Kritik und Lob » same.Notre Dame has alpha personalities a

Welcome to Halloween, everybody!Or, if youre a fan of the Big 12, non-Power 5 party crashers or the vast majority of the schools that entered Week 9 undefeated, then welcome to Halloween II, III or even IV. Your frightfulness got started a little early, didnt it?So, whos next? Who should be tiptoeing into November like my wife when I make her go visit that haunted house they set up in a trailer park on the edge of town? She knows the guy with the rubber mask and the toothless chainsaw is going to be jumping out at her. The only question is how bad will the end result be? Will she merely scream and keep walking, or will she run into the dark, trip over an extension cord and take out a half-dozen people with her when she falls?Here are some haunted-house scenarios for the should-be easy paths to the College Football Playoff. B1G. A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to go to Camp Randall Stadium, where I saw a super-tough Wisconsin team nearly take down a then-undefeated Ohio State. Im convinced that the beating the Buckeyes took both physically and mentally had a lot to do with their sluggish loss to Penn State the following week. They didnt look like a well-oiled machine at Northwestern, either. Now they welcome in Nebraska and will be hoping that the Huskers are suffering from a similar post-Badger hangover.If Nebraska loses, it sets up two-loss Wisconsin for the Big Ten West title and a rematch opportunity against the winner of The Game. Historically those revisits dont work out well for the team that won the first time around. If Nebraska wins, it hands Ohio State a second loss with The Game still to be played. Should the Bucks turn around and win at home against Michigan, then everyone in the conference will have at least one loss. You see whats up here, right? The chances of someone leaving Indianapolis with two losses stuck in their conference championship trophy isnt so crazy to consider. Thats new territory for the College Football Playoff selection committee, especially with a nonchampion like Louisville floating around out there like a ghost waiting to get into your bedroom. SEC. The Alabama-LSU game we all had circled back in the summer is now upon us. No, it doesnt mean as much we thought it might, but LSU is finally playing at the level we always thought it could and the game is at scream-inducing Death Valley. Should Bama lose, it will still be in the drivers seat, but the vehicle still has to go through an Iron Bowl with an Auburn team thats also suddenly surging. Speaking of turnarounds, did you realize that two-loss Kentucky could still win the SEC East? The Wildcats had a pair of 180-yard rushers on Saturday and after starting 0-2 are now 5-3 and 4-2 in the conference with Georgia and Tennessee left to play. With some help (OK, a lot of help) the Wildcats could totally Missouri this thing and get to Atlanta and that could make life iffy for anyone out of the West with more than one loss, especially if UK is obliterated by Lamar Jackson and Louisville the weekend before. Pac-12. Washington keeps winning, no matter how grinding and ugly it can look, as it did at Utah. But acting as if the Huskies will run the table easily from here on out might is not wise. It starts with a trip to Berkeley. Forget how terrible Cal looked against USC on Thursday night. The Bears were playing a second consecutive early week game and against a team coming off of a bye. The reality is that they might very well be the nations most dangerous four-loss team not based out of Oxford, Mississippi. After that, the Huskies will be paid a visit from the very reinvented Trojans team that trucked the Bears. Then, after a visit from Arizona State, comes a suddenly ginormous Apple Cup trip to Pullman to face a Wazzu team thats currently undefeated in the conference but has two losses, including their season-opening clunker with FCS Eastern Washington. Should UW stumble along those four weeks, it might have to depend on a Pac-12 title game against a two-loss Colorado team that has been a great story but is far from a great football team. ACC. Clemson has a playing down problem. With Syracuse, Pitt, Wake and South Carolina remaining on the schedule, there will be plenty of opportunities to do just that. If the Tigers were to lose to one of those seemingly mid-to-back-of-the-pack squads theyll still face a dangerous UNC or Virginia Tech team in the relocated ACC Championship Game. Both of those schools are guaranteed to have two losses when they get to Orlando. If they were to pull off an upset in whats likely to a much more antiseptic environment than weve seen in Charlotte, times will be tense in Greensboro.Big 12. As noted earlier, their haunted-house tour has already happened. What the conference needs is for at least one of the above nightmares to unfold and hope for the best. Or in this case the worst.OK, you can open your eyes now. Its time to get on with the Halloween edition of Flipping The Field.Donnel Pumphrey?Watch. My 2016 man crush ran roughshod over Utah State to the tune of 223 yards, hitting 5,741 for his career and leapfrogging Cedric Benson, Travis Prentice and Charles White to reach fifth on the NCAA all-time rushing list. Im pretty sure that the only person who enjoys watching Pumphrey play more than I do is 90-year old Tom Ables, who was on the rain-soaked sideline for his 778th (!) San Diego State Aztecs game.From the Ridonculous Stats Department: Michigans?Jabrill Peppers??rushed for a TD vs. Michigan State, bringing his season total to four (three rushing, one punt return), equaling Charles Woodsons total during his 1997 Heisman season. On Saturday, he spread his 64 defensive snaps over four positions. With 465 yards passing,?Chad Kelly??broke Archie Mannings single game passing record at Ole Miss. Wait ... Archie Manning threw for 436 yards in 1969?! East Carolina receiver?Zay Jones?hauled in 19 catches vs. UConn, bringing his season total to 114 and career total to 355. He is on pace to break the single-season record of 155 (Bowling Greens Freddie Barnes) as well as the career record of 387, held by former ECU teammate Justin Hardy. Georgia Tech QB?Justin Thomas??led the Jackets to a survival win over Duke via his Total QBR rating of 99.7, the best posted by any FBS QB this season. Racking up 459 yards and four TDs on only 31 runs and passes will do that.Happy Halloween! From the referee and the first-down marker.Were going streaking! Washington has won 11 straight games, the second-longest-active FBS streak, trailing only Alabamas 20 in a row. After starting the year 1-2, Auburn has won five straight, led by running back Kamryn Pettway, who posted his third consecutive performance of 150-plus yards. The only other Tigers to pull that off over the last decade were Tre Mason and Cam Newton ... in years that Auburn won the SEC. Oklahomas Dede Westbrook had his fifth straight game with at least 100 receiving yards and a TD. The man who throws to him, Baker Mayfield, has thrown at least four TD passes in four straight games.Get in the car, Frank ... Then-13th ranked Boise States loss to Wyoming (via a safety!) snapped the Cowboys 22-game losing streak vs. ranked teams. Boston Colleges victory over NC State was its first conference victory in 13 tries. Kansas was throttled by Oklahoma 56-3 to extend its record of 39 consecutive road losses. Ohio State beat Northwestern, but QB J.T. Barrett was held without a rushing or passing TD for the first time in 25 starts.Happy Halloween! From the Jorts Boys I met in the parking lot of Georgia-Florida.Cool Threads: Oregon State. The Beavers paid tribute to the 1942 Rose Bowl team with battleship gray helmets that had a 1942 emblazoned on the front. But the coolest were the old school replica 42 Rose Bowl jackets the players found in their lockers.Cool Lids: Arizona State. The Sun Devils Desert Chrome helmets for Oregon were so chromallusiontastic we can see the photographer peering into the coolness. Tommy West Coachs Press Conference of the Week: Jimbo Fisher, Florida State. That scribbling noise you hear is Fisher writing the $20,000 check to cover his fine from the ACC for saying this after the loss to Clemson. And the silence youll hear when this rant is done is the sound of man who doesnt care about being fined.Danny Ford Scientific Rocket Quote of the Week: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. While in the middle of trying to explain MSUs first home loss to Michigan in nearly a decade, the lights went out in the Spartan Stadium media room. Thats kind of how the day went.Weston Steelhammer Name of the Week: Boo. In keeping with the Halloween theme, I tried to recall all of the college football players named Boo. I came up with a dozen. Utah has had two, Boo Anderson and Boo Bendinger. And I remember when there was a pair of Boo Williams in the SEC simultaneously, a wide receiver at Arkansas and a running back at South Carolina. And one player doubled up all on his own, Bowling Green DB BooBoo Gates.Happy Halloween! The Ag fraternity at Ohio State has apparently figured out cloning.Frank Reich Backup QB Of The Week Award: Arion Worthman, Air Force. It has been a rough October for the Falcons, suffering three straight losses. To make it all worse, starting quarterback Nate Romine suffered an ankle injury halfway through the third quarter, trailing 21-17. So Worthman, a freshman who has been hailed as the teams QB of the future, became the QB of the here and now. Over the next 31 offensive plays he attempted only one pass but rushed for 102 yards and a pair of TDs to lead a comeback 31-21 win. It was crazy, Worthman said after the victory. Nate went down, and our whole sideline went quiet. I heard them shouting my number 2-2-2! and I knew it was my time to go. All the way to the goal line.Comeback of the Week Award, also named for Frank Reich: Houston 31, UCF 24. Just three weeks ago, the Cougars were going to be in the College Football Playoff AND the Big 12. Then they lost to Navy. Then they lost to SMU. Then the Big 12 lifted the drawbridge without letting anyone into the castle. Then Houston was down 24-3 in the third quarter at home against the Knights. The situation was so dire that ESPNs FPI had their chances of winning hovering around 7 percent and everyones Twitter timelines had it set way lower. But then ... they scored 28 unanswered points for a win that felt as if it very much salvaged the season.Shane Falco Almost Comeback of the Week Award: ACC Coastal. Miami trailed Notre Dame 20-0, scored 27 unanswered points, but lost 30-27. Meanwhile, Duke trailed Georgia Tech 28-7, came back to lead 35-31 with 8:55 remaining, but lost 38-35.Happy Halloween! From the Oregon Duck ... or Bear ... or Buck?The Guy You Should Know About, But Probably Dont: Tyler Chadwick, QB, Coastal Carolina. A few weeks ago we told you about Chadwick, who went from being essentially a coaching intern to the third string quarterback because of a slew of injuries to the Chanticleers quarterback roster. On Saturday, he made it into the lineup late during CCUs blowout of Presbyterian. So, the same guy who played second base for the College World Series champions has also now played in an FBS football game. Pretty nice year, wouldnt you say?The Guy You Used to Know About But Forgot About But You Should Know About Again: Bart Houston, QB, Wisconsin. It was starter Alex Hornibrook who led the Badgers to a pair of touchdowns during regulation of this huge B1G showdown with Nebraska. But when the game hit overtime it was benched former starter Houston who got the call from Paul Chryst and led the Badgers to the game-winning TD.The Team You Should Know About, But Probably Dont: Kentucky. No, seriously.Speaking of Kentucky ... Remember Hal Mumme, godfather of the Air Raid offense and former head coach of the Wildcats? These days hes calling the shots at NAIA school Belhaven University in Mississippi (I mean, I know you already know this because you read my piece on Dana Holgorsen last week, right?). On Saturday, the Blazers lost to Hardin-Simmons, but not before Mumme called in a fourth-down play where the quarterback threw a lateral to a backup quarterback, who faked a pass and punted ... but the line drive bounced off a defenders head and was recovered by a Belhaven player. First down! The Game You Should Be Psyched For But Probably Arent: Washington at California. Go back and read what I wrote up top of this here column, wont you?Happy Halloween! From the SEC Nation crew. Paul Finebaum told me that when the SEC Network did this shoot on Friday night in Jacksonville, he didnt even require makeup.Extra Point: Whats the most Halloweeny college football program of all time? That wouldve been All Hallows College, a Catholic high school and four-year mens college that operated in Salt Lake City from 1886 to 1918. Overseen during the first part of the 20th century by a series of eccentric Marist Fathers, the school with an enrollment of around 200 fielded a football team, though only briefly. The records of the gridiron efforts of All Hallows are shoddy at best, but we do know they fielded at least four teams, playing a somewhat bizarre crossover schedule of high school and college teams. We dont know how those teams fared other than looking at their record against existing schools. The team that local papers referred to as The Collegians was 0-3 against Utah, including a forfeit in 1898 and 0-2 against Utah State with losses in 1907-08. The only complete season we know of was the five-game slate of 1906, with wins over Idaho State, two high schools and a military base before losing to Utah 23-0. Mercifully, Utah doesnt recognize that win, listing it as a scrimmage. While the pipe smoking, St. Bernard-loving Marists loved sports, Salt Lakes first bishop, Lawrence Scanlan, despised intercollegiate competition. Since it was Scanlan who founded the school, named after his alma mater in Dublin, when he said no more football, there was no more football. When the school went under, the haunted house-ish building was used as by the Utah National Guard as an armory. Today a shopping center stands on the site. I wonder, on Halloween night if one stands in the cold of the produce section one might hear Bishop Scanlan whispering No ... more ... football ... for Hallows Eve ... And I bet he looks like Finebaum in that grim reaper getup.Cheap Air Max 270 .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Nike Air Max Sale . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Fake Nike Air Max Replica . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria.SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dames Brianna Turner played much of last season with what seemed at times like little more than one arm. Which speaks volumes about what sort of passion resides within someone who has otherwise played her whole life with what often seems one expression.Picture Turner sliding across the lane during a games pivotal moments, one long arm scything through the air to swat away an unsuspecting opponents shot. That scene or something like it happened 177 times during her first two seasons, more than all but a handful of players in her class.Now imagine Turner reacting to the block by turning to the crowd and exhorting them to rise to their feet. Or perhaps turning her head to the rafters and letting loose a triumphant scream. How would her coach, her own poker face perfected during the course of 30 seasons on the sideline, react to such a display? What would she say about an expression of youthful self-indulgent swagger?Id like to see that, Notre Dames Muffet McGraw said recently with what seemed ample wistfulness. That wouldnt bother me at all.Just dont count on it happening. Turner could block the shot that secures Notre Dame a national championship next April and likely as not still betray all the emotion of a Buddhist monk mid-meditation.Yet the important part of that is that Turner could block the shot that secures a title next April. Or get a rebound. Or hit a shot.Turners immense talent is such that McGraw is willing to bend the teams trademark offense to accommodate her. That concession alone is unprecedented in South Bend. But if her coach would also welcome more swagger out of a quiet All-American who is now both the unquestioned face of the Fighting Irish and still something of a cipher to the college basketball world, it isnt because of any questions about her passion.Some stars wear their heart on their sleeve, but the shoulder brace Turner wore a season ago when she put off surgery to play through a second shoulder dislocation in 12 months was its own expression.The way she got through the year last year was kind of astonishing, really, McGraw said.Turner shows little emotion on the court. She never has. Maybe its the product of being the only child of two parents who both played college basketball, dad Howard at Lamar and mom Kellye at Houston. When there is basketball counsel readily available from those who live under the same roof -- Turner joked that her one and only season playing for her mom in AAU necessitated some rearrangements to maintain familial harmony -- a neutral demeanor can be a useful tool in the gym. Go along to get along.But its one thing to be shy, to retreat from or avoid challenges and attention. Its another thing to merely be quiet.There is a difference, Turner said. I dont think Im shy. I think Im quiet until I get to know people.The sense of humor and talkativeness come out in private, even sometimes in public when the game situation allows for a bit of merriment on the bench. But the force of that personality was perhaps best demonstrated when she returned last season after missing six games following the second shoulder dislocation. While the injury was painful primarily only in the moment that shoulder slipped out of its socket, it left her constrained by the bulky brace worn to protect the joint and well aware that surgery was inevitable. The choice was ultimately hers, and while some urged her to take a hint after the second injury and have the prrocedure immediately, she was the strongest advocate for staying on the court.ddddddddddddI really wanted to play last season, Turner said. I really loved that team so much and the seniors. I really wanted to play with that team. And I just knew myself, that I could not sit out. It was just me being stubborn, and the doctors said I could play on it.As a result, following surgery in April and no matter how she pestered, bartered and cajoled the training staff to accelerate the timetable, she wasnt cleared for full contact until about a month ago. The free throw line jumper that McGraw wanted her to add will have to wait, the time and repetition needed being difficult to find once school and season intersect. It might not be until conference play that Turner fully hits her stride (and the brace is still present). But even with as much depth of talent as the Fighting Irish have ever had -- eight high school All-Americans -- Turner is indispensable.Notre Dames rise from the ranks of the very good to what now seems an annual place in the top five has been built around perimeter stars. Not solely perimeter players, mind you, not with Devereaux Peters and Natalie Achonwa passing through South Bend. But the centerpieces have been Skylar Diggins, Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride and Natalie Novosel, players who spent a lot of time with the ball in their hands and could create for themselves when necessary. Not since Ruth Riley was in the post at the turn of the century has Notre Dame had a post player as its hub.That can be a challenge in the Princeton offense the team runs.Were constantly talking about looking in and running things for Bri, McGraw said. Princeton is kind of equal opportunity, and when shes at the top, she has the ball but shes not really in a scoring area sometimes.Notre Dame has played this system since 2001. A lot of talent has come and gone in South Bend during that time. The list of those who convinced the coach to deviate from its principles is short.Shes it, McGraw said. First one in a long time.In the Tom Hanks movie Bridge of Spies, the accused spy that Hanks character is asked to defend remains improbably stoic in the face of countless moments of stress. His reply when asked if he is worried is always the same and unerringly logical: Would it help?Watching Turner can feel like a similar experience. Block a shot and shes immediately headed up the court in transition. Take a hard foul that isnt called and shes in pursuit of the rebound. Up a dozen points or down a dozen points, it is the same. Two healthy arms or one, it is the same.Notre Dame has alpha personalities among its plentiful assets. Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale have plenty of swagger. Even Lindsay Allen, soft-spoken as she is, commands a huddle. It might not need that from Turner. But it does need her to be what she is capable of being. The best.She claims that shes gotten mad, McGraw said. I was like, Dang, when was it? I want to rewind the film and see it because I didnt notice. She never, ever, ever -- I mean, Ive never even heard her curse. Shes never slammed the ball down or stomped off or said an unkind word to anyone.Id like to see a little fire.Would it help?What Turner did a season ago, and what McGraw will do to get the most out of her this season, might tell you all you need to know about her. ' ' '