The College View 2006 Week 2

No. 1 Ohio State @ No. 2 Texas (-2.5)
Kickoff: 8:00
TV: ABC

Texas easily defeated North Texas 56-7 last week. The Longhorns scored 14 points in each quarter. Jamaal Charles (77 yards, 1TD) and Selvin Young (44 yards, 1 TD) lead Texas’ ground attack which looks to continue where Garrett Wolfe left off last week against Ohio State’s young defense. If the running backs and offensive line can establish the running game, Colt McCoy will have an easier time completing passes to Limas Sweed (111 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Billy Pittman. McCoy is the fourth freshman quarterback to start a game for Texas since Mack Brown was hired as coach in ’98. Applewhite, Simms, and Young were the previous frosh starters. McCoy became the first freshman quarterback to start a season opener for Texas since Shea Morenz lost 36-14 at Colorado in 1993. He’s also the first freshman to win a season opener since 1944 when Bobby Lane defeated Southwestern 30-0.

Last Saturday, The Ohio State University started off with an offensive explosion fueled by Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, and Antonio Pittman. Ginn finished the day with 4 receptions for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Pittman went for a solid 111 yards and a touchdown. That was Pittman’s sixth straight game with at least one touchdown. Vernon Gholston, Quinn Pitcock, and David Patterson anchored the defensive line, but the green linebackers and secondary couldn’t contain Wolfe. Texas’ offensive line and stable of running backs are looking for a repeat performance.

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Is it “Hook ‘em Horns” or “Book ‘em Horns“? Defensive ends Tim Crowder and Brian Robison with safety Michael Griffin highlight a fast and talented defense that should frustrate the Buckeyes. I hope I’m wrong, but provided Texas doesn’t lose anymore defensive players to marijuana and gun charges, the Longhorns are primed to celebrate their 22nd straight victory Saturday night.

Texas- 23 Ohio State- 21


No. 19 Penn State @ No. 4 Notre Dame (-8)
Kickoff: 3:30
TV: NBC

Penn State and Notre Dame are looking for better performances from a week ago. Penn State easily handled Akron, but Tony Hunt (36 yards) and the running game wasn‘t there. Notre Dame struggled mightily against Georgia Tech on national television and ended up losing two spots in the polls. Penn State’s new 3-4 defense should pressure and confuse Brady Quinn. The Irish will need a big game from Darius Walker. The Nittany Lions also have more weapons on offense than the Yellow Jackets did. Quarterback Anthony Morelli has three scoring threats in wide receivers Jordan Norwood, Deon Butler, and Derrick Williams. Tony Hunt won’t have back-to-back weeks below 100 yards rushing.

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If you’re not a fan (or even if you are) of these teams try this drinking game as you watch. Have a drink if any of the following is said or referenced: Joe Pa’s age or years coaching, Paul Posluszny had a knee injury, Charlie Weis is an offensive guru/genius, Brady Quinn is a Heisman or All-American candidate. Hopefully you’ll come out of your drunken stupor in time for the Ohio State game.

Penn State- 24 Notre Dame- 20


Ohio @ Northern Illinois (-14.5)
Kickoff: 3:05
TV: None

Last Saturday Garrett Wolfe ran for 171 yards and had a career high 114 yards receiving against the #1 team in the country. This week he’s going up against Ohio’s defense. It doesn’t take too much intelligence to figure out that Joe Novak will try to get the ball into Wolfe’s hands as much as possible. If OU does stack the box, expect Phil Horvath (or Dan Nicholson) to have little trouble finding wide receiver Britt Davis to throw the ball to.

Congratulations go out to the Ohio defense which only gave up 123 yards of total offense in last week’s 29-3 victory. Unfortunately, last week’s opponent was 1-AA Tennessee-Martin. A troublesome stat is that a 1-AA defense was able to hold running back Kalvin McRae to 28 yards rushing by putting 8 men in the box. The rest of OU’s offense didn’t fare any better by only gaining 34 more yards rushing, 82 yards passing, for a total of 144 yards. Will either Austen Everson or Brad Bower be able to get the ball to WR Scott Mayle?

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With the unfortunate and untimely passing of Steve Irwin earlier this week, I wondered what insights looking into the animal mascots of both teams could reveal for this game. The average bobcat will weigh between 16-28 pounds. The average husky will weigh between 45-60 pounds. No matter what the ladies say, bigger is better. The edge for weight goes to the husky. The bobcat will grow to 2 feet tall and 3 feet long. The husky is around 2 feet tall and 3 feet long. Height edge is a push. The last category will be temperament. The bobcat is an excellent solitary and territorial hunter. The husky is a working dog that is athletic, agile, alert, and has a strong instinct to grab anything that runs. For the game of football the edge definitely goes to the husky. Although he is known to punch horses, I did not see Ohio’s tight end Corey Logan harm any animals when I was researching this piece.

NIU- 45 Ohio- 10