Strong's USF Bulls must get better in bye week./CARMEN MANDATO
5 Observations
1. Bully for the Bulls, being 4-0 and all. But, frankly, it was easier to think bad of them than ever as they squeaked past East Carolina. No, ECU will not have a good year. South Florida has work to do in its week off.
2. At FSU, there is no fish that is so small it must be thrown back. The Seminoles have beaten Samford and Northern Illinois. And if I'm Willie Taggart, I try to schedule either one of them again. Now.
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3. Steve Spurrier didn't have to play Duke the year he went back to Florida. Bobby Bowden didn't have to play West Virginia. Bear Bryant didn't play Kentucky. Jimbo Fisher isn't playing FSU. Mark Richt didn't play Georgia. Yet, here Dan Mullen is, taking on his former school (Mississippi State) already.
4. Mark Richt is the latest coach to play I've-Got-A-Secret with the world. But Malik Rosier and N'Kosi Perry are the same style of quarterback. So it isn't as if North Carolina will be forced to practice for two different attacks. The cornerbacks still have to cover. The ends still have to rush. So what's the point?
5. Is Tennessee ready to take Lane Kiffin back yet?
They said It
“Hopefully it started last week with a turning point for our guys to get a win back at home against Northern Illinois. We’re hoping that we can build off what we did last week and put together a complete ball game. That’s something we haven’t done yet. We’re eager to do it, and it would be the perfect time to go on the road and do that at Louisville, a team that’s beat us two years in a row.
"We understand it’s going to be tough, but we also know what we’re capable of doing and we haven’t played that way yet. We’re looking forward to doing that.”
-- FSU coach Willie Taggart
"I expect to go into a tough environment against one of the best teams out there. But for me, my focus is on the game and making sure our team is ready to execute. That's my main focus, the game."
-- Florida coach Dan Mullen
“He (McKenzie Milton) is absolutely worthy of that (Heisman) discussion; Look at the way he played a year ago and what he’s doing this year. He’s extremely smart, and he’s able to use his feet to extend and make plays in the run game or throw on scrambles down the field. I’ve worked with a couple of Heisman-caliber guys and this guy’s a special player.”
-- UCF coach Josh Heupel
“That’s a good question. We’ll know when we roll out on the field, first play, for sure. So that’s what I’m going to tell everybody. But yeah, I know. It’s like any other position. I always tell the players you have to earn the right to win and you have to earn the trust of the coaching staff and your teammates to get in the game...(Perry) has grown up in my opinion to the point where he knows what we’re doing (and) why we’re doing it.’’
-- Miami coach Mark Richt
“I was very disappointed offensively that we struggled, We knew going into the game that their defensive line far and away was the best defensive line that we’ve played in two years. ... They really gave us some disruptive issues.”
Player of the Week
UCF gets a lot of ribbing for its baseless claim (it wasn't in the playoffs, people) that it won a national championship last year. But quarterback McKenzie Milton is for real. Playing against cross-state opponent FAU, Milton had a six touchdown night throwing for three and running for three. He also threw for 306 yards.
Team of the Week
It is impossible to overstate how big the Old Dominion upset of No. 13 Virginia Tech (which squashed FSU earlier) was. ODU had been blown out by Liberty, lost to FIU and was beaten by Charlotte. Junior quarterback Blake LaRussa threw for 495 yards and four scores as ODU scored 49 on a team FSU scored just three against. Running back Jeremy Cox ran for 94 yards in the fourth quarter alone.
5 Computer Rankings
Team Colley. Billingsley. Sagarin. Massey Average
UM 24 15 21 17 19.2
USF 14 30 55 32 32.7
Florida 48 23 27 35 33.3
FAU 74 31 96 71 68.0
FIU 75 91 94 82 85.5
Ranking the State's Top 5 Passers
15. McKenzie Milton, UCF 298.3
20. Blake Barnett, USF 274.8
23. Deondre Francois, FSU 270.8
50. Chris Robinson, FAU 227.3
74. Feleipe Franks, Florida 185.5
Ranking State's Top 5 Rushers
22, Jordan Cronkrite, USF 101.3
44. Devin Singletary, FAU 85.3
85. Travis Homer, Miami 69.0
87. Cam Akers, FSU 68.5
103. Adrian Killins, UCF 64.3
State's Top 5 Receivers
47. Jovon Durante, FAU 83,3
57.. Jeff Thomas, Miami 78.8
71. Randall St. Felix, USF 74.0
73. C.J. Worton, FIU 73.5
77. Darnell Salomon, USF 72.0
Random List
Best Live Mascots
1. Mike the Tiger LSU
2. War Eagle Auburn
3. Ralphie the Buffalo Colorado
4. Renegade FSU
5. Bevo Texas
Best Florida Gators
(One of a Series)
1. Tim Tebow
2. Steve Spurrier
3. Emmitt Smith
4. Danny Wuerffel
5. Wilber Marshall
5 Good National Teams
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
5 Bad National Teams
1. UCLA
2. Tennessee
3. FSU
4. Nebraska
5. Arkansas
This Week's Games
North Carolina at Miami (Thursday)
FSU at Louisville
Florida at Mississippi Stae
FAU at Middle Tennessee
Arkansas Pine-Bluff at FIU
Top National Games
Ohio State at Penn State
Stanford at Notre Dame
BYU at Washington
Oregon at Cal
West Virginia at Texas Tech
5 Closing Thoughts
1. Urban Meyer seems comfortable enough to be back at his job. He merely shed his skin, swallowed a rabbit whole and fell asleep under his rock.
2. North Texas will unretire Mean Joe Greene's jersey number this week. Evidently, North Texas was going to unretire their second-best ever player's jersey, too, but there 9,781 players tied for second.
3. CBSsports did a poll of the most overrated coaches in college football. The result was a tie between FSU's Willie Taggart and Penn State's James Franklin. In a world where Chip Kelly still draws a check, that's amazing.
4. It was amusing to see UConn head-coach-for-this-very-minute Randy Edsall take offense at his press conference, mainly because he has no defense. When asked about defensive coach Billy Crocker, whose team is 127th in total defense and dead last (130th) in passing defense, Edsall walked out on his press conference? What? He didn't think he'd be asked about the lousy defense?
5. I hate to agree with Nick Saban, but he's right about the transfer getting out of hand. Everyone whose coach doesn't bring him pizza to practice wants a better deal these days. Clemson's Kelly Bryant is leaving. Oregon's Taj Griffin is bolting. Okahoma State's Jalen McCleskey is splitting. Arkansas receiver Jonathan Nance is gone. Auburn receiver Nate Craig-Myers has gone long. So much for all those speeches about "never quit."
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