The Great West Football Conference could be coming to an end if conference officials don't act soon.
With Western Kentucky leaving the Gateway Conference to join the I-A Sun Belt Conference, Great West members North Dakota State and South Dakota State are almost assured an invite into the Gateway.
Another week, another ranked opponent. SUU plays No. 5 North Dakota State this weekend, a team came within a blocked field goal of defeaing Minnesota last Saturday. As tough as Cal Poly and I-A Florida Atlantic were, this should be the T-Birds' toughest test.
SUU has to establish a run game to have any chance against the Bison. Put in third-and-long situations early and often last week, the T-Bird offense almost never had the ball, putting their defense on the field for 77 plays.
SUU's Joey Hew Len has a chance to make history Saturday as he enters the NDSU game with eight touchdown catches, one shy of the T-Birds' single-season record.
Quarterback Wes Marshall may be more excited than anyone to return back to Eccles Coliseum. The junior signal caller has completed 75 percent of his passes at home compared to 51 percent on the road.
Saturday should be every football fan's dream. Cedar High plays Morgan at 11 a.m. in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs before the T-Birds take on NDSU. Hit up both stadiums and you should get your football fix.
I don't know a lot about these fantasy football leagues my friends and colleagues seem to be so seriously involved with.
However, after watching my Oakland Raiders do another pratfall Sunday night and officially becoming The Worst Team in Football, I drifted off into a fantasy state, remembering back to the days when the Raiders won the fights if not the game.
They were a tough bunch.
Continue reading " Fantasy football only relief for Raiders fans " »
Florida Atlantic Week: News and Notes
SUU plays its first I-A team in three years when the school takes on Florida Atlantic this Thursday.
Not only is it a chance for the T-Birds to get some national exposure on a nontraditional college footbal night, but SUU desperately needs a win after heart-breaking losses to Cal Poly and McNeese State the past two weeks.
Can the T-Birds win? Absolutely, but they've got to get a handle on turnovers. Nine turnovers in two games is unbelievable and impossible to win with.
Props to Johnny Sanchez for a great effort in Louisiana on Saturday. Sanchez's 161 yards rushing was the best running effort by a T-Bird in four years. Sanchez was named Great West Offensive Player of the week for his performance.
You hate to talk about moral victories at the college level, but you've got to like how SUU came back from a 17-0 deficit to briefly take the lead in the fourth quarter against the Cowboys. On that same note, it's bothersome the T-Birds haven't found a way to win the close one on the road yet.
He hasn't received a lot of press (I'm pretty much the only one to blame on that front) but Joey Hew Len is quietly having a great year. The senior receiver caught his sixth and seventh touchdown receptions of the season agaisnt the Cowboys. That puts him in a six-way tie for the third-best mark in SUU history. Bob Stockley holds the T-Bird recored with nine TD catches during the 1990 season.
Thursday, Oct. 5
Should be interesting to watch how the T-Birds react to what several players and coaches described as the "toughest loss I've ever been associated with" after blowing an 11-point lead to Cal Poly last Saturday. The Mustangs ralled to beat SUU 18-14. My gut feeling is Wes Marshall has a big day after turning the ball over four times against Cal Poly.
McNeese, who was ranked for the first three weeks of the season, is also coming off a tough loss. The Cowboys blew an 11-point halftime lead to South Dakota State last Saturday at home.
Kyle Coop, who missed the Texas State game with a sprained ankle, played Saturday but hyper-extended his knee ini the T-Birds' 18-14 loss.
Thursday, Sept. 28
Just some obervations on the Thunderbirds' game Saturday against No. 5 Cal Poly.
After watching Wednesday's practice, I'm not sure how many plays Kyle Coop will go Saturda against Cal Poly. SUU's starting tailback suited up, but didn't participate in 7-on-7 drills or when the T-Bird offense ran against the scout defense and stll had a very noticeable limp. Coop suffered a high ankle sprain two weeks ago against Weber State.
Poly's defense is the heart and soul of the their team.They've only given up 27 points all season, 17 of which were to I-A San Jose State. If the T-Birds are going to win, they can't afford to turn the ball over at all against the Mustangs.
You've got to give some props to SUU quarterback Royal Gill. After being declared ineligible by the NCAA because of a transfer rule he and the T-Birds misinterpreted, Gill is still suiting up at practice, doing whatever the coaches ask of him. Sometimes he's the world's greatest scout team quarterback, other times he's running down the field on scout kickoff. They say sports doesn't build character so much as it reveals. I can't think of a better case of that than Gill's situation.
Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Kyle Coop's return to the field is still up in the air.
After missing SUU's 30-21 over Texas State on Saturday, the T-Birds starting tailback has been cleared by doctors to play, but it all depends on how much pain Coop can play with.
The Mustangs' starting halfback, James Noble also is questionable for Saturday's game. Noble, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last year as freshman, also has a high ankle sprain and sat out Cal Poly's 17-7 loss to I-A San Jose State last week.
The Mustangs (3-1) look to be the T-Birds' stiffest test in a season that's not going to get any easier. Cal Poly is ranked No. 5 in the country after returning 15 starters from last year's 9-4 team that made it to the I-AA national quarterfinals.
With the T-Birds' season opener just two weeks away, Saturday's scrimmage should offer an insight into some of fall camps more interesting questions.
1. Who's going to start at quarterback?
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