Friday, October 10, 2008
ACC offenses dreadful
WVU gets Halifax kicker
Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty's College Notebook Plus is exclusive to roanoke.com and is posted by 5 p.m. Fridays.
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Among the hundreds of interviews that are carried on sports-talk radio in a day’s time, one that caught my ear Friday was with an ESPN reporter who had been assigned to the Kansas-Colorado game.
The topic was Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, a player with whom Virginia Tech fans are all too familiar dating back to last year’s Orange Bowl. Talk then turned to other Big 12 Conference quarterbacks, including Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Texas’ Colt McCoy, who will be opposing each other this weekend.
It was reported that McCoy had 20 touchdown passes, compared to only three interceptions, and that he also leads the Longhorns in rushing. It turns out that McCoy’s touchdown pass-interception is only 16-3, but research indicates he does lead Texas in rushing and it’s not close.
McCoy has rushed for 317 yards and an average of 7.0 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. But, he might be a longshot for the All-Big 12 quarterback in a field that includes Bradford, Reesing, Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.
Heck, Oklahoma State junior Zac Robinson is third in Division I-A in passing efficiency and there are eight Big 12 quarterbacks in the top 20, including Robinson, Bradford (No. 2), McCoy (No. 4), Daniel (No. 5), Kansas State’s Josh Freeman (No. 10), Harrell (No. 12), Reesing (No. 14) and Nebraska’s Joe Ganz (No. 18).
That just served to remind me, on a way to an SEC Roundtable gathering that included Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, how awful the offenses in the ACC have been this year.
At No. 50, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner is the ACC quarterback who rates highest in passing efficiency. Next is Clemson’s Cullen Harper, who checks in at No. 53. Skinner and Harper were the opposing quarterbacks Thursday night in a 12-7 thriller that was televised by ESPN.
The rankings for Skinner and Harper were calculated before the game, when Skinner was 22-of-34 for 186 yards and one touchdown for the victorious Deacs. Harper was 15-of-35 for 177 yards and one touchdown, and he also was intercepted once.
Neither player is likely to make a drop in the passing-efficiency ratings. The Deacons have won a lot of games with Skinner at quarterback over the past three seasons and you have to give him credit for that, but the Tigers, rated No. 9 nationally in the preseason, are 3-3.
Watching Thursday night’s game, it crossed my mind that Virginia might actually have a chance against Clemson, which invades Scott Stadium on Nov. 22. That all could depend on who’s playing quarterback for Clemson at the time.
Word out of Clemson on Friday was that Harper no longer had the job.
Harper was the preseason ACC player of the year. I even think I voted for him, reasoning that Clemson would have the best team and that the two best offensive players – running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller – would split the carries.
Davis had 12 carries for 25 yards, and Spiller had two carries for 10 yards before an injury sent him to the sideline Thursday night. Offensive line or offensive line, the Tigers were pathetic.
KNOW WHO THE ACC’s leading rusher is? I’ll help you out. It was Maryland’s Da’Rel Scott before his 11-carry, 36-yard night at Virginia. Now, it’s Georgia Tech sophomore Jonathan Dwyer, averaging 109.6 rushing yards per game and 7.7 yards per carry.
No quarterbacks higher than 50th in the country and one rusher averaging 100 yards per game. How bad is that?
The ACC does not have a team ranked higher than No. 37 (Georgia Tech) in total offense. Four teams are ranked between 106th and 116th (out of 119 Division I-A teams). They are No. 106 Miami, No. 108 Virginia Tech, No. 111 Virginia and No. 116 North Carolina State.
Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke are all between 85 and 91.
And it’s not just a one-year deal. In 2007, eight ACC teams were beaten 92nd and 117th in total offense (Maryland, Wake, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina, Miami and Duke). In 2006, there were eight ACC teams between 87th and 113th.
So, if you’re a Tech or Virginia fan and you’re unhappy with Stinespring or Mike Groh, don’t think for a moment that you’re alone.
ONE OF VIRGINIA’S top uncommitted players, linebacker Jerod Askew from Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, made an oral commitment to Tennessee this week.
Askew, rated the No. 8 prospect in Virginia on the roanoke.com preseason list, picked the Vols from a list of finalists that included Alabama, Maryland, West Virginia and South Carolina, according to Jami Frankenberry’s story in the Virginian-Pilot.
Askew, credited with 24 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in 2007, is one of at least three Division I-A prospects in Oscar Smith’s senior class. Linebacker Perry Jones committed to Virginia and the Cavaliers were paid an official visit last week by Oscar Smith wide receiver Tim Smith.
Oscar Smith also has one of the state’s top juniors, quarterback Philip Sims.
ESTIMABLE SOUTH BOSTON News & Record sports editor Tucker McLaughlin reports that West Virginia has taken a commitment from Halifax County place-kicker Cameron Starke.
McLaughlin writes that Starke will begin his WVU career as a “preferred” walk-on and plans to graduate from Halifax County after the first semester and begin classes in Morgantown, W.Va., in January.
Halifax County coach Stan Hodgin was quoted to that effect, which surprised me, given that very few school systems in Virginia are set up for December graduation. I’m not sure I can remember another situation where a student graduated from a Virginia high school in December and enrolled in time to take part in I-A spring practice.
THERE WAS LIGHT voter turnout in last week’s poll, which asked readers to choose among four restaurant chains.
Ruby Tuesday’s had 105 votes (27.63 percent), followed by Applebee’s with 98, T.G.I. Friday’s with 95 and O’Charley’s with 82.
If I had asked, I’m sure I would have found that O’Charley’s actually had been frequented by the smallest number of respondents.
The best comment:
“Take the name off the building and nobody could tell them apart.”
This week’s question:
