Army Loses QB Steelman in 44-21 Loss to Vandy

Steelman suffered an injury to his left leg late in the first half and didn't return.

While Army had no update after the game, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin said he heard that Steelman wasn't seriously injured. "I'm glad to hear that their quarterback should be OK," Franklin said. "I have tremendous respect for him. ... I'm glad he's OK."

Even with him, the nation's top rushing offense, finished with just 104 yards rushing in the first half and 270 in the game, though most of it came after Vanderbilt built a 31-point lead.

"I think our guys continue to play hard, we just don't play well enough," Army coach Rich Ellerson. "We knew we had some physical challenges there, but we gave as good as we got there for a bit. We play hard enough, but we don't play well enough."

Steelman was helped off the field with 2:20 left in the first half and did not return as Army (2-5) used three quarterbacks. Playing just 65 miles south of his hometown of Bowling Green, Ky., Steelman hit the ground hard after being sacked with Army trailing 20-6. He was helped off the field and did not put any weight on his left foot. He was replaced by Max Jenkins, who was later pulled for Angel Santiago.

It was the first time in his career that Steelman, the team's leading rusher, didn't return after sustaining an injury. The junior has started in all 32 games, a record for an Army quarterback. Steelman, who was recruited by Vanderbilt (4-3), finished with 40 rushing yards and just 18 yards on 1 of 3 passing.

The Black Knights lost three fumbles and their fourth straight road game. They had committed nine turnovers in their four previous losses and the miscues cost them again. Two of their three fumbles led to Vanderbilt touchdowns.

The first came on an exchange between Steelman and fullback Jared Hassin early in the first quarter. On the next play, Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers connected with Chris Boyd for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put Army in a 13-0 hole less than five minutes in.

The Black Knights then took advantage of a short field after an interception by Andrew Rodriguez. Malcolm Brown followed with a 23-yard touchdown run down the sideline but Army's Alex Carlton missed the extra point. From there, Vanderbilt smothered Army's triple-option offense until late in the third quarter when Larry Dixon ripped off a 57-yard run.

Zac Stacy set career highs with 198 yards rushing and three touchdowns for Vanderbilt and quarterback Jordan Rodgers made the most of his first career start as the Commodores snapped a three-game slide. Stacy's rushing total was the third most in a single game for Vanderbilt and the first three-touchdown game for the team since 2007.

Rodgers, younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, rushed for 96 yards and a score and passed for 186 yards and another TD. He had two passes of more than 40 yards.

Rodgers gave Vanderbilt much of what it's been looking for this season from former starter Larry Smith. He was consistent, a threat to run and once in a while went deep while leading the Commodores to a season-high 530 yards.

Vanderbilt's coaching staff utilized some deception to make the most of Rodgers' abilities. On some plays, he took the snap, set to pass, executed a pump fake, then pulled the ball down. That worked to perfection on Vanderbilt's first and third scores, runs of 1 yard by Stacy and 12 by Rodgers.

Franklin's decision to refocus on the run appeared to be the right call. The Commodores opened 3-0 under the first-year coach but stumbled with three consecutive losses. Rodgers, a redshirt junior who missed last year and was limited in spring drills by a torn labrum, relieved Smith last week against Georgia and guided the Commodores to three scores while rushing for 80 yards.

His only real mistake against Army came in the fourth quarter when under pressure he threw an interception to Geoffrey Bacon, who returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 37-21. But Stacy sealed the win with a 55-yard scoring run.

The win keeps the Commodores in the postseason picture. They need two more wins to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2008. Three of their final five opponents have winning records.

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Marshall Loses 63-28 to No. 21 Houston

This time, it wasn't enough to get a win. Case Keenum was that good.

Keenum became the Football Bowl Subdivision's career leader in total offense on Saturday, throwing for 376 yards and tying his career high with six touchdown passes in No. 21 Houston's 63-28 win over Marshall.

Keenum needed 130 yards to eclipse the record of 16,910 yards set by Hawaii's Tim Chang from 2000-04. He moved past Chang on a 30-yard pass to Justin Johnson with 3:56 left in the first quarter.

The effort by the senior quarterback overshadowed a solid performance by Graham, who completed 27 of 35 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

"I thought he did some real good things," Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. "We're moving the ball better than we've done it in two years. We just have to make sure that when we do it, we get the ball in the end zone."

Graham also rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown. He made his first start last week, helping the Herd (3-5, 2-2 Conference USA) rally for a 24-20 win over Rice.

Saturday's game plan was control the ball and keep it away from Keenum and the nation's top-ranked offense. Marshall won time of possession by 24 minutes, and still lost handily.

"For the most part, it was just about keeping the ball out of their offense's hands," Graham said. "You see what they can do when they get the ball in their hands. They score quick. For us, it was just about making plays and keeping the drives going."

Houston (7-0, 3-0) led 35-14 at halftime, and four of its five touchdown drives took less than 90 seconds.

"The crazy thing was that the one thing we tried to do was win the time of possession, and we did," Holliday said. "The first half they had the ball for nine minutes, and we had it for 21, and the score is 35-14."

Keenum was nearly perfect in the first half, completing 19 of 21 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He also never faced pressure from Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry, Conference USA's sacks leader.

"They had a good game plan and executed," Curry said. "That is definitely the quickest release I have seen or played against. He had a three-step drop and every throw was on the money to his receivers. That's called chemistry."

The Herd drove to the Houston 1 late in the half, but the Cougars defense stopped Tron Martinez on fourth down on the final play before the break.

Graham scrambled for a touchdown on Marshall's first series of the second half. Keenum promptly found Tyron Carrier for a 43-yard gain, then threw a 17-yard TD pass to Johnson to cap another lightning-fast scoring drive.

Linebacker Sammy Brown deflected a Graham pass that was picked off by linebacker Derrick Matthews, who returned it for another Houston touchdown to make it 49-21.

Cougars defensive end Kelvin King returned an interception 69 yards, and Keenum threw a TD pass to E.J. Smith, sending Houston over 50 points for the third time in four games.

"They're good and they have done that to a lot of people," Holliday said. "Unfortunately, they did it to us. The biggest disappointment I have is that we didn't tackle very well."

The Cougars piled up 621 yards and averaged 11 yards per snap.

"We pride ourselves on being good tacklers," Holliday said. "We knew that we were facing some guys that were really good skill people. They have a boatload of skill over there, and they showed it."

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No. 20 Georgia Tech Sputters at Miami, Loses 24-7

And this latest trip knocked the Yellow Jackets out of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division — and almost certainly will bump them from the national polls as well.

Held to 211 yards of offense and only 134 on the ground, No. 20 Georgia Tech sputtered in just about every aspect of Saturday's 24-7 loss to Miami. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over three times, including on their first play from scrimmage, plus allowed a touchdown on a fumbled punt return and gave up a 48-yard kickoff return that set up another Miami score.

"What's killing us right now is we're not executing," Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington said.

Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC) was held 306 yards below their season average in total offense, 214 off their rushing average and nearly 36 points off their average in scoring — all of those stats ranking among the top 10 nationally in each category entering the day. Even a banged-up Miami defensive line proved too tough, and it was the first time since 2006 that Georgia Tech didn't have a run or pass play of more than 20 yards in an ACC game.

The Jackets' long play on Saturday: 17 yards.

"I am frustrated that we couldn't find something to do better on offense," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "Clearly they had a better plan than we did, because we couldn't get any rhythm, couldn't get anything going. We couldn't hit any good plays."

In its last 35 games, Georgia Tech has rushed for less than 200 yards only three times, all at Sun Life Stadium — 95 at Miami in 2009, 143 against Iowa at the Orange Bowl following the 2009 season, and then Saturday.

"Clearly, we had an exceptional plan on defense," Miami coach Al Golden said.

JoJo Nicholas recovered a fumbled punt for a touchdown plus added an interception, Lamar Miller ran for 93 yards and a score and Mike James also had a touchdown run for Miami (4-3, 2-2), which won consecutive games for the first time this season and has now beaten Georgia Tech three straight times by a combined score of 92-34.

"Everybody talks about the ACC race or this and that," Golden said. "I'm trying to teach them the process. The process, when it takes traction, is what allows you to win multiple games in a row. That's it."

Washington threw right to Nicholas on the Yellow Jackets' first offensive snap of the game, a mistake that set Miami up at the Georgia Tech 46. It was doubly costly for the Yellow Jackets, with center Jay Finch going down with what appeared to be a knee injury and eventually getting carted off the sideline for evaluation.

The Hurricanes needed 12 plays to score from there, James going in from 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

Nicholas' other big plays in the first half?

Lots of hustle, and lots of help from Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech wide receiver Roddy Jones took a pitch and ran 34 yards with 4:09 left in the first quarter, fighting Nicholas off a little too vehemently for the last few of those. Jones was pulled down by an illegal horse-collar tackle, but he also got his fingers inside Nicholas' face mask while stiff-arming the Miami safety on the play.

The penalties offset, and the big gain was wiped away.

And that pretty much told the story of Georgia Tech's day.

With 10:17 left in the half, Zach Laskey dropped back to receive a punt for Georgia Tech, the bouncing ball coming straight at him as he stood at the 9-yard line. He tried to grab it as a horde of Hurricanes sprinted toward him, misplayed it and could only watch as the football kept going into the end zone. Nicholas dove on it just past the goal line for a touchdown that put Miami up 14-0.

"On that punt, my job is to get to the ball," Nicholas said. "It just so happened the ball came to me."

A 20-play, 92-yard drive put Georgia Tech on the scoreboard late in the half. Washington controlled virtually the entire series, and his 1-yard touchdown plunge with 1:02 left cut Miami's lead in half.

"A heck of a drive," Johnson said.

Miami had a heck of an answer.

Travis Benjamin ran the ensuing kickoff back 48 yards, and Harris hit Tommy Streeter with a 32-yard gain on first down to get Miami to the Georgia Tech 14. Two plays later, Miller ran up the middle for a touchdown from there with 25 seconds left in the half, restoring the 14-point cushion and getting help from a sealing block by guard Jon Feliciano.

It was a costly celebration. Feliciano got hurt jumping around after the score, leaving the game with a leg injury. He rejoined his teammates on the sideline late in the third quarter, on crutches and wearing a walking boot on his left ankle. An X-ray was negative, but Golden is not sure of Feliciano's status.

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Welker loses decal on hard hit

Published: January 16th, 2011 | Tags: Wes Welker, AFC Divisional Playoffs, Eric Smith, New England Patriots, New York Jets

How do you know when you’ve been hit harder than usual in an NFL game? Try when you’re separated from the decal on your helmet.

De-cleated is one thing. Decal-pitated, which is getting internal support at NFL.com as  the official term for what happened to Wes Welker on Sunday, is another.

Take a close look at the hit laid on Welker by the Jets’ Eric Smith. The debris flying through the air is actually part of the decal from Welker’s helmet.

We’ve heard of facemasks breaking in NFL games — former Patriots LB Ted Johnson is the first to come to mind — but getting decal-pitated might be new.

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Injury roundup: Titans’ V.Y. hurts thumb, loses job

Published: November 21st, 2010 | | Tags: Anderson Russell, Anthony Herrera, Anthony Smith, Atari Bigby, Austin Collie, Brandon Albert, Casey Rabach, Chad Simpson, Chan Gailey, Chris Crocker, Chris Kemoeatu, Clinton Portis, Colt McCoy, Damien Woody, Derrick Dockery, Early Doucet, Eric Wood, Eric Wright, Jason Jones, Jeff Fisher, Lorenzo Alexander, Marcus Trufant, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Williams, Pete Carroll, Rocky McIntosh, Rodger Saffold, Roy Williams, Todd Haley, Tony Scheffler, Trevor Scott, Vance Walker, Vernon Davis, Vince Young, Week 11 injuries 2010

A bullet-look at the most notable injuries from around the league in Week 11:

Titans coach Jeff Fisher said the injured tendon on the right (throwing) thumb of QB Vince Young could require surgery, which would end his season.Bengals starting safeties Roy Williams (concussion) and Chris Crocker (right knee) didn’t return against the Bills.Titans DT Jason Jones didn’t return after injuring his right knee on the opening series against the Redskins.Browns QB Colt McCoy, who was sacked six times and played the second half against the Jaguars with a sprained left ankle, was wearing a walking boot following Sunday’s game. According to multiple reports, X-rays on the injury were negative. Coach Eric Mangini said CB Eric Wright, who didn’t return following a left knee injury during the first quarter, could have returned in an emergency.The Jets lost RT Damien Woody to a right knee injury. Rex Ryan had no update on his status, but Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News reports Woody suffered an MCL injury and will be examined further Monday.The Redskins lost a slew of players to injuries during the first half against the Titans: RB Clinton Portis (groin), C Casey Rabach (knee), OG Derrick Dockery (left knee), SS Anderson Russell (knee), OLB Lorenzo Alexander (hamstring) and ILB Rocky McIntosh (groin). Before the game even started, RB Chad Simpson suffered a foot injury during warm-ups and didn’t play.Lions TE Tony Scheffler suffered a rib injury against the Cowboys.Cardinals WR Early Doucet suffered a concussion on a hit during the second quarter against the Chiefs, according to coach Todd Haley.Raiders DE Trevor Scott suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, according to The Associated Press.The Packers lost backup safeties Anthony Smith (ankle) and Atargi Bigby (hamstring) to injuries.Bills RG Eric Wood didn’t return after suffering a knee injury against the Bengals, but it’s not considered serious, according to coach Chan Gailey.The Vikings lost starting RG Anthony Herrera injured his left knee and could be done for the season, according to coach Brad Childress.49ers TE Vernon Davis didn’t return against the Bucs after suffering an ankle injury.The Colts held out WR Austin Collie after he took several hard hits against the Patriots.Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said the team’s only injury concern is RT Rodger Saffold, who “dinged” his shoulder and will undergo an MRI exam on Sunday night.Falcons backup DT Vance Walker suffered a right knee injury during the third quarter against the Rams.Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said WR Mike Williams suffered a sprained foot, while CB Marcus Trufant sustained a concussion against the Saints. Neither player returned.Posted in: News  

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