Tim's College Football Blog

One of the biggest questions about one of the nation’s most hard-to-figure-out teams was answered Tuesday, when Penn State coach Joe Paterno announced Daryll Clark would be the team’s starting quarterback.

The announcement came as somewhat of a surprise to Penn State followers. Not because the athletic and physically imposing Clark won the job—many had assumed it was his anyway—but rather that the ever-evasive Paterno even bothered to announce his choice. For months now, Paterno insisted that Clark was in a pitched battle with sophomore Pat Devlin and fifth-year senior Paul Ciancolo for the job, and never really seemed interested in making a final decision.

In fact, it was widely presumed that Clark and Devlin—who is not as mobile as Clark, but said to be a better passer—would split time, at least until the start of the Big Ten schedule Sept. 27 against Illinois.

With the announcement that Clark had won the job, though, it seems Penn State's coaches are dead-set on opening up their offense with a "spread" look—they're calling it the "Spread HD"—much in the way they did back in 2005, when Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Michael Robinson led the Nittany Lions to an 11-1 record and an Orange Bowl win.

The obvious question: Is Clark really on Robinson’s level?

No, probably not. But with a great group of receivers around him and a solid offensive line in front of him, Clark has an opportunity to succeed—without Devlin looking over his shoulder.

"Clark's had a little bit more experience," Paterno explained. "He had a really good spring practice and really good preseason ... I think Clark ought to go in and have a little fun playing."

Photo: Daryll Clark has won the starting quarterback job at Penn State. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

We are now just four days away from the start of the 2008 college football season. And while the Week 1 schedule isn't exactly scintillating, there are a handful of games that most college football fans should find intriguing. A few of these games should prove to be very close (watch out for the Utes, Michigan), very exciting and very much worth watching.

After looking over the schedule for this first long weekend of college football -- without the NFL around to get in the way, we'll have college games every day from Thursday to Monday -- the following five games stood out as the best. All times listed here are EDT.

• Utah at Michigan (3:30 p.m., Saturday): Utah went 9-4 last year. The Utes return 16 starters for 2008. Michigan went 9-4 last year. And they lost pretty much everybody of note, at least on offense. Would it really be an upset if Utah were to win this one?
• No. 24 Alabama at No. 9 Clemson (8 p.m., Saturday): The marquee match up of Week 1. Most experts, including the one writing this blog, expect Clemson to win the ACC championship. In fact, I think the Tigers will likely win 11 games. Which means, of course, that I think they'll lose one, too. That loss comes this week. The Nick Saban Era in Alabama begins in earnest in 2008 -- and this will be the Tide's signature moment.
• Michigan State at California (8 p.m., Saturday): Anyone who has been reading my work here knows that I'm high on Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. The guy is well on his way to turning Sparty into a real contender, and I expect these guys to win at least nine games in 2008. But this trip to Cal is no gimme. The Bears have their problems, yes, but Dantonio and the Spartans should be ready for a dogfight.
• No. 20 Illinois at No. 6 Missouri (8:30 p.m, Saturday): Who are the scheduling geniuses who decided to put this game on the same time as Alabama-Clemson? I mean, come on. Anyway, my general feeling is that Illinois is a tad overhyped coming into 2008, but Ron Zook certainly has a good young team. Just how good? Well, maybe his game will tell us. Missouri might be the best team in the suddenly revitalized Big 12.
• Washington at No. 21 Oregon (10 p.m., Saturday): Washington-Oregon is a nasty rivalry that hasn't been nasty enough in recent years, mostly because the Huskies have struggled so badly. It will be interesting to see if impressive Washington quarterback Jake Locker can improve his completion percentage this season. The kid is dangerous on the run. If he can just make himself more consistent as a passer, he could help Washington earn a bowl bid -- and save coach Tyrone Willingham's job.

Photo: Juice Williams and Illinois face a tough test this week against No. 6 Missouri. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images).

Expectations are high for the Alabama Crimson Tide this year.

And the team's freshmen have a lot to do with that.

Coach Nick Saban's most recent recruiting class was considered by many experts the best in the country, and with the Tide's season opener against Clemson now just a week away, most college football watchers are expecting big things from the Alabama freshman. That's especially true of wide receiver Julio Jones, who, according to reports, been very impressive in preseason camp.

To hear some tell it, Jones and his classmates -- as many as a half-dozen of whom may win starting jobs this season -- are bound for superstardom.

But Saban is doing what he can to temper the expectations.

He told the Montgomery Advertiser this week that the youngsters haven't proven anything yet -- and that the pressure they're facing is somewhat unfair.

"We make guys around here stars before they go and do anything," Saban said. "That's not good for them, it's not good for expectations, it's not good for anything. They need to go prove they can do it on the field. And when they go do it on the field, then you ought to write about them -- a lot. Put them on the front page if you want do. But just speculating about what they might be, I don't know about that."

Photo: Alabama coach Nick Saban says expectations might be too high for some of his freshmen. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Of all the places one might have thought the Big Ten Network would have trouble gaining a deal with cable companies, Ohio would have been way down the list.

This is Buckeye country, after all—a state where Ohio State is more beloved (and rightfully so) than either the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals. Ohio State game days in Ohio are true events.

Which is why it’s so surprising that the Big Ten has yet to be able to strike a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable, the dominant cable carrier in Ohio. Negotiations aren’t going well, and there seems to be little confidence among Big Ten officials that any agreement will be reached before the start of the season next week.

And so, this week, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith took the drastic—but, in my opinion, completely justified—step of sending a mass email to Ohio State fans, encouraging them to drop Time Warner in favor of the other providers that are offering the Big Ten Network.

Smith’s savvy move made waves throughout Big Ten country, and also seemed to shock Time Warner, which quickly issued a statement saying that negotiations were actually moving along just fine and that the company was ready to carry the Big Ten Network.

So the question now is simple: What, exactly, will come of Smith’s clever maneuver?

It’s hard to say. But clearly, Smith has put some serious heat on Time Warner. Otherwise, the company wouldn’t have moved so quickly to respond.

Here’s my take: Ohio football fans love Ohio State football. They love it more than pretty much anything else. And so they want access to the Buckeye games on the Big Ten Network.

They want that access now.

Which is why I think Time Warner will either give in soon, and make the Big Ten Network available in Ohio, or lose a whole lot of customers.

And if that happens, the company will have nobody to blame but itself.

Teams around the country held live scrimmages this weekend, and as usual, there was both good and bad news to report.

Here's a quick rundown:

• In Columbus, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel says freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor has been impressive, surprising coaches and teammates by looking to throw first, rather than relying on his legs to make plays. Tressel says this makes Pryor different than former Ohio State Heisman winner Troy Smith, who generally tried to run, rather than throw, early his his career.
• In Los Angeles, the UCLA defense seems far ahead of the UCLA offense -- hardly a surprise given the Bruins' lack of depth at quarterback. The team has lost both starting quarterback Ben Olson and backup Patrick Cowan to injury, but didn't show much promise in the running game on Saturday, either. Said UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel: "Obviously, given where we are with the offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback, you like to not put all the pressure on the throwing game."
• In Happy Valley, Penn State's defense -- which has already lost potential All-American linebacker Sean Lee to injury and seen defensive tackles Phil Taylor and Chris Baker booted from the team -- suffered yet another blow, as promising redshirt freshman defensive tackle Devon Still sustained a broken leg in Saturday's scrimmage.
• Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville reports that his squad looked "sluggish" in its most recent scrimmage. "It looked like we were running in the mud at times," Tuberville told the Birmingham News. That's not entirely surprising, given than this Auburn team -- ranked No. 10 in the just-released Associated Press poll -- is one of the most overrated squads in the country. Top 25? Certainly. Top 10? No way.
• Across the state in Tuscaloosa, meanwhile, Nick Saban's most recent recruiting haul looks like it might pay early dividends. Freshman receiver Julio Jones, considered by many experts the top high school player in the country last year, caught five passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Tide's weekend scrimmage. "There was a huge difference in some of the young players from last week to this week," Saban told the Montgomery Advertiser. "And I think that's going to be helpful to us from a depth standpoint."

Photo: Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson has been throwing early and often to freshman wideout Julio Jones in preseason camp. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Pete Carroll can do a lot of things.

But one thing he can't do, apparently, is control ... jock itch.

That's the word out of camp at USC, where, according to the Los Angeles Times, as many as 25 percent of the players on the Trojans' roster are battling a particularly nasty case of this itchy, scratchy and altogether uncomfortable condition. It's so bad, in fact, that some players -- including budding superstar Joe McKnight -- are unable to practice.

The coaches and staff have traced the problem to a new brand of compression shorts some players have been wearing. And those players who aren't yet wearing the shorts are certainly keeping their distance.

As tailback Stafon Johnson said: "I don't know what it is, but I'm staying away from it."

Photo: USC tailback Joe McKnight is among the Trojans' players affected by an outbreak of, well, jock itch. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

As you'll see in my 2008 SEC Preview, I don't expect much from the Arkansas Razorbacks.

And why should I?

Besides, this is a team that loses not only superstar tailback Darren McFadden, but also his dangerous backfield mate, Felix Jones, reliable Peyton Hillis, and big-play receiver Marcus Monk. In other words, all of the guys who mattered on offense for the Hogs in 2007 -- with the exception of quarterback Casey Dick -- are gone in 2008. New coach Bobby Petrino is a proven winner, of course, but he's walking into a clear rebuilding situation at Arkansas.

Right?

Well, no. At least not according to some folks down in Fayetteville.

In fact, to hear Arkansas quarterback coach Garrick McGee tell it, the Arkansas offense will be every bit as explosive this year as they were last year. More than that, McGee says, it could be the best offense in the nation.

"We could be as good as anyone in the country," Garrick McGee told the Northwest Arkansas Times. "We could be the No. 1 offense in the nation. I personally feel like we have arguably the best playcaller in the country. We're going to coach hard. We're going to put more pressure on our kids on the practice field than they're going to have in the games, and we have an NFL style of offense that can attack every spot on the field."

Times columnist Brandon Marcello seems to agree, and predicted recently that the Hogs would break several offensive records in the season to come.

So what's up with all the confidence in Fayetteville?

Honestly, I'm not sure. Dick is a very good quarterback, probably one of the best in the SEC, but without McFadden and Jones behind him, and without Monk to throw to, he's going to be flying solo. Quarterbacks need playmakers.

And right now, Arkansas doesn't have them.

Photo: Quarterback Casey Dick is the lone returning star on the Arkansas offense. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images).

Does anything good come out of preseason practice?

At least lately, it doesn't seem like it.

The No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are just the latest team to suffer a major blow on the injury front, as the team announced Tuesday that star left tackle Trinton Sturdivant -- the anchor of the Dawgs' offensive line -- would undergo reconstructive knee surgery and miss the entire 2008 season. Sturdivant, a potential All-American candidate who started all 13 games for the Dawgs in 2007, injured his knee in a team scrimmage on Monday.

There's no getting around the fact that Sturdivant's loss is a huge one for the Georgia offense, and coach Mark Richt must know that. While there is most certainly talent behind Sturdivant, it's unlikely that anyone who might take his place -- redshirt sophomore Josh Davis seems the most likely candidate -- can really play at the same level.

This is just the latest blow for a Georgia team that has had its share of troubles of late. But the Dawgs are hardly alone.

Take their rivals, the Florida Gators, who today announced that freshman linebacker Brandon Beal -- who was expected to contribute this season -- would miss the entire campaign with a torn ACL.

And get this: Beal is the fifth -- yes, fifth -- Gator to suffer the injury in just the last two weeks. Two of those players were starters.

Photo: Georgia offensive Trinton Sturdivant will miss the 2008 season with a knee injury. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

It’s been a bad week to be a quarterback in Los Angeles.

Just a few days after USC signalcaller Mark Sanchez went down with a dislocated left kneecap, UCLA announced that quarterback Ben Olson would have to have surgery to repair a broken right foot.

Olson likely won’t be ready to play for at least two months. It's a potentially crippling loss for UCLA.

The injury makes the Bruins' already daunting season opener against Tennessee all the more challenging, and figures to set back offensive coordinator Norm Chow’s plans for the rest of the season, too. With Olson out, and with backup Patrick Cowan missing the season with an injury of his own, the quarterback job will fall to either redshirt freshman Chris Forcier or recent transfer Kevin Craft.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said the injury was a “crushing blow” for Olson.

"He put so much time and effort into the program, it's just unfortunate,” the coach said. "Sometimes you have a hard time understanding why things happen."

Photo: UCLA quarterback Ben Olson will undergo surgery to repair a broken foot. He likely won’t return until October. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Here's the bad news for the USC Trojans: Projected starting quarterback Mark Sanchez suffered a dislocated left kneecap during practice on Friday.

Here's the good news: Miraculously, doctors say Sanchez's knee didn't suffer any major damage, and so he might be back in time for the season opener, Aug. 30, against Virginia.

Oh, and here's more good news: Even if Sanchez can't play, the Trojans have Mitch Mustain waiting in the wings. One of the nation's biggest recruits a few years back, Mustain started his career at Arkansas -- and played pretty well -- before transferring to USC.

Leave it to USC to have a potential superstar at backup quarterback.

"My thought is we have a guy like Mitch and a guy like Aaron [Corp] that can jump in and take their shots at this thing until Mark's back in here and battling with them," USC Coach Pete Carroll told the Los Angeles Times. "This is an opportunity and how we deal with it and how we handle it is important. Not the fact that something happened."

Photo: USC quarterback Mark Sanchez suffered a dislocated knee cap, but may be back in time for the season opener against Virginia (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)