We're Getting Closer...USF 24, WKU 12

RECAP

- The defense put together their best effort so far this year only allowing 283 yards of total offense to USF. We were able to sack QB B.J. Daniels three times and only allowed 57 yards through the air.

- Congratulations to safety Kiante Young for hauling in the Hilltoppers first interception in seven games. We have gone seven games without a defensive interception? When breaking negative streaks it is important to start off slowly.

- Although USF failed to move the ball through the air, they exploited our weakness in the run defense gaining 226 yards on the ground. Running back Demetris Murray led the way for the Bulls with 15 carries for 115 yards.

- Special teams allowed another big punt return of 67 yards by USF's Terrence Mitchell to set up a touchdown run by Daniels.

- Punter Hendrix Brakefield had a good game averaging 43.3 yards per punt on four attempts for the Hilltoppers. He has stepped up his game since the beginning of the season.

- Speaking of the kicking game, Casey Tinius had a game to forget missing on his field goal attempts (47, 50, and 45) and an extra point attempt. I know those are long field goal attempts but leaving points off the board after the offense puts together a good drive is a momentum killer.

- The Hilltoppers offense out gained South Florida 314 to 283 yards on the night that included Bobby Rainey being held to only 64 yards on 21 carries.

- Dreams do come true as Kawaun Jakes passed for 221 yards on 19-37 through the air. The coaching staff established the passing game early realizing the Bulls game plan was to stop Bobby Rainey.

- Tight end Jack Doyle had a career game with 7 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. He was involved early and often in the offense and scored on a 25 yard touchdown pass late in the fourth.

CONCLUSION

- Overall the offense showed their ability to move the ball throughout the entire ball game. WKU put together good drives early but could not capitalize due to missed field goals by Casey Tinius.

- The defense gave their best effort tonight by getting three sacks, an interception, and allowing USF punter Justin Brockhaus-Kahn to make a couple of cameo appearances.

- The Hilltoppers get a well deserved week off after a tough four game stretch to open the season. Now it is time for Sun Belt Conference play and victory is just around the corner but maybe a couple of blocks up!

END THE STREAK AND GO TOPS!

Trinity Survives Bowling Green 14-12

- This game had all the makings of a classic between two of Kentucky's best high school programs. When the dust finally settled on this battle royal the Trinity Shamrocks walked away victorious but got all they could handle from the Purples.

First Quarter

- The Shamrock's opening drive ended in a turnover when Chase Proctor intercepted a Travis Brown pass and returned it to the Trinity 25 yard line. That set up a Peter May 45 yard field goal and the Purples take a 3-0 lead.

- May adds a 44 yard field goal after the Purples defense forces and three and out. It is now 6-0

Second Quarter

- Trinity puts in Jackson Noe at QB and the results are positive as he leads them on a 10 play, 71 yard drive for a score. Trinity 7, Bowling Green 6.

- That drive proved to be a big momentum swing, as Trinity had a first and goal from the 3 yard line RB Derek Bishop got the ball and was stripped. As the ball rolled on the ground a Bowling Green defender tried to scoop up the fumble and score but mishandled the ball and Trinity recovered then scored on the next play. HUGE momentum swing on that key play.

- Trinity was driving toward the end of the half but was intercepted in the endzone by the Purples' Devon Daniel to end the half.

Third Quarter

- Bowling Green's opening drive saw a 52 yard run by Brandon Green to set up a 38 yard field goal attempt.

- BLOCKED, BLOCKED, BLOCKED...by Trinity's Ryan White. The Shamrocks respond with a 10 play drive where RB Derek Bishop ran all over the Purples' defense with 7 carries for 71 yards on the drive. Bishop capped it off with a 2 yard TD run for a 14-6 advantage for the Shamrocks.

Fourth Quarter

- Bowling Green caps off their drive in the 4th quarter with a 21 yard TD run by Brandon Green to cut it to a 14-12 advantage for Trinity.

- The Purples attempt a two point conversion to potentially tie the game. QB Scooter Hollis rolls right and can't find a receiver so he tries to speed to the corner but is stuffed by the Shamrock defense.

- Bowling Green's defense steps up and forces Trinity to punt the ball with five minutes to go in the game. The Purples are able to get a couple of first downs before failing to convert on a 4th and 18.

- Trinity runs out the clock and walks away with a fantastic victory in a really hard fought game.

Trinity vs. Bowling Green Preview

One of the most highly anticipated matchups of the Kentucky high school football season takes place Friday night as Trinity brings their caravan in from Louisville to take on the Purples.

Last year's contest was a defensive battle as the Shamrocks defeated the Purples 9-0 up in Louisville. Trinity has defeated the Purples the last three seasons which brings up this question - Can Bowling Green be the only team in Kentucky (other than St. Xavier) to defeat the mighty Shamrock reign since 2004?

KEYS TO THE GAME:

- For Trinity, they have played the tougher opponents so far this season in Cincinnati Elder and Lawrence North, IN. They are coming off a close loss to nationally ranked Cincinnati St. Xavier, 17-10.

- DL Jason Hatcher is a top 100 prospect according to MaxPreps, should be interesting to see him go against the offensive line of Bowling Green. Sophomore QB Travis Wright has stepped up and been extremely accurate so far this season.

- The Purples are coming off a solid road victory over the Owensboro Red Devils 44-20. The defense was off to a great start but has allowed 34 points in the last two games. The Red Devils are the most complete offense the Purples have seen so far this season, it will be interesting to see how the Purple defense holds up against a potent Trinity offensive unit.

- Bowling Green will rely on the agility of QB Scooter Hollis both running and passing. The offense is also made up of a quadruple running attack that includes Hollis, Tevin Anderson, Brandon Green, and Hunter Neveras.

- I think this will be a tough defensive battle early on with Trinity finally winning the war late in the game.

- My prediction: Trinity 21 - Bowling Green 7

South Florida Preview

- USF is coming off a bye week after putting up a good fight against the Florida Gators two weeks ago. It was a 7-7 game in the middle of the 3rd quarter before the Gators pulled away.

- The Bulls return a veteran offensive line from an 8-4 team a year ago which will bold well for the rushing game and play making ability of quarterback B.J. Daniels.

- Speaking of B.J. Daniels, he is coming off a terrible passing performance against the Gators going 5 for 20 for only 86 yards and 4 interceptions. However, he countered that with 107 yards on the ground which proves how versatile and athletic he is.

- The defensive unit for the Bulls lost a lot of talent from last year's team, like George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul who are currently on NFL rosters. But they still obviously have great athletes on defense after holding the Florida offense in check for two and a half quarters.

- Look for USF to establish the passing game early with an experienced offensive line that will give Daniels time to pick apart the Hilltoppers secondary.

- The Hilltopper secondary may be suffering this weekend as they are awaiting the status of junior safety Mark Santoro after injuring his neck against Indiana.

- According to Coach Taggart, freshmen defensive backs Arius Wright and Tyree Robinson will get significant playing time Saturday against USF after performing well in the second half against the Hoosiers. At this point, I'll take anybody that wants to make plays especially on defense.

- The losing streak will continue as I expect B.J. Daniels to bounce back and have a monster game passing and running. I don't see WKU's defensive line gaining a lot of pressure against another bigger, stronger, and more athletic offensive line.

- The offense will be playing from behind yet again and need to establish Cooper, Vasquez, and Doyle into a more vertical passing game. Kawaun Jakes is bound to throw for over 200 yards sometime this season. We all know Bobby Rainey will get his yards.

- WKU at South Florida, September 25th at Raymond James Stadium

- Go Tops!

The Streak Continues: Indiana 38, WKU 21

THE RECAP:

- Defense, Defense, Defense...where are you? I miss you!

- Pass defense was terrible again as the Hoosiers had two receivers with at least eight receptions in Demarlo Belcher and Terrance Turner.

- The 4-3 defense is still not getting any pressure on the quarterback, we only had one sack on the day and Hoosier QB Ben Chappell passed for a career high 366 yards because he had enough time to set up a tent in the pocket.

- The Hoosiers are probably in the top ten in third down conversion percentage after going a scorching 10-12 on third downs, only punting once.

- I noticed the WKU defense taking bad angles, especially in the secondary, which is contributing to our tackling woes.

- Bobby Rainey had 21 rushes for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Great players show consistency, can't wait to see him against Sun Belt competition.

- Like last week, we jumped off to a great start with a 10 play 91 yard drive where Rainey gained 62 of his yards and capped it off with a trip to the end zone.

- After the great start the offense sputtered, managing only 197 yards after the initial drive.

- Kawaun Jakes had his best game so far, completing 13 of 20 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. Still want to see a more vertical passing strategy early in the game but was happy to see Jack Doyle utilized, albeit late in the game.

- Wide Receiver Marcus Vasquez made a highlight reel catch for a 31 yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. I was amazed at how he was able to get his foot down in the field of play the way his body was contorted.

- Many complaints about concessions during the game and after missing the whole second quarter standing in line for a drink, I was one of the complainers. Total lack of concessions preparation by the staff, especially on a hot day where there were four people in my section that suffered from heat exhaustion and needed medical attention.

- Please WKU lets supply more water to your fans, have vendors sell drinks in the stands, and have more concession stands set up that only sell drinks. Lines were way too long and it was ridiculous to be running out of bottled water in the first half when people are laying on the ground suffering from the heat!

- The losing streak is at 23 now and next week the Tops are at South Florida, where the streak will grow to 24 unfortunately. With each game comes more experience, more confidence in the ability to compete, and the hope that there will be one game where it will all come together. Soon I hope, very soon.

END THE STREAK

TOPPERS ROUTED 63-28 BY WILDCATS

On the third play of the game Bobby Rainey broke free for a 59 yard touchdown run to give the Hilltoppers a 7-0 lead. Then the Wildcats’ offense reeled off five straight touchdown drives, throw in a 50 yard touchdown on a punt return by Randall Cobb and we have a blowout. It is a different week but it is the same story for the Hilltoppers with good offensive run production and an uninspired defensive effort.

Performance Breakdown for the Hilltoppers:

- The offense needs to expand their passing game with Kawaun Jakes accounting for a dismal 97 yards and 1 touchdown through the air. Most of those yards came in garbage time against the Wildcats’ defensive second string in the 4th quarter.

- The return game showed some flash with a Willie McNeal 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. However, the punt coverage needs to tighten up as they allowed a 50-yard touchdown return to Randall Cobb. On that return it was clear the punt coverage for the Hilltoppers over ran a short punt which allowed Cobb all kinds of daylight to run.

- Speaking of short punts, Hendrix Brakefield averaged a mere 32.3 yards per punt which created a short field opportunities for the Wildcats.

- Getting pressure on the quarterback is something this 4-3 defense has not been able to accomplish so far this year. The defense made Mike Hartline look like a Heisman candidate as he went 16-20 for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns.

- Tackling continues to haunt the Hilltopper defense as Kentucky scored on five straight offensive drives after WKU gained a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

- Another monster day for Bobby Rainey with 184 yards on 22 carries with 2 touchdowns. The Tops had 284 yards of total offense and if my math serves me correctly, Rainey was 64.7% of the offense. He is establishing himself as an early favorite for Sun Belt Player of the Year.

- As impressive as Rainey has been I would like to see other running backs like Keshawn Simpson, Avery Hibbitt, and Braxston Miller step up and make plays. It is going to make opposing defenses easy to game plan WKU if Rainey continues to account for 70% of the production.

Top TE Prospect Suspended For 2 Games

If you were like me during Labor Day Weekend you were watching all kinds of football and I happened to catch the ending of the high school game between Dwyer (FL) and Glenville (OH). Right before coverage of the game went off air you saw Dwyer Tight End, Nick O'Leary visibly upset and throwing a middle finger towards the opposing side of the field.

That middle finger salute did not really bother me considering the following: the kid is 18 years old, the other team was probably doing some taunting, and the officials failed to signal a touchdown when it was clear Dwyer crossed the end zone with under 10 seconds to go. All the reasons for a kid to be frustrated.

Then I read that Nick O'Leary has been suspended for two games by the Florida High School Athletic Association for his actions. My reaction was why? Would O'Leary be punished if his actions weren't caught on camera in front of a national television audience on ESPN? My answer is no.

The actions of O'Leary can be found on any high school football field on Friday nights. Kids talk trash, make obscene gestures, hit after the whistle, illegally chop block, and taunt each other on a weekly basis. As much as it should not be a part of the game, it always will be.

The focus of the FHSAA should not be punishing a high school player for being upset and angry over his team getting screwed out of a victory by the officials. Let's hold the officials accountable for once because they clearly did not earn their paychecks for this game.

Fashion Reviews with Nike Pro Combat Jerseys

This weekend of college football showed the introduction of the new Nike Pro Combat Uniforms. TCU, Boise State, and Virginia Tech all debuted the new uniforms over the weekend and here are my fashion reviews of the new Nikes.

What I liked:

- The Boise State helmet with the huge bronco logo on one side, although they had enough room to put it on the other side but I thought it was cool.
- Keeping with the helmet theme, the Hokies flat black helmet design looked really good and made the VT logo stand out.
- Virginia Tech's flat black color scheme continued with the all black jersey design, good call.

What I disliked:
- This is where I finally mention TCU's lizard skin designed uniforms, not a big fan of the lizard skin pants and helmet. It reminds me of fashion designers creating the flashiest clothes you see on a runway but you know no normal human being would wear in public. I would have preferred to see gray or black on the pants and helmet.
- The only downfall for the Boise State uniforms is the incorporation of the two shades of gray on the jersey shirt. As I was watching the game and saw the Broncos come out of the locker room I thought the darker shade of gray were sweat stains coming from under player's pads.
- As much as I liked the Hokies uniforms there was one flaw, the small VT's within the numbering and stripes of the jersey shirts.

Overall, I like the concept of Nike introducing new style jerseys because it gets players excited and gives all the fans something else to talk about. College Football is here so lets all enjoy!

Nebraska Cruises Against The Hilltoppers 49-10

The dust has settled for a tough opening game for the Hilltoppers with a 49-10 loss against the eighth ranked team in the country, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska had control of this game from the beginning scoring with ease on their first two drives and putting the contest out of hand early. Despite the final score there are a lot of positives to take away from this game for the Hilltopper program on both the offensive and defensive sides.

Offensive Line Solid

The offensive line appeared solid in contributing to 299 yards of total offense against a highly touted Blackshirt defense. This included 179 yards rushing and 120 yards passing and only allowing one sack of quarterback Kawaun Jakes, who went 12 -22 passing for 120 yards and only one interception.

Raining Supreme

Running back Bobby Rainey had a career day as he rushed for 155 yards on a workman like 30 carries and scored the lone touchdown for the Hilltoppers. Rainey almost had another touchdown before being stripped at the goal line after a 47-yard run; the fumble was recovered by Nebraska in the end zone for a touchback.

Defense Showing Effort

Okay, Nebraska had 536 yards of total offense so you might wonder why I would brag about the WKU defense. After allowing 107 yards on the first two Nebraska drives to start the game, the Hilltoppers stepped up and only allowed 83 yards the rest of the first half. Despite the yardage, the new 4-3 defense for the Hilltoppers showed great effort by creating two turnovers and forcing the Cornhusker offense into three and out drives.

Offensive Production

The offense took some time to get into the flow of the game as they gained 219 of their 299 total yards in the second half. Coach Taggart kept the focus on the running game as it accounted for 179 yards and they kept feeding Bobby Rainey the ball with 30 carries for a career high 155 yards on the ground. They were able to put together a solid 80 yard drive in the fourth quarter which was capped off by a 5 yard touchdown run by Rainey. The offense had 14 total first downs and averaged 4.8 yards per play on 62 total offensive plays.

The Conclusion

This was a typical opening weekend talent mismatch and squash game for a BCS contender in the Cornhuskers but this allowed the Hilltoppers to develop their talent as well and get ready for Sun Belt play. I was impressed with the offensive production and the focus on the running game. The defense made some plays and forced some turnovers. The biggest thing the Hilltoppers need work on are tackling, I saw a lot of missed tackles in what highlights I did see and Coach Taggart did stress that in post game interviews. The main thing to take away from this game is that WKU competed in front of a crowd of 85,000 plus and with one game in the books, the comfort level is better and the team has more experience to run the new offensive and defensive schemes.