Expansion, upsets among 2010's storylines
Good article by Mark to sum up the 2010 College Football Season
By Mark Schlabach
ESPN.com
Before the 2010 college football season even kicked off, the Big Ten had 12 teams and the Big 12 had 1.
Expansion and realignment threatened to blow up the sport this past summer, and college football fans around the country were anxiously awaiting the next domino to fall.
Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are bigger and presumably better, but the Big 12 and Big East survived after major threats to their existence.
When expansion's dust finally settled, Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Pac-10 and Big Ten, respectively; TCU joined the Big East; and the Mountain West added Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii, after losing Utah to the Pac-10 and BYU to independence.
Amazingly, college football's tumultuous offseason seemed like only a ripple once the games actually started.
The 2010 season opened with Alabama defending its BCS national championship.
It ended with rival Auburn winning its first national championship in more than a half-century.
The season started with traditional powers such as Florida State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and USC sporting new coaches.
It ended with Florida, Miami and Michigan hiring new coaches.
The season began with Georgia star A.J. Green serving a four-game suspension for selling an Independence Bowl jersey for some quick cash.
It ended with Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other Buckeyes facing five-game suspensions in 2011 for swapping memorabilia for something far more permanent -- free tattoo.
The season started with Boise State ranked No. 3 in the country, but howls about a schedule littered with the "Little Sisters of the Poor."
It ended with the Broncos playing in a non-BCS bowl game because they couldn't win in the "Biggest Little City in the World."
No. 1 Alabama lost at South Carolina 35-21 in Week 6; No. 1 Ohio State fell at Wisconsin 31-18 in Week 7; and No. 1 Oklahoma lost at Missouri 36-27 in Week 9.
Texas lost in weeks 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13.
Virginia Tech was a top-10 team until it lost to Boise State 33-30 on a last-minute touchdown pass on Labor Day night.
Five days later, the Hokies were a Bottom 10 team after losing to FCS foe James Madison 21-16.
Tennessee lost to LSU 16-14 because the Volunteers had too many players on the field.
The Volunteers lost to North Carolina 30-27 in the Music City Bowl because the Tar Heels had too many players on the field.
LSU coach Les Miles ate a few blades of grass.
A few Iowa players smoked a much different variety of grass.
Tennessee didn't miss former coach Lane Kiffin, who bolted for USC after only one season.
Kiffin might have missed Tennessee after the NCAA hammered the Trojans with a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships.
A Michigan quarterback nicknamed "Shoelace" was the Heisman Trophy favorite in the first month of the season.
Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton won the Heisman Trophy -- and a BCS national championship -- even after his daddy apparently wanted more than a new pair of shoes.
The Big Ten gave us three co-champions and something called "Legends and Leaders."
Defending ACC champion Georgia Tech went 6-7; defending Big 12 champion Texas went 5-7; and defending Big East champion Cincinnati went 4-8.
TCU won the Rose Bowl. Oklahoma won a BCS bowl. Ohio State beat an SEC team in a bowl.
The rest of the Big Ten had a New Year's Day to forget, going 0-for-5 in bowls on the first day of 2011.
Notre Dame and Army played a football game at Yankee Stadium.
Illinois and Northwestern played with what looked like "losers walk" rules at Wrigley Field.
Oregon fascinated the country with its high-octane spread offense, scoring 40 or more points in 10 of 13 games.
Michigan disgusted its fan base with its porous defense, allowing 30 or more points in nine of 13 games.
Florida coach Urban Meyer retired for the second time at the ripe age of 45.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, 84, is getting ready for season No. 46.
Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp got tired of waiting for Mack Brown to retire and bolted for Florida.
West Virginia apparently can't wait for Bill Stewart to retire and hired Dan Holgorsen as his eventual successor.
The 2010 season ended eight days ago.
And we're still trying to catch our breath.
Men's Basketball
Craft Expanding Role for Top-Ranked Buckeyes
By Brandon Castel
Great article on my favorite Buckeye, Aaron Craft, by my favorite writer Brandon Castel
COLUMBUS, Ohio — At first glance, there isn’t a whole lot that stands out about Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft.
The Findlay native looks more like someone you would see on a pickup basketball court than as the point guard for the No. 1-ranked team in college basketball.
Even Head Coach Thad Matta wasn’t sure what he was getting when the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Craft switched his commitment from Tennessee to Ohio State during the summer of 2009. A year later, Matta still wasn’t sure he was ready to turn the offense over to a rookie.
“In June, I didn't know if Aaron would be ready,” Matta said.
“But our veteran players told me, 'He's going to be hard to keep off the court,' and he has been.”
A pass-first point guard with a defensive mentality, Craft seemed to be the perfect fit to play alongside scoring threats like William Buford, Jon Diebler, David Lighty and fellow freshman Jared Sullinger.
The Buckeyes seemed to have all the pieces in place minus a distributor after National Player of the Year Evan Turner made his expected jump to the NBA. Matta initially looked at Buford and Lighty—a pair of veterans—to potentially take over the primary ball-handling responsibilities from Turner.
It didn’t take long, however, for him to realize what he had right in front of him.
“As we started practice (back in October), I was thinking, 'Boy, Craft has a chance to be really good,'” Matta said.
“It was his defense and his understanding of what we were trying to do offensively. He's such a competitive kid, such a cerebral kid.”
Much like Lighty did as a freshman back in 2006, Craft came in with a mentality that he was willing to do anything and everything the Buckeyes needed from him. If that meant giving them 10 minutes of intense defense off the bench every night, then so be it.
“I think it all started in the summer. Just coming in, trying to work hard and do what I was told to do,” Craft said.
“That's what it boiled down to. I didn't have to say much. I just sat back and listened to everything they were saying.”
As a rookie, Craft was also asked to carry water bottles to the bench and pick up dirty clothes, but his demeanor quickly won over the support of his new veteran teammates.
“I think he came in with a mindset that he’s going to do whatever it takes to help the team win; kind of like the mindset I had my freshman year,” said Lighty, who averaged 16 minutes per game off the bench as a freshman on the 2006-07 team that played in the national title game.
“If it’s going to be offense, defense, leading the team as much as possible; if coach gives him the ball and puts it in his hands, I think we’re all comfortable with that decision.”
In his first game as a Buckeye, Craft dished out nine assists without turning the ball over once in 22 minutes against North Carolina A&T. He is averaging 4.9 assists to just 2.1 turnovers per game this year, and although he has yet to start a game, Craft is averaging over 27 minutes per game off the bench.
“Aaron continues to get better every time he takes the court,” Matta said Monday during the Big Ten coaches’ teleconference.
“He's accepted his role. It's started with his defense. His ability to make players around him better is something I love.”
Craft has now recorded seven assists or more in eight games this season, including five times in the last seven contests. He is third in the Big Ten in assists per game behind Darius Morris (Michigan) and Demetri McCamey (Illinois), but recently Craft he has added a new element to his arsenal.
After scoring in double-figures just once in the first 15 games of the season, Craft has now posted three-straight games of double-figure scoring. That includes a 19-point outburst against Penn State, for which he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Craft was 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 behind the arc to go with seven assists and three rebounds. He also played lockdown defense on PSU point guard Talor Battle, who leads the Big Ten in scoring.
“As the season's worn on, I think you've seen Aaron grow,” Matta said of Craft, who is shooting 50-percent from the floor and 44-percent from behind the arc after 18 games.
“Aaron was special tonight. He was effective on both sides of the ball today and did not play like freshman despite the big game.”
Battle did have 15 points in the game, but he was just 5-of-17 shooting, and it was his 1-for-10 night behind the arc that really sunk the Nittany Lions in a three-point Ohio State victory.
Craft was more than just a distributor coming out of high school. He led Liberty Benton in scoring from 2008-10, averaging 19 points per game as a junior and 26 as a senior. He also averaged seven assists and eight rebounds per game that season to go with 3.2 steals per game. He scored on 57-percent of his shots and was a 43-percent shooter from behind the arc.
Craft will face another elite point guard Saturday when the Buckeyes travel to Illinois to face McCamey and the Fighting Illini. Before that, however, they have a rematch with Iowa Wednesday (6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network) in Columbus.
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