad News-
Arkansas’ first game this year is a night game on ESPN against USC. USC defeated the Razorbacks 70-17 last year in Los Angeles.

Good News-
Houston Nutt is saying that your team will be in a bowl game this year.

Bad News-
Your coach might be living up to his last name.

USC- 48 Arkansas- 24


Other Games to Watch

No. 12 California @ No. 23 Tennessee (-2)
Kickoff: 5:30
TV: ESPN
California’s quarterback, Nate Longshore, is looking forward to playing in his first game since breaking his ankle in the second quarter of last year’s season opener. The Golden Bears’ halfback Marshawn Lynch should have a big game on national television. Can Phil Fulmer get the Vols back on track? He’ll need QB Erik Ainge, HB Arian Foster, WR Jayson Swain, and the entire defense to step up to the challenge.

Cal- 27 Tennessee- 24

Washington State @ No. 6 Auburn (-15)
Kickoff: 7:45
TV: ESPN2
A PAC-10/SEC showdown. The Cougars’ QB Alex Brink has the most yards (2,891) and touchdowns (24) of any returning player not named Brady Quinn. However, Auburn shows the Cougars how football is played in the south, by smackin’ ‘em in the mouth.

Auburn- 35 WSU- 17

Monday
No. 10 Florida State @ No. 11 Miami (-3)
Kickoff: 8:00
TV: ESPN
Imagine if Ohio State started the season with Michigan every year. It’s a great season if you win, a long one if you don’t. If Coker doesn’t win 10+ games and a bowl game this could be his last season with Miami. Fair? No, but unfortunately for him that’s the way it is.

Florida State- 17 Miami- 14