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THE PIG IS IN THE AIR!
Marc Lawrence’s 2003 College Football Power Plays
By Marc Lawrence • www.PLAYBOOK.com
Thanks to our 2003 PLAYBOOK FOOOTBALL HANDICAPPERS’ YEARBOOK magazine, hot of the presses and on sale now at newsstands across the country, our freshly windexed crystal ball looks into the prospects of each of the 117 Division 1-A football teams for the upcoming campaign. Journey with us for a date with history as we examine the BEST and the WORST situations and games surrounding each team this season. We’ve penciled in the games of interest, and the parameters surrounding those games. Get your scorecards ready as we look to make a little extra bacon this college football season as we take a look inside the BIG 10 for 2003…
BIG 10
Sans Notre Dame, the Big Tenleven plods on in quest of a 12th member team proud of the fact it is today the home of the defending National Champs. Rest assured Ohio State will be a targeted team in 2003. They’re also a deeply talented team looking to scoff off the notion of crashing back to earth this season. Stalwarts Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin should have a say in this year’s race with up-and-comers Purdue and Minnesota primed to become last year’s Iowa.
ILLINOIS
There’s no doubt Illini head coach Ron Turner is an offensive guru. For the 2nd straight year his offense set a school record for total offensive yards per game. Behind quarterback Jon Beutjer, Illinois led the Big 10 in passing last year. In his seven starts in 2002, Beutjer averaged more than 300 passing YPG. This is the same head coach who took a 0-11 team to the Big 10 championship in just five years. Like his NFL coach-brother Norv, Turner has a keen knowledge of effectively moving the ball through the air. Remember this, after a dismal 1-5 start last season, the Fighting Illini closed out the campaign winning four of its last six games. Should they upset either Purdue, Michigan or Iowa on the road they will likely find themselves back in the bowl picture in 2003. Don’t bet against them.
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
INDIANA
Don’t be surprised if the Hoosiers don green and white jerseys this year. It would compliment the degree of experienced players dotting the roster. Things got so bad last year that they dressed as many freshmen as juniors and seniors combined against Ohio State. By the time they met Penn State in their final home game, Indiana had just 38 scholarship players in uniform. By season’s end nine different freshmen were starters. This year they’ll dress no more than 47 scholarships, with only eight seniors on the entire squad. Junior QB Matt LoVecchio, a Notre Dame transfer, takes over the signal calling duties. Having 100% of their rushing yards and 96% of their receiving back won’t hurt. Taking on the eight opponents that were .500 or better last year will.
PASS
IOWA
On the heels of their first ever 11-win season, the Hawkeyes are flying high. Having one undefeated in the Big 10 for the first time since 1922, the defending co-champs will now take on a much tougher schedule in 2003, one that finds only three losing teams on the itinerary. Reality tells us the loss a Heisman-caliber quarterback, the best tight end in football last year, and three of their four leading tacklers means there will surely be a knock on the door from Mr. Law of Averages in 2003. Add to the mix the fact that they managed 11 victories despite a defense that actually allowed 30 YPG more than its seven-win edition the year before. You can see where we’re going here.
PLAY AGAINST: vs Purdue
MICHIGAN
Let’s be blunt and up front. We like the Wolverines chances this year. Lead by steady, reliable QB John Navarre, we expect this team to make amends for losses to conference co-champs Iowa and Ohio State. After having faced the nation’s 2nd toughest schedule (.621) last year, the Wolves divide this year’s itinerary equally against six winning and six losing opponents. For what it’s worth, the loss to the Hawkeyes last season was their worst loss in Ann Arbor since 1967 and snapped a 38-0 unique streak (Michigan’s record in games before Michigan State) in the process. Not only is a 28th consecutive bowl bid in the offing but so too is a crack at the BCS title game. After all, they are the nation’s all-time winningest football program – and one without a lot of weaknesses. Stay tuned.
PLAY ON: as Dogs vs Iowa
MICHIGAN STATE
No thanks to Jeff Smoker, the Spartans crashed and burned the hardest of all prominent Division 1-A teams last season. Thought by many to be a leading contender for Big 10 honors in 2002, the Spartans instead lost twice as many games as they won. Racked by dissension and Smoker’s drug problems, MSU was wasted following a promising 2-0 start. On the scorecard was the worst loss in the last 55 years against rival Michigan and a 54-point loss to Penn State in which they allowed more points in a single game since a 1922 loss to Michigan. As a result, out goes Bobby Wallace in comes John L. Smith, the former Louisville mentor who groomed NFL QB’s Chris Redman and Dave Ragone. If Smoker is sincere in his effort to clean himself up they’ll make money, rather than burn it, this year.
PLAY ON: vs Penn State
MINNESOTA
“I’m so excited.” A popular tune by the Pointer Sisters, and the feeling permeates the football campus in Minnesota. Hey, they just can’t help it. A 7-1 start last year was the best witnessed around these parts since 1961. Three bowl games in four years, including their first bowl win since 1985, gets the juices flowing. So does the return of QB Asad Abdul Khalir and all three of perhaps the best trio of running backs in the nation. A stone lock to enter Happy Valley at 4-0 this year, the Gophers take on a schedule that includes no less than eight losing teams from last year. It’s also sans Ohio State. Yes, they’re so excited they just can't hide it and they’re about to lose control. We think they like it.
PLAY ON: vs Ohio U
NORTHWESTERN
Please help me I’m fallin’. That’s the title tune for this team, one that has lost 15 of its last 18 games since mid-2001. Here’s hoping that putting the death of fallen safety Rashidi Wheeler behind them will help the Wildcats come out of their funk sometime soon. “We have a lot of guys coming back who have played a lot of minutes, but we’re still young,” contends head coach Randy Walker. “We played a lot of freshmen and sophomores last year that have two or three years of playing time ahead of them,” Walker concludes. It won’t help having to square off against winning teams in each of their six home games in 2003. Then again, the road slate finds four sub .500 opponents, thus affording them some opportunity of picking themselves back up.
PLAY ON: vs Penn State
OHIO STATE
Hail to the champions! In a memorable upset, Ohio State dethroned Miami Florida in dramatic fashion in last year's BCS title game in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the Buckeyes first national championship since 1968, or when head coach Jim Tressel had just acquired his driver’s license. In the process they were also the first team in Division 1-A history to go 14-0 for the season. It wasn’t easy, though, as Ohio State was outgained in each of their final four games of the season. In addition, half of their victories were by seven fewer points. Talent-wise they’re loaded again this year, no doubt about it. Having to carry the biggest of all bullseyes on their backs will be the issue at hand this year. Does Jim Tressel own Michigan, or does he just have a two-year lease? We'll find out.
PLAY AGAINST: as Favs vs Penn State
PENN STATE
53 years in one profession is amazing. 53 years with the same institution is incredible. So it is with legendary Joe Paterno who was a PSU assist ant for 16 years before taking over the head coaching reins in 1966. And along the way he’s seen it all. Good teams (many), bad teams (few), and some right in between teams. Despite losing the services of All-American RB Larry Johnson (2,087 rushing yards last year) and four offensive linemen that started 51 of 52 games last year, this year’s squad should be one of his better editions. Returning are 15 offensive lettermen, including star QB Zach Mills. On the other side of the ball all three starting LB’s, with plenty of depth behind them, are back. This is, after all, Linebacker U, isn’t it? And it is still Joe Shades calling the plays, isn’t it?
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
PURDUE
Let’s face it. Since Joe Tiller’s arrival at Purdue, the Boilermakers are most definitely an up and coming team. Never a losing season under his leadership, Purdue has excelled to the absolute max in gathering six bowl bids in Tiller’s six years in West Lafayette. In their last year’s six-loss season the Boilermakers defeats came by a combined total of just 26 points. The majority of Tiller’s success has been at home where Purdue is 18-6 SU and 17-7 ATS under his lead - (FYI: for 100% perfect Tiller stats be sure to check out the 2003 BLACK BOOK). Seventeen returning starters insure that the winning continues again in 2003. Boiler Up!
PLAY ON: vs Notre Dame
WISCONSIN
Perhaps the new AD at Wisconsin (Barry Alvarez) may want to examine more closely the so-so 13-13 W-L record of the head coach (Barry Alvarez) before granting him another raise in the near future. What he will enjoy reading is his sparkling 7-1 record in bowl games, that’s for sure. The star player on his year’s unit will be RB Anthony Davis who is the nation’s leading rusher the L2Y combined. A group of highly talented wide receivers will compliment QB Jim Sorgi who threw the ball for nearly 1,100 yards and nine TD’s in limited use in 2001. Unfortunately, they wasted a 5-0 start last year, closing out 3-6 thereafter. With nine starters back on defense, and Michigan missing from the schedule, this could the kind of year the new AD had in mind when he took the job.
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
EDITOR’S NOTE: Marc Lawrence publishes the 248-page PLAYBOOK FOOTBALL HANDICAPPERS’ YEARBOOK magazine, sold on newsstands nationwide. The 2003 edition examines the 32 NFL teams and 117 Division 1-A college teams in depth. To obtain a copy visit www.PLAYBOOK.com or call 1-800-PLAYBOOK.
Marc Lawrence’s 2003 College Football Power Plays
By Marc Lawrence • www.PLAYBOOK.com
Thanks to our 2003 PLAYBOOK FOOOTBALL HANDICAPPERS’ YEARBOOK magazine, hot of the presses and on sale now at newsstands across the country, our freshly windexed crystal ball looks into the prospects of each of the 117 Division 1-A football teams for the upcoming campaign. Journey with us for a date with history as we examine the BEST and the WORST situations and games surrounding each team this season. We’ve penciled in the games of interest, and the parameters surrounding those games. Get your scorecards ready as we look to make a little extra bacon this college football season as we take a look inside the BIG 10 for 2003…
BIG 10
Sans Notre Dame, the Big Tenleven plods on in quest of a 12th member team proud of the fact it is today the home of the defending National Champs. Rest assured Ohio State will be a targeted team in 2003. They’re also a deeply talented team looking to scoff off the notion of crashing back to earth this season. Stalwarts Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin should have a say in this year’s race with up-and-comers Purdue and Minnesota primed to become last year’s Iowa.
ILLINOIS
There’s no doubt Illini head coach Ron Turner is an offensive guru. For the 2nd straight year his offense set a school record for total offensive yards per game. Behind quarterback Jon Beutjer, Illinois led the Big 10 in passing last year. In his seven starts in 2002, Beutjer averaged more than 300 passing YPG. This is the same head coach who took a 0-11 team to the Big 10 championship in just five years. Like his NFL coach-brother Norv, Turner has a keen knowledge of effectively moving the ball through the air. Remember this, after a dismal 1-5 start last season, the Fighting Illini closed out the campaign winning four of its last six games. Should they upset either Purdue, Michigan or Iowa on the road they will likely find themselves back in the bowl picture in 2003. Don’t bet against them.
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
INDIANA
Don’t be surprised if the Hoosiers don green and white jerseys this year. It would compliment the degree of experienced players dotting the roster. Things got so bad last year that they dressed as many freshmen as juniors and seniors combined against Ohio State. By the time they met Penn State in their final home game, Indiana had just 38 scholarship players in uniform. By season’s end nine different freshmen were starters. This year they’ll dress no more than 47 scholarships, with only eight seniors on the entire squad. Junior QB Matt LoVecchio, a Notre Dame transfer, takes over the signal calling duties. Having 100% of their rushing yards and 96% of their receiving back won’t hurt. Taking on the eight opponents that were .500 or better last year will.
PASS
IOWA
On the heels of their first ever 11-win season, the Hawkeyes are flying high. Having one undefeated in the Big 10 for the first time since 1922, the defending co-champs will now take on a much tougher schedule in 2003, one that finds only three losing teams on the itinerary. Reality tells us the loss a Heisman-caliber quarterback, the best tight end in football last year, and three of their four leading tacklers means there will surely be a knock on the door from Mr. Law of Averages in 2003. Add to the mix the fact that they managed 11 victories despite a defense that actually allowed 30 YPG more than its seven-win edition the year before. You can see where we’re going here.
PLAY AGAINST: vs Purdue
MICHIGAN
Let’s be blunt and up front. We like the Wolverines chances this year. Lead by steady, reliable QB John Navarre, we expect this team to make amends for losses to conference co-champs Iowa and Ohio State. After having faced the nation’s 2nd toughest schedule (.621) last year, the Wolves divide this year’s itinerary equally against six winning and six losing opponents. For what it’s worth, the loss to the Hawkeyes last season was their worst loss in Ann Arbor since 1967 and snapped a 38-0 unique streak (Michigan’s record in games before Michigan State) in the process. Not only is a 28th consecutive bowl bid in the offing but so too is a crack at the BCS title game. After all, they are the nation’s all-time winningest football program – and one without a lot of weaknesses. Stay tuned.
PLAY ON: as Dogs vs Iowa
MICHIGAN STATE
No thanks to Jeff Smoker, the Spartans crashed and burned the hardest of all prominent Division 1-A teams last season. Thought by many to be a leading contender for Big 10 honors in 2002, the Spartans instead lost twice as many games as they won. Racked by dissension and Smoker’s drug problems, MSU was wasted following a promising 2-0 start. On the scorecard was the worst loss in the last 55 years against rival Michigan and a 54-point loss to Penn State in which they allowed more points in a single game since a 1922 loss to Michigan. As a result, out goes Bobby Wallace in comes John L. Smith, the former Louisville mentor who groomed NFL QB’s Chris Redman and Dave Ragone. If Smoker is sincere in his effort to clean himself up they’ll make money, rather than burn it, this year.
PLAY ON: vs Penn State
MINNESOTA
“I’m so excited.” A popular tune by the Pointer Sisters, and the feeling permeates the football campus in Minnesota. Hey, they just can’t help it. A 7-1 start last year was the best witnessed around these parts since 1961. Three bowl games in four years, including their first bowl win since 1985, gets the juices flowing. So does the return of QB Asad Abdul Khalir and all three of perhaps the best trio of running backs in the nation. A stone lock to enter Happy Valley at 4-0 this year, the Gophers take on a schedule that includes no less than eight losing teams from last year. It’s also sans Ohio State. Yes, they’re so excited they just can't hide it and they’re about to lose control. We think they like it.
PLAY ON: vs Ohio U
NORTHWESTERN
Please help me I’m fallin’. That’s the title tune for this team, one that has lost 15 of its last 18 games since mid-2001. Here’s hoping that putting the death of fallen safety Rashidi Wheeler behind them will help the Wildcats come out of their funk sometime soon. “We have a lot of guys coming back who have played a lot of minutes, but we’re still young,” contends head coach Randy Walker. “We played a lot of freshmen and sophomores last year that have two or three years of playing time ahead of them,” Walker concludes. It won’t help having to square off against winning teams in each of their six home games in 2003. Then again, the road slate finds four sub .500 opponents, thus affording them some opportunity of picking themselves back up.
PLAY ON: vs Penn State
OHIO STATE
Hail to the champions! In a memorable upset, Ohio State dethroned Miami Florida in dramatic fashion in last year's BCS title game in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the Buckeyes first national championship since 1968, or when head coach Jim Tressel had just acquired his driver’s license. In the process they were also the first team in Division 1-A history to go 14-0 for the season. It wasn’t easy, though, as Ohio State was outgained in each of their final four games of the season. In addition, half of their victories were by seven fewer points. Talent-wise they’re loaded again this year, no doubt about it. Having to carry the biggest of all bullseyes on their backs will be the issue at hand this year. Does Jim Tressel own Michigan, or does he just have a two-year lease? We'll find out.
PLAY AGAINST: as Favs vs Penn State
PENN STATE
53 years in one profession is amazing. 53 years with the same institution is incredible. So it is with legendary Joe Paterno who was a PSU assist ant for 16 years before taking over the head coaching reins in 1966. And along the way he’s seen it all. Good teams (many), bad teams (few), and some right in between teams. Despite losing the services of All-American RB Larry Johnson (2,087 rushing yards last year) and four offensive linemen that started 51 of 52 games last year, this year’s squad should be one of his better editions. Returning are 15 offensive lettermen, including star QB Zach Mills. On the other side of the ball all three starting LB’s, with plenty of depth behind them, are back. This is, after all, Linebacker U, isn’t it? And it is still Joe Shades calling the plays, isn’t it?
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
PURDUE
Let’s face it. Since Joe Tiller’s arrival at Purdue, the Boilermakers are most definitely an up and coming team. Never a losing season under his leadership, Purdue has excelled to the absolute max in gathering six bowl bids in Tiller’s six years in West Lafayette. In their last year’s six-loss season the Boilermakers defeats came by a combined total of just 26 points. The majority of Tiller’s success has been at home where Purdue is 18-6 SU and 17-7 ATS under his lead - (FYI: for 100% perfect Tiller stats be sure to check out the 2003 BLACK BOOK). Seventeen returning starters insure that the winning continues again in 2003. Boiler Up!
PLAY ON: vs Notre Dame
WISCONSIN
Perhaps the new AD at Wisconsin (Barry Alvarez) may want to examine more closely the so-so 13-13 W-L record of the head coach (Barry Alvarez) before granting him another raise in the near future. What he will enjoy reading is his sparkling 7-1 record in bowl games, that’s for sure. The star player on his year’s unit will be RB Anthony Davis who is the nation’s leading rusher the L2Y combined. A group of highly talented wide receivers will compliment QB Jim Sorgi who threw the ball for nearly 1,100 yards and nine TD’s in limited use in 2001. Unfortunately, they wasted a 5-0 start last year, closing out 3-6 thereafter. With nine starters back on defense, and Michigan missing from the schedule, this could the kind of year the new AD had in mind when he took the job.
PLAY ON: vs Iowa
EDITOR’S NOTE: Marc Lawrence publishes the 248-page PLAYBOOK FOOTBALL HANDICAPPERS’ YEARBOOK magazine, sold on newsstands nationwide. The 2003 edition examines the 32 NFL teams and 117 Division 1-A college teams in depth. To obtain a copy visit www.PLAYBOOK.com or call 1-800-PLAYBOOK.