Ross already has us covered on the "Big Time" games this week in his Six Pack Games of the Week. So I thought I would take a look at some under the radar games this week (in some cases way under the radar) that do not involve any teams from a BCS conference.
Tulsa Golden Hurricane at East Carolina Pirates
When: Sunday Sept 5th at 2 PM on ESPN 2
Where: Greenville, NC (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium)
Line: East Carolina by 8.5
Last year under the guidance of Skip Holtz, East Carolina defeated Tulsa 44 to 17 on Tulsa's home turf. This year Skip Holtz has moved on to South Florida and former Texas Tech DC Ruffin McNeill has taken over the East Carolina Pirates. With last years game being such a blow out, why would I pick this as a game to watch? Because these two teams look to be vastly different than last years versions. East Carolina returns the least amount of starters in all of the FBS (they are losing 30 lettermen and only return 8 starters) and is breaking in a new coaching staff. Tulsa on the other hand brings back 15 starters with 9 of those playing on the offense including QB G.J. Kinne and WR Damaris Johnson. I think Tulsa could be a surprise team in C-USA. Ruffin McNeill still hasn't decided who his QB is for game one and to me that's not a good sign when you are breaking in a new offense.
My Pick: Tulsa
Villanova Wildcats at Temple Owls
When: Friday Sept 3rd at 5 PM on ESPN3.com
Where: Philadelphia, PA (Lincoln Financial Field)
Temple finished 9-4 last year but opened up the year with back-to-back losses to Penn State and Villanova. Villanova went 14-1 last year and won the FCS Championship over Montana. In week one last year Temple held a 10 point lead on Villanova in the 4th quarter but the Wildcats fought back and kicked a FG with no time on the clock to win the game in dramatic fashion. This sets up as a revenge game for Temple and sets up as a game in which Villanova wants to show the world (or at least Philadelphia) that they are indeed for real.
My Pick: Temple
Bowling Green Falcons at Troy Trojans
When: Saturday Sept 4th on Troy/ISP Network/FCSP (cable)
Where: Troy, Al (Movie Gallery Stadium)
Line: Troy by 14
Much like Temple/Villanova this is a revenge game. Last year in the first game of the year Bowling Green beat Troy 31-14. This was Dave Clawson's debut game as coach of the Bowling Green Falcons and his team surprisingly outgained the Trojans 394-293. Troy took a 14-7 led into half but BGSU owned the 2nd half as they outscored the Trojans 24-0 to win the game. Bowling Green finished the season 7-6 and Troy wound up 9-4.
My Pick: Troy
Georgia State Panthers vs. Shorter Hawks
When: Thurs Sept 2nd at 7:30 PM
Where: Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Dome)
Most people don't have this game on their radar but to me it's very intriguing because it's the very first game for the Georgia State Panthers. Head Coach Bill Curry has been tabbed as the guy to help make football a reality and it all kicks off on Thursday. Shorter is a Division 2 school that opened up their schedule last week with a loss to West Alabama (the #12 team in Division 2). Despite the loss Shorter's style is said to be like Georgia Tech's. That could be intriguing. Also, Georgia State is not naming a starting QB. They had 4 guys go at it during spring for the starting nod and then former Alabama back-up Star Jackson threw his name in the hat by transferring this fall. Despite being their first year Georgia State does have 8 players with D-1 playing experience (including a grad student who started at Georgia Tech on the OL last year). Unfortunately, this game isn't on TV (shocker) but I will be keeping an eye out on how Georgia State and Bill Curry do in their inaugural season.
My Pick: Georgia State
Showing posts with label Georgia State Panthers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia State Panthers. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Georgia State adds 3 more transfers
Earlier this week we told you that former Alabama QB and 4-Star recruit Star Jackson was officially transferring to Georgia State. Now we have learned that 3 more FBS players have transferred to Georgia State and will be eligible to play in the fall. They are Joseph Gilbert (Georgia Tech), Clyde Yandell (Georgia Tech) and Bailey Woods (Auburn). All 3 players will have 2 years of eligibility remaining.
Joseph Gilbert started 26 games for Georgia Tech at right tackle. He redshirted as a freshman and then started 26 of the last 27 games for Tech. When Gilbert came out of High School he was ranked as a 2-Star recruit by rivals and a 3-Star recruit by scout. I've read that he graduated early and was struggling to get accepted into the GT graduate program and made the decision to transfer earlier this year. No matter how you stack it up (and Tech fans were split on the message board I read- probably some sour grapes from some) losing a two-year starter hurts for Tech. If they had someone better on campus he would have been playing already. On the flip side this is a great pick-up for Georgia State.
Clyde Yandell also redshirted as a freshman but he saw only spot duty at tackle during the last two seasons. Scout had him listed as a 3-Star recruit and the 38th best OT when he came out of High School. Rivals also had him listed as a 3-Star recruit.
Bailey Woods played special teams last year for Auburn as a redshirt sophmore. He's a Tight End from Walton High School who rivals ranked as a 4-Star recruit and the #7 TE in the Nation when he came out. Scout had him as a 3-Star and the #27 TE prospect. Woods link to Georgia State is his father. His father is Jim Woods. Jim Woods played for Bill Curry at Georgia Tech when Curry was the Offensive Line coach back in the 70s. Woods graduated from Auburn in May and has two years of eligibility left at Georgia State.
Georgia State is looking up on offense. They just picked up a QB, a TE and two Offensive Tackles. While 3 of the players didn't play much at their schools I'm sure they picked up some great experience about playing at the FBS level that will help them this year at the FCS level.
Joseph Gilbert started 26 games for Georgia Tech at right tackle. He redshirted as a freshman and then started 26 of the last 27 games for Tech. When Gilbert came out of High School he was ranked as a 2-Star recruit by rivals and a 3-Star recruit by scout. I've read that he graduated early and was struggling to get accepted into the GT graduate program and made the decision to transfer earlier this year. No matter how you stack it up (and Tech fans were split on the message board I read- probably some sour grapes from some) losing a two-year starter hurts for Tech. If they had someone better on campus he would have been playing already. On the flip side this is a great pick-up for Georgia State.
Clyde Yandell also redshirted as a freshman but he saw only spot duty at tackle during the last two seasons. Scout had him listed as a 3-Star recruit and the 38th best OT when he came out of High School. Rivals also had him listed as a 3-Star recruit.
Bailey Woods played special teams last year for Auburn as a redshirt sophmore. He's a Tight End from Walton High School who rivals ranked as a 4-Star recruit and the #7 TE in the Nation when he came out. Scout had him as a 3-Star and the #27 TE prospect. Woods link to Georgia State is his father. His father is Jim Woods. Jim Woods played for Bill Curry at Georgia Tech when Curry was the Offensive Line coach back in the 70s. Woods graduated from Auburn in May and has two years of eligibility left at Georgia State.
Georgia State is looking up on offense. They just picked up a QB, a TE and two Offensive Tackles. While 3 of the players didn't play much at their schools I'm sure they picked up some great experience about playing at the FBS level that will help them this year at the FCS level.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Star Jackson to Georgia State
It has been rumored for a while and I just hoped on my reader and read AJC writer Jeff Schultz blog.The Mobile Press-Register reported earlier today that Jackson will enroll at Georgia State and that he was in Atlanta this past weekend apartment hunting. Because Georgia State is an FCS school, Jackson can come in and be immediately eligible to complete his final three years of eligibility. Last year Jackson saw limited action for Alabama, because of Greg McElroy's emergence, and completed 13 of 18 passes for 116 yards in mop up duty.
Last month I wrote a column about Georgia State and their new football program, which is being headed by Bill Curry. At the time I wrote that Georgia State had 3 2-Star recruits battling it out for the starting QB job in the first year of Georgia State football. Now, they add a 4-Star recruit who rivals had listed as the #5 QB in his class (scout has him as #11 QB). We know that not every guy rated as a 4-Star recruit works out (ain't that right Willie Martinez?) but the thought of Georgia State (a first year FCS school) landing a 4-star QB recruit is a bit exciting. Jackson was #3 on Alabama's spring depth chart so he wasn't exactly tearing up Tuscaloosa. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a fresh start, less weapons, but against a lot weaker competition in the FCS.
Last month I wrote a column about Georgia State and their new football program, which is being headed by Bill Curry. At the time I wrote that Georgia State had 3 2-Star recruits battling it out for the starting QB job in the first year of Georgia State football. Now, they add a 4-Star recruit who rivals had listed as the #5 QB in his class (scout has him as #11 QB). We know that not every guy rated as a 4-Star recruit works out (ain't that right Willie Martinez?) but the thought of Georgia State (a first year FCS school) landing a 4-star QB recruit is a bit exciting. Jackson was #3 on Alabama's spring depth chart so he wasn't exactly tearing up Tuscaloosa. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a fresh start, less weapons, but against a lot weaker competition in the FCS.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Georgia State has a football team? Georgia State has a football team!
Georgia State is a mostly commuter school located in downtown Atlanta with just over 30,000 students. This year Georgia State will play in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, for the first time in school history. Former Alabama and Georgia Tech Head Coach Bill Curry was hired on June 11th of 2008 to start up the Georgia State program from scratch. In August of 2009 the first Georgia State football players arrived on campus. This year the spring roster includes 71 players. They signed 27 players to scholarship in the 2009 recruiting class and the rest of the group is comprised of 6 transfers and walk-ons. They also landed 23 players in the most recent recruiting class. GSU will play 7 home games this year at the Georgia Dome and also scheduled a game in November with defending National Champion Alabama.
Coaches
GSU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach is John Bond. He has been OC at Army, Northern Illinois (when they had Garrett Wolfe) and Georgia Tech for one year (when they had Tashard Choice). On the defensive side of the football the DC is former East Carolina coach John Thompson. Thompson also worked with Curry at Alabama in 1987 and has been coaching football for over 20 years.
Spring Scrimmage
On April 10th the Georgia State football team held an open scrimmage for more than 3,000 fans. There are three Redshirt Freshman Quarterbacks fighting for the starting job. Keltan Hill (a rivals ** recruit from Lithia Springs) went 8 of 14 for 111 yards and 2 TDs. Bo Schlechter (a rivals ** recruit from Belle Glade Florida) went 5 for 8 for 101 yards and a rushing TD. Drew Little (a rivals ** recruit from Henry County) was 6 of 12 for 71 yards. Curry says that he will not announce a starter until they are ready to play games and that they will need all three of these guys to win football games this year. Redshirt Junior Wide Receiver Sidney Hayes (a UCF transfer and former scout.com *** recruit) made some noise with a 54 yard TD pass and totaled 3 receptions for 87 yards. Redshirt Freshman Jordan Giles (a ** rivals recruit from Columbia, South Carolina) was the leading receiver with 5 catches. Redshirt Sophmore TE Emmanuel Ogbuehi also had a productive game with 3 catches and a TD. The top RBs were RS Sophomore Roosevelt Watson (a ** rivals recruit from Lake Worth Florida) and RS Sophmore Malcom Smith.Watson rushed 6 times for 43 yards and Smith ran 6 times for 33 yards and a TD.
On the defensive side of the football the stand-outs were RS Freshman LB Robert Ferguson (a ** rivals recruit from Belle Glade Florida), Junior LB Olufemi Opanubi (a transfer from West Los Angeles College in Culver City, California) and RS Freshman DE Austen Wiley. Ferguson and Opanubi both had interceptions and Wiley had a fumble recovery and 2 sacks.
In August Georgia State will have their full squad and then it's 29 more practices until they play their first game against Shorter College. I think it's safe to say that this will be an interesting ride. If you want more information on GSU Football, Mr College Football (Tony Barnhardt) wrote a column this week about Bill Curry, ESPN the Magazine did some really interesting stuff with Billy Curry and the Georgia State program and you can follow GSU Football at this link.
Coaches
GSU's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach is John Bond. He has been OC at Army, Northern Illinois (when they had Garrett Wolfe) and Georgia Tech for one year (when they had Tashard Choice). On the defensive side of the football the DC is former East Carolina coach John Thompson. Thompson also worked with Curry at Alabama in 1987 and has been coaching football for over 20 years.
Spring Scrimmage
On April 10th the Georgia State football team held an open scrimmage for more than 3,000 fans. There are three Redshirt Freshman Quarterbacks fighting for the starting job. Keltan Hill (a rivals ** recruit from Lithia Springs) went 8 of 14 for 111 yards and 2 TDs. Bo Schlechter (a rivals ** recruit from Belle Glade Florida) went 5 for 8 for 101 yards and a rushing TD. Drew Little (a rivals ** recruit from Henry County) was 6 of 12 for 71 yards. Curry says that he will not announce a starter until they are ready to play games and that they will need all three of these guys to win football games this year. Redshirt Junior Wide Receiver Sidney Hayes (a UCF transfer and former scout.com *** recruit) made some noise with a 54 yard TD pass and totaled 3 receptions for 87 yards. Redshirt Freshman Jordan Giles (a ** rivals recruit from Columbia, South Carolina) was the leading receiver with 5 catches. Redshirt Sophmore TE Emmanuel Ogbuehi also had a productive game with 3 catches and a TD. The top RBs were RS Sophomore Roosevelt Watson (a ** rivals recruit from Lake Worth Florida) and RS Sophmore Malcom Smith.Watson rushed 6 times for 43 yards and Smith ran 6 times for 33 yards and a TD.
On the defensive side of the football the stand-outs were RS Freshman LB Robert Ferguson (a ** rivals recruit from Belle Glade Florida), Junior LB Olufemi Opanubi (a transfer from West Los Angeles College in Culver City, California) and RS Freshman DE Austen Wiley. Ferguson and Opanubi both had interceptions and Wiley had a fumble recovery and 2 sacks.
In August Georgia State will have their full squad and then it's 29 more practices until they play their first game against Shorter College. I think it's safe to say that this will be an interesting ride. If you want more information on GSU Football, Mr College Football (Tony Barnhardt) wrote a column this week about Bill Curry, ESPN the Magazine did some really interesting stuff with Billy Curry and the Georgia State program and you can follow GSU Football at this link.
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