San Jose State Football

With the two Pac-10 Bay Area college football squads seemingly on the upswing heading into the 2009 season, the lone non-BCS program in the Bay is predictably on the public spotlight's back burner.

As in years passed—especially the ones prior to when head coach Dick Tomey came aboard and resurrected the program—the Spartans of San Jose State are a near afterthought on the Bay Area football landscape compared to Cal and Stanford. Outside of their season-opener against mighty Southern Cal, local media doesn't seem to find the team too newsworthy.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Tomey to care, as he continues to go about his business as the Spartans coach that saved the program from dissolving when he joined in 2004. In that time, he has helped pull the team out of the academic cellar, a position inherited from the previous regime that cost Tomey valuable scholarships over that time. He's also boosted attendance by a near 300-percent margin per game, and in 2006 coached the team out of its 16-year bowl drought.

But despite that 2006 New Mexico Bowl victory, it's been a typically uphill battle for the Spartans over the last two seasons, not only in their quest for respect within the Bay Area football community, but in their quest to reach the upper-ranks of the Western Athletic Conference.

The 2006 season seemed to be the breakthrough the program was looking for, but it was followed up by a sub-par 5-7 campaign in 2007, and while the team started out 5-2 and played Boise State midseason with first place on the line, they faltered down the stretch, finishing 6-6 and without a bowl invitation.

San Jose State has managed to get a grip on the bottom half of the WAC during the Tomey era, consistently handling the likes of Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho, none of which would be labeled a major victory in any year. They've also managed to hang with and even beat parts of the upper-half of the conference, but they've been unable to do so consistently, which keeps them out of serious contention for a league title.

The 2006 bowl team was arguably the most competitive WAC squad the Spartans have ever produced, a season in which rivals Stanford and Fresno State both left Spartan Stadium with losses, as did former WAC champions Louisiana Tech. Losses to Nevada, Hawaii, and Boise State left the Spartans in third place.

The upside to the 2009 Spartans is there are comparisons to be made to that 2006 team, and in a program that has been short on winning records, much less championship contenders, it's as good a parallel as can be drawn.

The quarterback of the 2006 team was Adam Trafalis, a junior at the time who had not yet lived up to expectations. With future NFL receivers James Jones and John Broussard having breakout seasons that year, Trafalis bloomed into a solid team leader as well as one of the more decorated passers in school history.

Enter Kyle Reed in 2009, the Cal transfer that took over the starting job in the first game of 2008 and seemed on the brink of a breakout season himself, before injuries and an increasingly abysmal offense began to affect his performances.

Like Trafalis in 2006, he enters this campaign with something to prove. Considered a top-five dual-threat quarterback in the nation coming out of high school, Reed chose to play up north in Berkeley until a 2007 third-string demotion led him to depart for the South Bay.

Despite the accolades Reed brought with him, nothing has been handed to him in San Jose. He enters his fifth and final college season fighting off junior Jordan La Secla for the starting spot, a battle Tomey has indicated should last into the season and possibly until WAC play starts.

If Reed can recapture some of the magic he started out with last season, when he led the Spartans to a last minute victory over UC Davis and kept the team competitive on the road at Nebraska, he should be poised to lead the team the entire season.

Quarterbacks with his skill-set—the combination of a strong arm and mobile ability—have become the standard in the pass-happy WAC, and unless the line makes dramatic improvements from last year, Reed's running ability will be crucial to the offense.

His targets should be as good as the ones Trafalis had in 2006, especially with the return of former All-WAC receiver Kevin Jurovich, who missed all but two games in 2008 while sidelined with an illness. Jurovich emerged in 2007 as the go-to guy in the Spartans offense, when he ranked in the top-15 nationally in both receptions and yards.

He'll be joined by heralded JC transfer Marquis Avery and 2008 starter Jalal Beauchman, with a young corps of recent recruits waiting in the wings that Tomey hasn't had access to in previous seasons.

Where this year's offense may have an edge on the 2006 version is at running back, where not only will there be more depth, but possibly an upgrade at talent.

Previous starter Yonus Davis filled the role admirably when healthy during his time with the Spartans, but considering the arrival of four-star JC running back Lamon Muldrow, combined with the emergence of second-year man Brandon Rutley, the running threat should far upgraded from near non-existence a season ago. Added to that is the likelihood that 2006 contributor Patrick Perry will be granted a sixth-year of eligibility.

On the other side of the ball, the Spartans continue to be one of the most formidable in the WAC under the defensive-minded Tomey.

Linebacker Justin Cole should fill the same role former defensive leader and tackling machine Matt Castelo did for the 2006 team, and has already received preseason All-WAC honors from Rivals.com.

What the last San Jose State bowl team did not have that this squad will is the havoc-wreaking Ihenacho tandem (Carl on the defensive line, Duke at linebacker/safety). The two brothers, who had a combined five years of high school experience before San Jose State took a chance on them, should continue to excel for Tomey's Silicon Valley version of his old "Desert Swarm" unit.

The hardest task the Spartans face defensively, especially given the conference they play in, will be replacing NFL draftees Christopher Owens and Coye Francies on the corners. Each were among the most respected defenders in the WAC last season, which likely means the rest of the conference will be eager to exploit the young group likely to replace them.

The most promising sign for Tomey coming into the 2009 season is that his squad now is by far deeper and more talented than any he has had in San Jose. For the first time in his tenure, he could wind up red-shirting all incoming freshman—a sharp contrast to the years in which he was forced to play many out of necessity. The ability to bring these freshman along at a reasonable pace is due in large part to the scholarships regained in recent seasons through improved academics.

Tomey also enters the season with the most experienced offensive sidekick he has had yet in San Jose.

Terry Malley, former offensive coordinator for the Arena Bowl Champion San Jose Sabercats, has moved across town and should provide an immediate boost to what wound up being a very dismal offense in 2008.

The transition from the "50-yard indoor war" to the collegiate game shouldn't be rough, as Malley was the head football coach at nearby Santa Clara University prior to the folding of their program. That background should prove to be quite useful in terms of local recruiting for the Spartans.

The 2006 New Mexico Bowl squad was a highly successful one by San Jose State standards, one that gave the fan base and alumni hope for better things to come. In light of the following seasons that produced an 11-13 record, 2006 may appear to outsiders to be an aberration for an otherwise downtrodden football program.

However, that team came into the season with similarly low expectations and less talent.

And if this year's team can survive the brutal opening schedule that includes games against USC, Utah, and Stanford right off the bat, it could wind up being Tomey's most surprising success story yet.

In one of San Jose State football’s finest moments, three Spartans were taken in this years NFL draft. Defensive end Jarron Gilbert, and cornerbacks Coye Francies, and Chris Owens all cashed in on the draft on Sunday and are each headed to new cities. Jarron Gilbert was selected 68th in the draft by the Chicago Bears. Chris Owens was selected 90th and is headed to the Atlanta Falcons and Coye Francies is headed to the Cleveland Browns after he was the 191st player taken in the draft. Projected to go late in the 1st round or early in the 2nd round, Gilbert slipped into the 3rd round and now appears to have some motivation to prove that he was actually a first day player, despite being taken on the 2nd day. Playing at San Jose State, Gilbert is no stranger to the underdog approach when the only school that recruited him out of high school was San Jose State. Given the odds that he has overcome, he can be expected to excel in his new roll on the Bears. Jarron is expected to report to Chicago’s rookie mini camp, which will be held May 1st – 3rd. 22 spots after Gilbert was drafted, cornerback Chris Owens was then selected by Atlanta. Coye Francies was then taken at the 191st spot of the draft by the Browns, which subsequently marks the 1st time that three Spartans were taken in an NFL draft since 1983. That year, CB Gill Byrd, RB Ken Thomas, and DB Brian Hawkins were each selected in the 1st 9 rounds of the then 12 round NFL draft format. The 2009 draft also marks the 1st time that 3 Spartans were drafted in the current 7 round draft format. This weekend was arguably one of San Jose State’s finest moments in NFL draft history. San Jose State also equaled the total for both Cal and Stanford, for total players taken in this year’s draft. Cal had 3 players selected and Stanford had no players taken for the 2nd year in a row. Six players have also been taken in the last 3 NFL drafts with CB Dwight Lowery going to the New York Jets in 2008, WR James Jones going to the Green Bay Packers in 2007 and WR John Broussard being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007 as well.

So getting up at five in the morning isn't something I do very often anymore, which has hurt my surfing patterns, but improved the level of grumpy, for which my family is grateful.

However, the opportunity to hit a Pro Day is always welcome, and as I am two hours away from San Jose and the workouts started at 8 AM—well sacrifices were made.

Somehow I am still awake. Or this could be a dream.

It was an incredibly smooth running day, as well as an early one. Just a handful of years ago, San Jose State was fighting to keep the football program alive, and now it's cranking out pro level players. If Coye Francies and Chris Owens pan out, some people were joking the school would get the nickname "Cornerback U."

I'm awaiting confirmation on the exact number of personnel and teams, but there were easily between 20-25 teams represented, 30+ people, and two head Coaches—Carolina's John Fox and new Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. More on both is a bit.

The three biggest focal points were the aforementioned Francies and Owens, as well as defensive end Jarron Gilbert.

Francies was hot after the Senior Bowl, but since then, Owens has started to overtake him, and today may have locked that down. That isn't to say Francies won't make a fine corner in the NFL—he probably will—but Owens is hot.

Owens was faster overall, running a pair of 4.40's in the 40, while Francies was clocked between a 4.59 and a 4.65.

Side note—when it comes to timing, here's how it goes at a Pro Day. We (that is to say, media and scouts), all have our own stop watches and do our own timing. Often right after a run, we'll all double check the time with people around us. After all the speed drills are done, the scouts convene in a separate location and get a consensus time or range of times.

Francies' was a wide range. I don't know how or why, but the range on his runs was wider than I've seen in the year and a half I've been there. For what that's worth.

Regardless of how wacky those numbers were, Owens was faster by a margin.

Of course, straight-line speed isn't everything to a cornerback. Both corners worked out well in the position drills and looked good. Both tracked the balls well and looked good overall. Francies looked good flipping his hips and turning to move upfield. Owens looked great tracking the ball and very fluid.

It's close.

I will say that Jets' Coach Ryan (told you we'd touch on him again), made a point to chat with Owens and it was clear they had talked before. He might have done the same with Coye, but I didn't see it.

But Ryan definitely looked interested in Owens, and given that he likes current Jet and former Spartan Dwight Lowery, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Jets go to that well again. (I realize he didn't make that pick, but GM Mike Tannenbaum, did and I'm sure he chatted it up to Ryan.)

I wonder how the Jets might get Owens, as it's hard to know where he might go, and it's possible he won't be there with the Jets' second round pick.

Will the Jets move up like they did for Dustin Keller last year?

They certainly might.

But the guy who seemed to be Ryan's biggest focus was Gilbert. When it was time for the D-line drills, Ryan stepped in and led them. While he spent plenty of time with the other two Spartan DEs there (Marcus Keli and Jeff Schweiger, who I will talk about in a minute), he worked with Gilbert the most and definitely was focused on testing and probing him.

I walked away thinking that the Jets have to be thinking Gilbert is a high priority. Like Owens, you have to wonder how they would pick him up. He's slotted on many sites to be a guy who could go somewhere in the second or third (I lean towards second) so again, the Jets might have to make a move to get him.

By the way, many sites have him listed as a defensive tackle, but he can play tackle or end, specifically end as a five technique in a 3-4, which could fit what the Jets are looking at.

I call him an end, because that's what he was in school.

Whatever you call him, he too looked solid in drills and is definitely more than a YouTube video and some stats. Gilbert ran a 4.76/4.83 40 with a good 10 yard time of 1.66. Not the fastest bloke, but quick enough.

When guys like Gilbert, Francies, and Owens attract a spotlight, sometimes it splashes on some other players as well. One player I am looking more into is defensive end Jeff Schweiger.

Schweiger was a transfer from USC and had an OK, though not spectacular, season in 2008. He had a very good workout today, including a 4.71/4.74 40 time, with a quick 4.56 short shuttle which looked pretty solid. Add to it a 35 1/2 vert and a 10 foot broad jump and he's an intriguing guy who isn't on many radars.

I'm not saying he's a first round pick. I'm saying he may have gotten himself enough notice to have a good shot at being a rookie street free agent, if not a late second day pick.

It only takes one team to fall in love to make that happen. He's already worked out for the Atlanta Falcons.

I'll be looking at his film this week and am curious to see how he looks.

Finally, I wanted to touch on the bonus portion of the day's program—the workout by players from Cal-Poly, Sacramento State and other small schools.

This took place after the San Jose State day, and a bunch of scouts stuck around. It was a long day by the time it was done—from 8 AM to after 1 PM.

Of course, the teams who stayed (including John Fox) were there to see Cal-Poly wideout Ramses Barden do his thing.

I think Carolina has to be looking at him given that they have nobody behind Smith, and Dwayne Jarrett hasn't worked out. Barden is a big guy, like Jarrett is, and as he learns to use his size and hands to beat corners high, he could be a great complement to anyone, Smith included.

Among the other teams remaining were the Giants, Rams, Panthers, Pats, Dolphins, and Packers. The Panthers had two other men there along with Coach Fox, who busted me up more than once with little side comments.

There's a guy I dearly want to have a beer with. He strikes me as a fellow who could make an evening fairly entertaining.

Back at the workout, Barden smoked his Combine 40 time, which was listed as a 4.58, with his first run timed at a speedy 4.51. His second run was a 4.55, closer to the Combine time, but still solid. By the way, I clocked his first run at a 4.48. Barden told me he liked that time best and who am I to argue?

Barden was good in his workout as well, and between the Combine and today, helped himself quite a bit. His 39 arm length, 10'2" broad jump and 7.1 three cone drill helped also.

One other guy I am looking into after watching him in the second half of the day is Montana State Running Back Demetrius Williams. Williams had speedy 40 times of 4.44 and 4.45 (although one scout had him at 4.39) and overall had a good workout.

Like Schweiger, Williams may benefit from the teams who stuck around to watch Barden and get himself some workouts. I'm curious to look more closely at his game and examine if he might be able to catch onto a practice squad or on a special teams unit.

Sometimes it's not just the big guys who leave you fascinated.

When I hear the words "San Jose," the first things that come to mind are Technology, Silicon Valley, and No Way Jose.

With the spread currently hovering around 27 points in favor of Nebraska, it might be easy to dismiss this game as a "No Way Jose" game for the Huskers—as in there’s no way in hell San Jose State can come in and beat the Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium.

But if you take a closer look at the Spartans, there are definitely some things that grab your attention and let you know this game isn’t going to be a total cakewalk.

First off, let’s start with their head coach, Dick Tomey.  I bet you didn’t know about these two eye-popping diddy bam stats.

Total D-I Football Wins Among All Active Coaches

t1) Bobby Bowden (Florida State, West Virginia): 373

t1) Joe Paterno (Penn State): 373

3) Mack Brown (Texas, North Carolina, Tulane): 184

4) Dick Tomey (San Jose State, Arizona, Hawaii): 176

5) Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech): 167

6) Steve Spurrier (South Carolina, Florida, Duke): 164

Coaching Longevity Among FBS Head Coaches

1) Joe Paterno, Penn State: 500 games

2) Bobby Bowden, Florida State: 496 games

3) Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech: 321 games

4) Dick Tomey, San Jose State: 311 games

Wow!  How about that drop-off from Joe Pa and Bowden to the rest of the pack in Total Wins?  No wonder these guys refuse to stop coaching until the lid is slammed on their caskets.  Whoever outlasts the other guy owns that freaking record forever.  Mack Brown would have to coach until he was 99 years old before he could even sniff that record.

Back to San Jose State.  You want to know more about this Dick Tomey character?  Check out this chestnut, son.

Remember back in 1999 when Sports Illustrated picked the Arizona Wildcats (!) as their preseason No. 1 team in the country?  And in the 1999 nationally televised Kickoff Classic game, that Arizona team played at Penn State and got absolutely annihilated by LaVar Arrington, Courtney Brown, and company something like 222 to 0?

Dick Tomey was the coach of those Arizona Wildcats.  His team never recovered from that Kickoff Classic drubbing, and they ended up finishing the season with a 5-6 record.

Tomey got fired at the end of that season, as did several people at Sports Illustrated.  He spent the next few years as an assistant coach, and this is now his fourth season as head coach of the Spartans.

All right, enough about their coach.  The X-factor in this game is quarterback Kyle Reed, who transferred from the California Golden Bears to San Jose last year.  Reed was the number two QB at Cal as recently as 2007.  He missed all of spring practice with a broken foot and came into the 2008 season listed as the third string quarterback.

Coach Tomey planned on playing him in the third quarter last week, regardless of the score.  San Jose State was down by 10 points to lowly UC-Davis at halftime.  Reed came in and completed 14 of 18 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.  He also rushed seven times for 28 yards.  After rallying the team to victory, he now gets his first collegiate start against Nebraska.

Coming out of high school, Reed was considered one of the nation’s top-ranked "double threat" quarterbacks, ranked No. 5 overall by Rivals.com.

Our prediction for Saturday's game?

Well, Kyle Reed hasn’t started a game at quarterback since 2004, back when he was a senior in high school.  It’s safe to say he’s never experienced an environment like Memorial Stadium before.

Reed is definitely the wild card in this game, without question.  But let’s be honest: He’s seen a grand total of 30 minutes of "live game action" over the past 1,300 days.

Although Dick Tomey might have a boatload of wins over his 31-year career, I’ve been passionately following college football for damn near 31 years now, and I hardly knew dick about Dick Tomey until I started researching this post.

The one stat that really grabbed my attention?  He’s only won five bowl games in 31 years.

Five?  That’s right, five—the exact number of touchdowns the Cornhuskers will win by this Saturday.

Nebraska 56, San Jose State 21

The San Jose State Spartans led for only 8 seconds in their opener versus the UC Davis Aggies, but 8 seconds was all they needed.

The Aggies controlled the entire game, looking like the more confident and comfortable team, even though they were playing on the Spartans' home turf in sunny San Jose.

Starting quarterback Daniel Alfaro helped the Aggies control the football for over 34 minutes of the game. As a team, they ran 31 times for 60 yards and used short passes to eat up time off the clock to the tune of 193 yards. He and Bakari Grant connected for a catch and run touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Aggies a 7-0 lead, which turned into 10-0 before the first half was over. Grant ended up with 8 catches for 108 yards.

San Jose State, led by starting quarterback Myles Eden, couldn't muster any points in the first half even though he connected on 10 of 13 passes for 86 yards. Enter Cal transfer Kyle Reed.

Reed came in and immediately the offense started moving the football. The Spartans, who looked slow and over-matched in the first half, looked quick and inspired in the second. Reed threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams to put the Spartans on the board in the third quarter. The extra point was blocked making the score 10-6 and time looked to be running out on the Spartans.

Reed got them going again late in the fourth quarter, but on fourth down, head coach Dick Tomey selected to try a 44 yard field goal with senior kicker Jared Strubeck. Strubeck had missed a field goal earlier, in addition to the extra point, and he missed this one as well. The Spartans fans didn't understand the situation because a field goal would only get the Spartans within 1 point with very little time left on the clock, and booed the decision. They booed more loudly when Strubeck missed the kick. But the defense stuffed the Aggies on three plays in a row and with just over a minute left and on their own 31 yard line, Kyle Reed drove them down the field.

With no timeouts left, he hit senior wide receiver Kevin Jurovich for 37 yards.  Then on fourth down, he hit him again. But this time it was in the end zone. Threading the needle, Reed zipped his pass in between three Aggies defenders and Jurovich hung on to give the Spartans a 13-10 victory.

Reed was definitely the most productive San Jose State quarterback on the field and head coach Dick Tomey has a decision to make going into Nebraska next week. The running game wasn't effective as Reed actually led the team with 28 yards rushing, while starting tailback Yonus Davis had only 26 yards on 7 carries.

The Spartans are expected to have a better than average team with a defense that is supposed to be their strong point. After sending defensive back Dwight Lowery to the NFL, the Spartans send out Christopher Owens and Coye Francies at opposing receivers this year. UFC transfer Jeff Schweiger anchors a defensive line that is expected to be very good.

But in order to fulfill those expectations, they'll have to play a much better game than they did against UC Davis. They won't have to wait long. They travel to Nebraska next weekend to take on a Cornhuskers team who are also 1-0 after beating Western Michigan.

Part Four of our WAC football preview is here.  Today, I'm examining the oft-mediocre, but always scary, San Jose State Spartans.  The Spartans have some intriguing transfers and returners, but you just never know what you're going to get with Tomey's boyz.  Let's see what they have to offer in 2008.

In 2003, Boise State defeated San Jose State in Boise by a score of 77-14...in regulation.  To this day, it is the most points the Broncos have ever scored on an opponent.  The following year in San Jose, the Broncos won 56-49 in overtime.

These night-and-day type performances typify the play of the Spartans over the last few years: at times horrific—at other times terrific.

What "ific" will they embrace this year?  It is hard to say.

Sock It To-mey

Dick Tomey's sleepy demeanor pushed his Spartans to a 9-4 season in 2006 and a bowl win over New Mexico.  The momentum for the Spartans was then so great that it catapulted them to a 5-7 season in 2007.

Are you seeing a pattern yet?  Tomey has been one thing since he took the reins of the Spartan program in 2005: not Fitz Hill.  He has guided his Spartans to new heights and par-for-the course lows in his brief tenure—but playing close-to-500 ball is what the Spartans do best.

Tomey looks like he may just take a nap on the sidelines or during interviews at any moment.  Maybe his apathetic, Stan Laurel-like persona is what keeps the Spartans on such a milquetoast even keel.  We know the team can play...but when they decide to is a different story.

No O...No Go

Losing your top tailback in the first game of the year is tough.  When you have no capable backups for that injured tailback—it's real tough.  This is the scenario that the Spartans faced last year.

Star RB Yonus Davis went down in the Spartans' opening game against Arizona State and never returned—and neither did the Spartans rushing attack.  The Spartans barely scratched the 1,000-yard rushing mark last year as a team.  Their top rusher had 331 yards on the year and one touchdown.

This lack of a running game hampered the Spartans all year, and had it not been for the inspired play of WR Kevin Jurovich and the capable passing of senior Adam Tafralis, the Spartans may not have been lucky enough to win the five games they did.

However, for all of their offensive difficulties last season, the Spartans nearly toppled eventual champ Hawaii, dropped 51 points on New Mexico State and defeated a pretty good Nevada team in their finale.  It wasn't the type of year that Spartan fans had in mind, for sure, but no reason to push the panic button quite yet either.

Yonus Davis returns to the backfield and Jurovich will be a threat...a little O can go a long way.  The Spartans do have to replace three-year starter Tafralis, but capable replacements abound in Myles Eden, Jordan LaSecla, and Cal transfer Kyle Reed.

I doubt the Spartans will repeat their feat of getting shut out twice in one season, as they did against Stanford and Fresno State, but they have a little ways to go to trade offensive blows with the WAC's best.

Come One, Come All

The welcome sign is always on and buzzing at Spartan Stadium, apparently, as they have drawn Pac-10 transfers with the greatest of ease.  Besides the Cal transfer on offense, the Spartans have added Coye Francies from Oregon State to their defensive secondary, and more impressively, ex-USC defensive end Jeff Schweiger.

Schweiger and Francies should make their presence known this season.  The Spartans already had a pretty good secondary, and the addition of Francies alongside all-WAC second team cornerback Chris Owens will soften the blow that Dwight Lowery's graduation/drafting dealt.

Schweiger is a big boy, and with a Trojan pedigree, he may wreak havoc on WAC O-lines.  Heck, OBNUG thinks he may be the DPOY.  Could be...but you gotta go through Ryan Winterswyk to get it, savvy?

Is a Winning Season So Much to Ask?

A winning season is never too much to ask...but is often too much to deliver.  I think that the best-case scenario for the Spartans this year is a 7-5 record, but a 6-6 outing is likely in the tarot cards.

I think they'll get by UC-Davis, SDSU, and Utah State, and then defeat NMSU, Idaho, and La Tech.  Fresno and Boise State have to come to the Bay, and I think the Spartans will put a scare into one of 'em (please, not Boise State again), but ultimately come up short.

This is a big year for the Spartans, and I think that even a .500 campaign will give them a nice boost after last year's injury-plagued, disappointing season.  After all is said and done, Dick Tomey will take a nice, long nap.

Hey Spartans, at least you don't have to deal with this tool anymore, right?

Previous previews:

Utah State preview

Idaho preview

New Mexico State preview

Monday night’s 24-18 FSU loss at Clemson was the same old result for the Seminoles: Another game against a competent defense, and another inept offensive performance.

In the past, the blame has been laid squarely at the feet of Drew Weatherford. But blaming Weatherford for FSU’s anemic offense would be taking the easy way out. Not only was he not the problem for the Seminoles against Clemson—he actually played reasonably well.

No, the problem for the Seminoles is their god-awful offensive line.

Three times in the first quarter, Clemson got pressure in the backfield and stopped runs behind the line. The only time Weatherford had a chance to step into a throw the entire game was on 15-yard touchdown pass to Richard Goodman...and even then he was hit in the mouth by a Clemson defensive tackle.

Other than a brief period extending from late in the third quarter to early in the fourth, the offensive line couldn’t create any running lanes, and over the course of the game allowed six sacks to six different Clemson defenders.

Sure, Weatherford doesn’t look like a potential Heisman trophy winner. He threw a couple of bad balls to the wrong shoulders of his receivers, and took a couple of sacks too many.

But he made a number of nice plays on the run (he was always on the run), made several big throws as the ‘Noles were trying to struggle back into the game, and kept his composure in difficult circumstances.

Weatherford can lead Florida State to success if he gets a little bit of time. But with the offensive line he has, particularly freshman left tackle Daron Rose, he'll be running for his life all year.

Clemson, for its part, had a flawless plan to start the game: Every play had a reverse or decoy reverse to keep the aggressive FSU linebackers honest.

C.J. Spiller and James Davis were explosive running the football, with Davis on one play breaking a tackle and making four separate cuts to get into the end zone. Once the linebackers stepped up to fill, bubble screens like the 41-yard touchdown to receiver Aaron Kelly, went for huge gains.

Cullen Harper managed the game smartly and made some good throws on some short passes, but doesn’t look like a guy who will make big plays. Still, his composure and his intelligence allowed Clemson's playcalling and talent to win the game.

Most importantly, Clemson’s secondary was solid, and the front seven was dominant. The Tigers blew up the line of scrimmage repeatedly, chased down the Seminole athletes, and generally made things miserable for Weatherford.

If Clemson can play a complete 60-minute game and shore up a few special teams gaffes, they can be dangerous in the ACC. Their lack of a great quarterback and their overall inconsistency will hurt them against more polished teams like Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

It took a little while to kick in, but the LSU Tigers showed us exactly why they're predicted by many to face USC for a national championship.

Last Thursday night, they dominated Mississippi State in every facet of the game.

The Bulldogs ran the ball 26 times. For 10 yards. QB Matt Henig threw the ball 26 times. Six of those throws were caught by LSU defenders.

Matt Flynn didn’t set the world on fire, but remember that this was his first start in two years—and it came against a respectable Miss State defense. Flynn went a solid 12-19 for 128 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

The running game by committee rushed for nearly 200 yards. Ryan Perrilloux scored three touchdowns.

Flawless? Maybe not. Ruthlessly efficient? Absolutely.

Critics will argue that almost of all LSU’s scoring drives were the result of short fields. Why should LSU’s offense be blamed for scoring most of their points as a result of a short field?

Good teams force opponents into mistakes and then on them. LSU’s offense was excellent in that respect.

And even if the offense isn’t great at grinding out 80-yard touchdown drives, what teams will score on LSU? Virginia Tech will try this week, but they only put up 10 offensive points against ECU. Saturday’s game will be ugly for Tech’s offense.

And with the offensive playmakers the Tigers have to augment their defense, expect a lot of ugly games for SEC teams facing LSU this year.

QB Sean Canfield looked awful for Oregon State in their 24-7 win over Utah.

Though the Beavers have a talented defense and a sensational running back in Yvenson Bernard, star WR Sammie Stroughter left the team for personal reasons, and Canfield has a ways to go.

Suddenly my sleeper Pac-10 pick doesn't look so good.

One Pac 10 team that looked great was Cal. Their offense was fast. FAST. DeSean Jackson is lightning, and Nate Longshore looks more comfortable in the offense than he did at any point last year.

Cal's defense still needs to get better, but they made every important play this weekend. Things are definitely looking up in Berkeley.

Washington is going to be good next year. Their schedule and inexperience will lead to some growing pains in the Northwest, but the Huskies should come together by the end of the year—and will have some talented, confident players heading into 2008.

Michigan's loss isn't the end of the world. Appalachian State gets all the good athletes who aren't good enough to play for elite teams like Michigan and would rather play for championships than play on a middling BCS conference team, or a good non-BCS team.

In all honesty, Appalachian State would probably destroy Arizona, Stanford, UConn, Minnesota, Indiana, and Miss State. This doesn't excuse the loss—it just tempers it a bit.

Think of it as Michigan losing to Illinois instead of Michigan losing to "We Suck University."

Virginia Tech still doesn't have an offense. Their defense and special teams alone will beat a number of teams, but can Va Tech beat a squad with a decent defense and playmakers on offense? It doesn't look that way. Next week's game at LSU will be an ugly win for the Tigers.

Wyoming is looking to crash the Mountain West party this year. They got off to a good start and were a brick wall in their 23-3 win over Virginia.

Wisconsin is faster than people give them credit for. Their power running game will be great once they get cranked up, and the Badgers always have good defenses. This year, they might have the playmakers to really challenge for the Big 10.

Did any teams look more impressive in their opening week victories than Nebraska and Oklahoma?

Did any teams look more pathetic than Notre Dame?

The Irish offensive line was a wreck, and their playmakers are all in the NFL. Charlie Weis makes his living by setting up defenses with a short and clever passing game, with big strikes and running plays scattered here and there. 19 runs in 20 plays isn't Weis.

The run defense was horrible, the entire offense was horrible, and Weis' squad looks like they're in for a horrible 2007.

BYU's defense shut down Arizona 20-3, and TCU manhandled Baylor 27-0. Granted Arizona and Baylor aren't USC and Texas, but TCU, BYU, and Wyoming all demolished BCS conference teams. What's more Utah hung close with a good Oregon State team, UNLV knocked off Utah State, Colorado State took Colorado to overtime, and Air Force destroyed South Carolina State. We know you can ball, Mountain West.

NC State had about a three- or four-year period where it had Philip Rivers, T.A McClendon, and a filthy defense. They accomplished nothing during that time frame. Now, they are losing at home to UCF.

What was Arkansas State doing losing by only eight to Texas? Every year there's a random Sun Belt team (read Troy State) that manages to either upset or at least stay close to some team it has no business playing. This year was Arkansas State's turn.

Vanderbilt is five wins away from a bowl. Yes, I'm counting.

Yeah, ummm, why were so many people predicting Oklahoma State to beat Georgia? Mark Richt coached up a very young defense very quickly this summer, and Georgia neutralized everything Oklahoma State wanted to do. That's why Mark Richt is an elite (and very underrated) coach, and Oklahoma State is a midlevel Big 12 team.

Every game Auburn plays is ugly. The thing that makes it worse is that they make their opponents play just as ugly as they do. Kansas State played tough, physical, mistake-filled football. The problem is that Auburn makes its living by playing tough, controlling the special teams, making mistakes, forcing you into making worse mistakes, and then breaking off a random big play that breaks your back.

Beating Auburn isn't about playing great football. It's about surviving torture. Few teams are mentally tough enough to handle it.

Someone predicted San Jose State would go on the road and beat Arizona State. Yeah, that was (looks around room), that was that guy (points at nobody and runs away).

Before I go, here's My Top 25 after Week 1:


Top 25:

1) USC
2) LSU
3) Florida
4) West Virginia
5) Louisville
6) Cal
7) Wisconsin
8) Texas
9) Virginia Tech
10) Oklahoma
11) Nebraska
12) Rutgers
13) Arkansas
14) Ohio State
15) TCU
16) Boise State
17) Georgia
18) UCLA
19) Georgia Tech
20) Tennessee
21) Auburn
22) Oregon State
23) Penn State
24) Michigan
25) Hawaii