(05-15-2009 07:06 AM)The Quad Countdown Wrote:  Who is No. 108?: The inverted microscope was invented by a faculty member of this university in 1850.

You should know by not that most of these come from wikipedia. A simple search for "inverted microscope" reveals Tulane as number 108

(05-15-2009 02:22 PM)TroyFootball05 Wrote:  

(05-15-2009 07:06 AM)The Quad Countdown Wrote:  Who is No. 108?: The inverted microscope was invented by a faculty member of this university in 1850.

You should know by not that most of these come from wikipedia. A simple search for "inverted microscope" reveals Tulane as number 108

They changed the question...

Who is No. 108?: If you’re a resident of the Pelican State, this is the only university you’d consider for postgraduate degrees in gerontology or pharmacology.

....that would be ULM

108 - Link
The Quad Countdown: No. 108 Louisiana at Monroe

Location: Monroe, Louisiana.

Nickname: Warhawks. This was the official name of the Army Air Corps’ Curtiss P-40 fighter plane, used widely and to great success by the Allies during World War II. Not sure if that’s why U.L.M. chose this nickname, though the fact that they named their mascot “Ace the Warhawk” leads me to believe so.

Last year’s ranking: No. 87.

What was said:

U.L.M. has reason to believe it can win the Sun Belt crown. Can the momentum it developed at the end of 2007 carry over to the 2008 season? Unfortunately, beginning the season with two SEC opponents, Auburn and Arkansas, may halt any progress they may have made. In conference play, the importance of having Troy and Florida Atlantic at home cannot be overstated. If U.L.M. can sweep those games, it has to be considered the favorite to win the conference. Barring a collapse against an inferior team like North Texas (again) or Louisiana-Lafayette, the Warhawks will at least duplicate last fall’s 6-6 record, with the potential for eight wins, which would be their best finish on the F.B.S. level. I have them finishing them third in the Sun Belt.
Re-ranking: No. 104.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 3-4). The Warhawks finished tied for fifth in the Sun Belt, well off my prediction of a third-place finish. Still, there were signs that this team was better than their record indicated, especially in victories over Troy and Florida International and narrow losses to Arkansas and Florida Atlantic. In addition, U.L.M. lost five games by less than 10 points, including four in Sun Belt play. For the 2008 Warhawks, it was merely a case of not knowing exactly what kind of performance you were going to get from week to week; a late-season four-week stretch of competitiveness was preceded by a 1-5 start defined by inconsistency. Keeping with that tone, the offense increased its scoring output for the fifth straight season (284 points, their most since 1993), but the defense allowed 374 points, its most points since 2001. When the dust settled, U.L.M. had its 17th straight non-winning season, including six straight under coach Charlie Weatherbie, now 25-45 with the Warhawks.

High point: A 31-30 victory over eventual conference champion Troy, a game the Warhawks won a touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining. The win gave U.L.M. two in three weeks after opening 1-5; the only loss in that stretch was by 29-28 to Florida Atlantic.

Low point: That 1-5 start, which included losses at 2-10 Tulane (by 24-10) and to in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette (by 44-35). U.L.M.’s only win over that stretch was by 37-15 over F.C.S. opponent Alabama A&M. The Warhawks had Arkansas on the ropes in the fourth quarter of the season’s second game, but the Razorbacks scored the final 14 points – including a touchdown with less than two minutes left – to steal a 28-27 victory. U.L.M. fell just short of a second consecutive upset of an SEC opponent.

Tidbit: At 31-73, U.L.M. has the worst record this decade of the five F.B.S. program in Louisiana (U.L.M., Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana State). They barely trail both fellow Sun Belt denizen U.L.L., who holds a 36-68 mark, and Tulane, a disappointing 39-67.

Tidbit (make up your mind edition): Though only established in 1931, U.L.M. has undergone five name changes. First incorporated as Ouachita Parish Junior College, it has since gone by Northeast Center of Louisiana (1934-38), Northeast Junior College of Louisiana State University (1939-1949), Northeast Louisiana State University (1950-68), Northeast Louisiana University (1969-98) and its current title, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (they prefer not to be called Louisiana-Monroe). According to their media guide, the university should be referred to as U.L.M. The Countdown happily obliges this request; less chance for spelling mistakes.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 4 – WR Marty Booker (Chicago Bears), S Chris Harris (Carolina Panthers), S Kevin Payne (Chicago Bears), RB Alan Ricard (Detroit Lions). Seventy-five percent of U.L.M.’s professional alumni play in the N.F.C. North.

Top five N.F.L. players from U.L.M.: This isn’t a terrible list, but still one that falls well short of our current leader, Washington State. The Cougars are quickly making America forget about Idaho, our Cinderella story of the first week.

1. QB Stan Humphries (Washington, San Diego; 1989-97)
2. WR Marty Booker (Chicago, Miami; 1999-present)
3. TE Jackie Harris (G.B., T.B., Tennessee, Dallas; 1990-2001)
4. QB Bubby Brister (Pittsburgh, Phi., Jets, Denver, Minn.; 1986-2000)
5. LB Steve Foley (Cincinnati, Houston, San Diego; 1998-2005)

Team

Conference: Sun Belt.

Head coach: Charlie Weatherbie (Oklahoma State ’77) – not to be confused with Principal Waldo Weatherbee from Riverdale High – now 25-45 over six seasons with the Warhawks. Weatherbie has also served as the head coach at Utah State (15-19 from 1992-4) and at the Naval Academy (30-42 from 1995-2001). It was his time with the Midshipmen that earned Weatherbie the most recognition, first for his team’s stellar play (21 victories over his first three seasons), next for the program’s precipitous slide (losing 26 of their last 35). The Mids dropped 17 of their final 18 under Weatherbie before he was fired seven games into the 2001 season. After a year out of college football, Weatherbie was snatched up by a Warhawks program in the midst of a 6-28 three-year stretch. Though U.L.M. struggled through a 1-11 mark in his first season at the helm (2003), the team has since been much more competitive, averaging nearly five victories a season. The program’s best season under Weatherbie – and their best since joining the F.B.S. in 1994 – was their 6-6 mark in 2007, a season largely remembered for their stunning upset of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. That squad was also the only team to beat Sun Belt champion Florida Atlantic in Sun Belt play, a feat that matched with last fall’s win over Troy. The Warhawks were Sun Belt co-conference champions (with Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette) in 2005, but missed out on bowl play because of their 5-6 record; they lost all four non-conference matchups. When considered in the context of their F.B.S. history, Weatherbie’s stint at U.L.M. has to be viewed as a positive one, though the program is desperately in need of some national exposure. The win over Alabama certainly helped raise its profile, but a bowl trip would do wonders for putting U.L.M. on the map.

Returning starters: 14 (7 offense, 7 defense).

Key losses: U.L.M.’s biggest losses come on offense, where they’ll need to replace both quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster and tight end Zeek Zacharie. Both rank among the top players at their position in Warhawk history. Lancaster finished in the top five in school history in completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns, but also finished his career with 1,557 yards rushing, the most by a U.L.M. quarterback. Lancaster’s best passing season came as a senior, when he set career highs in yards (2,040), touchdowns (18) and completion percentage (59.4). A favorite target of Lancaster, Zacharie was a three-time all-Sun Belt selection (2006-8). Similarly to his quarterback, Zacharie’s best season was his last, when posted career highs in receptions (46) and yards (510) en route earning first-team all-conference honors for the first time. On the offensive line, right tackle Larry Shappley started 45 games over his career, missing only two due to injury. Defensively, the Warhawks may be without safety (technically rover) Josh Thompson, who needs to receive a medical waiver from the N.C.A.A. to play in 2009. Thompson, who finished second on the team with 108 tackles (3 for loss) last fall, cannot participate in team activities until the N.C.A.A. rules in his favor. Chance Payne, a former Army transfer who played quarterback for the Warhawks in 2006, wrapped up his U.L.M. career by starting 10 games in the secondary, finishing sixth on the team in total tackles (50) and third in tackles for loss (7). Two 2008 starters – wide receiver Darrell McNeal and safety Greg James – were suspended for spring practice following a violation of team rules, leaving their status for the fall in jeopardy.

Players to watch: The Warhawks have an all-conference running back in the junior Frank Goodin, and they’ll count on him to up his production without Lancaster around to help carry the load. In 2008, Goodin inherited the difficult task of replacing U.L.M. great Calvin Dawson in the backfield; he responded with 783 yards rushing and 277 yards receiving, solid totals but short of expectations after his 2007 all-Sun Belt freshman season. Fellow junior Rodney Lovett played well in limited duty last fall (188 yards and a score) and will again serve as Goodin’s primary backup. The wide receiver position, though hurt by McNeal’s suspension and questionable return, will be led by two receivers with at least 23 receptions in 2008. The sophomore Anthony McCall was a revelation as a rookie in 2008, earning all-conference honorable mention honors after his 28-reception, 406-yard season. McCall also lead the team with a U.L.M. freshman record six touchdown grabs. The senior J.J. McCoy returns after starting 11 games last fall (23 catches for 207 yards). The offensive line returns a pair of senior starters in left tackle Ryan Dercher and center Brett Thompson. Dercher immediately grabbed the tackle spot upon arriving on campus from junior college a year ago; Thompson has started at both center and guard, but found a home in the middle over last season’s final 10 games. The Warhawks will try out the senior Mitch Doyle, a former tight end, at right tackle. The story of the U.L.M. defense begins and ends with one player: the senior linebacker Cardia Jackson. The two-time all-conference performer has been a starter each of the last two seasons and a major contributor since his freshman season. Last fall, Jackson led the team and was eight nationally with 127 tackles (8 for loss); he also added four sacks and a pair of interceptions. He is the Countdown’s preseason pick for Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson is one of seven senior starters on a unit transitioning to a 3-3-5 defense, a move the U.L.M. coaching staff hopes can free up Jackson and other playmakers in the back eight. One of these seniors, hybrid safety/linebacker James Truxillo, is expected to make a 100 percent recovery after tearing his A.C.L. in the team’s loss to Arkansas. When healthy in 2007, Truxillo teamed with Thompson to give the Warhawks a hard-hitting defensive backfield. The sophomore corner Nate Brown Jr. took great advantage of an open position, starting all 12 games and finishing third on the team with 70 tackles. He is one of three sophomores who will either start or play significant time in the secondary, joining safeties Darius Prelow (19 tackles in only six games) and Alex Ibe (13 tackles and an interception). Though the defensive line will take on a lesser role in 2009 than in years past, the Warhawks have a good end in the senior Aaron Morgan, who notched 45 tackles and 6 sacks en route to 2008 second-team all-Sun Belt honors. Another valuable defensive weapon is the punter Scott Love, who had only 22 of his 67 punts (33 percent) returned by the opposition. The senior, a potential all-American, becomes the first “true” punter (meaning he doesn’t handle both field goal and punting duties) to be recognized by the Countdown since Cincinnati’s Kevin Huber last August.

Position battle to watch: In a recurring theme here on the Countdown, we take a look at the quarterback position. The current leader to replace Lancaster is the junior Trey Revell, the most experienced QB on the roster. Revell earned the attention of the U.L.M. staff with his stellar play in last year’s victory over Troy, when he stepped in for Lancaster and led the team to the game-winning score. While Revell may have the inside track to the starting job, he will be pressed through fall practice by fellow junior Zach Rhodes, an S.M.U. transfer, and redshirt freshmen Jonathan Morvant and Cody Wells. Revell also brings good running ability to the position (172 yards on only 17 carries last year), something that undoubtedly attracts him to a staff accustomed to having a mobile quarterback at their disposal.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 @ Texas
Sept. 12 Texas Southern
Sept. 19 @ Arizona State
Sept. 26 @ Florida Atlantic
Oct. 3 Florida International
Oct. 13 Arkansas State
Oct. 24 @ Kentucky
Oct. 31 @ Troy
Nov. 7 @ North Texas
Nov. 14 Western Kentucky
Nov. 21 @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Nov. 28 Middle Tennessee State

Game(s) to watch: Games against Texas, Arizona State and Kentucky are bad for the team’s won-loss record but good for raising the program’s profile. The Longhorns, fresh off their disappointing exclusion from the national title game, will look to make a statement in their season opener against the Warhawks. In conference play, like Louisiana-Lafayette before them, U.L.M. must get wins over North Texas and Western Kentucky if they wish to make noise in the Sun Belt.

Season breakdown & prediction: After proclaiming U.L.M. as a bonafide Sun Belt contender a year ago, I’m reeling back my expectations a bit for this coming season. This is not to say that I don’t believe the Warhawks are capable of again reaching six wins, I do; I’m just hesitant to put them in the upper tier of the Sun Belt, an area populated by Troy and Florida Atlantic. I would place U.L.M. firmly alongside Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State in the hunt for third place, though the Warhawks are somewhat behind the latter pair. Looking at the schedule, U.L.M.’s non-conference schedule will likely leave them at 1-3 entering Sun Belt play, though the team has had recent success against B.C.S. conference opponents. Traveling to Troy and Florida Atlantic is not necessarily a bad thing, as the Warhawks would likely lose those games if they were played in Monroe. The big key will be winning those games against opponents ranked 3-8 in the conference. If U.L.M. wins four of those six games, they’ll likely tie for third; if they lose four, they’ll find themselves ahead of only North Texas and Western Kentucky. I’m leaning towards somewhere in the middle: 4-8, fifth in the Sun Belt.

Dream season: Two years after becoming bowl eligible for the first time since joining the F.B.S. in 1994, U.L.M. reaches its first bowl game.

Nightmare season: The Warhawks bottom out at 2-10, with their only F.B.S. victory coming against Western Kentucky.

Where do U.L.M. fans congregate: Warhawk Nation, part of the Scout network, sounds fierce. As always, leave any additional recruiting sites, message boards and blogs in the comment section below. Who knows? Maybe they’ll make it into next year’s Countdown.

Who is No. 107?: The world’s first inverted telescope was invented in 1850 by a faculty member at this university.

107 - Link
The Quad Countdown: No. 107 Tulane

Location: New Orleans, La.

Nickname: Green Wave.
Last year’s ranking: No. 106.

What was said:

The season will break one of two ways: a strong September and October, featuring home wins over East Carolina, Rice and S.M.U., will give Tulane a chance to contend for the West Division title. On the other hand, a poor start to the season will doom the Green Wave. Question marks in the backfield will stunt Toledo’s progress in New Orleans, and Tulane cannot make more than a one-game improvement on their 2007 record: 5-7, 3-5 in the conference.
Re-ranking: No. 112

2008 record and recap: (2-10, 1-7). Last year’s “nightmare season” scenario consisted of a 4-8 finish, with home losses to Army, U.A.B. and Rice dooming Tulane to the bottom of the conference. If 4-8 was a nightmare, Tulane’s 2-10 disappointment must be… what’s worse than a nightmare? Sleep apnea? The team-wide struggles can be tied to a poor showing from the offense (16.7 points per game, 113th in the F.B.S.), a unit that hamstrung the Green Wave through its inability to bring the team back into games when behind. Not that the defense was exactly shutting teams out: Tulane allowed 34.5 points and a horrific 218.4 yard rushing per game, the worst defensive totals in Conference USA. What is surprising when looking at Tulane’s 2008 season is their early competitiveness, as the team was 2-2 through September. Those two victories came against Alabama (by 20-6) and East Carolina (by 28-24), some good competition. The bottom dropped out Oct. 4 in a 44-13 home loss to Army, and the Green Wave lost their final eight.

High point: Tulane’s two victories came in back-to-back weeks: by 24-10 over Louisiana-Monroe and by 34-27 over one-win S.M.U. Against U.L.M., the Green Wave stormed out to a 17-0 halftime lead before cruising to the victory.

Low point: An eight-game losing streak to end the season. The closest defeat was by three — by 24-21 — at UTEP on Oct. 11. The next closest margin? Seventeen, in U.A.B.’s 41-24 win in the Superdome. The average score over the final eight weeks was 41.1-14.0. That kind of finish has to leave a bad taste.

Tidbit: Tulane University proudly passed the $1 billion mark in endowment in 2007, making it the 75th American college, and the 36th in the F.B.S., to do so. Tulane’s endowment has made a steady climb since 2005, growing from $780 million (2005) to $858 million (2006) to its current total of $1.036 billion. For a school facing a potentially difficult future following Hurricane Katrina, this is great news.

Tidbit (rush the quarterback edition): We already mentioned the dichotomy between Tulane’s competitive stretch – the first third of the season – and their humbling final eight games. Looking at their defensive statistics, one item stands out: their ability, or lack thereof, to get to the quarterback. Through their first four games, Tulane notched 15 sacks (four at Alabama, five against East Carolina, four against Louisiana-Monroe and two against S.M.U.). In their final eight, the Green Wave tallied only six. Therefore, the Countdown is able to surmise that Tulane’s inability to put pressure on the quarterback was a major cause of their eight-game swoon. To put this into layman’s terms, Tulane had a harder time finding the quarterback than readers of The New York Times have attempting to locate the Countdown on our Web site.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 9 — LB Anthony Cannon (Chicago Bears), RB Matt Forte (Chicago Bears), OT Troy Kropog (Tennessee Titans), QB J.P. Losman (Buffalo Bills), RB Mewelde Moore (Pittsburgh Steelers), QB Patrick Ramsey (Tennessee Titans), QB Lester Ricard (Carolina Panthers), CB Israel Route (Detroit Lions), WR Roydell Williams (Washington Redskins).

Top five N.F.L. players from Tulane: A nice list, especially when it comes to defensive backs, but not good enough to unseat Washington State from the top spot. The Cougars survive for another day.

1. DB Richie Petibone (Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington; 1959-72)
2. WR/TE Max McGee (Green Bay; 1954-67)
3. DB Lionel Washington (St. Louis, Los Angeles, Denver, Oakland; 1983-97)
4. K Eddie Murray (Detroit, K.C., T.B., Phi., Was., Minn.; 1980-2000)
5. DB Steve Foley (Denver; 1976-86)

Team

Conference: Conference USA, West Division.

Head coach: Bob Toledo (San Francisco State ’68), 6-18 after two seasons at Tulane. His career record, including two years at U.C.-Riverside (1974-75), four years at Pacific (1979-82) and seven seasons at U.C.L.A. (1996-2002), stands at 84-86. It was his time at U.C.L.A. that put Toledo on the map. The Bruins finished 49-32 over this seven-year span, highlighted by back-to-back 10-win seasons in 1997-98. U.C.L.A. won a school-record 20 consecutive games between those two seasons, climbing as high as No. 2 in the polls in 1998 before a late-season loss cost them a shot at the national championship. Unfortunately, the Bruins were unable to recapture his early success, going 24-22 from 1999-2002. Actually, U.C.L.A. still hasn’t recaptured that glory (but more on that in their preview). Toledo, who remained out of football for four years after being fired at U.C.L.A., resurfaced as the assistant head coach at New Mexico before taking the Tulane job before the 2007 season. On paper, he has a terrific resume for a Conference USA school: three separate head coaching stints (including the high-profile U.C.L.A. gig) and ample assistant experience (U.S.C., Oregon and Texas A&M). However, the results – at least thus far – have been less than satisfactory. While still acknowledging the difficulties of winning at Tulane, fans should expect better than six wins over two seasons. This coming season will again present a number of challenges to the Green Wave, but continued regression should place Toledo firmly on the hot seat.

Returning starters: 13 (7 offense, 6 defense).

Key losses: The Green Wave offense lost two of their best linemen in recent memory: LT Troy Kropog (37 career starts) and C Michael Parenton (46 starts). For Parenton, 46 career starts means he was in the starting lineup for all but one game over his entire four-year career. That’s extremely rare on the F.B.S. level. It was Kropog, however, that heard his name called on draft day, landing with the Titans in the fourth round. The first-team all-conference left tackle is the first Tulane offensive lineman selected in the draft since Bernard Robertson in 2001. The Green Wave offensive line, so key in the team’s strong rushing attack each of the last two seasons, will face a monumental task in replacing this pair. Wideout Brian King, thrust into the No. 1 receiver spot due to an injury to the senior Jeremy Williams, posted career highs in receptions (41) and yards (544) last fall. He was a nice complementary option over his four-year career. On defense, Tulane lost three starters with at least 25 career starts, including two – S David Skehan and CB Josh Lumar – in the secondary. Skehan led the team in interceptions each of the last three seasons (three in 2008), earning honorable mention all-conference honors as a junior. Middle linebacker Evan Lee, whose 29 career starts were the most of any Tulane defender, finished his senior season with 49 stops and 2 sacks. While unable to match the numbers of his all-conference junior campaign (99 tackle, 8 for loss), Lee remained an important figure in the middle of the Green Wave defense. Devin Holland, who finished second on the team with 61 stops, started six games at weakside linebacker as a senior.

Players to watch: The success of the Tulane offense will hinge firmly on the health of the senior running back Andre Anderson, who missed the final five games of 2008 due to injury. Before being injured, Anderson ranked among the most effective backs in the F.B.S.: 864 yards rushing and 25 receptions for 202 yards with 8 total touchdowns. At the time of his injury (the 42-17 loss to Rice, where he notched only 4 carries for 12 yards), Anderson led Conference USA in both rushing yards (142.0) and all-purpose yards (175.7) per game, numbers which also ranked him fourth nationally. His seven-game season included two 200-yard performances – 219 vs. S.M.U. and 255 at UTEP – totals good for 11th and seventh on the Tulane all-time list, respectively. Quick note: How good was the former Green Wave running back Matt Forte? During his 2,127-yard 2007 season, Forte broke the 300-yard mark twice. If Anderson can remain injury-free, this offense will be good enough to win some games; if he’s not, they’ll struggle. While Tulane returns the junior Kevin Moore, who started all 12 games last year (2,194 yards, 8 touchdowns against 13 picks), this year’s starter under center will be the sophomore Joe Kemp, who beat out Moore and the redshirt freshman Ryan Griffin in a spring competition. Kemp was actually slated to take over for Moore late last season before suffering a broken collarbone on this late hit by Houston’s Phillip Hunt, which caused him to miss the final three games of the season. One word of advice to the new starter: hand the ball off to Anderson and look for the senior wide receiver Jeremy Williams on third down. Williams was on pace for a monster junior season before being lost for the season after five games, grabbing 27 balls for 437 yards (a 16.2 yards per catch average) and 5 touchdowns. The passing game sputtered due to his absence; similarly to Anderson, his health will be a key to the Tulane attack in 2009. The offensive line returns three starters, including the junior Andrew Nierman, an all-conference caliber interior linemen. Nierman makes the move from center to guard to replace Parenton. A starter since his first day on campus (24 straight games), Nierman will challenge his predecessor’s mark of 46 career starts. He’ll team with the junior tackle Pete Hendrickson to give Tulane two stellar run blockers along their offensive front. The Green Wave defense will need an improved contribution from their defensive line, one of the more experienced units on the team. The seniors Adam Kwentua (48 tackles, 4 for loss) and Logan Kelley (28 tackles, a team-high 7 sacks) will start at end. For Kelley, the starting assignment (he started only one game last fall) will allow even more opportunities to get to the quarterback. Another senior starter, Reggie Scott (28 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2 sacks), moves inside from end to tackle, giving the Tulane interior a big boost. While the Green Wave lost one of their starting tackles, Julian Shives-Sams, they return four players who started at least two games inside last fall: the juniors Oscar Ponce de Leon (the best name thus far on the Countdown, topping Idaho’s Oga Faumui) and Tony Bryant and the sophomores Cedric Wilson and Chris Asumnu. Though none of the four contributed to the team’s sack or tackle for loss totals, their experience and depth will lend a considerable hand to Tulane’s run defense. The Green Wave also return two starting outside linebackers. The senior David Kirksey (41 tackles) returns on the strong side after making two starts a season ago, while the senior Travis Burks (40 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions) brings a big-play mentality to the weakside. Burks also returns kicks for the Green Wave (20.6 yards on 20 returns), making him, to the best of the Countdown’s knowledge, the only linebacker in the F.B.S. to do so. Both Kirksey and Burks started one game in the middle last fall, so each is a possibility on the inside in certain packages. In the secondary, the senior Corey Sonnier led the team in tackles (86) while splitting time at both free and strong safety. A safety leading the team in tackles? Normally not a sign of defensive success, if you ask me. Though currently running second on the depth chart behind the redshirt freshman Alex Lauricella and fellow senior Chinonso Echebelem, Sonnier will be a key cog in the Tulane defensive backfield. He’ll be joined in the secondary by cornerback Charles Harris, who started 11 games in 2008.

Position battle to watch: Quarterback was going to be the pick here, but Toledo’s decision to name Kemp the starter over Moore puts that competition to rest. Instead, the battle to watch will be on the offensive line, which must replace two all-conference performers in Kropog and Parenton. Who will step up? Last year’s incumbents will get the first shot. The sophomore Eric Jones, the No. 2 behind Kropog at the end of last season, is the favorite to tie down the right tackle spot. While Jones may earn the starting nod, he’ll have to maintain a level of stellar play if he wishes to fend off the senior Nick Landry, who alternated time with Jones in the starting lineup during spring practice. Nierman’s move to center opens up the right guard spot, one Toledo hopes is filled by either the senior Tyler Rice or the sophomore Joey Ray. Toledo conceded after spring ball that should both struggle in their new role, he would not hesitate to move Nierman back to right guard and place the senior Kevin Leary in at center. Leary was Parenton’s backup at center a season ago.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 4 Tulsa
Sept. 12 Brigham Young
Sept. 26 McNeese State
Oct. 3 @ Army
Oct. 10 Marshall
Oct. 17 Houston
Oct. 24 @ Southern Mississippi
Oct. 31 @ L.S.U.
Nov. 7 UTEP
Nov. 14 @ Rice
Nov. 21 @ Central Florida
Nov. 28 @ S.M.U.

Game(s) to watch: McNeese State through Marshall, and Rice through S.M.U. These three-game sets will dictate where Tulane falls in Conference USA. Sweeping through the first trio would right the ship after what will be an 0-2 start. Take two of the final three — though all three are on the road — and Tulane could be on the verge of a bowl bid.

Season breakdown & prediction: As a result of small recruiting classes in 2005 and 2006, Tulane has only 17 seniors on the roster, as compared with 36 sophomores and redshirt freshmen. Add in the roughly 20 players arriving as true freshmen in August, and the team is very heavy on youth, short on leadership. This is not a good combination. The schedule also doesn’t do any favors. The Green Wave get the three teams they will be fighting for the third spot in the West division – Rice, U.C.F. and S.M.U. – on the road, all in consecutive weeks to end the season. In the non-conference slate, Tulane will play B.Y.U. and rival L.S.U., two (spoiler alert) top 25 teams. Both will score at will on the Green Wave defense. With a young roster and a tough schedule, the deck will be heavily stacked against this team making any noise in Conference USA. I think Tulane will be a better team from a season ago (eliminating long losing streaks will help), but in terms of record-wise, I see a similar finish: 3-9, 2-6 in conference play. Will this be it for Toledo?

Dream season: The third year’s the charm for Toledo and the Green Wave: 7-5, tied for second in the West division.

Nightmare season: The youthful Green Wave are again unable to right the ship after a bout with adversity. A 1-4 start quickly escalates to another 2-10 finish.

Where do Tulane fans congregate: Ye Olde Green Wave Forum (YOGWF for short) is actually a really good college sports forum, one that features football talk in the fall and dedicated baseball chatter in the spring. The Wave Report and TulaneInsider.com are also good spots, but don’t match Ye Olde Green Wave.

Who is No. 106?: This university is located in the sixth-fastest growing city in America.

article link
The Quad Countdown: No. 106 New Mexico

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.

Nickname: Lobos.

Last year’s ranking: No. 66.

What was said:

The Mountain West is extremely competitive, and while New Mexico is not a favorite to win the conference, it is certainly talented enough to reach its third consecutive bowl game in 2008. Looking at the schedule, the only two games that seem eminently unwinnable are away games at Tulsa and B.Y.U.; in every other matchup, including home games with A&M and Arizona, one can make the argument that the Lobos have a solid chance at victory. Though the Lobos have issues at wide receiver and the offensive line, the defense will again be good enough to prevent those problems from becoming season-threatening, and New Mexico will again reach bowl eligibility. I have them finishing 7-5, fourth in the Mountain West.
Re-ranking: No. 101. Ouch.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 2-6). The Countdown had high hopes for the 2008 Lobos, a team that returned many of its starters on defense and enough offensive firepower to compete for a top-three spot in a tough Mountain West. Most were surprised by their poor finish; even more were shocked by Rocky Long’s decision to step down as coach at season’s end after 11 seasons at his alma mater. Long, the winningest coach in school history (65-69) had led the Lobos from conference cellar-dwellers to annual bowl contenders, including a Mountain West Conference-best seven straight years of bowl eligibility (2001-7). Though last season was his most disappointing, Long had only recently signed a five-year contract extension through the 2013 season. Taking the place of the most successful coach in school history is the former Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, an acclaimed recruiter and blossoming offensive game-planner without any head coaching experience. The results may not be immediate: with only nine starters returning off last year’s four-win club, Locksley may undergo some growing pains in his first year with the Lobos.

High point: New Mexico’s best win was a 36-28 victory over Arizona, a team that would end its season at 8-5. The Lobos put one on San Diego State in conference play, scoring a school-record 49 first-half points in their 70-7 win. The Lobos scored eight touchdowns on the ground, tying a school and Mountain West record.

Low point: At 4-4 through mid-October — and with only one bad loss on their schedule (a 56-14 blowout at Tulsa) — the Lobos needed only to split their final four games to reach bowl eligibility for the eighth consecutive season. Unfortunately, U.N.M. dropped its final four, including a 13-10 nail-biter to Utah.

Tidbit: The world’s first atomic test occurred at the White Sands Missile Range, a complex between Alamogordo and Socorro, N.M. The range is about 125 miles from Albuquerque, the state’s most populated city. Albuquerque’s minor league team, the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is named the Isotopes; but this name comes from an episode of “The Simpsons,” not as an homage to New Mexico’s atomic history.

Tidbit (Civil War edition): For roughly one year (around the summer of 1861 through April 1862), the city of Albuquerque was a possession of the Confederate States of America, making it (by many, many miles) the farthest west Rebel stronghold in the country. Not sure what the Confederacy had to gain by fighting over New Mexico. I’m sure if they had asked politely, the Union would have just given it to them.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 11 — WR Hank Baskett (Philadelphia Eagles), LB Quincy Black (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), WR Travis Brown (St. Louis Rams), OG Devin Clark (Washington Redskins), OT Ryan Cook (Minnesota Vikings), OT Terrance Pennington (Giants), CB Glover Quin (Houston Texans), WR Marcus Smith (Baltimore Ravens), OT Robert Turner (Jets), LB Brian Urlacher (Chicago Bears), CB DeAndre Wright (Giants).

Top five N.F.L. players from New Mexico: Urlacher is the clear leader, giving the Lobos one potential member of the Hall of Fame. Smith was a solid lineman for the Broncos, but this list is not good enough to overtake Washington State, still our leader.

1. LB Brian Urlacher (Chicago; 2000-present)
2. DT Paul Smith (Denver, Washington; 1968-80)
3. WR Terance Mathis (Jets, Atlanta, Pittsburgh; 1990-2002)
4. LB Robin Cole (Pittsburgh, Jets; 1977-88)
5. RB Don Perkins (Dallas; 1961-68)

Team

Conference: Mountain West.

Head coach: Mike Locksley (Towson ’92), entering his first season as a head coach on any level. Locksley has a well-earned reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters, a title he earned with his superb work as the recruiting coordinator for Ron Zook at Florida and Ralph Friedgen at Maryland. Locksley continued to work under Zook at Illinois (2005-8), where he served as the team’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. While it was always evident that Locksley could recruit — and that’s often enough to land an F.B.S. head coaching spot — he drew attention for the performance of the Fighting Illini offense under his watch, a unit that has grown from the worst in the Big Ten to perhaps the best. Illinois has cracked 5,000 yards of total offense in each of the last two seasons, including a school-record 5,525 yards in 2007. Behind this impressive offense, the 2007 Illini experienced one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in recent college football history, bouncing back from a 2-10 2006 to finish the regular season 9-3, earning a trip to the Rose Bowl (the program’s first since 1984). Illustrating a willingness to mold his play-calling to his personnel, Locksley’s offense led the Big Ten in rushing in 2007 and passing last fall. Most important, Locksley has witnessed firsthand the process involved in rebuilding a program, as he played integral roles in transforming both Maryland — under Ralph Friedgen — and Illinois from moribund also-rans into conference heavyweights. Though I’d rather have Long remain as the team’s head coach, this is a great hire for New Mexico: Locksley’s offensive-minded, young (only 40) and a dynamite recruiter with extensive ties to the Midwest and the Maryland-Virginia area, something that will come in handy when looking for players to fit his scheme.

Returning starters: 9 (6 offense, 3 defense).

Key losses: The Lobos lost leading rusher Rodney Ferguson (1,105 yards), who cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his stellar four-year career. Ferguson departs with 3,564 yards and 34 touchdowns, making him one of the most effective backs in the 10-year history of the M.W.C. While the Lobos have featured a 1,000-yard rusher every season since 2002 — the only program in the F.B.S. to do so — replacing a runner of Ferguson’s talents will be difficult. The Lobos also lost Paul Baker, Ferguson’s backup and the team’s second-leading rusher (419 yards). The offensive line lost a pair of starters in guard Mark Streid and Sylvester Hatten; Streid started only as a senior, while Hatten started five games as a juco transfer in 2007. These losses, while troubling, pale in comparison to the eight departed starters on the defensive side of the ball. In the secondary, the Lobos must replace a pair of all-conference standouts in cornerbacks Glover Quin (a team-best five picks) and DeAndre Wright. The best corner tandem in the Mountain West, this pair allowed the Lobo defense — annually among the best in the conference — to present a wider variety of looks to the opposition. Gone at linebacker are Herbert Felder III (a team-best 7.5 sacks) and Kach Arnett; each were honorable mention all-Mountain West selections. The line will feature three new starters with the graduation of ends Jeremiah Lovato and Kevin Balogun and tackle Wesley Beck. Beck was the active leader in career tackles among all Lobo defensive linemen (159, 10.5 for loss).

Players to watch: The latest Lobo running back to make the push for 1,000 yards will be the sophomore James Wright, the team’s leading returning rusher after a 348-yard freshman season. Wright made the most of his limited opportunities as the team’s third back, averaging a team-best 6.4 yards per carry. The team is high on the redshirt freshman A.J. Butler, who will battle the junior Terence Brown for the backup role. The quarterback position will depend largely on the health of the senior Donovan Porterie, who missed the final eight games of the season after tearing his A.C.L. and M.C.L. while attempting a pass against Tulsa. While the sophomore Brad Gruner performed admirably in his stead — 1,037 yards passing and 331 yards rushing — this inexperienced team badly needs Porterie’s experience. In 2007, Porterie threw for 3,006 yards and 15 scores, illustrating his throwing ability. Gruner is the more accomplished runner, so he could be used to great effectiveness in specific packages. If Porterie does regain his 2007 form, he’ll have a nice threesome of wide receivers to work with in the senior Roland Bruno (24 receptions for 242 yards) and the juniors Bryant Williams (36 for 272) and Chris Hernandez (33 for a team-best 428 yards). The group combined for only one touchdown grab, a number that must increase this fall. Leading the way up front is the senior center Eric Cook, a two-year starter and 2008 second-team all-conference pick. While he has found a home at center, Cook has the ability to play all five positions on the offensive front. He is the younger brother of the former Lobo Ryan Cook, an off-and-on starter at right tackle for the Minnesota Vikings. One player to keep an eye on is the sophomore right tackle Byron Bell, the first freshman in New Mexico history to start all 12 games of his rookie season at offensive tackle. He has great potential. The defense will look different this fall, both in terms of its new base look and its starting lineup. A major key to its effectiveness will be the health of the senior linebacker Clint McPeek, the team’s leading tackler last fall (103, 4.5 for loss). He sat out the spring after undergoing a pair of knee surgeries, raising concerns about his availability in the fall. The unit also returns the sophomore Carmen Messina (35 tackles, 1.5 sacks), who will step into one of the two open linebacker spots. The secondary faces a difficult task in replacing Glover and Wright, both three-year starters at corner, but brings back both starting safeties in Frankie Solomon (73 tackles and an interception) and Ian Clark (57 stops, 6 for loss). In addition to his starting role at safety, Clark is one of the top punt returners in the country; he averaged 19.7 yards per return, with a long of 50, to earn first-team all-M.W.C. honors. For the secondary to maintain its customary high level of play, the team will need to get a tremendous effort from the senior Frankie Baca and the sophomore Anthony Hooks, the likely starters. Baca was an important backup at safety last fall, racking up 37 tackles.

Position battle to watch: With New Mexico moving from the 3-4 defense used by Long to a traditional 4-3 set, the new coaching staff must find line depth among a group with little starting experience. Fortunately, while only one returning letterman earned a start last season — tackle Kendall Briscoe — the team brings back five major contributors. At end, the sophomores Johnathan Rainey (15 tackles, 1 sack) and Jaymar Latchison (18 and 1.5) will battle the senior DeAndre Davis for the two open spots. Each made their F.B.S. debuts in 2008 (Davis was a juco transfer), so this is a group with very good potential. Briscoe, who has participated in 35 games as a Lobo, will be teamed with the junior college enrollee Peter Gardner on the inside in U.N.M.’s new two-tackle scheme. The staff is also high on the sophomore Brett Kennedy, who had seven tackles and an interception in limited duty as a freshman. Luckily for Locksley and the new coaching staff, the Lobos are not short on potential contributors, something you might expect when considering the defense has long run the 3-4, a scheme that limits the need for additional linemen.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 @ Texas A&M
Sept. 12 Tulsa
Sept. 19 Air Force
Sept. 26 New Mexico State
Oct. 3 @ Texas Tech
Oct. 10 @ Wyoming
Oct. 24 U.N.L.V.
Oct. 31 @ San Diego State
Nov. 7 @ Utah
Nov. 14 Brigham Young
Nov. 21 Colorado State
Nov. 28 @ T.C.U.

Game(s) to watch: How about that final month? With that four-game stretch staring them in face, the Lobos must be at least 5-3 through October if they wish to return to bowl play. Must-win games include New Mexico State, Wyoming and San Diego State. The game with the Aztecs is intriguing, as their new defensive coordinator is … Rocky Long.

Season breakdown & prediction: The schedule certainly doesn’t do the Lobos any favors in Locksley’s first season, pitting the team against two Big 12 teams in the first five weeks and, in November, three of the conference’s best. Honestly, with a new coaching staff and a number of new starters, this team should be happy with merely matching last season’s win total. One should expect some struggles on defense, which replaces many of its 2008 starters while also making an extreme change of philosophy, making the success of the offense a key if New Mexico hopes to return to bowl play. Given Locksley’s history, an improvement on this side of the ball would be no surprise, but much will rely on Porterie’s healthy return. Though Gruner showed promise, the passing game took a sizable step back under his watch. When looking at the schedule, the Lobos must win four of five from New Mexico State through San Diego State — I’m giving them a loss at Texas Tech — if they wish to improve on last year’s mark. It’s a rough slate, one that sandwiches a midseason break with a difficult September and a positively deadly November. Worst-case scenario? The Lobos struggle on defense and are unable to gel on offense, and finish in the bottom of the M.W.C. With this schedule, I can’t see this team doing any better than .500. I predict them to match last year’s mark, giving them back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1998-99, Long’s first two years on campus.

Dream season: Despite a deadly schedule, the Lobos return to bowl play after a two-year absence.

Nightmare season: Locksley continues to recruit well, but the on-field product is below New Mexico’s recent standards: 3-9, 1-7 in the M.W.C.

Where do New Mexico fans congregate: There are a couple of good New Mexico fan sites, such as LoboLand.com, The Red Menace and my personal favorite, The Lobo Lair.

Who is No. 105?: The only program in the Big Ten to have never won 10 games in a season.

link 105
The Quad Countdown: No. 105 Indiana

Location: Bloomington, Ind.

Nickname: Hoosiers.

Last year’s ranking: No. 72.

What was said:

There is a lot to like about Indiana, and if Lewis is back for the season opener, the Hoosiers may again find themselves playing in a bowl game. Unlike last season — when the offense did the heavy lifting — this fall may see the defense carry the team to another winning season. Another bonus is the schedule, which features an easy start (especially helpful if Chappell is the starting quarterback) and no Ohio State or Michigan. Regardless of the Middleton-led defense and the relatively smooth schedule, if Lewis is not the starting quarterback in 2008, the Hoosiers will not return to bowl play. Simply put, Indiana does not have the offensive skill players to overcome the loss of a talented player like Lewis.
Re-ranking: No. 106.

2008 record and recap: (3-9, 1-7). See how the Countdown carefully hedged his bets? Have your best player under center, make a bowl game. Start the untested sophomore, stay home. Simple, right? Well, unfortunately, Lewis not only returned for the season opener, he ended up starting nine games. And the Hoosiers still stunk: 3-9, in sole possession of last place in the Big Ten. So instead of being a launching pad for future bowl appearances, Indiana’s memorable 2007 season — one dedicated to its former coach, Terry Hoeppner — turned out to be an aberration. Will the 2009 season be any better? Offensively challenged last fall (20.5 points per game), the Hoosiers will miss the athleticism of Kellen Lewis, likely a quarterback/wide receiver this fall, who was recently dismissed from the program. This leaves the quarterback job solely to the junior Ben Chappell, a player with solid talent and experience but one who lacks Lewis’s athleticism and big-play ability. The good news is that I.U. returns the core of the defense, including the all-conference ends Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew, but this is a unit that allowed 35.2 points a game a season ago. Any reason for fans to believe this coming season will be any different?

High point: Far and away, Indiana’s 22-19 upset over then-No. 22 Northwestern marked the season’s high point. Starting 2-0 is nice but means nothing when neither win comes over an F.B.S. opponent.

Low point: Let’s see … how about losing streaks of five (Sept. 20 to Oct. 18) and four (Nov. 1 to 22), each of which began with a loss to a MAC opponent? In the latter losing streak, the Hoosier defense gave up 37, 55, 34 and 62 points. Not a great way to head into the off-season.

Tidbit: Despite joining the Big Ten in 1899 (I assume it was not known as the Big Ten back then, nor was the Rose Bowl sponsored by Citi), there are five teams with a longer tenure in the nation’s oldest athletic conference: Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin; all are original five members from 1896. A sixth team, the University of Chicago, was part of the Big Ten from 1896 to 1946 before dropping its football team altogether.

Tidbit (below average edition): Bo McMillan is the only I.U. coach since the start of the modern era (we’re going with 1936) to finish his Hoosier career with a winning record. McMillan, who also coached at Centenary and Kansas State, went 63-48-11 from 1934 to 1947. There have been none since, though Bill Mallory (69-77-3 from 1984 to 96) came close. To put that into layman’s terms, it’s easier to find the Countdown on our sports homepage than to win at Indiana.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 15 – DE Victor Adeyaju (St. Louis Rams), OG Kris Dielman (San Diego Chargers), QB Trent Green (St. Louis Rams), TE Aaron Halterman (Miami Dolphins), QB Gibran Hamdan (Buffalo Bills), WR James Hardy (Buffalo Bills), DE Ben Ishola (Cincinnati Bengals), S Herana-Daze Jones (Denver Broncos), OG Chris Liwienski (Jacksonville Jaguars), DE Adewale Ogunleye (Chicago Bears), CB Tracy Porter (New Orleans Saints), WR Antwaan Randle El (Washington Redskins), WR Courtney Roby (New Orleans Saints), OG Isaac Sowells (Cleveland Browns), RB Chris Taylor (Houston Texans).

Top five N.F.L. players from Indiana: Pihos is one of the most overlooked wide receivers in N.F.L. history, and Skoronski was a key member of Vince Lombardi’s Packers, but this list is not good enough to take the top spot away from Washington State. The Cougars — a nice story, but no Idaho — live for another day. Spoiler alert: There is a team coming up in the next 10 slots that will not only top W.S.U. but may be the best in the entire F.B.S. Who do you think that is?

1. WR Pete Pihos (Philadelphia; 1947-55)
2. OT Bob Skoronski (Green Bay; 1956-68)
3. QB Trent Green (Washington, St. Louis, Kansas City, Miami; 1997-2008)
4. CB Dave Whitsell (Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans; 1958-69)
5. K Pete Stoyanovich (Miami, Kansas City, St. Louis; 1989-2000)

Team

Conference: Big Ten.

Head coach: Bill Lynch (Butler ’77), 10-15 after two seasons with the Hoosiers. Lynch took over at Indiana after two years as Terry Hoeppner’s offensive coordinator (2005-6); he served as the interim coach for two games in 2006 while Hoeppner battled the illness that eventually took his life. Named the permanent head coach over the summer of 2007, Lynch rallied his team around the memory of its departed former coach, leading the Hoosiers to a 7-6 finish and the first bowl appearance since the Mallory-led Hoosiers of 1993. Lynch’s long and distinguished résumé includes head coaching stints at his alma mater, Butler (1985-89), Ball State (1995-2002) and DePauw (2004), as well as assistant stops at Northern Illinois and Indiana (1993-94); he coached the quarterbacks during this first stretch at I.U. His tenure at Ball State was a decidedly mixed one, as the Cardinals won 20 games his first three seasons — including an 8-4 mark in 1996 — slipped to a 1-21 mark over the 1998-99 seasons, and rebounded to win 16 games from 2000 to 2002. Though last year’s 3-9 mark was a disappointment, Lynch’s 10 wins over two seasons constitutes the best stretch of Indiana football since 1993-94; one of those 10 wins was a 2007 victory over Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket, their first victory in the rivalry since 2001. With a contract that runs through 2012, one would think Lynch would get at least one more season to show the 2007 campaign was no fluke. The Hoosiers have been recruiting well (especially thus far in the 2010 class), helping his cause. Still, last year’s slide was troubling; the Hoosiers need improvement in 2009.

Tidbit (Old Oaken Bucket edition): The Old Oaken Bucket rivalry between I.U. and Purdue takes its name from the famous poem of the same name by Samuel Woodworth (not to be confused with William Wordsworth), an early-19th century poet. Though the poem itself refers to the poet’s childhood home in Massachusetts, Indianans have adopted the poem to honor their strong feelings toward their home state. Interesting note: Woodworth and his wife had 10 children, all between 1811 and 1829. I guess this was commonplace.

Returning starters: 14 (6 offense, 8 defense).

Key losses: Some fans may believe it’s addition by subtraction, but losing Lewis is a terrible blow to this Hoosier team. Yes, Lewis may have caused some off-field drama, but his ability to make plays while on the field transformed the I.U. offense from predictable to explosive. The offense must also replace leading rusher Marcus Thigpen (631 yards and 7 touchdowns on 6.7 yards per carry, all team-bests) and receiver Andrew Means (34 grabs, second on the team; 450 yards receiving, first). Thigpen also led the team in kick returns (22.4 yards per return). Means, a terrific athlete, opted to forgo his final year of college eligibility to try his hand at professional baseball. It was a wise choice, though a difficult one.. I.U. lost four starters on defense, including three-year starting linebacker Geno Johnson. A fixture on the strongside, Johnson finished his senior season with 50 tackles (4 for loss) and 2 sacks. In the secondary, Indiana will move forward without cornerback Christopher Phillips and safety Jim Kleinsmith. Phillips tore his A.C.L. early into the 2008 season (participating in only three games), while Kleinsmith, a seven-game starter, finished third on the team with 56 tackles. The interior of the defensive line will be retooled without the use of contributors Greg Brown and Keith Burrus. On special teams, the Hoosiers will need to locate a new kicker following the graduation of Austin Starr. He departs among the top ten in school history in field goals (43, fourth), extra points (103, fourth) and points (232, sixth).

Players to watch: Though Lewis was going to be primarily used as a wide receiver this fall, his departure makes the junior Ben Chappell the clear starter at quarterback. The junior started three games last fall, including the team’s upset victory over Northwestern. He had his best performance in this victory: 21-34 for 219 with 2 touchdowns. Over all, Chappell threw for 1,001 yards and 4 touchdowns while completing 52.3 percent of his passes. It will be interesting to see how he performs without worrying about Lewis taking some of his snaps. There is no question that his play will dictate how effective the I.U. offense will be. Indiana lost its top two rushers – Thigpen and Lewis – but return enough talent to expect little drop-off from 2008. Currently sitting atop the depth chart are a pair of seniors, Bryan Payton (339 yards, third on the team) and Demetrius McCray. The staff also has high hopes for the redshirt freshman Darius Willis, who impressed with his play on the scout team in 2008. The strength of the offense is undoubtedly the line, which returns seven players who started at least one game in 2008. These returnees compose the key parts of a unit that has cleared the way for back-to-back 2,000-yard rushing seasons. Though the line struggled through some injuries last fall, it received stellar play from the seniors Roger Saffold and Pete Saxon; each is entering his fourth year as a starter. The Hoosier defense takes it cue from the all-Big Ten ends Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton. Each has been a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award (Middleton in 2007, Kirlew in 2008), given annually to the nation’s best defensive end. Kirlew’s superb 2008 season included a team-best 10.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss; he also finished second on the team with 74 tackles. Middleton had a disappointing 2008 campaign (18 tackles, 4 sacks), especially when coming off his record-breaking all-American sophomore season. His 16 sacks that season, fourth-most in Big Ten history, set a school record. When he’s on, Middleton teams with Kirlew to give the Hoosiers a dynamic one-two pass rush. Indiana hopes the junior Tyler Replogle can replace Johnson at the strongside linebacker spot. He is the only new starters on a linebacker corps that returns both leading tackler Matt Mayberry (89, 5 sacks) in the middle and Will Patterson (55 tackles, 8.5 for loss) on the weakside. In an effort to improve a woeful secondary, Lynch and his staff took the extreme step of moving leading receiver Ray Fisher (42 receptions for 373 yards) to cornerback, where he is widely expected to earn a starting role. Fisher was recruited as a wideout and cornerback coming out of high school, so the staff obviously believes he can make this difficult transition, even as a senior. Three underclassmen – the junior Richard Council and the sophomores Chris Adkins and Donnell Jones – started a combined 21 games due to injuries a season ago. This experience gives the Hoosiers good depth at corner. At safety, both past starters Nick Polk and Austin Thomas are coming off knee injuries. While they are expected to be back at full strength come September (remember when A.C.L. tears took 12 months to rehab?), their lack of availability has opened up playing time for the junior Jerimy Finch, an Indianapolis native and former Florida transfer. Finch should get a serious look at free safety.

Position battle to watch: Wide receiver is a question mark. The team obviously hoped Lewis would help offset losing Means and moving Fisher, but his dismissal will force young, perhaps unproven players to step in ahead of schedule. The most experienced of the bunch is the junior Terrance Turner, who leads all returning Hoosiers in receptions (29). However, the most important wideout will be the sophomore Damarlo Belcher, who posted one of the finest freshman receiving seasons in school history last fall (25 catches for 337 yards and 2 scores). At 6-5, Belcher draws comparisons to the former Hoosier great James Hardy, who used his size and leaping ability to create mismatches with Big Ten cornerbacks. If Belcher were to come close to replicating Hardy’s success as a sophomore, this I.U. passing game could surprise. Belcher, Turner and Tandon Boss – another sophomore coming off a stellar rookie season – are the only Hoosier pass-catchers with extended experience at the position. Finding depth behind them will be a key when Indiana returns for fall camp. One option is the junior Mitchell Evans, another former quarterback. He had 9 receptions for 129 yards a season ago.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 3 Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 12 Western Kentucky
Sept. 19 @ Akron
Sept. 26 @ Michigan
Oct. 3 Ohio State
Oct. 10 @ Virginia
Oct. 17 Illinois
Oct. 24 @ Northwestern
Oct. 31 @ Iowa
Nov. 7 Wisconsin
Nov. 14 @ Penn State
Nov. 21 Purdue

Game(s) to watch: Indiana makes a run through Kentucky’s directional schools to start the season. What, Northern Kentucky wasn’t available? (The Countdown is aware that N.K.U. doesn’t have a football team.) As embarrassing as that two-game stretch may be, there’s a chance that they could be Indiana’s only victories on the season.

Season breakdown & prediction: Shame on the Hoosiers for their non-conference schedule. Still, seeing as how only Purdue will rival Indiana for the bottom of the Big Ten, perhaps this four-game non-conference slate constitutes I.U.’s best opportunities to get into the win column. Over all, things don’t look good. With the exception of Purdue, which will again struggle, each of the other Big Ten teams that finished below .500 in conference play last fall – Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota – will be better this season, opening the gap between themselves and the bottom of the conference. Indiana’s dearth of offensive playmakers will also be a trouble spot, especially if the I.U. defense doesn’t take a monumental step forward from their horrific 2008 play. If Indiana doesn’t make hay with their embarrassingly lackluster non-conference slate, it will be a long, long season. I see the Hoosiers taking three of those four games (Akron and Virginia are toss-ups), but not much else: 4-8, with one upset victory in the Big Ten.

Dream season: The Hoosiers return to bowl play for the second time in three years, giving them their best stretch of play in more than 15 seasons.

Nightmare season: Rock bottom comes quickly: 2-10 with wins coming over the Kentucky schools, only two seasons after a bowl trip.

Where do Indiana fans congregate: Indiana fans may be more interested in their basketball team than their football team (as if you didn’t know that), but a good amount of chatter exists if you know where to look. If you’re intrigued, try out Hoosier Nation and InsideIU.com.

Who is No. 104? This university’s only N.C.A.A. championship came in men’s volleyball, a program the university has since disbanded.

#104 Link
The Quad Countdown: No. 104 San Diego State
Location: San Diego, California.

Nickname: Aztecs.

Last year’s ranking: No. 94.

What was said:

With a lack of any offensive playmakers, the Aztecs may need to rely upon their porous defense to win games in 2008. That’s a scary thought – San Diego State would need to take a massive step forward on defense if that side of the ball is going to carry them to a winning season. The only hope for the Aztecs is that they take their lumps early, build a competent offense and take off in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, it will be too late by that point to claim a winning season. Best case is 6-6, but that would mean the Aztecs claim an upset victory over one of the Mountain West’s big three. More than likely, 2008 will be a rebuilding year for Long – not a good thing when you are on your last legs.
Re-ranking: No. 111.

2008 record and recap: (2-10, 1-7). Another year, another losing season for the Aztecs (that makes 10 straight). Amazingly, for all of their recent ineptitude (34-72 this decade), 2008 may have been when San Diego State finally hit rock bottom. The Aztecs capped off the disastrous Chuck Long era (9-27 from 2006-8) with their first 10-loss season in school history, one saved only by victories over Idaho and U.N.L.V. These wins came eight weeks apart; S.D.S.U. lost the seven games in between by the average final score of 41.9-13.4. As those numbers suggest, this was the worst defensive team in Aztec history (446 points allowed, 37.2 per game). Not to be outdone, the S.D.S.U. offense averaged only 19.2 points per game. Throw in a season-opening loss to F.C.S. opponent Cal-Poly (the Mustangs rolled up nearly 500 yards of offense in the win), and you have the worst team in school history. You want some good news? How about this: The Aztecs hired the former Ball State coach Brady Hoke to replace Long, giving the program an experienced hand to lead them out of the basement. Hoke hired Al Borges and Rocky Long to hire his offense and defense, respectively, giving the Aztecs a non-B.C.S. conference super-staff. Think of this trio as the Mountain West version of Blind Faith. Can they turn this program around in year one?

High point: One of San Diego State’s two victories was over Idaho (by 45-17), but even in a two-win season I’m not willing to call that a high point. Instead, it is the team’s only other victory, a 42-21 upset of U.N.L.V.. S.D.S.U. may have locked up last place in the M.W.C., but at least they kept their conference rivals out of a bowl game.

Low point: You really couldn’t go wrong with any of the following games: Cal-Poly (by 29-27), T.C.U. (41-7), New Mexico (70-7), Wyoming (35-10), B.Y.U. (41-12) or Utah (63-14). The last five games occurred over an 0-7 stretch, so we’ll take the whole month of October and some of November. This was truly a bad, bad team.

Tidbit: Prior to the 1999 season, S.D.S.U. decided to leave the Western Athletic Conference to become part of the newly-formed Mountain West Conference. Since that time, the Aztecs have yet to finish above .500, with their only non-losing season a 6-6 finish in 2003. In their final decade as a part of the WAC, S.D.S.U. had six winning seasons, including a pair of eight-win seasons from 1995-96. I don’t know enough about how and why a program would leave one conference for another (I’m guessing money), but the results on the field point towards San Diego State having made a mistake by leaving the WAC for the M.W.C. On the football field, at least.

Tidbit (this just in edition): According to the knowledgeable folks over at Playboy (I for one am not familiar with their work), San Diego State is the third-best party school in the nation. The Aztecs trail only the University of Miami and U.T.-Austin on this hallowed list. In other, completely unrelated news, I just this moment applied for a grant to continue my college football studies at S.D.S.U.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 25 – LB Antwaan Applewhite (San Diego Chargers), S Will Demps (Houston Texans), OG Brandyn Dombrowski (San Diego Chargers), LB Heath Farwell (Minnesota Vikings), LB Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (Oakland Raiders), DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (Green Bay Packers), DT La’Roi Glover (St. Louis Rams), RB Lynell Hamilton (New Orleans Saints), OG Jasper Harvey (Arizona Cardinals), LB Freddy Keiaho (Indianapolis Colts), OT Mike Kracalik (Jets), OG Lance Louis (Chicago Bears), LB Matt McCoy (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), LB Kirk Morrison (Oakland Raiders), QB Kevin O’Connell (New England Patriots), WR Kassim Osgood (San Diego Chargers), OG Chester Pitts (Houston Texans), S Brian Russell (Seattle Seahawks), OT Ephraim Salaam (Houston Texans), WR Chaz Schilens (Oakland Raiders), LB Tyler Schmitt (Seattle Seahawks), CB Jeff Shoate (Detroit Lions), WR Brett Swain (Green Bay Packers), S Marviel Underwood (Oakland Raiders), WR Jeff Webb (Kansas City Chiefs).

Top five N.F.L. players from San Diego State: Congratulations Aztecs, you are the Countdown’s new title holder. It was a narrow victory over Washington State, but a victory nonetheless. Let’s see how long S.D.S.U. can hold on.

1. RB Marshall Faulk (Indianapolis, St. Louis; 1994-2005)
2. DE Fred Dryer (Giants, Los Angeles; 1969-81)
3. DT La’Roi Glover (Oakland, New Orleans, Dallas, St. Louis; 1996-present)
4. DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (Green Bay; 2000-present)
5. CB Herm Edwards (Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles; 1977-86)

Team

Conference: Mountain West.

Head coach: Brady Hoke (Ball State ’82), entering his first season with the Aztecs. Hoke is coming off a successful stint at his alma mater (2003-8), where he increased his win total each of the last five seasons. This rebuilding job culminated in Ball State’s tremendous 12-win regular season last fall – they had won 12 in the previous two seasons combined – one soured only by a loss to Buffalo in the MAC title game. Prior to that defeat, Ball State joined Utah as the only undefeated non-B.C.S. conference teams in the country. It is therefore surprising that Hoke, coming off the best season in Ball State history, decided to leave a rebuilding job already completed for a program starting from scratch. Perhaps that is the reason he left: Ball State could never get any better than last fall, giving S.D.S.U. by far the higher ceiling of the two programs. The Aztecs should feel blessed to have him. In addition to his head coaching stint at B.S.U., Hoke spent eight years as the defensive line coach under Lloyd Carr at Michigan (1995-2002). Hoke added the title of associate head coach for his final season in Ann Arbor. Hoke was mentioned in connection with the open Michigan job after the end of 2007 season, but the job eventually went to West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez. If for no other reason than his impressive assistant experience, Hoke is a solid hire. Add in his highly successful rebuilding job at Ball State, and he becomes a great one.

Tidbit (coaching edition): As previously mentioned, Hoke has surrounded himself with two of the country’s most accomplished assistants in Borges and Long. Keeping with the Blind Faith metaphor, think of them as the Ginger Baker and Ric Trech to Hoke’s Eric Clapton. Borges was most recently the offensive coordinator at Auburn (2004-7), where he earned praise for the job he did developing quarterback Jason Campbell during the Tigers’ 13-0 2004 season. Long, as we discussed in the New Mexico preview, recently completed an 11-year stint as the Lobos head coach. He’ll bring his 3-3-5 look to the much-maligned Aztec defense.

Returning starters: 13 (7 offense, 6 defense).

Key losses: The Aztec offense returns seven starters from a year ago, so Hoke and Borges will have many of last year’s contributors to work with. Two of the four departed starters were on the line. Right tackle Lance Louis, who started 17 games over his S.D.S.U. career, was the lone Aztec selected in April’s N.F.L. draft (seventh round to the Bears). A former tight end – he was moved to tackle prior to the 2007 season – Louis did more than hold his own at right tackle despite what many consider to be inferior size (6’3, 300) for the position. Left guard Mike Schmidt, another player who was moved to OL after beginning his career elsewhere (defensive tackle), started 21 games over his four-year career. Though not a full-time starter until his senior season, Schmidt started six games as both a sophomore and junior. At wide receiver, Darren Mougey finished among the top three on the team in receptions as both a junior (32) and senior (34). Believe it or not, Mougey was also moved from his original position – quarterback. I’m beginning to detect a trend here. The biggest loss on the Aztec defense is unquestionably that of linebacker Russell Allen, the team’s leading tackler (107, 9.5 for loss) in 2008; this marked the third consecutive season that Allen had paced the Aztecs in tackles. Allen, who started 42 games over his career, will be enormously difficult to replace. However, an even more pressing concern is the secondary, which must replace three starters: safeties Corey Boudreaux and T.J. McKay and cornerback Vonnie Holmes. Boudreaux, who led all defensive backs with 21 career starts at season’s end, finished second on the team with 101 stops. He also tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Players to watch: The sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley was a revelation last fall after replacing multiple-year starter Kevin O’Connell as the Aztec’s lead signal caller. He threw for 2,653 yards and 16 touchdowns in his 11 starts; that 241.2 yards per game average was good for third in the Mountain West. An even more impressive statistic is this: Lindley threw only 9 interceptions in 427 attempts, an amazingly low average for a freshman, especially in a conference renowned for its pressure defenses. After a great freshman campaign, much is expected of Lindley in 2009 and beyond. He’ll have a few offensive weapons to work with. His favorite target is undoubtedly the junior wide receiver Vincent Brown, the team leader in receptions (64), yards (631) and touchdowns (5). His 2008 season was a nice follow-up to his stellar freshman campaign, when he grabbed 31 balls (third-best by a freshman in school history) for 349 yards. The Aztecs also return leading rusher Atiyyah Henderson (490 yards); in Hoke’s offense, expect that number to double. The offensive line, which will be asked to embrace a more physical style under the new coaching staff, returns three players with at least 10 games of starting experience. Leading the way is the junior center Trask Iosefa (great name), who has started all 24 of his games since his freshman season. And so we arrive to the defense. Terrible in 2008 – this is not an understatement – they have a terrific new leader in Long; still, don’t expect too great an improvement in this staff’s first season. The line returns both its starting ends in B.J. Williams and Jonathan Soto, which helps matters some. Williams the 2008 Aztecs with 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Despite losing Allen’s production, the linebacker corps is the strength of the defense. It returns two stellar contributors in weakside LB Andrew Preston (82 tackles, 3.5 for loss) and middle LB Luke Laolagi (the team’s leading returning tackler with 99). Each has started more than 20 games in their career; they’ll be counted on for leadership on a defense that surely lacks confidence following last year’s finish. The secondary – we’ll touch on them in a moment – will rely upon their returning talent at corner, most notably the junior Jose Perez (two interceptions, tied for the team lead) and the senior Aaron Moore. There is no question that Long is among the most able defensive coordinators in the business, but he’ll have his hands full turning this defense into a competitive unit. The Aztecs may be more physical, especially against the run, but they’ll again have a hard time keeping points off the board. But San Diego State is a program in a rebuilding mode, what would you expect?

Position battle to watch: I have major concerns with the San Diego State secondary. The fact that the unit lost three starters from a season ago is bad enough, but when considering the team’s new 3-3-5 look (five defensive backs, one of which is a rover) this lack of depth could be crippling. The team does return a pair of cornerbacks with starting experience in Perez and Moore, but not much else. With competition open at a number of positions, who will step up? The senior Davion Mauldin is one Aztec who could see his role increase at corner; he was a primary backup behind Holmes last fall. The secondary could also use a full season of play from the senior strong safety Nick Sandford, who had 44 tackles in nine games last fall. When it comes to the rover spot – a hybrid defensive back who must also help in the run – don’t be surprised to see Hoke and his staff opt to utilize an undersized outside linebacker; this player would need help in the passing game but would fill the requisite need for help stopping the run, a major issue for the Aztecs last fall. Preston, the starter on the weakside last fall, is one possibility, though the team would miss his presence at linebacker. Another possibility could be the sophomore Logan Ketchum. So key to the over all success of Long’s defensive scheme, the secondary will be one area to keep an eye on throughout fall camp and into the regular season.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 @ U.C.L.A.
Sept. 12 Southern Utah
Sept. 19 @ Idaho
Sept. 26 @ Air Force
Oct. 3 New Mexico State
Oct. 17 Brigham Young
Oct. 24 @ Colorado State
Oct. 31 New Mexico
Nov. 7 T.C.U.
Nov. 14 Wyoming
Nov. 21 @ Utah
Nov. 28 @ U.N.L.V.

Game(s) to watch: There are very winnable games on this schedule, such as Southern Utah (you’d hope, at least), Idaho, N.M.S.U., New Mexico and Wyoming. The Aztecs could even grab a victory in the season finale at what will be an improved U.N.L.V.; they won last year, why not in 2009?

Season breakdown & prediction: After years of sub par play – the last three in particular – San Diego State fans should be overjoyed with the promise this program now holds. Hoke’s first order of business? Recruit the fertile Southern California region. It is a crime that S.D.S.U. does not bring in the Mountain West’s best recruiting class every year; you shouldn’t have to make one long-distance call to bring in 20 talented athletes every year. Actually, make that his second order of business. His first move should be to instill a tougher mindset into a finesse team. The Aztecs couldn’t run the ball or stop the run in 2008, so if you’re going to see any improvement this season and beyond, both all of those statistics will need to see marked improvement. As for this season, the Aztecs will again struggle. They are still young, so you will likely see some improvement over last season’s 2-10 finish (I’m thinking three or four wins), but this team is still one of the bottom three teams in a very good M.W.C. The future looks much brighter today than it did one year ago, but this rebuilding process will take years. Next year will be better, and if all goes as planned S.D.S.U. will be on the verge of a bowl bid in 2011.

Dream season: The new staff is an immediate success in San Diego. The Aztecs finish 7-5, their first winning season in more than a decade.

Nightmare season: Hoke should be able to go 0-12 without any repercussions. No nightmare season could match the nightmare that has been the last decade of S.D.S.U. football.

Where do San Diego State fans congregate: I’m very impressed by the dedication of those S.D.S.U. fans at AztecTalk.org. I highly recommend checking them out, as well as AztecSportsReport.com and ScoutSDSU.com.

Who is No. 103?: This program is in the midst of seven consecutive non-winning seasons, their longest stretch since 1944-50.

link to 103
The Quad Countdown: No. 103 Syracuse

Location: Syracuse, N.Y.

Nickname: Orange.

Last year’s ranking: No. 98.

What was said:

The schedule is a killer, essentially dooming Syracuse to a losing season no matter how improved the team may be. I think you can immediately pencil in losses to Penn State, West Virginia, South Florida and Cincinnati; it’s disheartening to enter a season knowing you have four automatic losses on your schedule. Syracuse also has to go to Notre Dame (I know, 3-9, but it is still a tough away game), Northwestern and Rutgers, and would be happy taking one of those three. Over all, it isn’t easy to muster optimism for Syracuse in 2008. It looks like another three-win season. The good news for some Orange fans is that another disappointing season would mean a new coach.
Re-ranking: No. 103.

2008 record and recap: (3-9, 1-6). The season got off to a horrid start with a 42-28 loss to Akron in the home opener, and didn’t get much better from there. The Orange didn’t defeat an F.B.S. opponent until Nov. 1 (a second straight win over Louisville), essentially dooming Greg Robinson long before he was fired with two weeks remaining in the regular season. His four-year record of 10-37 is -– by far –- the worst career record in Syracuse history; there is also no doubt that this four-year stretch marks the nadir of the Orange program. Robinson always comported himself with an unwavering sense of optimism and class, but it was clearly time for the administration to make a move. For his replacement, Athletic Director Daryl Gross tabbed New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone, a Syracuse offensive lineman during the program’s heyday under coaching legend Dick McPherson. Needless to say, he has his work cut out for him.

High point: Clearly, the 24-23 comeback win over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The Orange scored the game’s final 14 points, including a touchdown with 42 seconds remaining, to deal the Irish their fifth loss of the season. With the upset coming on the heels of his announced firing at the end of the season, you had to feel good for Robinson. The guy was easy to root for (if you weren’t a Syracuse fan): Following the victory, Robinson halted an interview to pay respect to Notre Dame’s school song.

Low point: Syracuse’s Big East ineptitude continued, giving it 25 conference losses over Robinson’s four-year tenure. None of last fall’s six losses came by fewer than 11 points, with the worst being a 45-13 setback at then-No. 19 South Florida.

Tidbit: The Orange lost 37 games from 2005-8. The program lost a total of 36 games over a 12-year stretch from 1987-1998. As the Syracuse coach, Ben Schwartzwalder lost 91 games over his 25-year career (1949-73); if he coached for the same length of time, Greg Robinson’s career mark with the Orange would have been 63-231.

Former players currently in the N.F.L.: 28 –- OG P.J. Alexander (Denver Broncos), CB Will Allen (Miami Dolphins), LB Keith Bulluck (Tennessee Titans), S Dowayne Davis (Detroit Lions), OG Ryan Durand (Tennessee Titans), RB Tony Fiammetta (Carolina Panthers), S Joe Fields (Carolina Panthers), DE Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis Colts), LB Morlon Greenwood (Houston Texans), CB Steve Gregory (San Diego Chargers), RB Greg Hanoian (Kansas City Chiefs), S Tanard Jackson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), TE Joe Kowalewski (Jets), LB Jerry Mackey (Jets), K Olindo Mare (Seattle Seahawks), LB Jameel McClain (Baltimore Ravens), QB Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles), OT Quinn Ojinnaka (Atlanta Falcons), OT Kevin Sampson (Washington Redskins), LB Rich Scanlon (Giants), TE Alex Shor (Arizona Cardinals), S Anthony Smith (Green Bay Packers), LB Kelvin Smith (Giants), WR Taj Smith (Indianapolis Colts), OT Adam Terry (Baltimore Ravens), DE Josh Thomas (Indianapolis Colts), DE James Wyche (Jacksonville Jaguars).

Top five N.F.L. players from Syracuse: How about this list? Not only does Syracuse blow every other team thus far out of the water, I believe we’ll be hard pressed to find another team this good the rest of the way. For those keeping track at home, that’s five spots, five members of the Hall of Fame. Do Donovan McNabb and Marvin Harrison deserve to be on this list?

1. RB Jim Brown (Cleveland; 1957-65)
2. TE John Mackey (Baltimore, San Diego; 1963-72)
3. C Jim Ringo (Green Bay, Philadelphia; 1953-67)
4. WR Art Monk (Washington, Jets; 1980-94)
5. FB Larry Csonka (Miami, Giants; 1968-79)


Photo Courtesy of Syracuse University
Jim Brown, shown here as a senior at Syracuse, is a member of both the Pro Football and Lacrosse Halls of Fame.
Tidbit (lacrosse edition): In honor of this weekend’s college lacrosse Final Four (Syracuse plays Duke before Virginia meets Cornell), the Countdown presents its take on the five greatest lacrosse players in Syracuse’s illustrious history:

1. Jim Brown, Midfield
2. Gary Gait, Midfield
3. Casey Powell, Midfield/Attack
4. Mike Powell, Attack
5. Ryan Powell, Attack


Conference: Big East.

Head coach: Doug Marrone (Syracuse ’91), entering his first season. Marrone returns to Syracuse after spending the last seven seasons on the pro ranks, first as the Jets’ offensive line coach (2002-5), next as the Saints’ offensive coordinator/offensive line coach (2006-8). While the New Orleans job marked his first experience as a play-caller on any level, Marrone’s offenses ranked annually among the top units in the N.F.L.; in 2008, they led the league in total (410.7 yards per game) and passing offense (311.1 per game). While mainly predicated upon this passing game –- Drew Brees set a litany of franchise records under his watch –- Marrone’s offense never strayed too far from the ground game, especially when given the use of a healthy Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush. Even with this last stop, most of Marrone’s experience has come as an offensive line coach. In addition to his work on the professional ranks, Marrone spent one season each at Tennessee and Georgia and five years at Georgia Tech working either with the tight ends or the offensive line. This is one area where Marrone splits from Robinson: While his predecessor had very little experience in the college ranks, Marrone cut his teeth –- and developed his coaching style -– in the F.B.S. This should help him manage the day-to-day operations involved with his job (especially recruiting), an area where Robinson lacked. Another, more important distinction is Marrone’s history and familiarity with the program and its surrounding region. This will not only help with recruiting, but will aid Marrone in his quest to rebuild trust and satisfaction among a frustrated and restless fan base. Hope he realizes what task is ahead of him: Of all the new coaches in the F.B.S. –- even more so than Ron English at Eastern Michigan or DeWayne Walker at New Mexico State –- Marrone faces the most difficult rebuilding job.

Returning starters: 13 (7 offense, 6 defense).

Key losses: The biggest loss is that of running back Curtis Brinkley, a 1,000-yard rusher as a senior (a team-best 1,164). While Brinkley showed flashes of promise as a sophomore (571 yards) and a junior (371), he did not put a complete game together until this final season, where he accounted for 36 percent (1,167 of 3,242 yards) of Syracuse’s total offense. After breaking his leg late in the 2007 season and finding himself third on the depth chart last spring, Brinkley contemplated transferring. But Brinkley averaged 107 yards rushing over a four-game stretch from Sept. 1 to 30 while observing the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which prohibits the intake of food or drink from sunrise through sundown. That’s both spiritual and physical toughness. Syracuse must also replace Brinkley’s lead blocker in fullback Tony Fiammetta, a fourth-round of the Carolina Panthers in the April draft. The second and final Syracuse player to hear his name called on draft day was right guard Ryan Durand, who went in the seventh round to Tennessee. Durand, a three-year starter, was a second-team all-Big East pick as a senior. Though again ineffective last fall, the Syracuse defense will need to replace 7 of its top 11 tacklers from a season ago. Middle linebacker Jake Flaherty led the team in tackles with 81 (4 for loss), and end Nick Santiago led the team in sacks (4.5); Santiago also finished second on the team in tackles for loss (9). Safeties A.J. Brown (strong) and Bruce Williams (free) may not have started all 12 games on the season – Brown started eight, Williams six –- but they occupied the top spots at season’s end. Williams tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

Players to watch: The Countdown favors recognizing only student-athletes who have played a down of college football, but we’d be remiss not to mention the fall arrival of the senior Greg Paulus, most recently of Duke basketball. Paulus is expected to battle the redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib and the senior Cameron Dantley for playing time at quarterback. I’m relatively certain that both public appeal and uncertain depth will force Marrone’s hand in playing Paulus, but I hope that Syracuse fans don’t expect too much of him. He is five years removed from football on any level –- though, to be fair, he did play at a high level in high school –- and must make a relatively quick transition to accustom himself to the speed of the college game. It’s a great story, one that gives welcome publicity to the program, but it doesn’t necessarily make the Orange a better team in 2009. It does, however, provide depth in case Nassib, whom Marrone named the starter out of spring camp, struggles in his new role. Dantley led the team in yards (1,298) and touchdowns (11) last fall, but may be forced out of the mix by the new addition. The senior Andrew Robinson, who had a stellar 2007 season as the starting quarterback, has been moved to tight end. The running game may feature a by-committee approach with the junior Delone Carter (137 yards rushing last fall) and the sophomore Antwon Bailey (221 yards and 2 scores). Bailey had a terrific game in the win over Notre Dame, posting a career-high 126 yards on 16 carries. The junior Doug Hogue, the team’s leading returning rusher, was moved to linebacker. He’ll compete for playing time at the open weakside spot. Paulus may be getting the most publicity, but the most important addition to this Syracuse team is the return of the junior wide receiver Mike Williams, who sat out all of the 2008 season due to academic issues. As a sophomore in 2007, Williams tied a Syracuse record with 60 receptions and finished third on the school’s single-season list with 10 touchdown grabs. He earned second-team all-Big East honors for his play. It may take him some time to get back into football shape, but Williams, who enters the season with an F.B.S.-best 10-game touchdown streak, is the team’s best offensive weapon. Stepping up in his stead last fall was the junior Donte Davis. He led the team with 29 receptions and 312 yards receiving. The Orange return three players with at least 10 games starting experience on their offense line, with the most experienced being 22-game starter Jim McKenzie at center. On defense, the Orange have an all-American candidate in the senior tackle Arthur Jones. A two-time all-Big East selection (first-team last fall), Jones has an uncanny knack for getting into the backfield despite constant double-teams from the opposition. He enters his senior season with 31.5 tackles for loss (13 last fall), placing him sixth on the school’s all-time list. Jones had one of the season’s best individual performances in the win over Notre Dame, racking up 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, all career highs. He’ll again receive most of the opposition’s attention, leaving linemen like Jared Kimmel, Andrew Lewis and Mikhail Marinovich responsible for making plays against a single blocker. The linebacker corps, while undersized, returns the juniors Mike Mele (72 tackles) and Derrell Smith (73, 5 for loss). Mele, though only 218 pounds, will move inside to replace Flaherty. A player to watch in the Orange secondary is the sophomore cornerback Kevyn Scott, who started the final five games of 2008. He will be joined at corner by the junior Nico Scott (no relation), an eight-game starter a season ago. The Orange will replace Brown and Williams with Mike Holmes and Max Suter, juniors who started at least a handful of games in 2008. Holmes finished the season 68 tackles –- tops in the secondary –- and two interceptions.

Position battle to watch: With all the hoopla surrounding Paulus’s arrival, the clear position battle to watch is quarterback. The starter coming out of spring practice was the redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, who beat out the incumbent Cameron Dantley. Andrew Robinson and the sophomore David Legree were also in the mix, but Robinson’s position change makes this a three-horse race. Though fall camp may force Marrone to readjust his depth chart –- especially if Paulus is as good as many believed him to be coming out of high school –- I expect Nassib to claim the starting job in the season opener against Minnesota. However, given Syracuse’s early slate of Big Ten teams –- Minnesota, Penn State and Northwestern — don’t be surprised to see Dantley or Paulus as the starter. It’s a virtual guarantee that, barring injury, Paulus will be taking snaps at some point.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Minnesota
Sept. 12 @ Penn State
Sept. 19 Northwestern
Sept. 26 Maine
Oct. 3 South Florida
Oct. 10 West Virginia
Oct. 24 Akron
Oct. 31 Cincinnati
Nov. 7 @ Pittsburgh
Nov. 14 @ Louisville
Nov. 21 Rutgers
Nov. 28 @ Connecticut

Game(s) to watch: The Orange get eight games at home, but will likely be favored in only one of them (Maine). That game, along with the one with Akron, are must-wins. Louisville, which Syracuse plays on the road, looks like the most likely Big East victory.

Season breakdown and prediction: The way I see it: If Syracuse won three games last fall, shouldn’t it at least match that total in 2009? I’m willing to say yes –- even with a tough non-conference slate –- but I’d be shocked if the Orange won more than four games. For starters, the Orange have major issues on offense (though getting back Williams helps). The team lacks playmakers and any semblance of depth, a result of poor recruiting by Robinson and his staff. Quarterback, despite adding Paulus, will be a major concern for Marrone. For this reason, you may not see the offense in 2009 that he would eventually like to run at Syracuse; give him a season or two to bring in recruits he believes better fit his system. The defense will also be a concern. Marrone recruited Scott Shafer to be his defensive coordinator, and Shafer, the former Stanford and Michigan coordinator, knows how to run an effective college defense. Still, depth and a lack of playmakers will be again be a concern on defense. Over all, I see a 3-9 record, with the potential for two wins in Big East play. As long as the Orange feels a sense of progress, they will be happy. This program is still two years away from competing for a postseason berth.

Dream season: Marrone’s first season exceeds all expectations: 7-5, 4-3 in the Big East.

Nightmare season: After the last seven seasons, nothing could shock Syracuse fans. The only thing that would make 2009 a bigger nightmare would be if Syracuse went 0-12 without scoring a point.

Where Syracuse fans congregate: With a loyal fan base (including several New York Times sports staffers), it is no surprise to see a plethora of options for following Syracuse football. The best independent site is CuseOrange.com, followed closely by CuseConfidential.com and SyracuseFan.com. The football coverage at Syracuse.com is also top-notch.

Who is No. 102?: The first of three universities with an equine mascot.

Link 102
The Quad Countdown: No. 102 Southern Methodist

Location: Dallas, Texas.

Nickname: Mustangs. In the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971, Congress found the mustang, as a feral horse, to be a “living symbol of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” The act also protected mustangs from “capture, branding, harassment, or death.” This has absolutely nothing to do with college football.

Last year’s ranking: No. 107.

What was said:

Hiring Jones has to give Mustang fans a sense that the university is committed to winning football. Unlike years past, the S.M.U. program looks to be headed in the right direction, and they’ve hired the right man for the job. The Mustangs will not challenge for a bowl game in 2008, but they will be improved, and they will be aggressive. In the five years prior to hiring Jones, Hawaii won 12 games; his first year, 1999, the Warriors went 9-4. Don’t expect such a miracle, but look for the Mustangs to win at least three games, a giant step forward for a program that has been stuck in neutral for more than 20 years.
Re-ranking: No. 119.

2008 record and recap: (1-11, 0-8). At least three games? Please. The Mustangs won only one – by 47-36 over F.C.S. Texas State – and lost their final 10 to end the season. Some of these losses were close (four were by single digits), some, well, weren’t. Still, no one expected S.M.U. to win many games in 2008, instead predicting a year or two of growing pains while Coach June Jones attempted to do with the Mustangs what he did to great success at Hawaii. Only the most fickle S.M.U. fan is off the bandwagon after last fall, and any fan who sat through the last 20 years of the program’s history should remain excited for its future. I, for one, still believe in Jones, but the team’s 2008 numbers were admittedly unimpressive. The Mustangs may have rushed for an F.B.S.-low 41.4 yards per game (while allowing opponents 225.6 yards rushing per game), but no one expects much of a ground game from a Jones-coached team. The real problem was turnovers: S.M.U. turned the ball over 32 times – against only 19 for the opposition – often leaving the defense in difficult situations. Though his teams always receive more acclaim for their high-octane passing attacks, every single one of Jones’s strong Hawaii teams did two things well: control their turnovers and play aggressive, intimidating defense. I have no doubt that until S.M.U. improves in these two categories, they’ll continue to struggle.

High point: The lone win was nice. Other than that… since June Jones was hired in January of 2008, can we count that?

Low point: If the defense gave up 36 to Texas State, how bad was the rest of the season? S.M.U. allowed 38.2 points per game, including 56 to Rice in the season opener, 48 to T.C.U. and 44 to Houston. The fewest points the defense gave up in a single game was 28 to Southern Mississippi in the season finale. The offense never scored more than 38 against an F.B.S. opponent. Of course, they still lost.

Tidbit: While S.M.U. defines itself as being located in Dallas, it is technically located in University Park. With more than 80 percent of its residents holding at least a bachelor’s degree, University Park is the most educated city in Texas. Its neighbor, Highland Park, is the state’s second-most educated city.

Tidbit (fun with numbers edition): From 1980-86, during what is considered the heyday of S.M.U. football, the Mustangs went 54-18. The 1981 team was declared the national champion by the National Championship Foundation (sounds official) and the 1982 team by the Helms Athletic Foundation, though the Mustangs finished fifth and second respectively in the final Associated Press poll. Of course, following the 1986 season, the program was given the “death penalty” by the N.C.A.A. for rampant rule violations. Since resuming play in 1989, the Mustangs are 49-164-3. Due to this stretch, the program’s career record has gone from 390-313-52 in 1986 to its current mark of 439-477-55.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 2 – P Thomas Morstead (New Orleans Saints), LB Justin Rogers (Dallas Cowboys).

Top five N.F.L. players from S.M.U.: A pretty good list, but no Syracuse. I’m going to copy that line and save it, as I know I’ll be repeating it often the rest of the summer. Still, S.M.U. clocks in as the clear No. 2 on our list. Actually, I’m going to keep a top three the rest of the way to honor teams not named Syracuse. So, our top three is Syracuse, S.M.U., San Diego State.

1. WR Raymond Berry (Baltimore; 1955-67)
2. OT Forrest Gregg (Green Bay; 1956-71)
3. RB Eric Dickerson (L.A. Rams, Ind., L.A. Raiders, Atlanta; 1983-93)
4. WR Kyle Rote (Giants; 1951-61)
5. QB Don Meredith (Dallas; 1960-68)

Team

Conference: Conference USA, West division.

Head coach: June Jones (played college football at Oregon from 1971-72, at Hawaii from 1973-74 and at Portland State from 1975-76; degree from New York State Regents College), 1-11 after a single season with the Mustangs. Jones went 75-41 during a highly successful nine-year stint as the head coach at the University of Hawaii, a period that culminated in a perfect 12-0 season and trip to the Sugar Bowl. Though the Warriors lost that game – by 41-10 to Georgia – Hawaii’s success earned Jones the national recognition he had long deserved. Similar to S.M.U., Hawaii was in mired in the worst stretch in program history, losing their last 18 games under Jones’s predecessor, Fred von Appen. Unlike last fall, Jones won nine games in his first season at Hawaii, marking one of the best single-season turnarounds in N.C.A.A. history. After slipping back to 3-9 in his second season, the Warriors won at least eight games in six of the next seven seasons, including 23 in his final two seasons on the island. Though Jones was a perfect fit with the Warriors – he loved the community, and vice versa – he was continually frustrated by the lack of support from the university, whether that be in monetary reimbursement or, more importantly, even the most basic of facilities. When the Southern Methodist job became available, Jones saw it as a program that would spare little expense in creating the best environment available. They certainly didn’t skimp on his salary; Jones’ $2 million a year contract makes him by far Conference USA’s highest-paid coach. In addition to his work on the college ranks, Jones was the head coach with the Atlanta Falcons (19-29 from 1994-96) and the San Diego Chargers (3-7 in 1998 as the interim coach) on the N.F.L. ranks. With Jones, the Mustangs have one of the finest coaches in the F.B.S. They also have their best shot at a winning team in more than 20 years.

Tidbit (coaching edition): Both the college and professional ranks were extremely saddened by the sudden passing of S.M.U. special teams coach Frank Gansz late last month from complications following knee replacement surgery. Gansz’s prolific coaching career spanned more than four decades, and included stops at Navy, Army, U.C.L.A. and Oklahoma State on the college ranks and Kansas City, Detroit, St. Louis and Jacksonville in the N.F.L. Gansz was widely regarded as the finest special teams in N.F.L. history. His son, Frank Gansz Jr., followed in his father’s footsteps as a special teams coach; he is currently an assistant under Rick Neuheisel at U.C.L.A.

Returning starters: 15 (8 offense, 7 defense).

Key losses: The S.M.U. offense must replace three starters, including two off the line. Left guard Sean Lobo broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore in 2006 (starting the team’s last seven games) and remained there for his final two seasons. Vincent Chase moved to right tackle as a senior after playing tight end his first three seasons in Dallas; he was the team’s starting TE as a junior. Andrew McKinney, the team’s starting running back, led the Mustangs with 190 yards rushing last fall. He also scored one of S.M.U.’s three rushing touchdowns. The Mustang defense lost its starting interior linemen in tackle Serge Elizee and Patrick Handy. Elizee finished second among all Mustang linemen with 55 tackles (2.5 for loss). S.M.U. must also replace middle linebacker Will Bonilla, the 2007 team’s defensive M.V.P. He finished his senior season with 49 tackles and a sack, though he missed three games due to injury. On special teams, Thomas Morstead handled both punting and kicking duties for the Mustangs, making him one of only a handful of players in the F.B.S. to perform both jobs. Morstead was the only Mustang taken in April’s draft; the Saints actually traded up to select him in the fifth round.

Players to watch: The Mustangs hope the sophomore quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell (best name so far on the Countdown) becomes the program’s version of Colt Brennan. No one is going so far as to say that Mitchell will ever be as good a college player as Brennan, but he showed potential in an up-and-down rookie season. Mitchell started all 12 games last fall, throwing for 2,865 yards and 24 touchdowns on 57.6 percent passing. Unfortunately, Mitchell also threw 23 interceptions, a total that must come down for this S.M.U. offense to be effective. To continue the Brennan analogy, the former Hawaii quarterback never threw more than 17 picks in a single season under Jones, including only 12 (in 559 attempts ) in his record-setting 2006 campaign. S.M.U. returns Mitchell’s top two receiving targets from 2008: the senior Emmanuel Sanders (team-best 67 receptions, 958 yards receiving, 9 touchdowns) and the junior Aldrick Robinson (59 receptions, team-leading 1,047 yards and 11 scores). They’ll be joined at receiver by the sophomores Terrance Wilkerson and Cole Beasley, each of whom had impressive freshman seasons in their own right, and the senior Justin Willis, a former all-conference selection at quarterback. Willis will also serve as the team’s punt returner. The offensive line, a major issue in 2008, will start at least four sophomores or freshman in 2009. Two of these young linemen – left tackle Kelvin Beachum, Jr. and right guard Bryce Tennison (a good poet’s name) – started last fall, but the team’s best returning starter is the senior center Mitch Enright. A member of the Rimington Trophy watch list heading into last season, Enright was slowed by a hand injury that limited him to only three games as a junior. Now fully healthy, he’ll be counted on to lead a young, largely inexperienced group. The Mustangs will go from featuring a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 this fall, a move that will hopefully take advantage of some of the young speed Jones and his staff have accumulated in their two recruiting classes. One player who will benefit from this move is the junior weakside linebacker Youri Yenga, who started at end last fall. Yenga was S.M.U.’s best defensive player in 2008, leading the team in tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (6.5); he also led all defensive linemen – and finished third on the team – with 73 tackles. It may take him some time to readjust to playing standing up, but Yenga looks to be a great fit at 3-4 outside linebacker. S.M.U. also moved Patrick Fleming, Yenga’s backup at end in 2008, to the strongside linebacker spot. The linebacker corps will also get a significant boost from the junior Pete Fleps, who led the team with 106 tackles last season. The Mustang secondary will rely heavily upon its returning starters at safety, Chris Banjo and Rock Dennis. Banjo, a sophomore, stepped into the starting role at free safety five games into his rookie season. He finished fourth on the team with 61 tackles, and had one of the team’s eight interceptions on the season. While cornerback returns the senior starter Bryan McCann, the team leader with three interceptions, the position remains enough of a concern that the coaching staff is strongly considering Emmanuel Sanders in the defensive backfield in some capacity, likely in nickel or dime packages. Sanders is a great athlete, but he’s no Charles Woodson; it is only because of an inordinate lack of depth that Jones and his staff are even contemplating such a move.

Position battle to watch: The S.M.U. defensive line becomes an area of concern due to Elizee’s and Handy’s graduation and decision to move Yenga and Fleming to linebacker. Though the line’s importance is diminished due to the team’s new 3-4 base defense, this untested group will need to step up their play if the Mustangs are going to improve upon last fall’s horrific run defense. In the 3-4 look, much emphasis is placed upon the nose tackle, who must occupy blockers to free up linebackers to make plays near the line of scrimmage. Elizee, though a bit undersized for the role, would have been a nice fit in this scheme, as he was able to both take on blocks and make plays in the opponent’s backfield. With Elizee gone, the Mustangs will turn to the junior Chris Parham, a well-regarded prospect coming of high school. If Parham struggles in his new capacity, the Mustangs will look towards the sophomore Evan Huahulu, who has prototypical nose-tackle size at 6 feet 1 inch, 335 pounds. The coaching staff has high hopes for the junior college transfer Marquis Frazier, who joined the team in the spring and is widely expected to start at the right end spot. Frazier was recruited heavily by some of the region’s most prestigious programs (Arkansas, Nebraska, Texas A&M) but went the JUCO route due to academics. He’s a great pickup for the Mustangs.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Stephen F. Austin
Sept. 12 @ U.A.B.
Sept. 19 @ Washington State
Oct. 3 @ T.C.U.
Oct. 10 East Carolina
Oct. 17 Navy
Oct. 24 @ Houston
Oct. 31 @ Rice
Nov. 14 UTEP
Nov. 21 @ Marshall
Nov. 28 Tulane

Game(s) to watch: It will be interesting to see the development of the Mustang offense in the season opener. S.M.U. should roll over S.F.A., but the real test begins the following week at U.A.B., their first Conference USA test of the season. Other winnable conference games include Rice, UTEP, Marshall and Tulane.

Season breakdown & prediction: I’m still not ready to anoint S.M.U. capable of making a bowl appearance, but I am confident we’ll see a much better on-field product in Jones’s second season. To take a monumental step forward, the team would need to make significant improvements in their ball control and on defense, two areas where I remain skeptical of S.M.U.’s abilities. Still, there is good reason to predict anywhere from three to five wins in 2009. Looking at the schedule, S.M.U. both opens and closes its season with its most winnable games. This makes the heart of a season truly deadly, but allows the team to both enter and end 2009 on a good note. With another year under their belts and a set of recruits to install in the system, I think the Mustang offense will be better this fall than last, but the offensive line remains a concern. Likewise for the defense, which returns eight starters but lacks quality depth and playmakers to stop some of Conference USA’s most explosive offenses (Houston and Tulsa, for instance). Over all, I predict S.M.U. to make a three-game improvement: 4-8, 3-5 in conference play. The program’s not there yet, but its on its way. The team couldn’t ask for a better coach running the show.

Dream season: Like at Hawaii, Jones exceeds all expectations with an 8-4 regular season.

Nightmare season: A repeat of last fall’s 1-11 record would raise some eyebrows.

Where do Southern Methodist fans congregate: The best place to talk S.M.U. football is PonyFans.com, a fan site that not only provides a solid message board but also original content for its visitors. You can also check out PonyPride.com and PonyStampede.com.

Who is No. 101?: The first of four universities on the Countdown to have produced both a U.S. president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

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The Quad Countdown: No. 101 Miami (Ohio)

Location: Oxford, Ohio. Oxford was incorporated in 1830 and has an approximate population of 22,000. Oxford, Miss., home of the University of Mississippi, was founded in 1835 and has a population of 19,000. Miami University, founded in 1809, is older than the town of Oxford.

Nickname: RedHawks. One word, not two, for some strange reason.

Last year’s ranking: No. 59.

What was said:

I really like Miami, despite its losses at running back and questions at quarterback. Those issues will resolve themselves: Bratton and Merriweather will, at worst, present a capable one-two punch in the running game, and if Raudabaugh takes a step back from his up-and-down sophomore season, the coaching staff loves what Belton brings to the table. The real reason for my positive outlook for the Redhawks is their defense. They have the MAC’s – and potentially any non-B.C.S. conference’s – best linebacking corps, an experienced defensive line and a deep secondary. There is no reason to think the unit’s level of play will decline; it may even improve upon last fall’s totals. Though I think Central Michigan or Ball State is the team to beat for the MAC championship, I have Miami winning the East division with a 8-4 record, 6-2 in the MAC. And the future looks even brighter — the Redhawks have a roster that is young enough to expect another strong season in 2009.
Re-ranking: No. 110.

2008 record and recap: (2-10, 1-7). So let me get this straight: Not only did last year’s preview predict the RedHawks to win the East, it also projected Miami to be the team to beat in 2009? Wow. (Quickly backpedaling.) This was one of the Countdown’s biggest misses of 2008. I felt Miami, in its fourth year under Coach Shane Montgomery, was ready to take a monumental step forward after making a four-win improvement in the 2007 season. Instead, the RedHawks reverted back to their 2006 form, when the team finished with an identical 2-10 mark. This regression cost Montgomery his job, and rightfully so. The Hawks were inefficient on offense (see the team’s 10 touchdown passes in 461 attempts), Montgomery’s area of expertise, and shockingly poor on defense (32.7 points and 208.3 yards rushing per game). Looking at these numbers, I’m not surprised the team finished 2-10; looking at its roster, I remain shocked. As a replacement for Montgomery, Miami tabbed the former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood, a solid recruiter and coordinator with extensive experience as an assistant under some of the top coaches in the F.B.S. This team may not be as far off from competitiveness as some of the other team’s in the Countdown’s bottom 20, but Haywood will face a stiff task in immediately returning Miami to its typical place among the MAC’s elite.

High point: Miami’s only victory over an F.B.S. opponent was a 27-20 win over Bowling Green on Oct. 18. Though 2-5 over all at this point, the Hawks were only 1-2 in MAC play, keeping alive their dim East division hopes.

Low point: The worst losses: By 54-21 to Kent State, 42-14 to Toledo and 41-26 to Ohio. Those three teams combined to win 11 games in 2008, and the three wins over Miami made up nearly half of their combined eight MAC victories.

Tidbit: In addition to being considered one of the original eight Public Ivies, Miami has the noble distinction of being the 10th-oldest public college in the United States. It is the second-oldest liberal arts university in the state of Ohio, trailing only Ohio University, which was founded in the town of Athens in 1804. (Thanks to loyal reader Devon for this note; you can see his comment below.)

Tidbit (European edition): Miami University has four campuses: the main campus in Oxford and regional campuses in Hamilton, Ohio (the City of Sculpture), Middletown, Ohio, and Differdange, Luxembourg. Yes, Luxembourg, the smallest nation in the European Union, is the home of Miami’s interesting Dolibois European Center, where about 130 students come to study abroad each semester.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 9 – OG Jacob Bell (St. Louis Rams), QB Josh Betts (Indianapolis Colts), S John Busing (Cincinnati Bengals), CB Darrell Hunter (New Orleans Saints), WR Martin Nance (Pittsburgh Steelers), LB Terna Nande (San Diego Chargers), TE Jake O’Connell (Kansas City Chiefs), WR Ryne Robinson (Carolina Panthers), QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers).

Top five N.F.L. players from Miami University: Not exactly a jaw-dropping list, though the RedHawks earn credit for having a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Through 20 teams, our top three are Syracuse (by a wide margin), S.M.U. and San Diego State.

1. QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh 2004-present)
2. FB Sherman Smith (Seattle, San Diego; 1976-83)
3. RB Rob Carpenter (Houston, Giants, Los Angeles; 1977-86)
4. LB Bob Babich (San Diego, Cleveland; 1970-78)
5. DB Ernie Kellerman (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo; 1966-73)

Team

Conference: Mid-American, East division.

Head coach: Michael Haywood (Notre Dame ’86), entering his first season. This is also Haywood’s first head-coach assignment on any level. For such a young coach (he recently turned 45, though he doesn’t look it), Haywood brings to his first top job a very impressive resume, one that includes assistant positions at some of the nation’s most prestigious programs (L.S.U., Texas, Notre Dame) and under some of the country’s top coaches. His latest assistant position came with the Irish, where he served as offensive coordinator under Charlie Weis, 2005-8. While Weis retained play-calling duties from the majority of that stretch, Haywood still earned the respect of his peers for the job he did reversing the run-based culture the new N.D. coaching staff faced upon their arrival. In 2005, the American Football Coaches Association named Haywood the F.B.S. Assistant Coach of the Year. Last fall, Weis granted Haywood control of Notre Dame’s play-calling duties; while this new status didn’t last the entire season — Weis eventually took it back — the Irish did average 103 more yards of offense per game than in 2007. Prior to his time with Notre Dame, Haywood served under two great college coaches in Mack Brown at Texas and Nick Saban at L.S.U. He coached the running backs at both stops, while also serving as special teams coordinator with the Tigers (1995-2002) and recruiting coordinator for the Longhorns (2003-4). Haywood brings big-time college coaching experience to Miami, as well as a reputation for being one of the nation’s most determined recruiters. His lack of head coaching experience and his limited play-calling experience are the only drawbacks to an otherwise sterling record.

Tidbit (coaching edition): This Miami coaching staff is as experienced as any new group in the country. Four of Haywood’s assistants began their coaching careers at least 30 years ago, including the quarterbacks coach Morris Watts, whose first coaching job was in the same capacity at Drake University in 1965. His 44 years of coaching experience makes him the most veteran assistant on the staff. Carl “Bull” Reese, one of the most well-regarded defensive coordinators in the F.B.S., returns to coaching after a five-year hiatus. His last coaching stop was as the defensive coordinator at Texas (1998-2003) under Mack Brown; Reese coached alongside Haywood during his final season with the Longhorns and for three seasons at L.S.U. (1995-97).

Returning starters: 13 (8 offense, 5 defense).

Key losses: The RedHawks lost only three starters off last year’s offense, though two — Steve Sutter and Dave DiFranco — were multiple-year starters on the offensive line. Sutter, a former defensive lineman, so excelled at protecting the quarterback’s blindside that Miami placed him at either left or right tackle depending on the throwing arm of the quarterback. DiFranco earned third-team all-MAC honors at left guard as a junior. Tight end Jake O’Connell (25 receptions for 258 yards) was the team’s lone draft pick (7th round to Kansas City). On defense, star Miami linebackers Joey Hudson and Clayton Mullins surprised no one by earning first-team all-MAC honors as seniors. This pair formed the nucleus of a defense and, with the rising senior Caleb Bostic, a tremendous linebacker corps that the Countdown felt would drive this team to their second consecutive MAC East title. The Hawks may have fallen short of that goal, but it wasn’t because of a lack of production from this departed pair. Hudson led the team and set a career-high with 109 tackles (8 for loss); he also added an interception, giving him eight over his final three seasons with the Hawks. Mullins, the 2007 MAC Defensive Player of the Year, finished second on the team with 105 stops (a team-best 10 for loss). Miami will not be able to replace this production in 2009. Safety Robbie Wilson (77 tackles, third on the team) led the Hawks with three interceptions. On special teams, kicker Nate Parseghian, the great-grandnephew of Miami graduate and coaching legend Ara Parseghian, notched a sterling 20-23 mark on field goals en route to first-team all-conference honors. Parseghian’s three misses on the season came from 36, 40 and 47 yards.

Players to watch: The Hawks returns most of their offensive contributors from a season ago, raising hopes that merely adding Haywood can transform an ineffective unit into one of the MAC’s best. Any improvement must begin at quarterback, where the senior Daniel Raudabaugh seems to have held off any competition to remain the team’s starter. Raudabaugh was the primary starter last season, though he did split time with the sophomore Clay Belton. In 2008, the senior threw for 1960 yards and 8 touchdowns against 9 interceptions, numbers that need to improve this fall. Belton, injured through much of the spring, lost his No. 2 spot to the redshirt freshman Zac Dysert. Expect Belton, Dysert and incoming freshman Austin Boucher to compete for the starting quarterback job in 2010 and beyond. The Hawks may be able to rely on a steady running game, one that returns the team’s three leading rushers from 2008 in Thomas Merriweather (547 yards), J. R. Taylor (427) and Andre Bratton (366). These three largely split carries last fall (Merriweather led the way with 140), and there is no reason to expect that not to continue in 2009. Depth continues at wide receiver, which returns four players with at least 33 receptions a season ago; include Bratton, a very good third-down back, and the team returns five players with at least 30 catches. A player to watch is the junior receiver Chris Givens, who led the team with 513 yards (on 35 receptions, a 14.7 average) and 7 touchdown grabs. Recent Notre Dame teams have done a tremendous job at spreading the ball around to a number of different receivers, and the Hawks have the requisite depth for Haywood to continue that trend at Miami. I have some concerns about the offensive line, though the Hawks return three players with starting experience. The unit will receive a boost from the arrival of three linemen in this year’s recruiting class, but there are no seniors and only two juniors (Nate Williams and Bob Gulley) in the entire group. Gulley, the likely starter at right guard, is the most experienced of the bunch. With the departure of Hudson and Mullins, the RedHawks will need to find a new leader on its defense. They need look no further than Bostic, the senior linebacker who, when healthy, combined with Mullins and Hudson to give Miami the best non-B.C.S. conference linebacker corps in the country. But therein lies the issue with Bostic: He needs to remain on the field. After busting out with an 103-tackle (11 for loss) sophomore season, Bostic was limited to only nine games and 40 tackles a season ago. He’ll need to really put his game together as a senior if Miami is to maintain its high level of play at the linebacker spot. He’s certainly capable of replacing his predecessors as an all-conference performer. So we’ve got Bostic at linebacker: Who will join him? That’s a major issue for the Hawks, who need to find starters with a nose for the football and a knack for making big plays; the team had only 13 sacks and 6 interceptions in 2008. Miami will rely heavily on the junior Brandon Stephens, Ben Bennett and Jordan Gafford in the secondary. Stephens is the team’s second-leading returning tackler (30, trailing only Bostic). Bennett had a very good spring game, indicating he is ready to graduate from his nickel spot of 2008 into a starting role. Gafford missed all but two games last fall due to injury, but will take on a large role with his return to full health. The junior DeAndre Gilmore, who backed up Wilson at strong safety as a sophomore, is a favorite to take over the starting role this season.

Position battle to watch: The defensive line lost a pair of starters in Travis Craven (19 tackles, 2 sacks) and Joe Coniglio (24 tackles, 4 sacks), forcing an already disappointing unit to break in at least a pair of new contributors. This is a group that must get a better effort if the team is to improve upon its 208.3 yards of rushing offense allowed in 2008, especially when given Miami’s losses at linebacker. Much like the offensive line, the defensive front features only two upperclassmen (nose tackles Martin Channels and Mark Paun). Who will step up? The redshirt freshman William Diaz impressed with his solid play in the spring game, but is so unproven that not only does his university bio remain blank, he was not even included in Miami’s prespring roster. Realizing the potential depth issue his team faces along the line, Haywood signed six defensive linemen in his first recruiting class. While it is rare for freshmen to contribute along the defensive line in their rookie season, some of these youngsters may be forced into action. This is a situation worth revisiting heading up to and into the beginning of the season.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Kentucky (at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati)
Sept. 12 @ Boise State
Sept. 19 @ Western Michigan
Sept. 26 @ Kent State
Oct. 3 Cincinnati
Oct. 10 Northwestern
Oct. 17 @ Ohio
Oct. 24 Northern Illinois
Oct. 31 Toledo
Nov. 5 @ Temple
Nov. 12 Bowling Green
Nov. 18 Buffalo

Game(s) to watch: Four road games to start the season (the Kentucky game is in Cincinnati but should feature a large pro-U.K. crowd) will make Haywood’s first month a difficult one, even though Kent State is certainly winnable. The schedule lightens up when the team enters MAC play as the RedHawks should have a shot in each of those final six games.

Season breakdown & prediction: After going through the Miami roster, I recall why I thought so highly of them a season ago: The team has a large amount of returning talent on offense – including nearly every single offensive skill player – though the defense does not look as good on paper as it did prior to the 2008 season. Looking back at last fall, what prevented Miami from repeating as East division champs was, to an outsider’s eye, a tendency to lose its mental edge. The Hawks either lacked the ability or the determination (I believe it’s the latter) to fight themselves back into games when trailing, a fact that led to each of its losses being of the double-digit variety. Similarly to Brady Hoke at San Diego State, Haywood will need to reverse this culture before the Hawks can be expected to return to being among the MAC’s elite. I have little doubt that Haywood can do this, but I don’t believe it will happen in 2009. The schedule is too difficult: Check out Miami’s nonconference slate of U.K., Boise, Cincinnati and Northwestern. I don’t think the Hawks will take any of those, and may get blown out more often than not. I believe Miami will be far better in MAC play, but will finish below .500 for the fourth consecutive season: 4-8, but 4-4 in the MAC. This record could increase with a non-conference upset or drop with an extra loss in conference play.

Dream season: Miami returns to its rightful place atop the East division with an 8-4 season, 6-2 in MAC play.

Nightmare season: Haywood’s first season reminds many of Montgomery’s last, as the Hawks match their 2008 record at 2-10, 1-7 in the conference.

Where do Miami University fans congregate: I’m a big fan of MiamiHawkTalk.com, and not only because the name rolls off the tongue so nicely. It is the premier – and I’m not just saying this (I admit, sometimes I embellish in this section) – place to talk Miami football, baseball, basketball (men’s and women’s), hockey, field hockey and cross country. Alright, maybe not the last two, but it’s the place to be.

Who is No. 100?: This university was founded in one state, but moved to another — its current location — during the height of the Civil War.

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The Quad Countdown: No. 100 Marshall

Location: Huntington, West Virginia.

Nickname: Thundering Herd. “The Thundering Herd” is a 1925 novel by Zane Grey (seen here holding a koala), the prolific author and outdoorsman.

Last year’s ranking: No. 110.

What was said:

I respect the Marshall athletic administration for scheduling up every season, but it has become difficult for recent Thundering Herd teams to bounce back from a 1-3 or 0-4 out-of-conference mark and reach .500, let alone a bowl game. Marshall won three conference games in 2007, and with a more fitting schedule could have won five or six games over all. With less talent than in the past — and there is undoubtedly less talent on the Snyder-coached teams than there were on the Pruett teams — Marshall fans may need to expect, and accept, the program’s new place on the totem pole. Three out-of-conference losses combined with a 3-5 conference finish equals a 4-8 season for Snyder and the Herd.
Re-ranking: No. 99.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 3-5). Right on the mark. As predicted, Marshall was blown out in three of its four nonconference games. This is a recent trend that will need to end if the Thundering Herd is to return to bowl play. As last year’s preview stated, the Herd could very easily be annual bowl competitors if the university opted to simplify the team’s nonconference slate. Case in point: In conference play, Marshall finished below .500, but three losses came by 3 points or fewer, including an overtime loss to the eventual conference champion, East Carolina. With an easier nonconference schedule and a lucky break here and there, Marshall could have won seven games. Yes, and if I didn’t watch so much college football I’d have more friends. The story in 2008 was a lack of consistency; the Herd followed a great 3-1 start with three consecutive losses, and a solid win over Houston with four straight losses to end the season. Sadly, this has been a trend under Coach Mark Snyder, now 16-31 after four seasons at Marshall. This year will be a big one for Snyder — a Marshall legend as a player — as the team must show significant progress if he is to deserve another year at his alma mater.

High point: Each of Marshall’s three conference victories came over an eventual bowl participant. The most impressive was a 37-23 win over Houston, although wins over Memphis and Southern Mississippi in consecutive weeks in September are notable.

Low point: Two of Marshall’s conference losses were of the blowout variety: Central Florida (by 30-14) and Rice (by 35-10). Those losses came in back-to-back weeks in November, putting an end to Marshall’s bowl hopes. No one expected Marshall to earn a victory against B.C.S. conference competition, but the Herd lost those three contests (Cincinnati, at Wisconsin and West Virginia) by the combined score of 111-27.

Tidbit: Marshall University is named after John Marshall, who was Chief Justice of the United States and a dominant figure in shaping early constitutional law, especially with regard to the relationship between federal and state law. He served on the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, a period referred to as the Marshall Court, in addition to his time as a United States Representative from Virginia (1799-1800) and as the secretary of state (1800-1). Franklin and Marshall, the prestigious liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, is also named after Marshall; it was founded as Marshall College in 1836.

Tidbit (coaching edition): Who is Archer Reilly? Here is all I know: As a coach, Reilly led the 1919 Thundering Herd to an 8-0 record. That team outscored opponents, 302-13, a scoring differential of 289 points. Wins that season were against Transylvania (in Kentucky, not Eastern Europe), Greenbrier Military Academy (twice) and Muskingum, but still mighty impressive. Does anyone have additional information on perhaps the best one-year wonder in F.B.S. coaching history?

Former players in the N.F.L.: 11 – RB Ahmad Bradshaw (Giants), S Chris Crocker (Cincinnati Bengals), P Chris Hanson (New England Patriots), QB Byron Leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), C Doug Legursky (Pittsburgh Steelers), C Chris Massey (St. Louis Rams), WR Randy Moss (New England Patriots), QB Chad Pennington (Miami Dolphins), TE Jason Rader (Atlanta Falcons), CB C.J. Spillman (San Diego Chargers), C John Wade (Oakland Raiders).

Top five N.F.L. players from Marshall: The Thundering Herd comes close to knocking off San Diego State for third place on our list, but will have to settle for fourth. The Countdown has decided to focus on only our top three teams, so Marshall will surely be quickly forgotten. Through 21 teams, it’s Syracuse, S.M.U. and San Diego State, in that order.

1. WR Randy Moss (Minnesota, Oakland, New England; 1998-present)
2. C Frank Gatski (Cleveland, Detroit; 1946-57)
3. QB Chad Pennington (Jets, Miami; 2000-present)
4. WR Troy Brown (New England; 1993-2007)
5. QB Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville, Atlanta, Pittsburgh; 2003-present)

Team

Conference: Conference USA, East division.

Head coach: Mark Snyder (Marshall ’88), 16-31 after four seasons with the Herd. After experiencing an extended period of standout play under the former coaches Jim Donnan and Bob Pruett (11 double-digit win seasons, 1991-2002), Marshall’s four-year record under Snyder has to be viewed as a disappointment. Still, a number of extenuating circumstances can be cited when explaining Snyder’s sub-.500 career mark. He was hired in the spring of 2005 — much, much later than most new coaches — after Pruett shocked the university administration by stepping down. That Marshall team was one of the youngest on record, making a difficult transition even harder. Coming off a strong finish in 2006, Marshall was hampered in 2007 by running back Ahmad Bradshaw’s decision to leave college early and by a knee injury to the reigning conference defensive player of the year, Albert McClellan, who missed the entire season. You can perhaps excuse the team’s slow development under his watch (at least in terms of victories), but this coming season will be very important for Snyder and his staff. With a number of returning starters and contributors littering the roster, Snyder will find himself on the hot seat if the Thundering Herd doesn’t deliver with an improved on-field product. Before returning to his alma mater (he was also a graduate assistant in 1988), Snyder was an assistant at U.C.F., Youngstown State, Minnesota and Ohio State. He worked under Jim Tressel at both Y.S.U. and Ohio State, including one season (2004, his final season) as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator.

Returning starters: 16 (8 offense, 8 defense).

Key losses: The Herd will be without the services of receiver Darius Passmore, who led the team with 56 receptions and 945 receiving yards. Passmore — what a great name for a receiver — also finished second on the team with seven touchdown grabs. He was by far the team’s favorite receiving target; no other wideout on the roster finished 2008 with more than 17 grabs. Marshall lost a terrific backup running back in Chubb Small, who finished second on the team with 430 yards rushing. Small also contributed in both the kick- and punt-return games. The only starter not returning on the offensive line is center Brian Leggett, a two-year starter at right guard, 2006-7. Leggett was moved inside to center as a replacement for the all-conference standout Doug Legursky, and he didn’t disappoint. The biggest loss on the Marshall defense is the all-conference safety C. J. Spillman. His 2008 numbers (71 tackles) fell short of his terrific 2007 season, when he led the team and finished third in the conference with 131 stops. Spillman came to Marshall as a running back, and that athleticism showed in the defensive backfield. Linebacker Maurice Kitchens did it all for the Herd, finishing second on the team in tackles (97), tied for first in tackles for loss (7) and first in interceptions (4). That kind of production is difficult to replace.

Players to watch: Marshall finds itself in a difficult situation offensively; the team’s most dynamic skill player, the junior running back Darius Marshall, is questionable for the season after a recent arrest on drug charges. The charges will not earn either Marshall or teammate DeQuan Bembrey any jail time, but neither is guaranteed to rejoin the team this season. If I had to guess — probably not a smart thing to do in this situation — I would think both would receive at least a one-game suspension but return to the team in 2009. In 2008, Marshall led the team in rushing with 1,095 yards, earning all-conference honors in the process. This stood as a nice follow-up to his 631-yard rookie season, when he was named to the Conference USA all-freshman team. If he is unavailable this season, Marshall will look toward the sophomore Terrell Edwards; the senior Antawn Booker, a converted linebacker; and the incoming freshman Martin Ward, one of the jewels of Marshall’s recruiting class. Though Darius Marshall may be the team’s most explosive skill player, the offense’s most consistent contributor is the senior tight end Cody Slate, a recipient of multiple first-team all-conference honors. Though limited to 10 games last fall because of a leg injury, Slate led Marshall with eight touchdown grabs; he finished second to Passmore with 40 receptions for 516 yards. Though a bit undersized (6 feet 4 inches, 220 pounds), Slate is the conference’s best tight end and an all-American candidate. As noted earlier, receiver is a question mark. The team’s leading returning wideout is Bryan Milligan, who finished 2008 with 17 receptions for 144 yards. He has the inside track on the No. 1 spot, but a player to watch is the Juco transfer Wayne Bonner, who has the size and athleticism to move immediately into the starting rotation. The Marshall offensive line has great potential, starting with bookend sophomore tackles Ryan Tillman and C. J. Wood. Each was named to the conference’s all-freshman team a season ago.

On defense, Marshall takes it cue from the senior end Albert McClellan, the 2006 Conference USA defensive player of the year. As a sophomore in 2006, McClellan led the conference with 11 sacks and 19 tackles for loss, as well as finishing fourth on the team with 77 tackles. After missing all of the 2007 season with a torn A.C.L., McClellan was a first-team all-conference member last fall, when he posted 58 stops (4.5 for loss) and 2.5 sacks. Now two years removed from his A.C.L. tear, big things are expected of McClellan as a senior. McClellan is one of four returning starters on the defensive front. The team also returns its leading tackler in the junior linebacker Mario Harvey (107 stops) and the senior linebacker Brandon Burns (69, 1.5 sacks). The performance of the secondary will depend on Bembry’s availability (he was also cited for another violation of team rules in March). If he is unable to return this season, his fellow sophomore T. J. Drakeford will become the team’s best cornerback. Drakeford, along with Bembry, earned all-freshman honors a season ago. The senior Ashton Hall (49 tackles, 1 interception) leads the way at safety. He’ll be accompanied by the senior John Saunders and the sophomore Omar Brown.

Position battle to watch: Quarterback is one area that could undergo a change. Last year’s starter, the sophomore Mark Cann, must hold off three competitors to keep his job. As a freshman, Cann threw for 1,767 yards and 14 touchdowns. But his 13 interceptions must come down, and his 50.2 percent completion percentage must go up. Only one of his challengers, the junior Brian Anderson, was on the roster in 2008. Anderson stepped in for an injured, ineffective Cann in the season finale and nearly led the Herd to an upset of heavily favored Tulsa (a 38-35 loss). Anderson’s experience in the system gives him a leg up over Juco transfers Press Taylor and Jacob Laudenslayer. I’m most excited about Taylor (the younger brother of the former Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor), who led Butler County Community College to back-to-back Junior College national championships. If he is anywhere near the player his brother was, it shouldn’t be long before Taylor grabs the starting role.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Southern Illinois
Sept. 12 @ Virginia Tech
Sept. 19 Bowling Green
Sept. 26 @ Memphis
Oct. 3 East Carolina
Oct. 10 @ Tulane
Oct. 17 @ West Virginia
Oct. 24 U.A.B.
Nov. 1 @ U.C.F.
Nov. 14 Southern Mississippi
Nov. 21 S.M.U.
Nov. 28 @ UTEP

Game(s) to watch: Marshall’s late-season run through Conference USA’s various initials will be its best chance at an extended winning streak. The nonconference slate is easier than last fall, though the Virginia Tech and West Virginia games are losses.

Season breakdown & prediction: Marshall has a shot at going 2-2 out of conference, which would be huge for this team. If it does — Bowling Green is the most important nonconference game — Marshall has a shot at bowl play. Yes, it has a shot, but I’m not willing to go out on a limb and predict the Herd to reach bowl eligibility. A number of things would need to come together first. The Herd would need to develop consistency at quarterback. Four players are competing for the job, and the situation may not be settled when the season opens in September. If the team loses Darius Marshall for an extended period of time, it will need to replace his production with three thus-far unproven backs, one of whom is a true freshman. Wide receiver lacks any experienced playmakers, though hopes are high that Bratton can replace Passmore as the team’s top option. On the flip side, the plethora of returning talent on defense leaves little reason for concern, other than this corps of starters was responsible for allowing an average of 27.7 points and 418.1 yards of total offense last fall. I don’t think Marshall will be as good as seven wins, nor as bad as four, so I’m going somewhere in the middle: 5-7, 3-5 in conference play.

Dream season: The Herd finally gives its fans something to cheer for with an 8-4 regular season. Snyder receives a nice contract extension.

Nightmare season: Snyder and the Herd hit rock bottom: 2-10, 1-7 in conference play.

Where Thundering Herd fans congregate: Check out HerdGrapvine.com, HerdNation.com and InsideTheHerd.com.

Who is No. 99? And so we bid adieu to triple digits. Hey, only 99 teams left! Our next team scored a total of 80 points during an 0-8 October and November.

link 99
The Quad Countdown: No. 99 Washington

Location: Seattle.

Nickname: Huskies.

Last year’s ranking: No. 63. Yes, 63.

What was said:

The good news for Husky fans is that this team, despite losses at the offensive skill positions, is more talented than any thus far under Willingham. However, before we get ahead of ourselves, a dose of reality: the Huskies’ schedule is a killer, and despite the expected improvement, the team may still find itself scratching and clawing to get to .500. The season will be made in the games against other second-tier Pac-10 teams: Stanford, Arizona, U.C.L.A. and Washington State. Anything less than a 3-1 mark in those four games would mean the Huskies are again staying home during bowl season. I think that while Washington is improved, they will do no better than a 6-6 mark. Will that be good enough for Willingham to keep his job?
Re-ranking: No. 118.

2008 record and recap: (0-12, 0-9). Merely 18 years ago, the Don James-led Huskies ran the table, finishing 12-0, and were named the national champions in the U.P.I. and USA Today/CNN polls. (One can very easily make the case that the Huskies, who won all but one game by at least 11 points, were better than Miami, the champ chosen by The Associated Press.) In the 12 years that followed that dream season, Washington won at least six games each season. But in the last five years, Washington has won a total of 12 games, and last season’s winless campaign stands as the lowest point in the long, storied history of the program. How could things possibly go so wrong?

It’s hard to pinpoint the determining factors behind the program’s precipitous slide (I’m sure the Husky fan base has theories, which I’d love to hear), but when looking at 2008, it seemed a perfect mix of a deadly schedule, key injuries and a lack of confidence from the coaching staff down through the roster that led to Washington’s being the only winless team in the F.B.S. Mercifully, the university opted to fire Coach Ty Willingham in October, effective at the end of the season, ending his miserable four-year tenure with the Huskies. After courting a number of candidates, the Huskies decided on the former Southern California offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, whose brash and outspoken persona stands in direct contrast to that of the always-stoic Willingham.

High point: This is very difficult to choose. The Huskies lost two games by a field goal or less – to Brigham Young and Washington State – but those games were the team’s most difficult losses to swallow. Only one other defeat, a 35-28 loss to Stanford, came by single digits. So, instead, I’ll say the high point was this: Despite going winless, at least 57,000 fans attended each of Washington’s seven home games. Now that’s a good fan base, even if some left early.

Low point: Honestly, though the B.Y.U. and W.S.U. losses were the narrowest of the season, no defeats hurt more. After scoring a touchdown with two seconds left to pull the Huskies to a point behind B.Y.U. (28-27) on the second weekend of the season, quarterback Jake Locker flipped the football over his shoulder in celebration, earning a ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Huskies were penalized 15 yards on the P.A.T., which – of course – they subsequently missed. In the 101st edition of the Apple Cup, Washington State slipped past the Huskies, 16-13.

Tidbit: Washington had what remains the second-longest winning streak (39 games) in N.C.A.A. history, from 1908 to 1914. That trails only Oklahoma’s 50-game winning streak (1953-57). But the Huskies have college football’s longest undefeated streak (including ties), a 63-game stretch from 1908 to 1917. Gloomy Gil Dobie, the Washington coach from 1908 to 1916, concluded his remarkable Husky career with a 58-0-3 record.

Tidbit (language edition): The University of Washington offers instruction in 71 different languages, giving it the second-most prolific foreign language program in the nation. Washington is also the only university to teach all of the Baltic languages (to the best of my knowledge, Latvian and Lithuanian). Your language options as a student include Altaic, both Biblical and Targumic Aramaic, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Navajo, Old Saxon and Syriac.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 25 – OT Khalif Barnes (Jacksonville Jaguars), TE Mark Bruener (Houston Texans), QB Mark Brunell (New Orleans Saints), OG Stanley Daniels (Jets), CB Mesphin Forrester (Jacksonville Jaguars), C Juan Garcia (Minnesota Vikings), S Dashon Goldson (San Francisco 49ers), DE Greyson Gunheim (Oakland Raiders), QB Damon Huard (San Francisco 49ers), DT Tank Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals), C Olin Kreutz (Chicago Bears), CB Roy Lewis (Pittsburgh Steelers), WR Dane Looker (St. Louis Rams), DB Omare Lowe (Jacksonville Jaguars), C Bryan Pittman (Houston Texans), RB Louis Rankin (Oakland Raiders), RB Marcel Reece (Oakland Raiders), DT Jordan Reffett (Pittsburgh Steelers), WR Isaiah Stanbeck (Dallas Cowboys), TE Jerramy Stevens (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), OT Joe Toledo (San Francisco 49ers), QB Marques Tuiasosopo (Oakland Raiders), S C.J. Wallace (Seattle Seahawks), WR Reggie Williams (Jacksonville Jaguars).

Top five N.F.L. players from Washington: Three former Huskies have gone on to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, giving them the second-most total of any team (behind Syracuse) so far on the Countdown. They move into second place behind the Orange, ahead of S.M.U.; San Diego State gets the boot from our list. Better luck next year, guys.

1. RB Hugh McElhenny (San Francisco, Minn., Giants, Detroit; 1954-64)
2. QB Warren Moon (Houston, Minnesota, Seattle, K.C.; 1984-2000)
3. C Ray Mansfield (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh; 1963-76)
4. OT Arnie Weinmeister (New York Yankees, Giants; 1948-53)
5. RB Corey Dillon (Cincinnati, New England; 1997-2006)

Team

Conference: Pac-10.

Head coach: Steve Sarkisian (Brigham Young ’97), entering his first season with the Huskies. Sarkisian comes to Seattle after a spending seven seasons as a key member of Pete Carroll’s staff at U.S.C. He first arrived at Southern California as an offensive assistant (2001) before rapidly climbing the team’s offensive ladder. For the last two seasons, Sarkisian served as the Trojans’ offensive coordinator; over this time, U.S.C. went 23-3 and averaged at least 32 points and 430 yards of total offense. Before taking on play-calling duties – a job he took over from Lane Kiffin, now the Tennessee coach – Sarkisian was the team’s quarterbacks coach (2002-3, 2005-6). Over that four-year period, Sarkisian was responsible for tutoring two Heisman Trophy winners, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, and an all-conference honoree, John David Booty.

Sarkisian was also U.S.C.’s assistant head coach from 2005 to 2008. A one-year hiatus from U.S.C. (2004) was spent as the quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders; probably because of this stint, and his success at U.S.C., Sarkisian was Al Davis’s first choice to replace Norv Turner as Oakland’s head coach in 2007, a position that eventually went to Kiffin. Sarkisian is a young, energetic, emotional coach – like his former boss, Carroll – who should have an immediate impact in rallying the support of both his players and the Husky fan base. It’s not as if Willingham left the cupboard completely bare of talent, but Sarkisian will face a difficult task in rebuilding this program from its lowest point back to the top of the Pac-10.

Returning starters: 18 (8 offense, 10 defense).

Key losses: The Huskies lost only three starters (five if you include kicker Ryan Perkins and P Jared Ballman). That can be construed as either a good thing (returning talent never hurts) or a bad thing (these guys went 0-12 last fall). The Countdown, as loyal readers probably know, reeks of optimism despite writing 120 team previews in 120 days. On offense, the Huskies need to replace center Juan Garcia, guard Jordan White-Frisbee and tight end Michael Gottlieb.

The biggest loss is Garcia, a 37-game starter and two-time Husky offensive lineman of the year. White-Frisbee moved to the offensive line after a very strong freshman season at tackle; his 26 tackles (second among all Husky defensive linemen) earned him Pac-10 all-freshman team honors. As a senior, Gottlieb finished fourth on the team with 15 receptions for 197 yards. Running back Terrance Dailey, the team’s leading rusher last fall (338 yards) as a freshman, left the university in the spring for academic reasons and will transfer. The only Husky starter not returning on defense is cornerback Mesphin Forrester, a three-year starter in the Washington secondary. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jaguars shortly after last month’s draft. Linebacker Chris Stevens finished eighth on the team with 33 tackles and second with three sacks. On the line, the converted tight end Johnie Kirton added 27 tackles (2 for loss) in his first season of action on defense.

Players to watch: The Washington offense went into a tailspin after losing Locker for the season four games into 2008, and for good reason: Although his passing game needs to be refined, Locker’s athleticism in and out of the pocket makes the Huskies a different team. As a freshman, Locker set a Pac-10 record for rushing by a quarterback with 986 yards. Sarkisian can do a number of different things with an athlete that, but Locker, a junior, must begin to develop more consistency throwing the ball. His limited sophomore numbers were an improvement (completing 53.8 percent of his passes, up from 47.3 in 2007), but Sarkisian’s West Coast offense demands its quarterback complete at least 60 percent of his passes. Perhaps Locker’s effort in the spring game – 16 of 18 for 200 yards and 2 scores – is a sign of things to come, though that performance undoubtedly came against a very vanilla defense.

The sophomore Ronnie Fouch, thrust into duty after Locker’s injury, started the final eight games of the 2008 season. He’ll again serve as the team’s No. 2 quarterback. The Huskies have the option of utilizing a number of young backs in the running game, including the redshirt freshman Chris Polk, who started the first two games last fall before an injury caused him to miss the team’s final 10 games (he received an injury redshirt), and the sophomore Willie Griffin. Also in the mix is the true freshman Demitrius Bronson, who signed with the Huskies in early 2008 but delayed his enrollment until this spring. Leading the way at receiver is the junior D’Andre Goodwin, an honorable mention all-Pac-10 selection in 2008. He led the team with 60 receptions for 692 yards last fall, more than doubling his next-closest competitor in each category.

I’m excited to watch the redshirt freshman Anthony Boyles, one of the most highly touted recruits of the Willingham era, make a push for playing time at receiver. The Huskies are in the process of major upheaval along the offensive line; it looks as if each of the team’s four returning starters will be playing at a different position in 2009. Last year’s right tackle, Cody Habben, will move to the left tackle spot, forcing the senior Ben Ossai to move inside to left guard, where he’ll battle Ryan Tolar for the starting spot. The Huskies would be wise to play Tolar at center so the above three, the best group of linemen on the roster, can be on the field at the same time.

The defense, now under the leadership of the former U.S.C. defensive coordinator Nick Holt, returns 17 players who started at least one game a season ago. The best of the bunch is the senior end Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, the 2008 team leader in sacks (8) and tackles for loss (11.5). He also led the team in sacks in 2007. Darrion Jones, Alameda Ta’amu and Cameron Elisara will form the heart of the Husky interior line. The Husky linebacker corps is as experienced as any group in the Pac-10. The returning starters Mason Foster (the Pac-10 leader in tackles), Donald Butler and Trenton Tuiasosopo will be joined by the 2007 starter E.J. Savannah, who sat out all of last season. As of now, Foster and Savannah (the team’s leading tackler in 2007) will start on the outside, with Butler and Tuiasosopo splitting time in the middle.

Position battle to watch: Despite losing only a single starter, the Husky secondary remains a major issue. The only Husky in the defensive backfield who can feel secure in his starting job is the junior strong safety Nate Williams, the team’s second-leading tackler last fall (76). The sophomore cornerback Quinton Richardson, an 11-game starter as a rookie, will probably hold onto his starting job, but the cornerback position has been opened to as many as six competitors; four of then are either freshmen or sophomores. The juniors Matt Mosley and Vonzell McDowell Jr. started two games between them in 2008, potentially giving them a leg up over their competition. The Husky run defense in 2008 was awful, no question, but the team’s pass defense was equally abysmal despite allowing fewer yards per game. It’s vital that the Huskies improve in three important categories: passing touchdowns allowed (24), interceptions (7) and yards per pass attempt (8.1).

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 L.S.U.
Sept. 12 Idaho
Sept. 19 U.S.C.
Sept. 26 @ Stanford
Oct. 3 @ Notre Dame
Oct. 10 Arizona
Oct. 17 @ Arizona State
Oct. 24 Oregon
Nov. 7 @ U.C.L.A.
Nov. 14 @ Oregon State
Nov. 28 Washington State
Dec. 5 California

Game(s) to watch: As the Apple Cup showed last fall, the game is must-see football even when the Huskies and the Cougars enter the game with one victory between them. The Huskies break in the Sarkisian era against what will be a very good L.S.U. team.

Season breakdown & prediction: I believe you’ll see enough on-field progress for Husky fans to be excited about the future of this program, but the 2008 team has too many question marks to be considered anything more than a four-win club. Part of this – and I hate to sound like a broken record – is the schedule, which gets a little easier with the addition of Idaho (there’s at least one more win than in 2008) but still pits the Huskies against L.S.U. and Notre Dame, the latter game on the road. So where are wins going to come from? I’m willing to give Washington wins over both Idaho and rival Washington State, though the Apple Cup has recently seemed to go to the team that few expected to win.

I’m also willing to believe that the Huskies could perhaps take two Pac-10 games they’re not supposed to win. However, it’s clear that this program is pretty far off not only from reaching the top tier of the Pac-10, but also from being considered good enough to reach bowl play. There are too many question marks on this team: Can Locker fit in the new offense? Will the Huskies get enough out of their running game? Will the defense stop anyone? If Washington is serious about reclaiming its spot among the West Coast’s elite, then this is a multiple-year rebuilding project. My prediction for Year 1 is 4-8, 3-6 in conference play. But I wouldn’t be surprised by another double-digit-loss season.

Dream season: Sarkisian’s effect is seen immediately, as the Huskies post the nation’s largest single-season turnaround with an 8-4 regular season.

Nightmare season: A new year, a new coach, nearly the same result: 1-11, 0-9 in Pac-10 play.

Where Washington fans congregate: Like most big programs, there are a number of options out there to talk Washington football. If interested, take a trip to Dawgman.com, UDubSports.com and UWDawgPound.com. In addition, do yourself a favor and check out Bob Condotta’s Husky blog for The Seattle Times.

Who is No. 98?: The largest non-B.C.S. conference university (in terms of enrollment) on the Countdown.

#98 Link
The Quad Countdown: No. 98 Central Florida

Location: Orlando, Florida.

Nickname: Knights.

Last year’s ranking: No. 79.

What was said:

Underappreciated last season, the defense will lead the way for the Knights this fall while the team attempts to replace its core offensive skill players. After being one of the top three units in the conference last fall, the defense should be just as good, if not better, this coming season. The question is, just how far a step back will Central Florida take offensively? One thing that will undoubtedly change is the mentality of the offense, which was a smash-mouth unit a year ago but will have to rely more upon the passing game while it attempts to rebuild the ground attack. Still, I don’t see U.C.F. repeating as either a division or conference champion. Instead, the Knights will finish 7-5 and behind Memphis and Southern Mississippi in the East.
Re-ranking: No. 91.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 3-5). A year after taking both its division and Conference USA title with a 10-3 regular season, the Knights experienced a steep six-game nosedive and last-place finish in the East. This decline can be directly tied to the performance of the offense, which went from being one of the nation’s most effective in 2007 to perhaps its worst last fall. Scoring? Down nearly 20 points per game, from 35.9 in 2007 to 16.6 in 2008. Rushing? Down from 234.8 per game (thanks largely to Kevin Smith) to 113.2. Passing? From 176.9 per game and 7.2 yards per attempt to an abysmal 116.2 yards and 4.5 yards per pass. Just a horrific drop, one that not even an aggressive, opportunistic U.C.F. defense could offset. For Coach George O’Leary, another poor offensive showing in 2009 could spell the end of his six-year tenure at Central Florida. The good news is that the Knights return 10 starters from last year’s squad; of course, this fact is tempered by the loss of five starters off the U.C.F. defense, including all four members of its secondary. For O’Leary, who has alternated winning and losing seasons over his five-year tenure with the Knights (more on this in a moment), anything less than a return to bowl play will force the university administration to make a difficult choice regarding the future of the program.

High point: Central Florida’s most impressive victory was a 28-21 defeat of Memphis, one of Conference USA’s six bowl participants. The team’s three additional victories came over South Carolina State (a member of the F.C.S.), S.M.U. (1-11 on the season) and Marshall (4-8).

Low point: The only inexcusable loss was a 58-13 shellacking by UTEP, a team that came into the game riding a nine-game losing streak. It was over early: 10-0 after the first quarter, 27-7 at the half and 41-13 at the end of three. The Knights took both South Florida and East Carolina to overtime, but lost both games. The home loss to U.S.F. is notable for its announced attendance of 46,805, a U.C.F. on-campus record.

Tidbit: The Knights sandwiched their 10-win 2007 season with identical 4-8 marks in 2006 and 2008. On the 20 teams who finished the 2007 year with at least 10 wins, none both preceded and followed that season with a losing record, and only two –- Arizona State and Tennessee –- finished with a sub-.500 record last fall. Not surprisingly, Tennessee is breaking in a new coach in 2009.

Tidbit (fun with numbers edition): Beginning with 1994, his first season at Georgia Tech, George O’Leary has gone 32-41 in even-numbered years and 46-28 in odd-numbered years. He has yet to suffer a losing season in an odd year, while he has only twice won more than five games in an even year. We’ll see if this trend continues in 2009.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 21 – S Atari Bigby (Green Bay Packers), OT Patrick Brown (Carolina Panthers), CB Joe Burnett (Pittsburgh Steelers), QB Daunte Culpepper (Detroit Lions), DT Leger Douzable (Giants), TE Michael Gaines (Chicago Bears), OT Cornell Green (Oakland Raiders), RB Alex Haynes (Denver Broncos), LB Rashad Jeanty (Cincinnati Bengals), TE Darcy Johnson (Giants), CB Travonti Johnson (Giants), WR Brandon Marshall (Denver Broncos), TE Mike Merritt (Kansas City Chiefs), K Matt Prater (Denver Broncos), S Sha’reff Rashad (Giants), CB Asante Samuel (Philadelphia Eagles), OG Josh Sitton (Green Bay Packers), RB Kevin Smith (Detroit Lions), CB Jason Venson (Cleveland Browns), WR Mike Walker (Jacksonville Jaguars).

Top five N.F.L. players from Central Florida: Central Florida’s paltry top five is at least partially excused by its short history (the university didn’t field a team until 1979). As this list shows, the program is making up for lost time. Still, U.C.F. is far off 0f the top three.

1. QB Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota, Miami, Oakland, Detroit; 1999-present)
2. CB Asante Samuel (New England, Philadelphia; 2003-present)
3. WR Shawn Jefferson (S.D., New England, Atlanta, Detroit; 1991-2003)
4. WR Brandon Marshall (Denver; 2006-8)
5. CB Travis Fisher (St. Louis, Detroit; 2002-8)

Team

Conference: Conference USA, East division.

Head coach: George O’Leary (New Hampshire ’69), 26-36 after five seasons at U.C.F. O’Leary also compiled a 52-33 record at Georgia Tech from 1994-2001. O’Leary was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2000, when the Yellow Jackets finished 9-3, second in the A.C.C. He was also a two-time A.C.C. Coach of the Year (1998 and 2000). O’Leary’s college coaching career began at Syracuse, where he coached the defensive line for seven seasons (1980-86). He then went to Tech, where he served as Bobby Ross’s defensive coordinator from 1987-91; the Yellow Jackets won the 1990 national championship. After following Ross to the San Diego Chargers (defensive line coach from 1992-93), O’Leary returned to Georgia Tech as coordinator in 1994, when he took over for the fired Tim Lewis with three games remaining on a 1-10 season. Of course, O’Leary’s post-Georgia Tech career was tarnished by the controversy surrounding his brief tenure as the head coach at Notre Dame, which ended after one week after the university discovered a number of inaccuracies in his resume. After two years with the Minnesota Vikings (2002 as line coach, 2003 as coordinator), O’Leary was tabbed at Central Florida. It’s been a relatively up-and-down stretch. The Knights rebounded from an 0-11 initial campaign in 2004 to finish 8-5 in 2005, the biggest turnaround in the F.B.S. that season, but have posted twin 4-8 marks in 2006 and 2008 surrounding their conference championship-winning team in 2007. Now entering his sixth season, O’Leary needs to get the Knights back near the top of the conference if the university is to bring him back for another year.

Tidbit (coaching edition): As a result of last season’s offensive woes, O’Leary demoted the offensive coordinator Tim Salem to tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. He is replaced by Charlie Taaffe, an experienced coordinator and head coach on both the F.B.S. level and in the C.F.L. Taaffe’s most recent F.B.S. stop was at Maryland (2001-5), where his units routinely ranked among the top four in the A.C.C. in each meaningful offensive category. Taaffe has also been a coach on the F.C.S. level: He compiled a 55-47-1 record at The Citadel (not exactly a college football powerhouse) from 1987-96. The Bulldogs have posted only two winning seasons since his departure.

Returning starters: 16 (10 offense, 6 defense).

Key losses: Left tackle Patrick Brown may be the only U.C.F. starter not returning in 2009, but his loss is a big one. Brown, who started 50 games for the Knights, earned all-league honors in each of his four seasons, including back-to-back first-team honors as a junior and senior. Rare is the lineman who can come in and start as a true freshman, but Brown stepped immediately into the starting lineup out of high school and never left. He is surely one of the best offensive linemen in school history. Brown may be the team’s lone offensive starter not returning, but perhaps the best offensive player on the 2008 Knights was the cornerback Joe Burnett, a first-team all-America pick as a kick and punt returner as a senior. Burnett, who also earned first-team all-conference honors for the fourth straight season, averaged 28.7 yards per kick return and 14.5 yards per punt. He accounted for two special teams touchdowns, both on kicks; no U.C.F. offensive player scored more than three touchdowns on the season. On defense, Burnett teamed with fellow seniors Sha’reff Rashad, Johnell Neal and Jason Venson to give the Knights the best secondary in the conference. The four combined to start 183 games and intercept 50 passes for the Knights, including 15 picks in 2008 (Rashad led the team with five). Each earned all-conference honors as seniors, paced by first-team members Rashad and Burnett. Along with a ferocious front four, the 2008 Knights allowed only 207.7 yards passing per game with 18 picks against 14 touchdowns. In a positive sign for U.C.F., the last time the Knights were forced to replace four starters in the secondary was in 2005, when the above quartet -– then freshmen -– led the way in an 8-5 season.

Players to watch: Central Florida’s offensive ineptitude can be directly tied to the poor play the team received from its quarterbacks. Three different Knights played in at least three games -– Rob Calabrese, Michael Greco and Joe Weatherford – and none completed more than 49 percent of their passes. Calabrese, now a sophomore, started eight games for the Knights, making them one of four teams in the F.B.S. to have a rookie start the majority of its games. As one would expect from a true freshman, Calabrese struggled. He completed only 39.4 percent of his passes (65 of 165) while averaging only 73.8 yards per game. In his defense, Calabrese did throw for more touchdowns (seven) than interceptions (five), so the potential is there. I don’t believe it is too much of a stretch to say that Calabrese’s improvement in his second year as the starter is the key to Central Florida’s season. U.C.F. would be wise to rely heavily upon a stable of young, talented running backs, a group led by the sophomore Brynn Harvey. He was a member of the Conference USA all-freshman team after rushing for a team-leading 525 yards in 2008. He’ll be spelled by fellow sophomore Ronnie Weaver (348 yards). The U.C.F. offensive line will be reshuffled following Brown’s graduation. The sophomore Nick Pieschel, who started seven games at left guard in 2008, will move to Brown’s old left tackle spot. The U.C.F. coaching staff felt secure enough in the depth on their defensive line to move the redshirt freshman Theo Goins from defense to offense, where he is expected to serve as the team’s starting left guard. The wide receiver spot will receive a tremendous boost from the healthy return of the seniors Rocky Ross and A.J. Guyton, each of whom missed a significant part of last season. The pair’s return, along with the junior Brian Watters (a team-best 42 receptions for 594 yards) will give the Knights three very capable receivers to choose from in the passing game. While I recently stressed the importance of the secondary, the Central Florida defensive front was equally important to the over all success of the defense in 2008. With three returning starters in 2009 (end Antonio Wallace is the only loss), the sky is the limit for this group. They are led by the junior end Bruce Miller, who tied for the Conference USA lead as a sophomore with 17 tackles for loss; he also led the team with seven sacks. Tackle Torrell Troup (12 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks) is equally disruptive. Other options at end include the senior Jarvis Geathers (5.5 sacks) and the junior Travis Timmons, each of whom started at least five games a season ago. At linebacker, keep an eye on the junior Lawrence Young, who racked up 72 stops (10.5 for loss), a sack and an interception en route to honorable mention all-conference honors. Young, who lines up on the outside, will be joined by the senior middle linebacker Chance Henderson, who had 57 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 11 starts last fall.

Position battle to watch: Due to its losses, the position battle I’m most interested in is the ongoing competition in the secondary. Perhaps this unit’s saving grace in 2009 is the fact that all of the expected starters received ample playing time in Central Florida’s passing packages, where as many as three additional defensive backs were utilized to defend multiple-receiver sets. Still, the coaching staff were concerned enough to move starting outside linebacker Derrick Hallman (57 tackles, 1 interception) back to free safety. Hallman has typical safety size (6’0, 213 pounds), but it may take him some time to readjust (he was a defensive back in high school) to defending the pass. He’ll be joined at safety by the junior Reggie Weams, though the former quarterback Greco will also be in competition for playing time. At cornerback, the juniors Daniel Baldwin and Justin Boddie and the senior Emery Allen will battle for the two open starting spots. Though this trio has some game experience, they will need to really step up their games if the U.C.F. defense is to repeat last year’s totals.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Samford
Sept. 12 @ Southern Mississippi
Sept. 19 Buffalo
Sept. 26 @ East Carolina
Oct. 3 Memphis
Oct. 17 Miami (Fl.)
Oct. 24 @ Rice
Nov. 1 Marshall
Nov. 7 @ Texas
Nov. 14 Houston
Nov. 21 Tulane
Nov. 28 @ U.A.B.

Game(s) to watch: The home game against Miami is a banner event for the U.C.F. program, as the Knights could never have imagined getting the Hurricanes to come to Orlando prior to the construction of Bright House Networks Stadium in 2007. The closest U.C.F. gets to a breather with this schedule are the two-game groups against Rice and Marshall and Tulane and U.A.B.

Season breakdown & prediction: You can’t help but respect U.C.F. for its scheduling, as the Knights have recently taken on the challenge of playing at least one premier program in non-conference play a season. This year, they’ll take on two – Miami and Texas – as well 2008 MAC champion Buffalo. This should not be a mitigating factor when discussing whether or not the Knights finish the season above .500, as U.C.F., even in its best years, doesn’t finish any better than 2-2 in non-conference play. The real issue I have with this team is its offense, despite the nearly wholesale return of last year’s starting lineup. This unit showed nothing last fall to expect they would be anything more than marginally improved this season, unless Calabrese, a year wiser, takes a monumental step forward. Another concern is the secondary, which must replace four of the best performers in school history. I certainly have respect for O’Leary and the job has done over his career, but I don’t have high hopes for this team. I predict the Knights to finish no better than 5-7, leaving them outside of bowl play for the third time in four years. If that is the case, the program may have a new head coach in 2010.

Dream season: It’s an odd-numbered year, so Central Florida’s 8-4 regular season mark should come as no surprise.

Nightmare season: A repeat of last fall’s 4-8 record would spell the end for George O’Leary at U.C.F.

Where do U.C.F. fans congregate: UCFSports.com is the undisputed king of Central Florida Internet chatter. As always, if I missed anyone, post them below.

Who is No. 97?: The only program in the F.B.S. to have never had a winning season.

(05-27-2009 06:47 AM)NCowl Wrote:  Who is No. 97?: The only program in the F.B.S. to have never had a winning season.

HELLO AMBER KITTIES!!!

Yep....FIU is #97!...Yeayyyy....

Ehh, ok I can give them that. But we will be in the Top 25 before the end of the season....

#97 article link
The Quad Countdown: No. 97 Florida International

Location: Miami, Florida.

Nickname: Golden Panthers.

Last year’s ranking: No. 118.

What was said:

The non-conference schedule is a killer, and will doom F.I.U. to another dismal season before September is out. The second half of 2007 should provide a boost to a program desperately in need of a positive season; however, even in the struggling Sun Belt, Florida International is a notch below the rest. Another season-ending victory, this time over Western Kentucky, gives the Golden Panthers a pair of 1-11 seasons under Cristobal.
Re-ranking: No. 91.

2008 record and recap: (5-7, 3-4). Rarely does a five-win season mean so much to a program. For Florida International, the step up from one win over two seasons (1-23 from 2006-7) to nearly reaching bowl eligibility means a large step up in prestige, something that manifested itself in the best recruiting class in school history in 2009. It also means you can add another university to the list of burgeoning F.B.S. contenders in the state of Florida. What happened between 2007 and 2008 to make this team a bona fide contender in the Sun Belt? For starters, the juniors and seniors who took their lumps as underclassmen were prepared, both mentally and physically, to compete on an F.B.S. level. A nice influx of talented freshmen and sophomores helped, as did vastly improved quarterback play. Most importantly, the program seemed to have found its leader in the second-year coach Mario Cristobal, who also played an important role in Rutgers’ recent turnaround. Though overlooked, the team’s climb towards respectability was one of the best storylines of the past season. Not to say there aren’t reasons for concern (the team needs to get better both running the ball and stopping the run, for example), but if 2008 is of any indication, Florida International has finally arrived on the F.B.S. scene.

High point: Coming on the heels of an 0-3 start, Florida International’s 35-16 win over Toledo gave the team a sorely-needed boost of confidence heading into conference play. It was also the program’s first-ever victory against an F.B.S. team from outside the Sun Belt.

Low point: The Golden Panthers lost for the third consecutive time to rival Florida Atlantic, this time by 57-50 in overtime. The two teams combined for 56 fourth-quarter points, with F.A.U. scoring the final 14 — including a score with 18 seconds remaining — to force overtime. The week prior, F.I.U. fought hard to recover from a 21-3 halftime deficit to Louisiana-Monroe, but fell just short of the comeback win in a 31-27 defeat.

Tidbit: Florida International is one of two F.B.S. programs (Kent State is the other) with a career winning percentage below .400. They are the only program with a winning percentage below .300 (.263). Of course, when you have played only 80 games, and at one point lost 23 of 24, your career mark is not going to look very good. If F.I.U. averaged an 8-5 record every season (I believe that’s being more than generous), it would take the program 13 seasons to move its career mark above .500. If F.I.U. averaged a 7-6 finish, it would take them 38 years to reach .500.

Tidbit (academics edition): Just in the last decade, Florida International University has added both a law school (in 2000) and a school of medicine (2006). Despite being less than 10 years old, the F.I.U. College of Law had 94 percent of its graduates pass the 2007 Florida bar exam, the most of any university in the state.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 3 - LB Antwan Barnes (Baltimore Ravens), CB Marshall McDuffie (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), WR Chandler Williams (Atlanta Falcons).

Top three N.F.L. players from Florida International: Well, seeing as F.I.U. has put only three players into the N.F.L. (four if you count recent graduate Marshall McDuffie, currently trying to make the cut in Tampa Bay), this list may be a tad incomplete. I don’t think we’re likely to see another program on the Countdown unable to meet the top-five requirements.

1. LB Antwan Barnes (Baltimore; 2007-present)
2. DB Nick Turnbull (Atlanta, Chicago; 2006)
3. WR Chandler Williams (Minnesota, Miami, Atlanta; 2007-present)

Team

Conference: Sun Belt.

Head coach: Mario Cristobal (Miami ’93), 6-18 after two seasons with the Golden Panthers. Most of that damage came in his first season, 2007, when his team finished 1-11; their lone victory came over North Texas, who finished 2-10, in the season finale. Hopes of a successful season were subsequently low entering last fall, but the Golden Panthers responded with a 5-7 finish, the program’s best since entering the F.B.S. Included among those five victories were wins over Toledo – the program’s first F.B.S. defeat of a non-Sun Belt school – Middle Tennessee State and Arkansas State, three teams that combined to win 14 games in 2008. Florida International also won three straight games from Sept. 27 – Oct. 11, which tied the 2005 Golden Panthers for the longest winning streak in school history. One of Cristobal’s strengths is recruiting, as evidenced by the team’s stellar 2009 class. This is likely a result of his strong ties to the Miami area, the place where he was born, played his college ball and where he began his coaching career. From 1998-2000, Cristobal was a graduate assistant under Butch Davis at the University of Miami; those Hurricane teams finished a combined 29-8 and won a pair of Big East championships. From there, Cristobal followed Miami defensive coordinator Greg Schiano to Rutgers, where he coached the offensive line and tight ends from 2001-3. Though he left the school to return to Miami prior to the 2004 season, Cristobal was responsible for recruiting many of the players who would be key to the Scarlet Knights’ turnaround from conference doormat to annual bowl participants. After three seasons back at Miami, first as tight ends coach (2004-5), next as offensive line coach (2006), F.I.U. tabbed Cristobal to replace former coach Don Strock. It’s hard to imagine he could have done a better job in his second season. While there remains much work to be done, it is clear that Cristobal is a rising star on the F.B.S. coaching ranks.

Tidbit (physical fitness edition): As I’m sure all F.I.U. fans are now aware of, ESPN’s Bruce Feldman recently ranked Cristobal the country’s fittest head coach. I, for one, was completely unaware that Cristobal had nearly entered the Secret Service before turning to coaching, or that he uses a conditioning routine of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (featured in the film “Only the Strong”) and Muay Thai (check out “Kickboxer,” obviously) to stay in shape. All I knew about Cristobal was that he looked like someone you don’t want to mess with. Now I know: Don’t start with Mario Cristobal.

Returning starters: 15 (10 offense, 5 defense).

Tidbit (roster edition): The Golden Panthers have 84 players listed on their post-spring roster. Only eight of these players were high school recruits from outside the state of Florida. The current F.I.U. roster has only two players who signed with the program out of a high school outside the South: the junior OL Brad Serini (Highland, N.Y.) and the sophomore QB Colt Anderson (Omaha, Nebraska). Hey, when you play in south Florida, you don’t need to go far to find solid recruits.

Key losses: The Golden Panther offense returns all of its contributors minus its two leading rushers, Julian Reams (481 yards and 6 scores) and A’mod Ned (265 yards). Ned, though perhaps most widely known for his series of motivational posters, led the Golden Panthers in rushing as a sophomore and junior. The only other offensive lettermen not returning in 2009 are linemen Dustin Gibson, who started as a sophomore before taking on a backup role, and tight ends Travis Felder and Moses Hinton. As one would expect, the vast majority of losses come on the defensive side of the ball, which lost six starters from a season ago. Four of those starters were in the front seven, including three down linemen. At end, the former linebacker Quentin Newman led the Golden Panthers in sacks (4) and tackles for loss (11). He was named to the all-Sun Belt second-team for his solid play. On the interior, Daniel Chacreton and Jarvis Penerton combined for 43 tackles, 8 for loss. In the secondary, F.I.U. must replace cornerback Robert Mitchell, who finished second on the team in tackles (84) and sacks (3), and free safety Marshall McDuffie, who intercepted three passes despite playing in only nine games.

Players to watch: The Golden Panthers have one of the nation’s most electric young performers in the sophomore wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who set school records for receiving yards (1,013), yards per reception (24.7) and all-purpose yards (2,162). Hilton earned first-team all-Sun Belt accolades as a return specialist and for his all-purpose work, as well as second-team honors as a wide receiver. He is likely the most electric, explosive player in the Sun Belt. How did Florida’s big three let him slip to F.I.U.? One can easily make the case that the play of Hilton and the junior Greg Ellingson (35 receptions for 574 yards) led to vastly improved play from the quarterback position. The senior Paul McCall took over for the junior Wayne Younger, who struggled mightily in 2007, and represented a solid upgrade: 2,332 yards and 15 touchdowns, the latter a school single-season record. McCall also threw only nine interceptions, a far cry from Younger’s 17 picks a year before. Obviously, the primary concern on offense will be finding a new running back (probably the talented sophomore Darriet Perry), but the Golden Panthers can be secure in the experience of their offensive line, which will feature three seniors in the starting lineup. The senior right tackle Joe Alajajian has the most career starts (31 and counting), but the unit’s best player is the junior center Brad Serini, who was a second-team all-conference linemen in 2008. The offense averaged only 317 yards of offense per game last season, but there is reason to believe that, if the team can get more from its running game (only 98 yards per game), this unit will be among the best in the Sun Belt in 2009. The defense, however, has me concerned. It’s not necessarily that the Golden Panthers don’t have any talent – they return five starters – but that the team must improve its sub par run defense (156.2 yards per game, 19 touchdowns) while replacing four starters in the front seven. With a number of new players populating the F.I.U. defense, the team will need to get a strong performance from the senior linebacker Scott Bryant, the team leader in tackles each of the last two seasons (91 in 2007, 89 in 2008). Bryant was named an all-conference honorable mention in each of those two seasons, and is a candidate for Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Middle linebacker Tyler Clawson, also a senior, returns after starting all 12 games in the middle last fall. In the secondary, ball-hawking cornerback Anthony Gaitor led the team in interceptions (five) for the second straight season, earning him a well-deserved place as a first-team all-Sun Belt performer. Gaitor, who has started all but one game since arriving on campus in 2007, is the undisputed leader of the secondary. He’ll be joined in the defensive backfield by the senior safety Jeremiah Weatherspoon, who started 10 of the team’s 12 games last season.

Position battle to watch: If I were Cristobal, I’d be most worried about losses on the defensive line. That unit must replace three starters, one of whom, Quentin Newman, led the team in both sacks and tackles for loss. One comforting fact for the F.I.U. coaching staff is that their likely starting front four in 2009 will feature three seniors, led by end Armond Willis. The only returning starter off the 2008 defensive line, Willis finished his junior season with 31 tackles (2.5 for loss) and a sack. The other seniors currently sitting atop the depth chart are end Reginald Jones (6 tackles, 1 sack and an interception) and the mammoth tackle Jonas Murrell (6’2, 340 pounds). Unfortunately, of the 13 players listed as backups along the defensive line, all but three are freshmen and sophomores. This is especially evident at tackle, where four of the seven potential substitutes are redshirt freshmen. F.I.U. may be able to field an experienced starting unit, but the team will need to locate quality depth from a group of largely inexperienced performers.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 12 @ Alabama
Sept. 19 @ Rutgers
Sept. 26 Toledo
Oct. 3 @ Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 10 @ Middle Tennessee
Oct. 17 Troy
Oct. 24 @ Western Kentucky
Oct. 31 Louisiana-Lafayette
Nov. 7 @ Arkansas State
Nov. 14 North Texas
Nov. 21 @ Florida
Dec. 4 Florida Atlantic

Game(s) to watch: Though Florida Atlantic has dominated the Shula Bowl, winning six of seven games against F.I.U., last year’s game showed that the gap between the two programs is closing. I’m also interested in how F.I.U. plays against the bottom of the Sun Belt – Western Kentucky and North Texas, for example. A good team blows out this type of competition.

Season breakdown & prediction: Let’s get one thing out of the way: F.I.U. will lose its three games against B.C.S. competition in non-conference play, and despite handling the Rockets last fall, may struggle with an improved Toledo team. That’s the bad news: It will take many, many more recruiting classes similar to this past cycle before Florida International will be able to compete with a solid team from a major conference. However, this shouldn’t bother Golden Panther fans, as the only important part of F.I.U.’s season is the eight games they play against Sun Belt competition. So how will the Golden Panthers fare in conference play in 2009? Well, one thing’s for certain: They won’t sneak up on anyone again. Teams will be ready for a battle when playing F.I.U., a far cry from merely two seasons ago. Unfortunately, despite F.I.U.’s rapid climb under Cristobal, I still believe they are outside the top tier of the Sun Belt, an area populated by Troy and Florida Atlantic. The Golden Panthers are likely closer to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State, two teams that return a good amount of talent in 2009. F.I.U. is a program on the rise, but I see them matching last fall’s 5-7 record, with a one-game improvement to 4-4 in the Sun Belt. That would leave them battling A.S.U. and the Blue Raiders for third in the conference.

Dream season: The Panthers take another step forward, finishing 8-4 and winning the Sun Belt.

Nightmare season: A 2-10 or 1-11 season would represent a significant step backwards after last year’s stellar play.

Where do Florida International fans congregate: For such a young program, there certainly are a lot of options out there for the F.I.U. fan. Start with FIUGoldenPanthers.com, but don’t forget about ScoutFIU.com and PantherRage.com.

Who is No. 96?: You may say what you will about this program’s one winning season over the last 19 years, but our next university annually leads the nation in graduating its student-athletes, which should count for something.

article link
The Quad Countdown: No. 96 Duke

Location: Durham, N.C.

Nickname: Blue Devils. The name is taken from the Chasseurs Alpins, a select unit of the French Army, who earned the nickname “les diables bleus” for their work during World War I.

Last year’s ranking: No. 98.

What was said:

I hope Duke fans will refrain from quantifying Cutcliffe’s success (at least for the first year or two) with wins and losses. But looking at the coming season, Duke does have a few players to watch, like Lewis, Riley and Tauiliili, and with an improved mind-set to go along with better coaching, getting its first conference victory since 2004 should be a primary goal (and a doable one). In the last two years Duke has lost to North Carolina (twice), Wake Forest (twice), Navy and Miami by less than a touchdown; with better coaching and more confidence, shouldn’t Duke win a few of those close games that have perennially gone the other way? I think Duke goes 3-9 in 2008, but has the right coaching staff in place to potentially be in the mix for bowl games by 2010.
Re-ranking: No. 93.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 1-7). The Blue Devils may have only won one A.C.C. game, but the team’s 31-3 rout of Virginia was its first conference victory since a 16-13 win over Clemson in late 2005. Those four overall victories? Oh, that’s just as many as the program had over the previous four seasons combined. All in all, the 2008 season fell in line nicely with what many expected from Duke in coach David Cutcliffe’s first season: a vastly more competitive team, for starters, as well as improved play statistically on both sides of the ball. The Blue Devils beat two bowl participants (Vanderbilt and Navy), narrowly lost to Northwestern in nonconference play, and lost four conference games by 11 points or fewer. Contrast 2008 with the year prior, Ted Roof’s last season in Durham, when Duke was routinely blown out of games en route to a 1-11 finish, and you can see the positive momentum growing. It’s difficult to reverse a generation of ineptitude in one season, but the job Cutcliffe has done both on the field and in the recruiting aspect of his job leads one to believe that Duke could not have hired a better coach to lead them out of the bottom of the A.C.C.

High point: For the second year in a row, Duke scored at least 40 points against Navy. In 2008 the Blue Devils were able to hold the Midshipmen to 31 (down from 46) to take a 41-31 victory. Duke held Navy to 207 yards rushing, nearly 100 yards below its season average. A win over Vanderbilt had a somewhat different feel, as the two teams combined for only 17 points in a 10-7 Duke victory. As noted, Duke’s first A.C.C. victory in almost three years came in a turnover-aided rout of Virginia.

Low point: A 28-20 loss to rival North Carolina gave the Tar Heels five straight victories in the battle for the Victory Bell. U.N.C. has also won 18 of 19 since 1990. Duke lost to Wake Forest by 33-30 in overtime, though the Blue Devils would have won if they could have done a better job in ball control (four turnovers).

Tidbit: The 1938 Blue Devils, nicknamed the Iron Dukes, are one of only three F.B.S. teams to go an entire regular season undefeated and untied without allowing a single point. Unfortunately, Duke’s season ended in a 7-3 loss to U.S.C. in the Rose Bowl. If it had won that game, Duke would have joined the 1901 Michigan Wolverines as the only teams in college football history to finish a season undefeated, untied and unscored upon while also winning the Rose Bowl.

Tidbit (Duke basketball edition): Mike Krzyzewski has posted a 760-214 record, a .780 winning percentage, since taking over the Duke basketball program as coach in 1981. Over the same time, the Duke football team has gone 92-211, a .304 winning percentage.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 8 – LB Patrick Bailey (Pittsburgh Steelers), LB Ryan Fowler (Tennessee Titans), OG Lennie Friedman (Cleveland Browns), OT Cameron Goldberg (Kansas City Chiefs), C Patrick Mannelly (Chicago Bears), WR Eron Riley (Baltimore Ravens), LB Michael Tauiliili (Indianapolis Colts), OT Orrin Thompson (Giants).

Top five N.F.L. players from Duke: I’m pretty sure that most of you didn’t know that Duke has three alumni in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This ties them with Washington for second-most on the Countdown, trailing only Syracuse. Duke takes third on our list, behind the Orange and the Huskies.

1. QB Sonny Jurgensen (Philadelphia, Washington; 1957-74)
2. QB Ace Parker (Brooklyn, Boston, New York Yankees; 1937-46)
3. RB George McAfee (Chicago; 1940-50)
4. OG Ed Newman (Miami; 1973-84)
5. LB Mike Curtis (Baltimore, Seattle, Washington; 1965-78)

Team

Conference: Atlantic Coast, Coastal division.

Head coach: David Cutcliffe (Alabama ’76), 4-8 after one season at Duke. His career mark, which includes parts of seven seasons at Ole Miss, is 48-35. Cutcliffe is most well known for his long association with the University of Tennessee, where he spent 19 seasons as an assistant under the recently fired Phil Fulmer. That stretch began in 1982, when Cutcliffe started as a part-time assistant coach, and continued through 1998. After being fired from Ole Miss in 2004, health issues forced him to take one year off from coaching; he was hired to be Charlie Weis’s first quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame before stepping down. In 2006 Cutcliffe returned to Rocky Top for a two-year stint before being tabbed as Duke’s next head coach. With the Volunteers, Cutcliffe spent six seasons as the tight ends coach (1983-88), a single season coaching the running backs (1989) and three as the quarterbacks coach (1990-92) before being promoted to the offensive coordinator spot, where he earned the well-deserved reputation as one of the nation’s best game-planners and play-callers. Despite taking on this added responsibility, Cutcliffe remained the team’s quarterbacks coach, over which time he developed quarterbacks like Andy Kelly, Heath Shuler, Tee Martin and Peyton Manning. At Ole Miss, Cutcliffe finished a winning record in each of his first five seasons, including a 10-win 2003 season highlighted by a SEC West co-championship and a Cotton Bowl win. The 2004 team, rebuilding after the graduation of quarterback Eli Manning, slid to 4-7, leading the Ole Miss administration — in its infinite wisdom — decided to fire Cutcliffe; the program, under the direction of Ed Orgeron, went 10-25 over the next three seasons.

Returning starters: 11 (6 offense, 5 defense).

Key losses: Duke lost three starters off its offensive line — guard Rob Schirmann and tackles Cameron Goldberg and Fred Roland — each of whom was a three-year starter. Still, the team’s biggest loss is wide receiver Eron Riley, a first-team all-A.C.C. pick as a senior. Riley led Duke in receiving in each of his last three seasons, including 61 receptions for 693 yards and 8 touchdowns as a senior. As a junior, Riley led the A.C.C. and finished third nationally with a 20.8 yards per catch average (40 receptions for 830 yards). Though the Blue Devils return three players with at least 20 receptions in 2008, the coaching staff will find it difficult to replace Riley’s production at wide receiver. In the backfield, Clifford Harris led the team in rushing touchdowns (3) while finishing second in rushing yards (345). The losses on defense are equally severe, headlined by the departure of the all-conference linebacker Michael Tauiliili. A four-year starter, Tauiliili paced the Blue Devils in tackles per game in each of those seasons, culminating in a career-high 140 as a senior. Included in his senior campaign were a team-best and career-high four interceptions. On the line, the Blue Devils lost end Greg Akinbiyi, the team leader in tackles for loss (14.5) and its co-leader in sacks (6), and nose guard Clifford Respress (40 stops, 2 sacks). At safety, the three-year starter Adrian Aye-Darko finished second to Tauiliili in interceptions with three.

Players to watch: The Blue Devil offense starts and ends with the senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis, a second-team all-A.C.C. pick as a junior. Now entering his fourth year as the Duke starting quarterback, Lewis has made great strides as a passer in each of the last two seasons. As a sophomore, Lewis improved his completion percentage to 55.3 percent, up from 52.9 percent as a freshman; as a junior, Lewis completed 62 percent of his passes. He has also cut down on his interceptions, going from 16 as a freshman (with only 11 touchdowns) to 10 as a sophomore to only 6 last fall. Though N.C. State’s Russell Wilson may be the conference’s best quarterback, Lewis is surely not too far behind. The future of the quarterback position is the redshirt freshman Sean Renfree, the jewel of Cutcliffe’s first recruiting class. The coaching staff would be wise to get Renfree as much experience as it can this fall in preparation for 2010 and beyond. One area where the Blue Devils need to see a significant improvement is in the running game, as the team averaged only 106.2 yards per game a season ago. Losing three starters on the offensive line doesn’t help matters, but getting the senior Re’quan Boyette back from injury might. After missing the entire 2008 season because of a knee injury, Boyette (the team leader in rushing in 2006 and 2007) will team with the sophomore Jay Hollingsworth in the Duke backfield. As a freshman, Hollingsworth led the team in rushing (399 yards) while also serving as a useful option in the passing game (25 receptions, third on the team). Speaking of the Duke pass offense, the team will look toward the sophomore Johnny Williams to replace some of Riley’s lost production. He is the team’s leading returning receiver after grabbing 30 balls for 327 yards as a rookie. Another playing returning from injury is tight end Brandon King, who had four touchdown receptions in 2007. After missing all of 2008, King will join Brett Huffman (14 receptions for 171 yards) as additional targets for Lewis in the passing game. The defense, though hurt by graduation, retains enough talent to expect little decline in the unit’s play in 2009. Replacing a consistently strong player like Tauiliili will be very hard, but the Blue Devils think they can fill most of his production with the senior Vincent Rey, who looks ready to step out of his former teammate’s shadow to become the leader of the Duke linebacker corps. Rey has topped 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons (a team-best 111 in 2007, 109 last fall) while adding a combined 19 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Potentially freeing Rey up to make more plays is the senior tackle Vince Oghobaase, an honorable mention all-A.C.C. selection as a junior. A very well-regarded recruit coming out of high school, Oghobaase has started all of the team’s 36 games since his freshman season. Last fall was his best season yet, as he set career highs in tackles (51, 9 for loss) and sacks (6). Though largely overlooked, Oghobaase can be as good as any defensive lineman in the A.C.C. He’ll be joined on the line by ends Wesley Oglesby and Ayanga Okpokowuruk. After missing six of the team’s last seven games last fall, Oglesby (37 stops in 2007) will make a healthy return this season. In the secondary, the Blue Devils must get a full season out of the senior cornerback Leon Wright, who missed the final six games of 2008 because of injury. As a sophomore in 2007, Wright started all 12 of the team’s games, intercepting three passes.

Position battle to watch: Lewis is among the best quarterbacks in the A.C.C., and would need to struggle mightily to lose his starting role, but Renfree may be too good to keep on the bench. It’s not necessarily a position battle, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the freshman earn a series or two each game, especially as the season progresses. I’ve got my eye on the offensive line, which will have at least three new starters this fall. The only returning starters are the junior center Bryan Morgan and the sophomore Kyle Hill, who will move outside from guard to the left tackle spot. Morgan played well enough in 2008, his first season as a starter, to be named to the Rimington Trophy Spring Watch List for 2009. Who will take over at the three open spots? Likely a player with some game experience, though none with significant starting experience. At the two guard spots, the favorites are the junior Brandon Harper, who missed all but one game in 2008, and the senior Jarrod Holt, who participated in all 12 of Duke’s game as a backup last fall. No other interior lineman brings more than scout team experience to the table. The story is the same at right tackle, where the junior Mitchell Lederman is the only prospective starter with game experience. Still, he’ll need to beat out the freshman Conor Irwin and his fellow junior Pontus Bondeson to earn the starting job.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Richmond
Sept. 12 @ Army
Sept. 19 @ Kansas
Sept. 26 North Carolina Central
Oct. 3 Virginia Tech
Oct. 10 @ N.C. State
Oct. 24 Maryland
Oct. 31 @ Virginia
Nov. 7 @ North Carolina
Nov. 14 Georgia Tech
Nov. 21 @ Miami
Nov. 28 Wake Forest

Game(s) to watch: I’m looking forward to seeing how Duke handles Kansas’s potent offense, which will be the best it sees all season. In A.C.C. play, Duke’s most winnable game is at Virginia, but the Blue Devils will have a very good shot against Maryland and Wake Forest, each at home.

Season breakdown & prediction: I wouldn’t be surprised if, like last season, the Blue Devils went 3-1 in nonconference play. Kansas is the only likely loss, though Duke do get the defending F.C.S champs in Richmond and must travel to play Army at West Point. The real issue is in A.C.C. play, which features seven 2008 bowl teams, each of whom should again reach six wins this season. Duke has done enough to be considered a threat to unseat Virginia for fourth place in the Coastal division, knocking the Cavaliers into the basement, but not enough to yet be viewed as a viable Coastal division competitor. Still, this team looks to be the best Duke team in 15 years. I don’t think anyone would find an argument with naming Lewis as one of the top two quarterbacks in the A.C.C., and if Cutcliffe can develop a solid running game (tough to do with an almost entirely new line) and find a new No. 1 receiver, the offense will be better. I’m somewhat concerned about the defense, which lost six starters of last year’s team, but enough talent returns to keep Duke in most of its A.C.C. games. Over all, there is a lot to like about Duke football — starting with David Cutcliffe — as well as enough concerns to keep me from believing the program is ready to reach bowl play. As I said in last year’s preview, it looks like 2010 is the year the Blue Devils will make the jump to six wins and bowl eligibility.

Dream season: The turnaround comes ahead of schedule: 7-5, 4-4 in the A.C.C.

Nightmare season: While there is a zero percent chance that Cutcliffe loses his job, Duke fans would be perplexed by an 0-12 or 1-11 season.

Where do Duke fans congregate: There are a number of options out there to talk to Duke sports, though more than a few are focused mainly on the university’s basketball team. Still, if you’re interested, check out DukeReport.com, DevilsIllustrated.com and TheDevilsDen.com. I know there are more out there, so help me out.

Who is No. 95?: This university was the first in the nation to offer full rugby scholarships.

Link article 95
The Quad Countdown: No. 95 Alabama-Birmingham

Location: Birmingham, Alabama.

Nickname: Blazers.

Last year’s ranking: No. 113.

What was said:

U.A.B. is still a very young team, though last year did provide a number of underclassmen with valuable experience. The junior quarterback Joe Webb was highly effective spelling Sam Hunt, giving the Blazers a running look from the quarterback spot while posting a 5/1 touchdown-interception ratio. With the lack of a traditional running game, Webb’s ability to make plays with his feet will make the Blazer offense more dynamic and unpredictable –- two superlatives rarely, if ever, connected to the 2007 offense. The great news for Blazers fans is that the entire post-spring practice depth chart features only four starting seniors (all on defense), though that can also be seen as a negative for the coming fall. The schedule is unforgiving, and while the Blazers have the potential to win five games, fans should expect a 1-2 game improvement over last year’s win total.
Re-ranking: No. 100.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 3-5). To be fair, an improvement over 2007’s 2-10 finish. However, looking beyond merely the final record (but what else matters?), it wasn’t so much that the Blazers got that much better – though they did improve – but instead that a number of Conference USA members got worse. U.A.B.’s three wins over F.B.S. competition (all in conference play) came over Marshall, Tulane and U.C.F., three teams that combined to win 10 games on the season after combining to win 17 in 2007. Against the rest of its schedule, minus F.C.S. member Alabama State, the Blazers were outscored by 320-149, or an average final score of 40-18.6. What made those eight games different than the rest of the schedule was that each of those opponents won at least five games on the season; take away Tennessee, who finished 5-7, and each opponent won at least six regular season games. Alright, so we know the defense was horrible. Any good news for 2009? Why, only that U.A.B. returns all 11 starters off last year’s offense, including dual-threat quarterback Joe Webb. Perhaps this unit, along with the defense, began to turn the corner during the team’s late-season push for respectability, when the Blazers won two of its last three games.

High point: A 41-24 win over Tulane was nice, especially when coming on the heels of a blowout loss to Southern Mississippi. Still, the year’s best win was a 15-0 blanking of U.C.F. in the season finale; after allowing at least 33 points in four of the previous five games, the Blazers held East Carolina and U.C.F. to a combined 17 points over the final two weeks of the season.

Low point: Now, this blowout at Southern Mississippi. The final score, 70-14 Golden Eagles, does this game justice. U.S.M. led 28-0 after one, 49-7 at the half and 70-14 after three before calling off the dogs. The Blazers were outgained 610 yards to 223, 463 yards to 96 in rushing. They allowed nine rushing touchdowns, which tied a Southern Miss school record. Four Southern Miss players rushed for at least 81 yards. O.K., enough.

Tidbit: The shutout win over U.C.F. was U.A.B.’s first of a conference opponent since joining Conference USA in 1999. It was also the program’s first over all since that same season, when the Blazers shut out Louisiana-Monroe (by 47-0). In its 18-year history, U.A.B. has pitched a shutout on six occasions: U.C.F. last fall, Louisiana-Monroe in 1999, Alcorn State in 2007 (by 22-0), Western Kentucky in 1996 (by 24-0), Wofford in 1995 (by 28-0) and mighty Millsaps in 1992 (by 28-0).

Tidbit (rivalry edition): U.A.B.’s rivalry with Memphis – the Battle for the Bones – is historically more associated with the two basketball teams, but has taken on an intensity on the football field since the two first met in 1997. Memphis has sandwiched a seven-game Blazer winning streak by winning both the first and last two games of the rivalry. In basketball, the Tigers hold a commanding 28-10 over all lead over U.A.B.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 4 – LB Bryan Thomas (Jets), K Swayze Waters (Detroit Lions), WR Roddy White (Atlanta Falcons), OT Julius Wilson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Top five N.F.L. players from U.A.B.: U.A.B. is a young program (founded in 1991), so don’t expect much from this list. Though better than Florida International, U.A.B.’s top five drops in as the Countdown’s second worst (Army gets a waiver).

1. WR Roddy White (Atlanta; 2005-present)
2. LB Bryan Thomas (Jets; 2002-present)
3. DT Josh Evans (Houston, Tennessee, Jets; 1995-2004)
4. DB Izell Reese (Dallas, Denver, Buffalo; 1998-2004)
5. CB Dainon Sidney (Tennessee, Buffalo; 1998-2003)

Team

Conference: Conference USA, East division.

Head coach: Neil Callaway (Alabama ’78), 6-18 after two seasons with the Blazers. Though last year’s finish was far from exemplary, it did represent a two-win improvement over the 2-10 mark U.A.B. posted in 2007. The Blazers also won two more games in Conference USA play than the season before. While the U.A.B. job represents Callaway’s first head coach position, the longtime assistant brought with him more than 20 years of college experience, much of it in the SEC. Prior to being hired, Callaway served six seasons as the offensive coordinator at Georgia (2001-6), a period during which the Bulldogs won 61 games and a pair of SEC championships. The Bulldogs also finished in the top 10 four times, including a 13-1 finish and No. 3 ranking in the final A.P. poll. Though a graduate of Alabama, Callaway’s longest coaching stint was at Auburn (1981-92), where he served as the team’s offensive line coach. Prior to Auburn, Callaway spent two seasons as a part-time assistant at East Carolina (1978-79) and a single season as the offensive line coach at Wyoming (1980), both times under Pat Dye, whom he followed to Auburn. After Auburn opted to replace Dye in 1992, Callaway spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Houston (1993-96) before taking a position at Alabama (1997-2000); in addition to his typical line duties, Callaway was also the team’s offensive coordinator.

Returning starters: 17 (11 offense, 6 defense).

Key losses: All of U.A.B.’s meaningful losses come on defense. This unit, often dreadful in 2008, will need to replace four starters, three of whom played in the secondary. We’ll momentarily forget that these three players were the leaders of a defensive backfield that allowed an average of 262.9 yards passing per game. At safety, the Blazers lost three-year starter Will Dunbar, a first-team all-Conference USA pick in 2007. That year, Dunbar led the team and conference with 12.2 tackles per game; a nice number, but it’s not good when a safety leads the team in tackles. Dunbar added two interceptions as a senior, giving him seven over his final three seasons. Starting next to Dunbar at safety was Matt Taylor, who tied for third on the team in tackles with 47 (1.5 for loss). Taylor started at free safety as a junior and senior. At cornerback, Kevin Sanders tied for the national lead in interceptions with seven, giving him 15 career picks. Sanders was a first-team all-conference defender, joining the Blazer linebacker Joe Henderson, who led the team in both tackles (87) and tackles for loss (12.5). This marked the third consecutive season that Henderson had finished in the top three on the team in tackles. On special teams, kicker/punter Swayze Waters (how cool would it be if his last name was Patrick?) made 19 of 24 field goals and averaged 43.6 yards per punt, the latter of which earned him first-team all-conference honors.

Players to watch: The senior quarterback Joe Webb showed enough in a secondary role in 2007 to make him a player to watch last fall, and the dual-threat delivered with a stellar season. Though his passing was below where Callaway and his staff expected him to be (16 interceptions against 10 touchdowns), Webb did more than enough with his feet to offset his deficiencies throwing the ball. His 1,021 yards led the team – nearly doubling his next closest competitor – and marked the first time a quarterback has gone over 1,000 yards in Conference USA history. Webb, who ranked 15th nationally with 27.9.7 yards per game last fall, is one of two returning quarterbacks in the F.B.S. to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for another 1,000. Though Webb did most of the heavy lifting for the Blazer offense, he did receive a hand in the running game from the senior back Rashaud Slaughter, who finished second to Webb in rushing with 514 yards. Slaughter was also an asset in the passing game, finishing second on the team with 29 receptions. At wide receiver, the junior Frantrell Forrest led the team in both receptions (42) and receiving yards (536), marking the second straight season he had done so. Forrest has all-conference talent, but his numbers suffer from playing in an offense predicated on the run. Joining him at wide receiver are fellow juniors Rodell Carter (16 catches for 206 yards) and Mario Wright (20 for 243). The Blazers also get a good amount of use out of their tight ends, Zach Lankford and Jeffrey Anderson. They combined for 39 receptions for 366 yards and 4 scores in 2008. U.A.B. returns its entire offensive line, a unit led by the senior center Jake Seitz, entering his fourth year as a starter. He’ll anchor the inside of a Blazer line that will also welcome back the sophomore Matt McCants, academically ineligible in 2008. The potential is there for the U.A.B. offense to rank among the top rushing units in the conference; it will need to become less one-dimensional if the group is to be good enough to carry a poor defense. Due to its losses, the strength of the defense becomes the front four. All four starters return up front, with the best likely being the junior end Bryant Turner. Now entering his third year as a starter (nine games each of the last two seasons), Turner will be expected to improve upon last year’s 20-tackle, 4-sack totals. He’ll be joined at end by the 2008 JUCO transfer Anthony Barnes (27 tackles, 6.5 for loss), while the interior will be held down by the junior tackles Tim Davis and D.J. Reese. The U.A.B. linebacker corps is a young one, and will rely upon returning starter Keon Harris (47 stops) for leadership. He’ll be surrounded by a handful of largely young and untested Blazers, though outside linebackers Drew Luker (24 tackles) and Lamanski Ware (23) started a handful of games in 2008. Luker is the favorite to start at strongside linebacker, Harris on the weakside, while the favorite to take the starting job on the inside is the true freshman Daniel White.

Position battle to watch: The Blazers will need to find three new starters in the secondary. The lone returning starter is the sophomore Terrell Springs, who finished his rookie season with 32 tackles. Like at linebacker, the defensive backfield will be defined by its youth: only one senior (cornerback Brandon Carlisle) is currently on the two-deep. At safety, a position that lost two multiple-year starters, U.A.B. will look towards the sophomore Chase Daniel to replace Taylor at strong safety. At free safety, a pair of JUCO transfers — Elliot McGaskin and Hiram Atwater — will battle to replace Dunbar. Atwater, who enrolled early to participate in spring practice, may have a leg up in the competition. The secondary will receive a boost from the addition of defensive backs A.J. Wilson, another JUCO enrollee, and David Conner to the school’s 2009 recruiting class.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Rice
Sept. 12 S.M.U.
Sept. 19 @ Troy
Sept. 26 @ Texas A&M
Oct. 1 Southern Mississippi
Oct. 17 @ Ole Miss
Oct. 24 @ Marshall
Oct. 31 @ UTEP
Nov. 7 Florida Atlantic
Nov. 14 @ Memphis
Nov. 21 @ East Carolina
Nov. 28 U.C.F.

Game(s) to watch: The Blazers better make hay over the first two weeks of the season, as one can make the case that, besides Marshall, they won’t be favored in any game until the season finale against Central Florida. With its schedule, U.A.B. should look at Rice, S.M.U., Marshall and U.C.F. as must-win games if this team is to reach bowl eligibility.

Season breakdown & prediction: If the Blazers do any worse than split their first two games – they won’t, in my opinion – it’s going to be a long, long season in Birmingham. After Sept. 12, U.A.B. must go to Troy, A&M and Ole Miss in a four-week stretch, with the only “break” coming in a rematch with Southern Mississippi (and we all know how last year’s game went). Just for argument’s sake, if the Blazers go 1-1 against Rice and S.M.U., they will take on UTEP on Halloween with at best a 2-4 mark. For me, the best-case scenario for the 2009 Blazers (this is different than dream season, where the laws of reality rarely come into play) is a 6-6 mark. This takes into account the following games as victories: Rice, S.M.U., Marshall, UTEP, Florida Atlantic and U.C.F. Of course, anything can happen, and no one ever said the Countdown was perfect. Still, despite an electric quarterback in Webb and an experienced defensive line to build around, I just don’t think the Blazers are prepared to go bowling just yet.

Dream season: The Blazers ride a strong offense and just enough defense to an 8-4 regular season.

Nightmare season: U.A.B. experiences a dip back to 2-10. Awfully disappointing after a strong finish to 2008.

Where do U.A.B. fans congregate: The best is clearly BlazerTalk.com, but that doesn’t mean BlazerSportsReport.com and UABInsider.com aren’t also worth a visit.

Who is No. 94?: This university is the proud owner of a drum so large it typically takes an oversized dolly and four band members (two pushing, two pulling) to move it around the field.

94 link
The Quad Countdown: No. 94 Purdue

Location: West Lafayette, Indiana.

Nickname: Boilermakers. According to the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, a boilermaker can be four things: anyone in the boiler construction or repair trade; a member of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers; a Purdue student or alum; or a shot and beer combination. I don’t know about you guys, but when I think boilermakers, I think shot and beer first, Purdue second, I.B.B. last. No offense to the union, of course.

Last year’s ranking: No. 43.

What was said:

There is no question Purdue can score, but is the defense good enough to view the Boilermakers as a legitimate threat to Ohio State, the overwhelming Big Ten favorite? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean the team can’t send Joe Tiller out in style, possibly by finishing the season second in the conference, a hotly contested spot with at least four other teams (Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State and Michigan) in the running. They should remain among the top three or four scoring offenses in the Big Ten. And so we come to the big issue: the defense. I have Purdue finishing 3-1 in non-conference play (either losing at home to Oregon or in South Bend) before finishing 5-3 in the Big Ten — 8-4 over all, a record indicative of the Tiller era as a whole.
Re-ranking: No. 89. That’s a 46 slot drop, for those keeping track at home.

2008 record and recap: (4-8, 2-6). Purdue was unable to send Coach Joe Tiller off in style, as the program suffered its worst finish in his 12-year tenure. It was only his second losing season over that span, which saw Purdue win a Big Ten championship in 2000 (its first since 1967) and at least eight games six times. The other sub-.500 campaign, a 5-6 mark in 2005, can be attributed to rebuilding. Last fall, however, must be deemed a disappointment. The Boilermakers returned each of the integral parts of its offense, including its leading passer, rusher and receivers, but had a dreadful drop in productivity. After scoring nearly 35 points per game in 2007, Purdue scored only 24.7 in 2008; it also averaged 60 less yards of total offense per game, much of that deduction coming from a diminished passing attack. Unfortunately, this was not a fitting tribute to the job Tiller had done with the Boilermakers. His replacement is Danny Hope, a former Purdue offensive line coach who was named head coach-in-waiting before the 2008 season. Though many are unsure what Purdue is going to get out of Hope, who coached the offensive line and served as recruiting coordinator last fall, fans should hope – get it? – that he can match the success the program experienced under his predecessor.

High point: The season started promisingly, as the Boilermakers won two of its first three games. The second win, by 32-25 over Central Michigan, was Purdue’s third victory against the Chippewas in 370 days. The only setback over that stretch was a 32-26 overtime loss at home to a very good Oregon team.

Low point: The Boilermakers were held to single-digit scoring in four Big Ten games: Penn State (by 20-6), at Ohio State (16-3), Minnesota (17-6) and Michigan State (21-7). After shutting down Purdue, the Minnesota defense allowed an average of 37 points per game in losing its last five.

Tidbit: Four of the last five Purdue coaches to finish their career with a winning record (Tiller, Jim Young, Jack Mollenkopf and Noble Kizer) wore glasses. Danny Hope does not, though he does sport a delightfully full mustache, just like Tiller.

Tidbit (recruiting edition): The 2009 recruiting cycle saw Purdue, under Hope’s watch, make a clear change in its recruiting philosophy, as the team signed 14 players from Florida in an effort to upgrade its speed and athleticism. All but two of these players are at the skill positions (defensive linemen Antwon Higgs and Xavier Melton are the exceptions), which should give the Boilermakers some young, agile pieces to work with in the future. Contrast the 2009 class with the 2008 class, which signed only five players from the southern states, and you can see a grand change in direction when it comes to recruiting. Credit to Hope for this move.

Former players in the N.F.L.: 33 – DE Cliff Avril (Detroit Lions), LB Akin Ayodele (Miami Dolphins), DT Ryan Baker (Miami Dolphins), QB Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints), DE Eugene Bright (Philadelphia Eagles), LB Rosevelt Colvin (New England Patriots), TE Charles Davis (Jacksonville Jaguars), DE Ray Edwards (Minnesota Vikings), OT Brandon Gorin (Denver Broncos), C Nick Hardwick (San Diego Chargers), LB Anthony Heygood (Carolina Panthers), LB Landon Johnson (Carolina Panthers), LB Stanford Keglar (Tennessee Titans), TE Dustin Keller (Jets), LB Niko Koutivouvides (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), OT Matt Light (New England Patriots), DT Alex Magee (Kansas City Chiefs), LB Rob Ninkovich (New Orleans Saints), OG Uche Nwaneri (Jacksonville Jaguars), DE Chike Okeafor (Arizona Cardinals), WR Greg Orton (Cincinnati Bengals), QB Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos), OT Michael Otto (Tennessee Titans), QB Curtis Painter (Indianapolis Colts), LB Shaun Phillips (San Diego Chargers), S Bernard Pollard (Kansas City Chiefs), CB Jacques Reeves (Houston Texans), S Stuart Schweigert (Detroit Lions), WR John Standeford (Detroit Lions), DT Craig Terrill (Seattle Seahawks), DT Jeff Zgonina (Houston Texans).

Top five N.F.L. players from Purdue: A very, very strong list from the Boilermakers. Is it good enough to unseat Washington as the second team on our list? I think so. That moves the Huskies down to third – Syracuse is still our leader – and knocks Duke out of the top three. Boilermaker fans, Mike Alstott or Dave Butz at No. 5? Or is it Keena Turner?

1. CB Rod Woodson (Pittsburgh, S.F., Baltimore, Oakland; 1987-2003)
2. QB Len Dawson (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Dallas, K.C.; 1957-75)
3. QB Bob Griese (Miami; 1967-80)
4. DB Erich Barnes (Chicago, Giants, Cleveland; 1958-71)
5. DT Dave Butz (St. Louis, Washington; 1973-88)

Team

Conference: Big Ten.

Head coach: Danny Hope (Eastern Kentucky ’81), entering his first season as head coach. Hope was named the head coach-in-waiting prior to last season. In 2008, while serving his one-year apprenticeship, Hope served as the team’s offensive line coach and recruiting manager. As mentioned, Purdue’s most recent recruiting class featured mainly players from the hotbed that is Florida football, a change that should give the program faster, more athletic players in its spread offense. This is Hope’s second stint with the Boilermakers: He spent five seasons as Tiller’s first offensive line coach (1997-2001), a period that saw Purdue feature its first all-American offensive lineman since 1965 and first all-conference linemen since 1979. He followed Tiller to Purdue from Wyoming after serving in the same capacity with the Cowboys in 1996. Hope moved to Louisville in 2002 — where he also spent 1985-1994 as an assistant — for a one-year spell as the assistant head coach before being named the head coach at Eastern Kentucky. He spent five years at his alma mater, compiling an impressive 35-22 mark and four top-two finishes in the Ohio Valley Conference. E.K.U.’s best season under Hope was his last, when the team finished 9-3 and was atop the O.V.C. The nine wins were the program’s most since 1995, while the conference title was its first since 1997. Hope was named the O.V.C. coach of the year for his team’s performance. His head coach experience, when added to his familiarity with the Purdue program, made Hope a solid choice to take over from Tiller. If he can build on the momentum developed with last year’s recruiting class, there is no reason to believe he won’t be successful. Unfortunately, when looking at this year’s roster, he may be starting from scratch.

Returning starters: 11 (4 offense, 7 defense).

Key losses: Hope enters his first season without the use of every starting skill player on the 2008 offense. These losses start under center, where the Boilermakers must replace three-year starter Curtis Painter. Stymied with injuries, Painter’s final season was undoubtedly his least effective. After throwing for at least 3,800 yards as a sophomore and junior, he slipped to 2,400 as a senior (missing all or parts of three games). However, most significantly, Painter threw as many interceptions (11) as he did as a junior despite attempting nearly 200 less passes. He also saw his touchdown total dip to 13 from 29. At running back, Kory Sheets wrapped up a terrific four-year career by setting individual highs in carries (234), yards (1,131), touchdowns (17), receptions (37) and receiving yards (253). Sheets improved his rushing total in each of his four seasons. The wide receiver position is also decimated by graduation, as three of the team’s top four wideouts (Greg Orton, Desmond Tardy and Brandon Whittington) have exhausted their eligibility. Orton, who led the Boilermakers with 69 receptions, finished his career with 203 receptions. The good news is that the Boilermakers lost only one starter, center Cory Benton, off its offensive line. The Purdue defense will greatly miss the presence of linebacker Anthony Heygood, the 2008 team M.V.P. Heygood, also an all-Big Ten honorable mention, led the team in tackles (114) as a senior. The defensive line lost a pair of senior contributors in end Alex Magee (28 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and tackle Ryan Baker (31 stops, 11 for loss). On a whole, the Boilermakers return 23 lettermen on defense while losing only six. The offense, on the other hand, lost 12 important contributors.

Players to watch: The race is on to fill the open spots on offense. Let’s start at quarterback, where the senior Joey Elliot, after patiently waiting his turn under Painter, is the favorite to take on the starting role. There is no question about Elliot’s mental capabilities — this piece by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg details his desire to go into coaching – but even the most optimistic Purdue fan must have questions about how Elliot will handle the physical aspects of the position. You know, throwing, completing, etc. In 10 games over his first three seasons, all as a backup, Elliot has completed 27 of 49 attempts for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. In a perfect world, he’d match those totals in every game this season. If Elliot were to struggle or go down to injury, the coaching staff would look toward the talented redshirt freshman Caleb TerBush, who currently sits No. 2 on the depth chart. In the biggest news of the spring, the former Miami quarterback Robert Marve ended a long flirtation with a number of F.B.S. schools by electing to transfer to Purdue, where he’ll compete for the starting job in 2010 after sitting out this upcoming season. For an incoming freshman to watch, look no further than the running back Al-Terek McBurse, who should get plenty of looks as the favorite to replace Sheets in the backfield. McBurse, who chose Purdue over offers from heavyweights like South Florida, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Miami (as a defensive back) and Nebraska, was the most highly rated member of the 2009 recruiting class. He’ll benefit greatly from the return of four starters on the offensive line. The best of the bunch is the senior right tackle Zach Jones, a former walk-on who has started 24 of the team’s last 25 games. Seven starters return on defense: two on the line, two at linebacker and three in the secondary. The most promising of the returning starters is the junior end Ryan Kerrigan, whose 56 tackles and 7 sacks in 2008 season earned him honorable mention all-Big Ten honors. Also returning at end is the senior Keyon Brown, who should regain the starting spot he held in 2007 after serving as a backup last fall. On the interior, the senior tackle Mike Neal finished second on the team to Kerrigan in both tackles for loss (10) and sacks (5.5). The secondary, which allowed 183.2 yards per game and 14 touchdowns in 2008, is in good shape with three returning starters. Leading the way is free safety Torri Williams, the team’s leading returning tackler (83). Williams also tied the senior Dwight McLean, a favorite to take the other starting safety spot, with two interceptions. Returning starters Brandon King and David Pender leave the Boilermakers in fine shape at cornerback. Pender, who has started 20 games over his career, was an honorable mention all-conference pick in 2008. With Heywood’s departure, the sophomore Joe Holland must become the leader of the linebacker corps. A former safety, he responded to the move to linebacker during 2008 spring ball by finishing third on the team with 76 tackles. All in all, Purdue returns 8 of its top 10 tacklers from 2008, a good omen for a unit that may need to do some heavy lifting early while a cast of new characters on offense get their feet wet.

Position battle to watch: If Purdue wishes to continue to run its spread offense, the new coaching staff will need to locate wide receivers to replace Orton, Whittington and Tardy. The clear leader to ascend to the top spot is Keith Smith, the returning team leader in receptions, yards and touchdown grabs. There are questions marks behind him, however. The coaching staff obviously agrees, as they moved the senior Royce Adams from cornerback, where he started 19 games over the past three seasons, to the wide receiver spot during spring practice. He’ll compete for playing time with a number of thus-far untested Boilermakers, such as the sophomore Waynelle Gravesande and the seniors Aaron Valentin and Adam Wolf. Valentin, a JUCO transfer in 2008, finished his junior season with 11 receptions for 224 yards. He has playmaking ability, as evidenced by his team-best 20.4 yards per catch average and 25.7 yards per kick return. Also, don’t count out the incoming freshmen Gary Bush, Xavier Reese and Eric Williams, each of whom are from, you guessed it, Florida.

2009 schedule:
Sept. 5 Toledo
Sept. 12 @ Oregon
Sept. 19 Northern Illinois
Sept. 26 Notre Dame
Oct. 3 Northwestern
Oct. 10 @ Minnesota
Oct. 17 Ohio State
Oct. 24 Illinois
Oct. 31 @ Wisconsin
Nov. 7 @ Michigan
Nov. 14 Michigan State
Nov. 21 @ Indiana

Game(s) to watch: No off date for the Boilermakers? That’s not a good thing. The Notre Dame rivalry really took under Tiller, so I’m interested in seeing if the game remains heated with Hope in charge. In Big 10 play, Purdue’s best chance at a victory comes against Indiana, but the team will need to win home games over Northwestern and Illinois if the Boilermakers are to reach bowl play.

Season breakdown & prediction: When taking into account its losses on offenses, it’s difficult to predict Purdue to finish higher than 10th in the Big Ten (which has 11 teams, as I’m sure you know), the same spot it held a season ago. Just as there is a relatively clear split between the Boilermakers and rival Indiana, there is an obvious split between Purdue and the rest of the conference, at least in 2009. With the exception of Indiana, the other teams sharing the bottom of the Big Ten with Purdue in 2008 – Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota – will be better this year; Michigan will be much better. The schedule also presents a problem. The Boilermakers should feel good with a 2-2 split, as losses to Oregon and Notre Dame are almost guaranteed. Breaking in a new coach and new starters on offense leaves me skeptical about this team’s chances of returning to bowl play: I predict a 4-8 mark, 2-6 in the Big Ten, with the possibility of getting to five wins if the Boilermakers can steal an additional victory in conference play. If Hope maintains his Florida connections – and if Marve can step in nicely – this team will be much better next year.

Dream season: Hope picks up right where his predecessor left off (well, not exactly, but you know what I mean): 8-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Nightmare season: The youngsters make their mark, but as a whole, Purdue is not there yet: 3-9, 1-7 in the Big Ten.

Where do Purdue fans congregate: The same as last year, with one minor alteration. For recruiting sites, fans meet at Gold & Black Illustrated and Boiler Sports Report. For blogs, check out Hammer and Rails and, of course, Boiled Sports.

Who is No. 93?: Our next university’s home city is host of the annual Soap Box Derby championship.