Russell Wilson Puts Wisconsin on Target for Title Run

Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer , via Associated PressRussell Wilson amassed 76 passing and 17 rushing touchdowns during his three years as the starting quarterback at N.C. State.

MADISON, Wis. — The legend of Russell Wilson as a Wisconsin quarterback began with a dare from Badgers receiver Nick Toon on the 30-yard line of Camp Randall Stadium: “Bet you can’t hit the crossbar from here.”

Interviews, insight and analysis from The Times on the competition and culture of college football.

Russell Wilson is ringing in a new era of Wisconsin football.

Wilson flashed a quick smile before unleashing a 40-yard spiral that collided with the crossbar with such force that the sound — DOINGGGGGGG! — echoed through Camp Randall.

“I just shook my head,” Toon said of his reaction that July afternoon.

With his arrival as a one-year transfer from North Carolina State, Wilson is ringing in a new era of Wisconsin football, which has always been heavy on steak and light on sizzle. The addition of the dynamic Wilson marks an evolution for the Badgers from their between-the-tackles roots.

Wisconsin will still have plenty of tight ends and fullbacks lumbering onto the field, but the skills Wilson displayed in amassing 76 passing and 17 rushing touchdowns during his three years as the starting quarterback at N.C. State will add a shot of third-down innovation to the methodical Badgers.

“He’s so accurate on the move; that’s the part that amazes me,” Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema said. “It’s kind of overwhelming.” 

Wilson’s most notable pass may have been forgoing the chance to play in Auburn’s productive spread offense for the Badgers’ pro-style attack, a choice that puts No. 11 Wisconsin on the outskirts of the national title conversation. Wilson arrives as a complete package: athletic enough to be picked in the fourth round of the baseball draft, magnetic enough to be elected a Wisconsin captain after less than two months on campus, and smart enough to graduate from N.C. State in three years.

He is also preparing for his final college football season in the aftermath of a difficult year, one in which he struggled to hit minor league fastballs, endured a public break from N.C. State’s football program and buried his father.

But the legend of Wilson is growing here. Asked about the crossbar strike, he said with a smile: “I thought I was standing on the 40. But whatever.”  

A Positive Upbringing

Wilson’s grandfather Harrison Wilson Jr. served as the president of Norfolk State. His father, Harrison Wilson III, attended Dartmouth and bypassed a chance to play in the N.F.L. to attend law school at Virginia. After law school, he went to training camp with the San Diego Chargers and earned the nickname Professor before being released when the team made its final roster cuts.

Harrison Wilson III and his wife, Tammy, sent their three children to the prestigious Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., a K-12 private school with an annual tuition that starts at more than $17,000. Russell’s older brother, Harrison IV, said that he and Russell “stuck out like sore thumbs” because they were African-Americans in a school in which about 90 percent of the students were white.

So when Charlie McFall, who coached Russell and Harrison IV, received a complaint that he recruited Russell to play sports there, he replied, “If I recruited him, I did when he was in kindergarten.”

The tales of Russell Wilson’s athletic prowess began in fifth grade, when he was the ball boy for his brother’s high school games. During a game, a referee hollered over to the Collegiate sideline for a ball, and Russell responded by throwing a laser across the field.

“The official said, ‘Oh my goodness.’ And I thought to myself, I’m going to hang around for Russell,” said McFall, who retired as the coach and athletic director after Wilson led Collegiate to three straight state titles and a 31-2 overall record. “He’s very accurate with a great touch, and he’s been that way since elementary school.”

Wilson watched his older brother go to Richmond and play baseball and football, the sports their father played at Dartmouth. (The brothers claim the family’s best athlete is their sister, Anna, a 14-year-old eighth grader at Collegiate who Russell said was considered one of the best point guards in her age group nationally.)

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 4, 2011

A chart last Sunday with an article about quarterback Russell Wilson and his transfer to Wisconsin from N.C. State described incorrectly quarterback Cam Newton’s transfer when he was in college. Newton, now with the Carolina Panthers, transferred from the University of Florida to a junior college and then to Auburn; he did not go directly to Auburn from Florida.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: September 4, 2011

An earlier version of this correction erroneously stated, as did the original article, that Cam Newton transferred directly to Auburn from Florida.

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Running your way to an SEC title

Florida coach Will Muschamp has never been around a good football team that was mediocre or worse at running the football.

“And I don’t know that I’ve seen one,” Muschamp said.

It’s no coincidence then that Muschamp’s Gators lead the SEC in rushing offense, averaging 259 yards per game, and head into Saturday’s showdown against No. 3-ranked Alabama knowing that they will need to run the ball at least a little bit if they’re going to win.

Nobody’s suggesting that Florida needs to rush for 250-plus yards to win this game.

[+] Enlarge Kim Klement/US PresswireFlorida will probably need some big plays from Chris Rainey and the running game to beat Alabama on Saturday.But if you can’t run the ball at all against this Alabama defense, then history suggests that you’ve got no shot.

Here’s something else history suggests, at least recent SEC history: If you’re going to win a championship in this league, you better be able to run the football.

Seven of the past eight SEC champions have finished in the top three in the league in rushing offense.

The only one that didn’t was Auburn in 2004, and the unbeaten Tigers were fifth that season. Still, they averaged 183.3 yards on the ground and finished 29th nationally in rushing offense. So it wasn’t like running the football wasn’t a big part of their repertoire.

Remember Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown?

Each of the past four SEC champions have averaged at least 214 rushing yards per game, and all four finished in the top 12 nationally in rushing offense.

Over the past decade, there hasn’t been an SEC champion to average fewer than 139 rushing yards per game. Georgia won the SEC title in 2002, averaging 139.6 yards per game and ranking 67th nationally in rushing offense.

The coaches in this league will tell you that running the football successfully is infectious and that it impacts the entire team.

But those teams that run the ball well also make a commitment to doing so.

“It brings a toughness and a want to man up and be physical,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “I think it’s a positive piece and need of offensive football. I think it makes the defense that goes against you all week tougher. It’s a way you can manage the game with the ball in your hands.

“Running the football is a fundamental that must happen on the offensive side.”

Muschamp calls it a “total program deal” that breeds toughness in every phase of the game.

“It’s a matter of being a good football team,” Muschamp said. “The ones I’ve been around that were good … we ran the ball well.”

Sure enough, you look at the four unbeaten teams in the SEC right now, and three of them are ranked in the top four in the league in rushing offense and all three are averaging more than 214 rushing yards per game.

Alabama is right behind Florida at 230.8 yards per game. South Carolina is fourth and averaging 214.5 yards per game.

SEC teams that run the ball tend to win championships.

YearChampRush YPGNat'l RankConf RankSource: ESPN's Stats & InformationLSU is seventh this week, but averaging 171 yards per game. The Tigers have attempted 171 runs, more than everybody else in the league but Mississippi State (179) and Florida (174), and have already scored 11 rushing touchdowns.

“There are going to be times in every football game where you must run the football,” Miles said.

Every coach talks about the need to be balanced on offense, but the first thing any defense tries to take away from a team is the run.

Granted, the game is continually changing, and the advent of the spread offenses has expanded the quarterback’s role in the running game.

But even when Steve Spurrier was pitching it around the ballpark with his Fun ‘n’ Gun attack at Florida in the 1990s, his offenses could always run the football.

The Gators won four straight SEC championships from 1993-96 and never averaged fewer than 137 rushing yards per game. In fact, they were fourth in the SEC in rushing in both 1995 and 1996, averaging 170 yards or more on the ground both seasons.

What’s been so impressive about Florida’s running game this season, other than the game-breaking speed that both Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps possess, is how the Gators have been able to mix it up.

Neither Rainey or Demps weighs 200 pounds, but the Gators have still had success between the tackles.

“The perimeter run game has been really good, but we’ve also run the ball well inside, and that’s something we’re committed to doing regardless of the size of our backs,” Muschamp said. “If you do one thing too much, the defenses watch film, too.

“So we still run the inside zone, still run the power off-tackle and utilize a lot of the same run game with Jeff and Chris both in there.”

The ultimate test comes Saturday against an Alabama defense that’s been a brick wall against the run. The Crimson Tide are ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing defense, allowing 45.8 yards per game. Opponents are averaging just 1.8 yards per rushing attempt against Alabama, and the Tide have given up just one rushing touchdown this season.

Over its past 51 games, Alabama has allowed just one 100-yard rusher (Tennessee’s Tauren Poole last season), and during that stretch, only two teams (LSU in 2008 and 2010) have rushed for 200 yards against the Crimson Tide.

Obviously, the Gators have their work cut out, but they’re not going to be hard-headed, either.

“Being a defensive coordinator, when you’re one-dimensional, you make it easy on the defense,” Muschamp said. “They prepare for one thing and get into a certain mindset of how they’re going to play. But when you’re multiple and balanced in what you do, now you get them uncomfortable, and generally when defenses are uncomfortable or unsure, that’s when they don’t play very well, even if it’s good players.”

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Jets’ Ellis, Smith active for AFC title game

Published: January 23rd, 2011 | Tags: Aaron Smith, AFC Championship game inactives, Brad Smith, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Shaun Ellis

Jets coach Rex Ryan said Friday that those starters listed as questionable on the injury report would be ready to go against the Steelers. He was true to his word.

Jets CB Drew Coleman (knee), DE Shaun Ellis (knee), safety James Ihedigbo (knee, ankle) and WR/KR Brad Smith (groin), all deemed questionable Friday, will be active for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Smith, the Jets’ dynamic kick returner, sat out last Sunday’s 28-21 divisional playoff victory over the Patriots.

For the second consecutive week, FB John Conner and DE Vernon Gholston were kept off New York’s active roster.

As expected, Steelers DE Aaron Smith was inactive as he continue to recover from a triceps injury.

Full inactives list:

Jets
Kellen Clemens (No. 3 QB)
FB John Conner
DE Vernon Gholston
DT Jarron Gilbert
TE Matthew Mulligan
TE Jeff Cumberland
WR Patrick Turner
DE Marcus Dixon

Steelers
Charlie Batch (No. 3 QB)
S Will Allen
RB Jonathan Dwyer
CB Crezdon Butler
OT Chris Scott
OT Tony Hills
DE Steve McLendon
DE Aaron Smith

Posted in: News  

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Bears’ Harris active for NFC title game vs. Packers

Published: January 23rd, 2011 | Tags: Chicago Bears, Chris Harris, Desmond Clark, Devin Aromashodu, Green Bay Packers, NFC Championship Game

Bears safety Chris Harris vowed all week that he would play in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game despite a hip injury. That appears to be true since he’s active against the Packers after being limited in practice Friday and listed as questionable.

Harris, who’s tied for the team lead with five interceptions, hurt his hip during last week’s divisional playoff victory over the Seahawks.

The Bears also activated TE Desmond Clark, possibly to help protect QB Jay Cutler, and deactivated WR Devin Aromashodu. Clark tweeted Saturday that he would play, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and it will be just his third game since Oct. 3.

Aromashodu played in the previous 13 games but had just five receptions.

Full inactives list:

Packers
Graham Harrell (No. 3 QB)
DB Pat Lee
RB Dimitri Nance
DB Josh Gordy
LB Frank Zombo
C Evan Dietrich-Smith
G Nick McDonald
DE Jarius Wynn

Bears
Caleb Hanie (No. 3 QB)
WR Devin Aromashodu
DB Joshua Moore
DB Craig Steltz
RB Khalil Bell
OT Herman Johnson
G Edwin Williams
DT Marcus Harrison

Posted in: News  

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Observations in the Jets AFC Title Setback to the Steelers

Observations from yet another AFC Title game loss, this time in Pittsburgh to a Steelers team they had beaten by five just a few weeks ago.

1. Tackling – Not sure what happened, but in the first half of the loss, the team picked a bad time to forget how to tackle. They made Rashard Mendenhall look like Jim Brown in his prime. He broke tackles, and took screen passes and pushed Jets would-be tacklers aside all night. By the time the Jets defense started putting up a fight, they were down 24-0, and by then it was simply too late.

2. Wide Outs Nowhere to be found – While Santonio Holmes’ touchdown gave the Jets a shot of hope early in the third quarter, too often in the loss the combo of he and Braylon Edwards were invisible at best. Sure the Steelers pass rush had a lot to do with it, but at the same time, these are two guys that were paid to make plays, and it was tough to watch them play after play get little separation from the Steelers corners.

3. No sense of panic – Your down by two scores, you have scored just one TD all night, and your walking to the line of scrimmage wasting valuable time left in your season. Get the point? The Jets too often didn’t play with any sense of urgency, and wasted a long drive that they needed to get points on. Instead, the scene of Sanchez rushing to the sideline to get the plays was often a sight that made you want to throw a shoe though a TV. Forget about the excuse of the headset not working. Not good enough, and there’s ways around it, and the Jets didn’t play like it in the biggest game of the year.

4. All Bark, No Bite – Let’s face it, the Jets were flat. The fact the Steelers went on a drive that used up over half the first quarter showed that the team was not inspired to play Jets football. The team tried to put on a brave face, but the Steelers simply were the more physical team for the first 30 minutes, and that was enough to build a lead that was too much to overcome. Playing three games, on the road is a lot to ask of any team, and the Jets did their best to try and pretend it wasn’t a factor, but it was, and it showed with the way the Steelers played.

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Video: ESPN Breaks Down the Jets-Steelers AFC Title Game

Video: ESPN Breaks Down the Jets-Steelers AFC Title Game » NFL Gridiron Gab HomeAbout UsContact UsNFL Schedule « Patriots Brady: “We Just Didn’t Get the Job Done”Brett Favre Files Papers with the League to Officially Retire » Video: ESPN Breaks Down the Jets-Steelers AFC Title Game January 17th, 2011 Matt Loede Posted in New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers

ESPN breaks down some early thoughts on the Jets-Steelers.

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The Vikings could ruin your title dreams

Published: December 16th, 2010 | Tags: Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, Joe Webb, Sidney Rice, Tarvaris Jackson, Visanthe Shiancoe

Remember in the summer when you were thrilled to draft Adrian Peterson in the first round? Or when you felt a sense of accomplishment when you landed Sidney Rice off the waiver wire a few weeks back?

Well, I’d be very worried right now if I were you. Why, you might ask?

Two words: Joe Webb.

Who is Joe Webb? Well, he’s a rookie out of Alabama-Birmingham who was drafted as a wide receiver and converted to quarterback. And with Brett Favre injured and Tarvaris Jackson going on injured reserve, Webb is likely to start for the Vikings on Monday night.

That’s bad news for every prominent member of that offense – including Peterson.

With Webb under center, the Bears’ game plan will be simple: Stack the line of scrimmage to stop A.P. and make Webb, who has thrown five passes at the NFL level, beat them through the air.

I’m not telling you to bench Peterson. After all, he is one of the elite players in fantasy football. But he’s going to be playing at a major disadvantage against a defense that will be geared up to perform at a high level.

I would, however, find a place on my bench for Rice, Percy Harvin (if active) and Visanthe Shiancoe.

Want daily fantasy football advice? Follow me on Twitter!

Posted in: Fantasy  

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Playbook picks: Jags to win first AFC South title?

Published: December 15th, 2010 | Tags: Brian Baldinger, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Michael Lombardi, Mike Mayock, Playbook picks, Solomon Wilcots, Sterling Sharpe

The symbolic AFC South title has resided at Indianapolis so often, that there might as well be a giant horseshoe in the middle of it. The Colts have won six of the eight titles since the division was created in 2002.

Well, there will be another top cat this year, according to two of three of our “Playbook” analysts.

Solomon Wilcots and Brian Baldinger both expect the Jaguars to go into Lucas Oil Field and emerge wearing the AFC South crown. Michael Lombardi, however, is on his own as not yet ready to give up on Indy.

Without further ado, take a look at all of their Week 15 picks:

“Playbook” combines Xs-and-Os analysis of each NFL game with roundtable debates on the NFL’s hottest topics. For more information, check out NFL Network’s broadcast schedule.

Posted in: NFL Network  

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Pelini, Stoops talk Big 12 title game

ARLINGTON, Texas--The pre-Big 12 Championship coaching press conferences featuring Bo Pelini and Bob Stoops have just concluded here at Cowboys Stadium. Here's a few of the interesting or newsworthy notes. First things first, Bo Pelini played his quarterback situation coy. "Taylor [Martinez] did well," Pelini said of his quarterback's week of practice. "We limited his reps at times and thought he did some good things. I liked what I saw." Asked if he knew who his starter would be, he flashed a subtle smile. "I have a pretty good idea," he said. The plan is still to wait until game day to decide.Oklahoma announced on Thursday that DeMarco Murray would play, but Stoops was asked about his running back and the decision-making process that went into making him available for Saturday's game. "He went through the entire practice [on Thursday] and was feeling good afterwards," he said. "That's all a positive sign. So we anticipate him being prepared and ready to go."Saturday's game is widely assumed to be the final Big 12 title game ever, with Nebraska and Colorado packing their bags to the Big Ten and Pac-10 after the season, and the league moving to a round-robin, nine-game conference schedule to determine what some call a "true conference champion." Well, maybe the Big 12 title game isn't going away forever. At least, not according to Pelini. "I think it's probably the last one maybe for a year or two, but I don't think this will be the last Big 12 Championship. It just so happens that I think the conference will keep thriving. It will probably add--who knows what's going to happen," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see a Big 12 Championship come back around here pretty quick.Take what you will from Pelini's comments -- I don't necessarily agree -- but Stoops was asked about them during his question and answer session. "Hopefully that is the case. It's hard to speculate on where things will move to and go. If there are more, that will be great. If there aren't that will be great, too," Stoops said with a laugh. "So it will pretty much be great one way or the other."Stoops passed along a thought we've heard from several coaches: The conference championship is exciting in a situation like this, where you're playing for a BCS bowl berth. It's not great when it means you'll have to hop another tall hurdle to reach the national championship. "This game then is one that you're thinking, 'What in the world are we playing this for?' when you look at some of these other conferences and we're not. They're in a national championship, ready to play for it too. They're home sitting down, eating turkey, watching you."Stoops' brother, Arizona coach Mike Stoops, suffered a painful loss on Thursday night when his team had two late extra points blocked and lost at home to Arizona State. Bob Stoops wasn't watching. "I can't," he said. Asked if it was the emotions, he said, "Yeah, all of it. I'm saving my energy for tomorrow night." Stoops knew what happened, but later admitted that in the 2004 Sugar Bowl against LSU, trailing 21-14 with the national championship on the line, he was "strongly, in my mind, thinking of going for two." He added "It had been an uphill battle all game. They had the crowd. We felt at the time, I felt they were tired. We'd have them on the run."Finally, there's been plenty written this week about Oklahoma being a de facto "people's champion" for Big 12 fans not backing the Huskers. Bring 'em on, Stoops said. "Maybe that's the case. I'll take all the good vibrations I can get," he said. "I'm kind of in a cocoon, going to practice, getting ready for the game, so I'm not aware of it. If that's the case, we'll take all the rooting and all the cheering from whoever wants to give it to us."

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UCF, SMU set for C-USA title game

ORLANDO -- We are about an hour from kickoff between SMU and Central Florida in the Conference USA title game. It is a beautiful day here in Florida, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s.

Here are some keys to watch:

1. SMU RB Zach Line vs. UCF defense. This was my biggest key to the game in my video preview earlier this week. Line leads Conference USA in rushing, and has used his speed and power to have a breakout season. Line, who was recruited as a linebacker, has given the run 'n' shoot offense an added dimension this season. The Knights have the best run defense in C-USA, but the linebackers are going to be needed to really step in and help slow Line down. UCF coach George O'Leary mentioned linebacker Josh Linam as a player who needs to have a big game.

2. Health of SMU QB Kyle Padron. Padron injured his ankle in the C-USA West Division title-clinching win over East Carolina last week. But Padron has practiced this week and will play. We'll see whether the injury affects his footwork and ability to potentially escape the pass rush. UCF has 24 sacks on the season. Watch for defensive end Darius Nall.

3. UCF QB Jeff Godfrey vs. SMU LB Ja'Gared Davis. The sophomore has had a breakout season for the Mustangs, with nine sacks -- ranking second in C-USA. He also has 15 tackles for loss, and has made a living of being in opposing backfields. With Godfrey's ability to scramble, Davis is going to be key in not only slowing down the UCF run game but in limiting Godfrey as well.

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Video: TCU's national title chase

Video: TCU's national title chase - College Football Nation Blog - ESPNespn.memberservices.welcome();EDITIONS:USADEPORTESMoreAsiaAustraliaBrazilUnited KingdomCITIES:BOSTONCHICAGODALLASLOS ANGELESNEW YORKESPNCollege Football.ie6 #searchBox, .ie6 #searchBox div { display: inline; } 815297College Football Nation BlogBlogs HomeCollege FB NationACCBig 12Big EastBig TenPac-10SECespn.core.init.flashHeader(jQuery('#sub-section-title'));window.fbAsyncInit = function() {FB.init({appId: "116656161708917",cookie: true, // these two are not required for partners thatstatus: true, // only rely on stk plugins and don't use connectxfbml: true,channelUrl: document.location.protocol + '//' + document.domain + '/facebook/channel.html'});jQuery(document).ready(function () {FB.XFBML.parse();FB.Event.subscribe('edge.create', function(href, widget) {if(typeof anTrackLink === 'function') {anTrackLink(jQuery('.fb_iframe_widget')[0],'espn','facebook','like');}});});};(function() {var e = document.createElement('script'); e.async = true;e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js';document.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e);}());.post-wrapper .mod-content img, .post-wrapper .mod-content table { vertical-align: none; }.mod-blog-post .mod-inline .mod-content p.stats-title {margin: 0 !important;}.mod-blog-post .mod-content ul.stats li {margin: 0 !important;} Video: TCU's national title chaseNovember, 23, 2010Nov 231:30PM ETEmailPrintCommentsBy Andrea Adelson
Andrea Adelson breaks down what needs to happen for TCU to reach the national title game.Share Tags:

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Fox to televise first six BT title games

It took a little longer than expected, but the Big Ten has finalized a media agreement for its new football championship game.

FOX Sports will broadcast the Big Ten title game from 2011-16, beginning with the inaugural contest on Dec. 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The first football championship will air in prime time.

The Big Ten already had partnered with Fox Networks when launching the Big Ten Network, and Fox holds a minority share in BTN. According to a news release, FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network could share on-air talent in the coverage of the championship game.

"Big Ten sports have achieved broad coverage in the American sports landscape through agreements with ABC, ESPN, CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network and the Big Ten Network," commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. "We look forward to the addition of FOX Sports, which is committed to promoting Big Ten football and will air the Big Ten Championship Games to more than 115 million homes."

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