Let’s post some college football previews. Usually I do this on Friday night, but I have some time tonight so I’m doing this a night early.
Starting with Fox Sports Net and its SEC Gridiron Live program complete with predictions.
SEC Gridiron LIVE – Week Twelve
They Said It:Randy Cross on the Philips HD MVP Dexter McCluster
· “Well you see those highlights and that is not a video game, this is for real. Imagine what the Tennessee defenders had to deal with. 170-175 pounds, can run a little heavier at times, but man when he gets in the air, what can’t this guy do?”
David Pollack on Auburn and South Carolina having bye weeks
· “Both of these teams have bye weeks before their state championships. You’ve got Auburn and Alabama in the Iron Bowl, that is a huge game every single year and that’s probably the most important game on the schedule. Clemson – obviously the same thing with South Carolina playing them. Both of those teams, the next week they’re playing their championship games. That’s going to be huge, maybe they can sneak up and steal their in-state rivals.”
David Pollack on Mark Ingram’s chances to win the Heisman
· “He should be the front-runner for the Heisman because he’s got the best stats, he’s getting the ball, and he gets the quality opponents. You’ve got to consider that when he’s facing top defenses he is shredding these guys – 178 yards a game against ranked opponents.”
Randy Cross on Ryan Mallett
· “Two years of eligibility left, six-foot-seven, throws a gorgeous football; I look at this kid and I say look, the completion percentage has got to be better, you’ve got to up it against those SEC West teams and you can’t throw it to the other guy. The key for that – get your receivers together. For him, the tight end has been a great position for him the past couple of weeks; it’s really made a gigantic difference for Ryan Mallett. DJ Williams, welcome to the party.”
Randy Cross on Vanderbilt’s chances against Tennessee
· “This is their bowl game. Everyone was very excited up in Nashville last year. They got to the Music City Bowl and played Boston College, they were tickled to death. This is your bowl game. You can go to Knoxville and you can win this game. This is your recruiting tool – treat it that way.
SEC Gridiron LIVE names the Top 5 “Big Hitters” in the SEC
5. Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt
4. Reshad Jones, Georgia
3. Eric Berry, Tennessee
2. Rahim Alem, LSU
1. Wendel Davis, Arkansas
Panel Picks:
Match up/
AnalystFlorida International
@ FloridaUT-Chattanooga
@ AlabamaMississippi State
@ ArkansasCharles Florida Alabama Arkansas Randy Florida Alabama Arkansas David Florida Alabama Arkansas
Match up/
AnalystVanderbilt @
TennesseeKentucky
@ GeorgiaLSU @
Ole MissCharles Tennessee Georgia Ole Miss Randy Tennessee Georgia LSU David Tennessee Georgia LSU
Social Media Sound Off:In response to the Thumb It In question – Who is most likely to pull off an upset this weekend?
· Brent Shepard – Vandy over Tennessee. Tennessee has had A LOT of major distractions this week. We’ll see how that plays out on the field.
· Mark Fernandez – LSU. I can’t believe Ole Miss is favored in this one.
Stephen Gobbell – Ole Miss in a close one. The big factor for Ole Miss is Snead.
Stephanie Staley – RUN DMC!!! Hotty toddy!! Hope LSU doesn’t put a hit out on our little man!
Will Carruth – Mississippi State creates some balance by throwing the ball and running Dixon. The Dawgs win in a shootout!
Billy Satterfield – Tennessee wins big
by at least 4 touchdowns and Eric Berry breaks the interception return yards record with 2 INTs.
In response to the Top 5 “Big Hitters” of the SEC –
· Brent Leatherwood – Is this even a contest? Berry delivers a slobber knocker every time he touches the field. He is a human highlight film on how to tackle and knock the ball loose. Seriously, is this really a discussion? It’s EV and everyone else is vying for second.
SEC Gridiron LIVE presented by O’Charley’s airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET throughout the college football season to more than 24 million cable and satellite households on the FSN regional networks throughout the SEC territory – FOX Sports South, Sun Sports, FOX Sports Houston and FOX Sports Southwest. SEC Gridiron LIVE is hosted by Charles Davis with analyst Randy Cross and David Pollack and social media reporter Cassidy Hubbarth.
That will bring us to CBS Sports which touts Gary Danielson chosen as the top football broadcaster by Sporting News and Sports Business Daily/Sports Business Journal.
FEATURES SEC WEST SHOWDOWN ON SATURDAY, NOV. 21 AS
NO. 8-RANKED LSU TAKES ON OLE MISS
AUDIBLES with CBS Sports’ Lead College Football Analyst Gary Danielson
CBS Sports’ national coverage of the SEC “Game of the Week” continues on Saturday, Nov. 21 (3:30 PM, ET), with *No. 8-ranked LSU taking on SEC Western Division foe, Ole Miss.
The CBS Television Network’s lead college football announce team of Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson call the action live from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. Tracy Wolfson serves as lead reporter. Craig Silver, the Network’s coordinating producer of college football, produces and Steve Milton directs. CBS Sports’ broadcast of LSU-Ole Miss also will be broadcast in high definition.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show, starts the day on CBS Sports (3:00 PM, ET) with host Tim Brando, along with analysts Spencer Tillman and Tony Barnhart. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY will keep viewers updated on all the games throughout the afternoon with scores and highlights. Vin DeVito produces and Linda Malino directs. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
CBS College Sports Network’s SEC TAILGATE show is live from the University of Mississippi’s campus prior to the game. This week’s show originates in front of the student union plaza at The Grove. Former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister joins the show as a guest analyst, as well as CBS College Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming and Oxford Eagle sports editor John Davis. Veteran SEC announcer Dave Baker hosts SEC TAILGATE, and is joined by CBSSports.com’s Lauren Shehadi. Sam Ryan anchors coverage from New York with former Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer and Brian Jones serving as analysts.
The LSU-Ole Miss game will be streamed live and free of charge on CBSSports.com. Each week CBS Sports’ “SEC Game of the Week” is available exclusively on CBSSports.com and also can be accessed through a link on the websites of all CBS affiliates.
After CBS Sports’ live SEC game coverage each Saturday throughout the season, CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK takes over with SEC POSTGAME SHOW (7:00-PM, ET), providing a recap of all the news, scores and highlights from around the SEC. Ryan serves as host along with Jones and Fulmer, Stephan Van Engen produces.
*BCS Poll as of 11/16/09
* * * * *
CBS Sports’ Lead College Football Analyst Gary Danielson NAMED TOP FOOTBALL BROADCASTER
The Sporting News/Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily listed its Top 25 Football Broadcasters and CBS Sports was well represented: Gary Danielson (1), Phil Simms (4), Verne Lundquist (8), Jim Nantz (10), Greg Gumbel (17), Dan Fouts (20), Gus Johnson (24) and Dick Enberg (25).
AUDIBLES with Gary Danielson
(On LSU-Ole Miss): Both LSU and Ole Miss have finally found their footing. They struggled early. They struggled with how much people expected from them. Ole Miss has really found their game and are playing their best football. With the emergence of Dexter McCluster, who has worked his way into being a mid-first-round draft pick, Houston Nutt has found one of those players that he can ride. When he finds a playmaker like that, he will ride them and it makes them a very dangerous team. They already were really good on defense.
This is a really high stakes game in this conference. Both of these teams are expecting to win to a make this a successful season. And both fan bases will be very disappointed if they don’t win this game. The coaches will come under criticism for not winning this game. What makes this conference so tough is that the fan base just expects these wins. There is no logic behind it; someone has to lose the game. But both sides expect this game as a win to signature their season.
(On Importance of SEC Non-conference games): It’s a given that an undefeated winner of the SEC , Alabama or Florida, will have one of the slots for the BCS national championship. However, to insure a spot, should the winner not be undefeated they will need some help next week from two conference rivals. Georgia faces Georgia Tech and South Carolina takes on Clemson. Should Tech and Clemson knock off the two SEC partners, I feel both the computers and voters will have a problem selecting a one loss SEC Champion over either TCU or Cincinnati should they finish the season undefeated. There are two big games remaining to protect the conference champion if the unlikely happens. Namely Florida or Alabama losing prior to the SEC Championship.
CBS College Sports has a doubleheader on Saturday.
CBS College Sports Network continues its slate of college football this weekend. On Saturday, Nov. 21 (3:30 PM, ET) CBS College Sports Network features Air Force at *No. 19-ranked BYU from Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. Play-by-play announcer Tom Hart teams with analyst Aaron Taylor to call the action. A C-USA match-up featuring Tulsa at Southern Miss follows in primetime (7:30 PM, ET) from M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, Miss. Dave Ryan and analyst Akbar Gbaja-Biamila announce.
INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL LIVE (3:00 – 3:30 pm, ET) brings fans the latest scores and highlights. Immediately following the Tulsa – Southern Miss game, INSIDE COLLEGE FOOTBALL EXTRA (11:00 – 11:30 PM, ET) wraps up the day’s action with news and analysis. Adam Zucker hosts, along with analysts Brian Jones and Phillip Fulmer.
On Friday, Nov. 20 (7:30 PM, ET), the Network airs a special edition of its weekly high school football recruiting show MaxPreps Lemming Report, featuring musical artist and star of the new movie The Blind Side, Tim McGraw. McGraw discusses recruiting and high school football with Lemming, who also appears in The Blind Side movie.
* AP Poll as of 11/16/09
NBC Sports will air its last Notre Dame game of the season on Saturday as the Fighting Irish take on UConn. It may also be the last appearance of Charlie Weis on NBC as well.
NOTRE DAME HOSTS UCONN IN FINAL HOME GAME OF 2009 SEASON THIS SATURDAY ON NBC SPORTS “The Huskies have been in every game until late in the fourth quarter.” - Haden
NEW YORK – Nov. 19, 2009 – The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (6-4) will host the UConn Huskies (4-5) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs and the final 2009 home game for the Irish this Saturday on NBC Sports.
Coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. with Tom Hammond handling play-by-play duties, Pat Haden providing analysis and Alex Flanagan reporting from the sidelines.
HADEN ON THE MATCHUP: "Notre Dame will once again have its hands full with a solid UConn team coming to South Bend. Coach Randy Edsall has gotten as much out of his talent as any coach. While they have lost five games, the Huskies have been in every game until late in the fourth quarter."
NOTRE DAME-UCONN MATCHUP: This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools. It will be Notre Dame's 137th different opponent in its 121-year history. Notre Dame began the season by defeating first-time foe, Nevada, 35-0. The Irish have won their last 12 games against teams making their first appearance at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame is coming off a 27-22 loss at No. 8 Pittsburgh. UConn had a bye last week. In their last game, the Huskies lost, 47-45, to No. 5 Cincinnati on the road.
HUSKY RESILIENCE: In a poignant halftime feature, Jimmy Roberts examines the resilience of the UConn football team following the tragic death of cornerback Jasper Howard earlier this season.
NOTRE DAME VIEWERSHIP UP NINE PERCENT: Through seven games, viewership for Notre Dame on NBC Sports is up nine percent vs. 2008 (3.7 million viewers vs. 3.4). Saturday's game against UConn is NBC's final broadcast of the season. The USC-Notre Dame game on October 17 drew 6.5 million viewers, the most for a Notre Dame game on NBC Sports since September 9, 2006 when the Penn St.-Notre Dame game drew 6.9 million viewers.
NOTRE DAME ON NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com will once again offer a live post-game webcast, which will originate from Notre Dame Stadium and extend the NBC Sports television broadcasts by providing an unprecedented depth of Notre Dame coverage, including live coverage of Coach Charlie Weis' press conference.
Coming up next, the network previews for NFL Week 11.
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