College football roundup
Penn State needs big win; ECU has new defense to show WVU STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Forget how the Big Ten overshadows the Mid-American Conference. Forget that Penn State is a 15-point favorite over visiting Akron.
When both teams open the season on Saturday, the Nittany Lions will need more than just a win to get back on track. They need to make it look good.
“It sets the pace for the whole season,” safety Andrew Guman said. “Obviously it’s the first game, and you’re going to make mistakes, but if you come out there and you play … up to your abilities, that builds your confidence going into some of the Big Ten games and into the rest of your schedule.”
And if you don’t? In 2001, Penn State was routed by Miami and went on to the first 0-4 start in school history.
Last year, the Nittany Lions looked shaky in a 23-10 opening victory over Temple – the Owls had more total offense (357 yards to 310 yards) and first downs (21 to 16) than Penn State. And while the Nittany Lions won, the team’s confidence took a hit and they went on to lose nine of their next 11 games.
“I think for our confidence, we need to come out and play well and have a lot of success, especially on offense,” quarterback Zack Mills said. Another shaky opening, like last year’s, could stunt Penn State’s confidence, warning “we could have a repeat of last season,” Mills said.
Of course, Paterno will hear nothing of it.
“I was real happy when we beat Temple. I would be very careful of reading anything into anything,” Paterno said, repeating a string of bromides – as he often does – about how the only thing he’s concerned about is improving week to week.
“The guys are aggressive and not worried about losing and making mistakes. That is all I am looking for,” Paterno said. “If we can do that, that’s fine.”
ECU at WVU
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – To get an idea of what to expect from East Carolina’s offense, West Virginia studied Steve Spurrier.
Noah Brindise, East Carolina’s first-year offensive coordinator, worked under Spurrier the last two years as the Washington Redskins’ quarterbacks coach. Before that, he was Spurrier’s quarterback and graduate assistant at Florida.
No. 10 West Virginia figures Brindise will infuse his own tricks and nuances into the Pirates’ offense tonight.
“It’s chasing ghosts. We don’t really know what we’re going to see,” said West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel. “We don’t have anything to go on. We try to look at what Florida’s done in the past and go from that. As to what we’re going to see, how we’re going to see it and when we’re going to see it, I really have no idea.”
What they’ll see will be a cross between Fun ‘n’ Gun and the run. East Carolina boasts a pair of 1,000-yard backs.
Art Brown (1,029 yards, 14 TDs in 2002) returns from a knee injury that forced him to miss last season. Marvin Townes (1,128 yards, eight TDs) excelled in Brown’s place.
Being a four-touchdown underdog, East Carolina may need a few surprises.
Other games
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Sylvester Croom spent his summer answering the same pesky questions and downplaying his place in history.
That’s all over now. After an exhausting offseason of explaining his social significance, the Southeastern Conference’s first black head football coach is ready to start the season and rebuild Mississippi State.
The new era beings Saturday against Tulane.
“I do feel good … that my life has made an impact,” Croom said. “But right now, the most important thing is our players, their welfare and winning ball games.”
Croom is one of 10 coaches working their first games with new teams as the college football season begins around most of the country this weekend.
Among the other intriguing debuts are Bill Callahan and his West Coast offense at Nebraska; Mike Stoops, brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, at Arizona; and Mark Dantonio, who leads Cincinnati on Saturday against Ohio State, where he was defensive coordinator for three seasons.
Mike Price’s return to college coaching at Texas-El Paso was a losing one Thursday night, with Arizona State routing the Miners 41-9. The former Washington State coach was fired last year by Alabama before ever coaching a game after a night of drinking at a strip bar.
Another coach done in by a scandal, George O’Leary, has had his debut with Central Florida postponed. He will miss Saturday’s game at No. 21 Wisconsin to attend his mother’s funeral. O’Leary was fired by Notre Dame in 2001 for lying on his resume.
Mississippi State officials said they weren’t out to make a social statement when they hired Croom as Jackie Sherrill’s replacement last December. They simply wanted a coach who they thought could break the program’s free fall; the Bulldogs have lost 27 of their last 35 games.
Croom brought discipline to Starkville, and persuaded the players to buy into his receiver-friendly West Coast offense, which he developed during 17 years as an NFL assistant.
“All eyes are on coach Croom (and) I’m going to do anything I can not to let him down,” tailback Jerious Norwood said.
The results of a massive makeover in Lincoln, Neb., will be on display when the Cornhuskers and their new, modern offense open the season against Division I-AA Western Illinois.
O’Leary is one of four new coaches in the Mid-American Conference.
Kent State’s Doug Martin might have the most challenging opener. The Golden Flashes play at No. 19 Iowa without their suspended starting quarterback Joshua Cribbs.
Eastern Michigan’s Jeff Genyk opened with a win at home Thursday night – the Eagles defeated Buffalo 37-34; and Brian Kelly leads Central Michigan against Indiana.
Idaho’s Nick Holt could be getting a glimpse into the future against Boise State. The Vandals move from the Sun Belt next season to the Western Athletic Conference, where Boise State has won two straight league titles.
Chances are, nobody’s feeling more pressure than Croom.
The groundbreaking coach will spend his first gameday on the job breaking a color barrier in the Deep South with a new quarterback in a new offense.
“As much as I’m prepared for it and thought about it, it’s going to be a new experience,” Croom said. “It’s been all kind of details from an administrative standpoint to the football part of it. I’ll be nervous with every thought racing through (my) mind.”