Still room for Austen Arnaud’s arm to improve

For most of Thursday night’s 27-10 win over Northern Illinois, Austen Arnaud looked like a different player than the one who struggled in 2009. Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said his quarterback was the most improved player of any on his entire team, and Arnaud proved Rhoads right most of the time. He completed 17 of 22 passes in the first half, and finished with a solid 27-of-36, 265-yard stat line.

On four separate occasions, he completed high-pressure passes on third down to extend drives. Once, on an 11-yard checkdown to Alexander Robinson — who finished with 97 yards including a 63-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter. Another — on the same drive — featured a strike to Darius Darks for a 15-yard reception on 3rd-and-14. The next drive saw Collin Franklin catch a 16-yard pass on the sideline to convert a 3rd-and-7. Jake Williams caught another 16-yard pass on 3rd-and-15.

When Arnaud was good, he was very good. He succeeded in plenty of tight spots that might have been turnovers last year.

But troubling for Arnaud’s night were a pair of interceptions — something Cyclones fans might have expected from the 2009 edition of their quarterback. Arnaud threw 13 picks last season, more than all but one passer in the conference.

The first was a forced pass through the middle of a defense that could have been intercepted by two defenders. The mistake was inconsequential, after Northern Illinois failed to convert on three separate field goal attempts from 33 yards. The Huskies got three tries, courtesy of a pair of icing attempts by Rhoads in the form of late timeouts.

The second would have been a wise, comfortable checkdown to put the Cyclones in the red zone — if Arnaud’s intended target was Northern Illinois’ Tyrone Clark. Arnaud dumped a pass to no one in particular and turned it over, robbing his team of a chance to to go up 24-3 in the third quarter.

On an otherwise sterling night that also featured 14 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown — not counting a 53-yard touchdown run called back for an illegal formation — Arnaud will likely most closely scrutinize those interceptions in the film room.

Iowa State can beat plenty of teams on its brutal schedule. They’ll have a shot at beating Utah during nonconference play and only four games — at Iowa, at Oklahoma, at Texas and Nebraska — look like reaches for the Cyclones. A bowl game is definitely possible for a team that looked like the Big 12 North’s third-best on Thursday night.

But the Cyclones won’t get there if Arnaud can’t prevent those bad decisions that resulted in turnovers. They’ll need an Arnaud who calmly led his team and converted again and again on third down during their win against Northern Illinois.

Did you know? Non-AQ style

To get your Friday started off right, here is a bit of trivia heading into Saturday’s games:

– Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggart has a very loose tie to Nebraska. He served as Tommie Frazier’s backup quarterback at Bradenton Manatee High School in Florida. Taggart hasn’t spoken to Frazier about Saturday’s game, but he has heard from Shevin Wiggins, another high school teammate who also played for the Cornhuskers.

“He sent me a text with a picture of (Memorial Stadium) and asked me if I was ready for ‘The Sea of Red,’” Taggart said earlier this week at his weekly press conference. “He was kind of messing with me about that, saying he didn’t know if we were ready. I had to remind him who I was, and that I don’t bow down to anyone, or any program.”

Taggart makes his head-coaching debut in Lincoln.

– Colorado State is trying to beat Colorado in consecutive games for the first time since 1999-2000, when the Rams won the first two Mountain West titles. Even though both teams ended the season 3-9, the 23-17 win last year in the intense rivalry was the highlight of the season. This year, the Rams start true freshman Pete Thomas at quarterback, one of a handful of true freshman QBs expected to see playing time this weekend.

“The fact Pete is right out of high school, that’s going to be a challenge for him, but he’s a special young man and we expect him to go out and play well,” Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild said on the Mountain West conference call.

– Much has been made about the way non-AQ teams play against those from BCS automatic qualifying conferences. Going into its game against Oregon State, TCU is 13-3 in its last 16 games against teams from AQ leagues. Coach Gary Patterson is 3-0 against teams from the Pac-10 as head coach at TCU.

– New Mexico coach Mike Locksley goes into the season hoping to improve on his 1-11 debut, which firmly placed the Lobos among the worst teams in the country. The opener is going to be exceedingly difficult — at Oregon. The Lobos are 2-21 on the road against nationally ranked opponents. They are still a young team, with 31 underclassmen on the 55-player depth chart.

Sophomore B.R. Holbrook gets the start. He played some last season, going 19-of-34 for 170 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

– Speaking of youth, only four of the projected 22 starters for SMU are seniors as the Mustangs open the season against Texas Tech.

– Miami (Ohio) owns the edge in its all-time series with Florida. The RedHawks won the only previous meeting, 16-7 in the 1973 Tangerine Bowl. Then coach Bill Mallory is headed to Gainesville as a special guest of coach Michael Haywood on the trip to Gainesville.

– After 13 straight years of having more road games than home games, Fresno State has seven games at home this season. The Bulldogs have won nine of their 13 season openers under coach Pat Hill, including five straight. They are perfect in season home openers (6-0). The last time the Dogs lost a season opening game was in 2003 at Tennessee. Cincinnati comes to town Saturday.

Opportunity awaits Boilers around the Bend

According to Danny Hope, Notre Dame already has been the perfect Week 1 opponent for Purdue.

You might ask: How is that possible? Hope’s Boilermakers and the Fighting Irish don’t even play until Saturday afternoon in South Bend.

What if Purdue gets pummeled? It wouldn’t be the first time, as Notre Dame leads the all-time series 53-26-2 and has won 15 of the teams’ last 16 meetings at Notre Dame Stadium.

But leading up to Saturday, Notre Dame has served its purpose for Purdue. The Irish have helped the Boilers practice harder. They have motivated the Boilers to show up for summer workouts. They have motivated Purdue’s many young players to listen to the veterans.

“It was a blessing in disguise for this football team,” Hope told ESPN.com earlier this week. “This is a developmental football team in a lot of ways, and the faster you can develop before you kick it off in the opener, the better chance you have of winning, but also the further along you get for the rest of the season.

“A very tough opener, but one that’s created a heck of a sense of urgency for us to prepare.”

The spotlight Saturday undoubtedly will be fixed on the Notre Dame sideline, as Brian Kelly makes his coaching debut. National media members will be on hand to watch Kelly, quarterback Dayne Crist, receiver Michael Floyd, linebacker Manti Te’o and others as a new chapter begins for the Irish.

Purdue will be an afterthought. Sure, there’s some buzz about Miami transfer Robert Marve and his debut as Purdue’s starting quarterback. Say the name Ryan Kerrigan and knowledgeable college football fans should know who you’re talking about.

But for the most part, the Boilers are anonymous.

“You’re going in there as an underdog, and you’re going in there for the coming-out party for a new head coach at a storied program,” Hope said. “Our guys see it, too. There will be millions and millions of eyes watching the Boilermakers and the Irish. What a great opportunity for us. We’ve got to go down there wide open and having fun.

“We certainly can’t go down there motivated by fear or failure.”

That part shouldn’t be a problem, not after last season.

Purdue snapped a 19-game slide against ranked opponents by stunning No. 7 Ohio State, snapping the Buckeyes’ 16-game Big Ten road win streak in the process. Three weeks later, the Boilers went to Ann Arbor and won at Michigan Stadium for the first time since 1966. Hope’s players won’t care that only one Notre Dame coach has lost his debut since 1934 (Lou Holtz in 1986).

“We’ve been jinx killers as of late,” Hope said. “To me, [Notre Dame's success in the series] is just more numbers. It sounds like just the right formula for us, and that’s exciting.”

Hope acknowledges Notre Dame’s talent and Kelly’s sparkling coaching record, but he likes the matchup for the Boilers. Kerrigan and fellow defensive end Gerald Gooden could be a handful for a young Notre Dame offensive line.

Purdue’s new-look secondary will be tested by Floyd, Theo Riddick and tight end Kyle Rudolph, but Hope points out that the Boilers’ defensive backs practice daily against All-Big Ten senior Keith Smith and several other good receivers. Hope said ball security and quarterback performance will be major keys for both teams, as Marve and Crist take center stage.

“A win at Notre Dame would be a signature win for the program,” Hope said. “It would be a historic win, a great springboard opportunity for this team and this program. There’s a million things to gain from it. But win or lose, I don’t see how we can go wrong playing Notre Dame in the opener.

“All around, it’s been the best thing for our football team.”

Three-point stance: Masoli decision ‘arbitrary and unfair’

1. Eni Faleomavaega, the delegate to the U.S. Congress from American Samoa, has written a letter to the NCAA decrying the “arbitrary and unfair” decision denying Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli a waiver that would make him eligible this fall. Masoli is of Samoan descent. Faleomavaega called the ruling “grossly inappropriate” for the way in which it ignored the fact that Masoli complied with the legislation as written. The appeals committee is expected to rule Friday.

2. The sun is shining a little brighter in the SEC East this morning. South Carolina looked like it is done being mediocre. It’s not just that the Gamecocks routed Southern Mississippi. It’s that they did so with a polished performance by quarterback Stephen Garcia and a defense that refused to let the Golden Eagles’ spread offense have any room to breathe. South Carolina’s first three SEC games – Georgia, at Auburn and Alabama, just got a lot more interesting.

3. Kirk Ferentz once lauded Iowa City to me as a great place to raise kids. With the youngest of his five children now in high school, I assumed that he would look at the NFL once the nest emptied. Iowa announced Thursday that it had signed Ferentz to a contract extension through the 2020 season, when Ferentz will be 65 years old. Few coaches fit better on their campus. The Hawkeyes are delighted that my assumption was so far off-base. Me, too.

Instant analysis: USC 49, Hawaii 36

USC’s 49-36 win at Hawaii probably wasn’t terribly comforting for USC fans. The offense looked great. The defense? Spineless.

Lane Kiffin and his offense get an “A.” Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron and their defense get an “F.”

How the game was won: The Warriors couldn’t stop the Trojans offense.

Turning point: It never really seemed like USC was in real danger, but the Trojans’ effortless four-play, 79-yard drive to go up 42-23 late in the third quarter made it clear that no matter how many points the Warriors scored, the Trojans would end up with more.

Turning point II: When Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz was knocked out of the game near the USC goal line in the third quarter, the Warriors’ chances seemed as if they were severely damaged. But the Warriors kept rolling up yards and points even with their backups.

Second-guessing: Let’s make something clear: USC linebacker Michael Morgan’s hit that knocked out Moniz in the third was clean. It wasn’t a head shot, and that was clear from replays. It shouldn’t have been a penalty. Morgan delivered a blow with his chest and INSIDE of his arms. Just want to make sure everyone understands what happened.

Stat of the game: The Warriors outgained USC 588 to 525.

In case that wasn’t clear: 588!

Notable number: USC made a bunch of stupid penalties, mostly on defense. The final tally — 11 for 100 — included three offsides penalties, as well as a fourth that was declined, in large part because the Warriors converted on a third-and-26 from their 7-yard line.

Player of the game: Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley was brilliant. He threw five touchdown passes, completing 18 of 23 throws for 257 yards.

Player of the game II: USC receiver Ronald Johnson caught three of Barkley’s TD passes. He also returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.

Player who deserves note: Moniz is a heck of a player. Sort of reminded me of a guy we used to see in the Pac-10 last year who’s moved to Mississippi. He had the Trojans D completely out of sync, both running and throwing.

What it means: Some — who, me? — thought USC would come out and stomp the Warriors. You know: Send a message. The foundation of that predicted stomping — and it feels absurd now — was expected to be the Trojans defense, particularly the defensive line. But the defensive line was terrible. They, however, looked good compared to the secondary, which couldn’t cover or tackle worth a lick. There are some positives to take away for USC, but they are entirely on offense. Other Pac-10 offensive coordinators who stayed up late to watch this one — it ended around 3 a.m. EST — are probably grinning.

These Gamecocks find a way to persevere

COLUMBIA, S.C. — To truly appreciate South Carolina’s 41-13 season-opening victory Thursday night over Southern Miss, you’ve got to first rewind to an hour and a half before the game.

Saying the Gamecocks were totally in the dark is putting it mildly.

In fact, they were staring squarely down the barrel of being without 12 players, just about all of them starters.

“Our Plan B wasn’t very much in place,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “I don’t know exactly what we would have done. But anyway, all the guys except a couple were able to play.”

On Wednesday, the day before the game, the NCAA had notified South Carolina that all of the players linked to the Whitney Hotel investigation were ineligible pending further review. And making matters worse, a couple others were added to that list, including prized freshman running back Marcus Lattimore and senior cornerback Chris Culliver.

A snag had cropped up with Lattimore and Culliver in separate matters and had nothing to do with the NCAA’s investigation into the South Carolina players’ living arrangements at the Whitney Hotel.

So the 12 players in limbo were completely separated from the team. They didn’t go to the hotel with the rest of the team, didn’t eat the pre-game meal, didn’t ride the team bus to the stadium.

For all intents and purposes, they weren’t members of the team.

That is, until just past 6 p.m. on Thursday when South Carolina finally got word that everybody but offensive tackle Jarriel King and Culliver had been cleared to play.

“We didn’t try to make it a distraction, but it certainly was a relief that we had basically all of our entire team here ready to play tonight,” Spurrier said. “It looked like there was a possibility that a lot of them might not be able to play. It worked out, and it was nice that we had all the guys on the field.”

But most of the day Thursday, the South Carolina coaches were scrambling.

It looked like they were going to be without all of their middle linebackers. Shaq Wilson was already injured and couldn’t play, and Rodney Paulk and Josh Dickerson were on the Whitney Hotel list.

As the clock ticked down closer to the game, the South Carolina coaches were bracing themselves to go with redshirt freshman Billy Byrne at middle linebacker. Byrne had never played in a game.

That’s how crazy it got, and it was equally tension-filled all week in practice.

Nobody knew for sure who was going to be available and who wasn’t.

One South Carolina assistant called it the “hardest week I’ve had in coaching.”

But to this staff’s credit and to the players’ credit, there were no residual effects on the field when all the smoke finally cleared.

Just one giant collective sigh of relief, although Culliver and King still have to work through some more issues before they’re cleared by the NCAA to play.

“We practiced every day like the next guy wasn’t going to be there,” said South Carolina sophomore receiver Alshon Jeffery, who caught seven passes for 106 yards.

And that’s also the way the Gamecocks played — like a seasoned team, like a focused team and like a team that expected to go out there and win going away no matter how bizarre these last couple of weeks have been around here.

“We weren’t going to let anything get to us,” said freshman receiver Ace Sanders, who parlayed his speed into a pair of big plays to set up touchdowns. “That’s the way it’s going to be all year.”

Spurrier did his best to ho-hum the performance, even though the Gamecocks rushed for 224 yards, passed for 225 yards and kept the Golden Eagles out of the end zone until a meaningless touchdown in the final minutes.

“We’ve got to get a lot better if we want to make a run and have a big year or whatever,” said Spurrier, whose Gamecocks now have a couple of extra days to get ready for Georgia’s visit on Sept. 11. “We’ve got a lot of areas we have to clean up. Hopefully, we can learn from this game and move on.”

Now that’s not to say the Head Ball Coach’s swagger has completely left him.

He noted the Gamecocks had 41 points with 11 minutes left.

“They sort of milked the clock out on us,” Spurrier said. “I was thinking for a while there that we might for the first time ever score 50. I think we need to score 50. I think it’s good to score 50, if you can, but we couldn’t do it tonight.”

No, but the Gamecocks might have done one better. This is a program in the past that has unraveled at the first sign of adversity.

But not these guys and not this team.

Take the public battering that junior quarterback Stephen Garcia absorbed most of the offseason from Spurrier.

Garcia’s way of firing back was lowering his head and running over Southern Miss safety Justin Wilson on his way to the end zone, capping a gritty 22-yard run for South Carolina’s first touchdown.

Garcia also has a few more toys to play with on offense, in particular Lattimore and Sanders, two freshmen who only complement what was already an impressive nucleus of young talent in the program. Stephon Gilmore, DeVonte Holloman and Jeffery could play anywhere.

Are these guys for real?

We’ll know more when Georgia comes to town in a little more than a week.

But it doesn’t appear that much is going to rattle this crowd, and that’s a pretty good place to start in this league.

Video: Ace Sanders on Gamecocks’ win

South Carolina freshman wide receiverAce Sanders discusses the Gamecocks’ season-opening 41-13 win over Southern Miss.

Video: Look ahead to Ohio State-Miami

Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg looks ahead to the Ohio State-Miami game next week in Columbus.

Thoughts on Minnesota, Indiana victories

The Big Ten is still perfect in 2010. All three teams in action Thursday night came out victorious. You’ve already seen my thoughts on Ohio State-Marshall.

Let’s take a look at the other two games:

Minnesota 24, Middle Tennessee 17: It wasn’t a masterpiece, but Minnesota took a big step toward establishing its offensive identity. Coach Tim Brewster has talked about “pound the rock” for a while, but until Thursday night, the Gophers hadn’t been that power-run, clock-killing offense. They achieved both of those goals in a big way at Middle Tennessee, rushing for 281 yards and holding the ball for 45:34. That’s exactly what new offensive coordinator Jeff Horton wants to do with this unit. Running back Duane Bennett had a huge night (30 carries, 187 yards), and I couldn’t be happier for fullback Jon Hoese, who scored all three Minnesota touchdowns, including the game-winner in the fourth quarter. Hoese nearly didn’t make the trip after his father suffered a severe stroke this week. He ends up playing, scoring three touchdowns and recovering a fumble on a kickoff return. He’ll be getting a helmet sticker Saturday night. Minnesota’s defense looked shaky at times in the middle quarters but did enough to win, and senior quarterback Adam Weber completed 10 of 17 passes. Most important, Minnesota played a more disciplined game, committing no turnovers and had just four penalties. The Gophers had to take advantage of Middle Tennessee without Dwight Dasher, and they did with a second-half rally.

Indiana 51, Towson 17: Tandon Doss‘ absence clearly didn’t slow down the Indiana offense, which surged both through the air and, more importantly, on the ground. As I expected, Damarlo Belcher picked up the slack for the injured Doss and came up big with eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Ben Chappell did what senior quarterbacks are supposed to do against poor FCS teams and delivered an efficient performance (17-for-24 passing, 186 yards, 2 touchdowns). But the big story was Willis and the run game. Coach Bill Lynch introduced the pistol formation to spark the rushing attack, but Indiana has been inconsistent and Willis has struggled to stay healthy. The junior back looked great Thursday with 102 rush yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries. Linebacker Tyler Replogle led the defense, and two defensive backs who used to play receiver, Mitchell Evans and Matt Ernest, both recorded interceptions. Indiana has to capitalize on a very soft nonconference slate, and Thursday night was the first step.

Instant analysis: Utah 27, Pitt 24 (OT)

Quick analysis of Pitt’s 27-24 overtime loss at Utah:

Turning point: Pittsburgh quarterback Tino Sunseri was intercepted on the first play of overtime. Utah kicked a short field goal on its overtime possession to win.

How the game was won: It really came down to who made the last mistake. Pitt didn’t play well most of the night, getting repeatedly burned in pass coverage, looking shaky on the offensive line and leaving points on the board in the Utah red zone. But the Utes had three turnovers and a punt block and the game was marred by penalties. After Utah took a 24-14 lead with 7:59 left, its defense inexplicably left Jon Baldwin open for a long touchdown pass to let Pitt back in the game.

In the end, though, Pitt didn’t feel comfortable going for the win in regulation because Sunseri was starting his first college game. And Sunseri made the last, key mistake.

Stat of the game: Pitt RB Dion Lewis, who had 10 100-yard games last year, finished with a career-low 75 yards on 25 carries. Take away the 18-yard gain on his first attempt, and he had just 57 yards on 24 carries.

Player of the game: Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn went 21-for-36 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

Second-guessing: Should Pitt have taken a shot at the win late in the game? The Panthers had the ball on the Utah 14 on first down with 38 seconds left. They did dial up two pass plays, but the Utes pressured Sunseri into incompletions. With a rookie quarterback, it’s hard to blame Dave Wannstedt for playing for overtime on the road, though at least one shot to Baldwin there would have been nice.

What it means: Pitt’s national title hopes are over. Lewis’ Heisman Trophy chances are already on life support. But it’s not the end of the world. The Panthers showed a lot of heart in coming back and forcing overtime, and their main goal of winning the Big East is still alive. But they will have to shore up some weaknesses, especially in pass coverage, with Miami coming to town for the third game of the season.

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