Notes from the Margin: Mountain West flexing its muscle
September 18th, 2008 by Jason Roberts
It’s Week Four, and finally NFTM returns to covering the smaller conferences in FBS, with plenty of developments over the last seven days working to arouse your interest.
Check out Tyrell Fenroy‘s record-breaking day against Illinois, MTSU’s Joe Craddock being the first Blue Raiders’ offensive player to be named back-to-back Player of the Week, the developing scandal behind the departure of Paul McIntosh from a beleaguered Army program, Ball State’s Darius Hill working on a bad case of the “dropsies,” and Boise State’s growing excitement over Kellen Moore’s younger brother committing to the Broncos as a wide receiver.
Mountain West
Colorado State Rams
News from The Coloradoan: The Colorado State Rams coaching staff has elected to move third-string quarterback, redshirt freshman T.J. Borcky, to wide receiver. The move, says offensive coordinator Greg Peterson, looks to take advantage of athleticism, with Peterson noting, “He’s got some ability, and from a quarterback standpoint, he understands assignments, and he’s got a quarterback’s perspective of how he’s supposed to run his routes . . .”
New Mexico Lobos
The website NCAA.com notes that freshman placekicker for the New Mexico Lobos, James Aho, was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week this past Monday morning, this for his role in the Lobos’ 36-28 win over the Arizona Wildcats last Saturday. For the game, Aho set a conference record for single-game kicking points (18), while his five field goals tied the MWC and school records for most field goals in a contest; in addition, the freshman became the first kicker in UNM history to convert four field goals in a game from 40 yards or longer (43,48,42,and 46).
San Diego State Aztecs
The website SignOnSanDiego.com provides some interesting information regarding the San Diego State Aztec’s last game against the San Jose State Spartans, noting that SDSU – coming into the contest having thrown the ball as many times as any FBS team in the nation – last weekend took a much more balanced approach to its offense with less-than-impressive results. SDSU compiled just 146 total yards of offense, the fewest allowed by SJSU since Dick Tomey became the Spartans’ head coach. Also, Aztecs’ starting receivers, Darren Mougey, Roberto Wallace, and Vincent Brown combined for just three catches for 22 yards versus San Jose State, while against Notre Dame, the trio had put together 12 receptions for 156 yards. SDSU left it up to cornerback Aaron Moore to score the team’s lone touchdown for the game, a 28-yard interception return for a score with 1:15 left in the first half.
Texas Christian Horned Frogs
The Star-Telegram on the level of talent present on the TCU Horned Frogs’ football squad this season, explaining that to date, of 11 different players categorized as walk-ons in the preseason, four currently playing as starters. Included in that group of four is wide receiver Bart Johnson, kickoff specialist Drew Combs, snapper Clint Gresham, and TCU’s leading rusher, Ryan Christian. Head coach Gary Patterson states of the success found by walk-ons with his program, “It just goes to show you there’s a lot of good players out there. There are guys who play because they love the game, not because of a scholarship. Sometimes they’re the heart and soul of your team.”
UNLV Rebels
In the wake of a stunning upset of the Arizona Sun Devils this past weekend by the UNLV Rebels, the Las Vegas Sun of September 16, 2008 offers readers a telling reason why head coach Mike Sanford’s team has found so much success on the field since the start of the season. The Sun notes that the Rebels currently sit atop the NCAA rankings for team give-aways, not once committing a turnover in the three games they’ve played so far this year. That puts UNLV in some elite company, as only two other Division I squads – Florida and Tulsa – have yet to either fumble or throw an interception during the course of a game.
Wyoming Cowboys
Fantasy owners seeking a potential payoff in free agent wide receiver should pay close attention to the Casper Star-Tribune. Staff writer Austin Ward writes that freshman wide receiver Brandon Stewart is getting closer to returning to the playing field, this as he was seen running routes and sprints in practice on Tuesday afternoon. Stewart, slated to start at the slot receiver position in the preseason, suffered a broken bone in his left shoulder after succumbing to a blow to Cowboys’ linebacker Ward Dobbs during fall camp and has been forced to walk the sidelines frustrated throughout the span of Wyoming’s first three games.
Conference USA
Central Florida Knights
Head coach George O’Leary (Orlando Sentinel) claims that Notre Dame transfer at wide receiver, Richard Jackson, has received approval for a hardship waiver and will be available to play for the Knights come this weekend’s matchup versus Boston College. O’Leary notes that Jackson is behind the curve, seeing as he “has a lot to learn in a short period of time,” but has been “rolling in and out on the offense” in practice and should be ready to pitch in immediately, particularly as wideout Kamar Aiken is out with a broken bone in is foot. Aiken is not expect to return until September 27th at the earliest, as the Knights open up their conference schedule against UTEP.
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
Following a tremendous 83-10 win by Arkansas State over Texas Southern more than a week ago, head coach Steve Roberts told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that his team’s primary responsibility in this past weekend’s contest against Southern Mississippi was to stop senior tight end Shawn Nelson, who the same week ASU trampled Texas Southern, grabbed 12 catches for 118 yards and two scores against the Auburn Tigers. “Great tight end,” Roberts noted of Nelson’s performance versus the Tigers, remembering clearly, as well, the two touchdowns Nelson put up against the Red Wolves in 2005′s New Orleans Bowl. Despite such good intentions, however, Roberts and Arkansas State continued to struggled to keep Nelson – the Golden Eagles leading receiver, now averaging 12.0 yards per catch – at bay, providing the senior the opportunity to take seven catches for 110 yards in Saturday’s game. Nelson now has a total of 263 yards receiving on 22 receptions, with the two touchdowns scored in the Auburn game providing the tight end with his only scores thus far for 2008.
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns
The Advertiser carries the news that tailback Tyrell Fenroy set the University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s career rushing record, overtaking Brian Mitchell for the school’s top spot in that category. By the end of the game, Fenroy had compiled 3,347 yards rushing for his career. Now the senior sets his eyes on two additional records, the first, 37 yards to surpass Brandon Stokely for combined rushing and receiving yards with 3761, and 704 yards to become the Sun-Belt’s all-time leading rusher. Should Fenroy finish this season with an additional 924 yards, he too would become just the seventh NCAA player ever to rush for 1000 yards in each of his four seasons as a collegiate tailback.
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
The Daily News Journal of September 15, 2008 notes that quarterback Joe Craddock of the MTSU Blue Raiders became the first offensive player in school history to be named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks. Two weeks ago, the senior threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns for MTSU in a 24-14 win over the Maryland Terrapins, while, this past Saturday, in a near-upset of the Kentucky Wildcats, Craddock tossed 352 yards through the air, and added to it two touchdowns, with only one interception for the game.
Independents
Army Black Knights
The Courier Press confirms that highly-touted recruit Paul McIntosh is leaving West Point and the Army football program in order to return home for “personal reasons” and will be seeking another school to transfer to (and play football for) effective next season. McIntosh did not elaborate on the reasons why he had made the decision to leave the Academy, but former head coach John Hart is quoted as stating that “the situation at Army was not as advertised.” “They said they were going to change the offense to what we ran at Reitz so that he could come in and have the opportunity to start,” Hart contends, adding, “They said he was their No. 1 recruit in the country.” Yet, despite such commitments, Johnson found that with the arrival of the current football season came the realization that the Army coaching staff never had any intention of putting the youngster out on the field under center during the team’s first two games (both losses) and, as of last week, still had Johnson listed at fourth on the depth chart at the quarterback position. Hart admits that ultimately, Johnson left Army because of personal concerns that “pertained to military life,” but that the freshman’s being apparently misled played a major role in Johnson’s election to leave West Point. As a former Class 4A state champion, McIntosh had rushed for more than 1600 yards and passed for 2467 yards, accumulating 56 touchdowns in his senior year and ending up named Indiana’s Mr. Football; clearly, he felt he should received better treatment than he did at the hands of head coach Stan Brock, who currently is also under fire for the departure of sophomore running back Pat Mealy and the use of some poorly selected words – including “quit,” “heart” and “backbone” – in describing why his team had lost 28-10 to New Hampshire a week earlier.
Navy Midshipmen
The Baltimore Sun of September 14, 2008 reports that the Navy Midshipmen were dealt quite a blow this past weekend in their game against the Duke Blue Devils, this as fullback Eric Kettani was forced to exit the contest with a hamstring injury and starting quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada fell victim to heat exhaustion in the first half of Saturday’s matchup. “Those are our two big guns,” commented head coach Ken Niumatalolo. “Just the whole dynamic of our team changes.” Changes indeed; the article notes that Kettani’s loss was one that could be made up by the additional depth of the Navy backfield, but that backup quarterback Jarod Bryant left Navy with “an offense that stalled with [him] at the helm,” netting just eight total yards on 14 carries for the game.
MAC
Ball State Cardinals
Hard as it might be to believe, the Ball State Daily News reports that tight end for the Ball State Cardinals, Darius Hill, has been putting in extra work in the are of ball catching, this, as the article notes, “the perplexing string of dropped passes that have plagued Hill during the past couple of games . . .” Claims Hill, “I feel like I’ve been focusing on my blocking a lot, and it’s been taking away from me doing the things that I normally do well.” He continues on, stating, “I king of put those things to the side a little bit, and it’s coming back to bite me in the butt a little bit . . . . So Catching more balls from Nate on off days and during practice and after practice will get me back in the groove.”
Central Michigan Chippewas
The website CM-Life.com for September 17, 2008 offers fantasy owners an interesting trend set by the Central Michigan Chippewas, one in which head coach Butch Jones’s squad has been outscored by opponents in the first quarter of nearly every game its played since the start of the 2007 season. For all of last year, CMU saw itself fall behind by a score of 147-109 in the first quarter of contests played, while, so far in 2008, the Chippewas have entered the second quarter of games against Eastern Illinois, Georgia, and Ohio outscored 24-3. Such numbers are important, as Central Michigan went 3-6 last season in matchups in which it had a deficit on the scoreboard after one quarter, while thus far going 2-1 to start of this year.
Eastern Michigan Eagles
Fantasy owners of Eastern Michigan quarterback Andy Schmitt, pay attention; As reported on the website SanLuisObispo.com on Wednesday, September 17, 2008, in last weekend’s game against the Toledo Rockets, got pulled after an early interception and was replaced by sophomore Kyle McMahon, who completed 11-of-18 passing for 128 yards and an interception, while also rushing for 61 yards on 14 carries; noteworthy too is the fact that McMahon fumbled two times during the game. Schmitt, reports suggest, appeared to be suffering from a hit he took last Thursday during practice. No word as of yet whether Schmitt or McMahon will start this coming weekend against Maryland, but as the article notes, “The Eagles don’t exactly have dynamic playmakers on offense, so its imperative they take care of the football.”
Northern Illinois Huskies
The Chicago Tribune for September 17, 2008 cites concern with the Northern Illinois Huskies’ quarterback position, noting that in the span of two games, head coach Jerry Kill has been forced to use three quarterbacks – Chandler Harnish, a freshman, DeMarcus Grady, a redshirt freshman, and Dan Nicholson, a senior and former starter. Harnish was electric in the Huskies’ season opener against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but was knocked out the game with Western Michigan after suffering a foot sprain against the Broncoes. Grady was solid against WMU, but did not throw the ball at all, instead rushing seven times for 43 yards and one touchdown. As for Nicholson, he played in NIU’s last game as well, but continues to rehabilitate a surgically repaired throwing shoulder. No starter has been named for this coming Saturday’s game, though expectations are that it will be Nicholson who gets the call against Indiana State if healthy enough to play.
Ohio Bobcats
The website Cleveland.com alerts fantasy owners to the fact that the Ohio Bobcats – a team hardly known as having a productive passing game – found backup quarterback Boo Jackson delivering “a stellar performance” this past weekend against Central Michigan, completing 17-of-31 yards for 365 yards and three touchdowns, the shortest of which was 43 yards.
Temple Owls
The Intelligencer Journal contains an interesting sound bite from head coach Joe Paterno of the Penn State Nittany Lions, the team which the Temple Owls will go head-to-head against this coming weekend. Claims Paterno, Temple “is the best team we’ve played so far this year. Nothing fancy, but they’re solid, and they’re extremely well-coached.” Such commentary goes a long way in expressing just how far Al Golden’s Owls have come since 2006, with the team going from a 1-11 record in 2006 to 4-8 last year (3-3), and an impressive showing against Connecticut (though a loss) in a 1-2 record thus far this season.
WAC
Boise State Broncos
This column generally does cover news related to recruiting, but we happened to see this one in the Idaho Statesman on September 16, 2008 and thought it might be of interest to fantasy owners. The younger brother of freshman quarterback Kellen Moore of the Boise State Broncos, Kirby Moore, a wide receiver at Prosser (Washington) High School, gave an oral commitment to BSU following the Broncos non-conference win over the MAC’s Bowling Green Falcons. The younger Moore had received scholarship offers from Washington, Stanford, and Washington State, but told reporters, “I really want to play with my brother in college.” “I really thought I’d regret it if I didn’t,” he continued. In his year and a half of playing time at Prosser, Moore has rapidly breaking the national record for career touchdown catches (he currently has 60+) and as a junior last year, grabbed 75 receptions for 1,313 yards and 29 scores.
Hawaii Warriors
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin notes that though statistics “rarely illustrate the entire picture of the pointillist painting that is a college football game,” there are “certain figures” related to the Hawaii Warriors that “accentuate the telling features” of a team that is struggling with its sixth 1-2 start to a season in the last eight years. Two of those statistics are as follows:
- Hawaii is currently at the bottom of the national rankings in terms of turnover margin; the team is currently tied with Rutgers with a rating of -3 turnovers per game played, with 11 total giveaways by the Warriors the most in the nation.
- The Warriors rank last in the nation in third-down conversions over their first three games; overall, the Warriors’ are converting on just 15.2% of their third down plays (5-for-33), and against Oregon State this past weekend, were a horrid 1-of-11.
Idaho Vandals
The Times-News reveals that Idaho’s starting tailback, Deonte Jackson, has been suffering from a “tender back,” an ailment for which Idaho’s football trainer tells correspondent Josh Wright there is “no magic cure.” Though Jackson has played in every game thus far in the 2008 season, carries against Arizona and Idaho State were limited, with just 22 rushing attempts taken by the sophomore tailback for a total of 125 yards. In the meantime, head coach Robb Akey has been providing a heavier-than-expect load to freshmen running backs Corey White, Troy Vital, and Princeton McCarty. Still, Jackson’s presence on the field is key, as shown this past weekend when the native of Warren, Arkansas carried the ball 21 times for 110 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Western Michigan.
New Mexico State Aggies
Not much positive could be deemed from the NMSU Aggies’ 38-7 loss against the Nebraska Cornhuskers this past weekend, yet the El Paso Times notes that Hal Mumme’s squad may have identified a true weapon out of its backfield, junior running back Marquell Colston. Colston, starting in his first game with the Aggies, only carried the ball eight times in Lincoln Saturday evening, but netted 45 yards rushing and the team’s lone touchdown for the night, a three yard run in the fourth quarter to keep NMSU from being shutout. A former tailback at Modesto Junior College, the junior in 2007 had 996 yards rushing and 492 yards receiving, a seasonal performance good enough to land Colston the Golden Gate Conference All-Purpose Player of the Year.
San Jose State Spartans
Some interesting speculation regarding the type of season fantasy owners may expect senior tailback Yonus Davis to have in 2008: Notes the Mercury News of September 12, 2008, the San Jose State Spartans’ coaching staff is preparing to quickly increase the work load of their leading rusher for two years ago, particularly with quarterback Kyle Reed having recently suffered a blow to the head against Nebraska in the Spartans’ second game of the season. Although taking just seven carries prior to this past weekend’s victory over the San Diego State Aztecs, Davis looked solid as a ball-carrier against SDSU, carrying 18 times for 143 yards and one touchdown. That he was able to do so should not have been surprising, particularly with head coach Dick Tomey’s assessment that “He’s right where we want him, but he needs to get the ball more.” Tomey adds that in the first two games of the season, he and his staff “didn’t want to bring him along too quickly,” citing that Davis “didn’t need 20 carries in the first two games”; that obviously seems to have changed as of last weekend, and appears to signal that Davis could be a player to watch at running back over the next couple of weeks.
Utah State Aggies
We’ve hinted in this column at speculation that head coach of the Utah State Aggies, Brent Guy, might be making a change at his team’s quarterback position, electing to choose youth over experience, and go with Diondre Borel as the lead man under center. The Salt Lake Tribune confirms such a belief, noting that after three games in which senior Sean Setzer served as the starter, Guy has decided to go with the Borel, stating that he believes the sophomore is “the better runner and playmaker.” “We’re going to put Diondre out there and see if he can get something started,” Guy continues. “He’s our best runner so hopefully he can help the running game as a whole.”
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