2011 NCAA Football Rankings – Week 2 (Sept. 6)

AP & USA Today Coaches Poll

After a weekend full of college football, the AP & USA Today Coaches Polls are out and there’s no changes at the top of either poll as the Oklahoma Sooners are still at the top. There are changes below them though in the top 5.

In AP Poll, the Sooners are followed by the LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Boise State Broncos and Florida State Seminoles. In the Coaches Poll, the Sonners are followed by the Crimson Tide, LSU, the Seminoles and Boise State.

The only Big East team ranked in the top 25 of both polls are the West Virginia Mountaineers. With their big win over Notre Dame on Saturday, the South Florida Bulls jumped in to the AP Poll at No. 22. They are the second team among the others receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.

The Pitt Panthers are the only team from the Big East receiving votes in the AP Poll while the Cincinnati Bearcats join South Florida from the Big East receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.

For a full look at both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll for Week 2, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AP Top 25 USA Today Coaches’ Poll
RK TEAM REC PTS PVS RK TEAM REC PTS PVS
1 Oklahoma (32) 1-0 1448 1 1 Oklahoma (43) 1-0 1454 1
2 LSU (17) 1-0 1415 4 2 Alabama (9) 1-0 1412 2
3 Alabama (9) 1-0 1409 2 3 LSU (7) 1-0 1366 4
4 Boise State (2) 1-0 1310 5 4 Florida State 1-0 1198 5
5 Florida State 1-0 1196 6 5 Boise State 1-0 1197 7
6 Stanford 1-0 1154 7 6 Stanford 1-0 1180 6
7 Texas A&M 1-0 1033 8 7 Oklahoma State 1-0 1038 8
8 Wisconsin 1-0 1031 11 8 Texas A&M 1-0 997 9
9 Oklahoma State 1-0 981 9 9 Wisconsin 1-0 988 10
10 Nebraska 1-0 947 10 10 Nebraska 1-0 910 11
11 Virginia Tech 1-0 906 13 11 Virginia Tech 1-0 863 13
12 South Carolina 1-0 843 12 12 South Carolina 1-0 827 12
13 Oregon 0-1 828 3 13 Arkansas 1-0 786 14
14 Arkansas 1-0 752 15 14 Oregon 0-1 752 3
15 Ohio State 1-0 606 18 15 Ohio State 1-0 686 16
16 Mississippi State 1-0 594 20 16 Michigan State 1-0 584 17
17 Michigan State 1-0 530 17 17 Mississippi State 1-0 497 20
18 Florida 1-0 382 22 18 Florida 1-0 375 23
19 West Virginia 1-0 357 24 19 Missouri 1-0 309 21
20 Baylor 1-0 284 NR 20 Penn State 1-0 247 25
21 Missouri 1-0 242 21 21 Texas 1-0 231 24
22 South Florida 1-0 221 NR 22 Auburn 1-0 197 19
23 Penn State 1-0 147 NR 23 Arizona State 1-0 189 NR
24 Texas 1-0 135 NR 24 West Virginia 1-0 185 NR
25 TCU 0-1 130 14 25 TCU 0-1 140 15
Dropped from rankings: Dropped from rankings:
Notre Dame 16, Georgia 19, Auburn 23, USC 25 Notre Dame 18, Georgia 22
Others receiving votes: Others receiving votes:
Arizona State 119, Auburn 85, USC 69, Georgia 52, Northwestern 40, Maryland 34, Brigham Young 33, Iowa 29, Houston 27, Utah 24, Notre Dame 22, Michigan 17, Pittsburgh 11, Air Force 11, UCF 10, North Carolina State 8, Tennessee 6, Hawaii 6, NORIL 5, Arizona 5, Southern Miss 4, Georgia Tech 1, Clemson 1 Baylor 117, South Florida 97, Iowa 44, Utah 42, Georgia 35, Houston 31, Northwestern 30, Arizona 28, UCF 18, Hawaii 17, North Carolina 15, Michigan 15, NORIL 13, Clemson 13, Southern Miss 12, Air Force 10, Notre Dame 8, Tennessee 5, Brigham Young 4, Maryland 4, Georgia Tech 3, Washington 3, Texas Tech 1, California 1, Cincinnati 1

Red Sox News & Notes – 9/6

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett(notes), right, leaves the game with an undisclosed injury during fourth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.

The Toronto Blue Jays may have walked off the field yesterday with the win but that wasn’t the biggest loss the Boston Red Sox suffered. The bigger loss was the fact that Josh Beckett left the game with a sprained right ankle and is heading back to Boston to have it examined.

Beckett was seemingly cruising along through the first 3 2/3 innings. Then with a 2-2 count on Brett Lawrie, who by the way hit the walkoff home run in the 11th, Beckett came up lame after ball three. Manager Terry Francona, the Red Sox trainer and Jason Varitek all went to the mound and without too much discussion, Beckett was out of the game and Alfredo Aceves was warming up.

Before everyone overreacts, as Beckett said after the game, it could be nothing. Tito was already planning on giving him an extra day of rest between his starts so hopefully that’s the case.

The big concern though is the fact that this is his power leg (the one he pushes off the rubber with). Now I’m not saying that this will happen to Beckett but what usually happens when pitchers try to throw with injuries to their legs, they end up hurting their arms (elbow or shoulder). So you can understand why Beckett came off the mound.

Plus with the bigger picture in mind (the playoffs), it’s better to have Beckett get healthy now and be ready for the playoffs.

This is a minor blow to the pitching staff as of right now with the fact Erik Bedard will not make his next scheduled start with knee soreness. It may just be a matter of him being pushed back a day or two but we won’t know that for the next couple of days.

So now we wait until Tito meets with the media before tonight’s game to learn about the status of Beckett’s gimpy right ankle. If you hear a collective yell in New England around 4 p.m. or so, you know the news wasn’t good. But if you feel the wind pick up, you know the news was good as everyone has let out of a sigh of relief.

I guess I should deliver the other bad news as well. With the loss and the New York Yankees win, the Red Sox are now 1.5 games behind the Yanks for first place in the AL East. The lead over the Tampa Bay Rays is seven games in the AL Wild Card and 7.5 games over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

We’ll be back in a later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links below by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Three paths divergent: Sox prospects Middlebrooks, Tejeda, Pimentel offer lesson in player development [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Red Sox suffer an extra hit [Boston Globe]

Wheeler finds no relief in walkoff loss [Boston Globe]

Bedard to skip next start [Boston Globe]

Sox pop in wrong spot [Boston Herald]

Sprained ankle may strain Sox [Boston Herald]

Bedard to miss a start [Boston Herald]

Wheels come off this time [Boston Herald]

Sox lose to Toronto in 11 innings, 1-0 [CSN New England]

Beckett sprains ankle, to be examined Tuesday [CSN New England]

Rotation uncertainty cause for concern [CSN New England]

Notes: Wheeler’s recent struggles continue [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Blue Jays 1, Red Sox 0 [ESPN Boston]

Notes: Ellsbury runs streak to 10 [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Brett Lawrie’s home run hands Blue Jays 11-inning win over Red Sox [Full Count]

Dan Wheeler lives through the life of a late-inning reliever in Red Sox loss [Full Count]

Video: Josh Beckett Says He Fell in Bullpen Earlier in Day, But Didn’t Feel Injury Until Last Two Pitches of Early Exit [NESN.com]

Video: Alfredo Aceves Once Again Impresses Manager Terry Francona Upon Entering Game Following Josh Beckett’s Injury [NESN.com]

Josh Beckett Heading Back to Boston to Have Injured Right Ankle Examined [NESN.com]

Red Sox’ Injury Concerns, Recent Slump Make Survival a Top Priority [NESN.com]

Red Sox Mailbag: Team Fatigue, Clay Buchholz’s Future Role and More Right Field Drama [NESN.com]

Video: Heidi Watney Takes Fans Behind the Scenes at Fenway Park During Rain Delay [NESN.com]

Wheeler yields walk-off homer in 10th [Providence Journal]

Sox hoping for best on Beckett’s ankle injury [Providence Journal]

Red Sox journal: Bedard to skip a turn to rest knee [Providence Journal]

Adrian, Beckett give their all for charity [RedSox.com]

What we know about the Red Sox after latest wave of uncertainty [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy papers, head over to the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail websites.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 9/6

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Football links

Big East weekend rewind [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Big East news and notes [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Big East power rankings: Week 2 [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Big East notebook: USF relishes win; the Cuse relieved [Neill Ostrout – CT Post]

Thank You UConn Football Fans! [UConnHuskies.com]

One More Look: UConn’s Opening Day Win [UConnHuskies.com]

The Perfect Storms — BIG EAST goes 8-0 in opening week action [The Hour]

The Big East and Conference Realignment [College Football Zealots]

Vanderbilt braces for tougher Week 2 game vs. Connecticut [The Tennessean]

 

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Men’s Basketball NCAA Champions Dinner Tickets On Sale [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Huskies help Sun reach playoffs [Mechelle Voepel – ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

W. Volleyball. Behind The Block – #2 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Volleyball. Kirk Named To BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Soccer. Jessica Dulski Named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey. Kim Krzyk Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Soccer. Diouf Named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Golf. Golf Finishes Play at Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Destination Red Sox Nation – 9/6

Destination Red Sox Nation

Destination Red Sox Nation is our look at how the minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox fare each night. Game story and box score links as well as links to team rosters, team stats and league standings can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

If you would like to listen to any of the Red Sox minor league affiliates’ games, MiLB.com offers them for free.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

The PawSox were the only Red Sox affiliate to make the playoffs.

Three paths divergent: Sox prospects Middlebrooks, Tejeda, Pimentel offer lesson in player development [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

pawtucket red sox Pawtucket Red Sox

The PawSox finished up the regular season with a 7-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings. They’ll start the first round of the International League Playoffs on Wednesday night against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

PawSox Don’t Labor in 7-3 Victory [PawSox.com]

PawSox journal: Butler arrives with a bang [Providence Journal]

Rochester Red Wings @ Pawtucket Red Sox 9.5.11 box score [MiLB.com]

Pawtucket Red Sox 2011 Roster

Pawtucket Red Sox stats

International League standings

Pawtucket Red Sox website

Portland Sea Dogs Portland Sea Dogs:

The Sea Dogs finished their season with an 8-3 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Hazelbaker, Tejeda Homer in Season Finale [PortlandSeaDogs.com]

One last dreary outing, and Sea Dogs are called in for season [Portland Press Herald]

New Hampshire Fisher Cats @ Portland Sea Dogs 9.5.11 box score [MiLB.com]

Portland Sea Dogs 2011 Roster

Portland Sea Dogs stats

Eastern League Standings

Portland Sea Dogs website

salem red sox Salem Red Sox:

The Salem Red Sox finished their season on a winning note with a 10-3 win over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Hissey, Red Sox end season on hot note [Roanoke Times]

Salem Wins Fourth Straight to Finish Season [OurSports Central]

Salem Red Sox @ Myrtle Beach Pelicans 9.5.11 box score [MiLB.com]

Salem Red Sox 2011 Roster

Salem Red Sox stats

Carolina League standings

Salem Red Sox official blog

Salem Red Sox website

greenville drive Greenville Drive:

The Drive ended their season with an 11-4 win over the Hickory Crawdads.

Greenville Drive whip Hickory Crawdads but get knocked out of playoffs [GoUpstate.com]

Drive Cruise to 11-4 Victory in Regular Season Finale [OurSports Central]

Greenville Drive @ Hickory Crawdads 9.5.11 box score [MiLB.com]

Greenville Drive 2011 Roster

Greenvillle Drive stats

South Atlantic League standings

Greenville Drive website

lowell spinners Lowell Spinners:

The season is over for the Lowell Spinners.

Lowell Spinners 2011 Roster

Lowell Spinners stats

NY-Penn League Standings

Lowell Spinners Blog

Spinners website

gulf coast red sox Gulf Coast League Red Sox

The season is over for the GCL Red Sox.

GCL Red Sox 2011 Roster

GCL Red Sox stats

Gulf Coast League Standings

Gulf Coast Red Sox website

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

In The Red Zone – 9/6

In The Red Zone

Well it was an eventful weekend in Foxboro and around the NFL as all the teams had to have their 53-man rosters set by 6 p.m. on Saturday.  The Patriots did that with their original roster of 53, that lasted all of a few hours.

The reason for that was they signed two players and then had to release two and all this was after spending most of the day Friday and Saturday trying to determine who the last 19 or so players who were going to get released.

Then Sunday was spent reviewing the waiver wire and trying to put together a practice squad.

But they weren’t done and late Sunday night they signed former Green Bay OL Nick McDonald to the practice squad.

On Monday morning they filled out their practice squad roster with a couple other additions.

Here is the video of Bill Belichick’s Monday press conference with the local Boston media.  He talks about Brandon Meriweather, Josh Barrett, Brian Waters and putting together a practice squad and more.  Transcript Only.

DT Vince Wilfork is excited for 2011 and looking forward to a great season.

Audio of the Monday locker room interview with TE Aaron Hernandez.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

With several new players coming in and others leaving the old uniform number shuffle took place on Monday.

New RG Brian Waters is planning on starting in Miami.

Former Kansas City head coach Herm Edwards coached Waters for three seasons and he says this is a really good move for New England.

The Kansas City Chiefs claimed OL Steve Maneri, who was the odd man out when the Patriots signed Waters, off waivers.  So the Belichick-Pioli pipeline continues.

For those wondering why Ochocinco and others may have some difficulty learning the Patriots system here’s a good look at why.

Health will be the key at tight end with only two on the roster.

Here are some unique notes on the Patriots players I found when looking up their hometowns.

  • The Patriots have three foreign-born players Zoltan Mesko (Romania) Sebastian Vollmer (Germany) and Patrick Chung (Jamaica).
  • When searching Zoltan Mesko on Wikipedia the first thing that comes up is a Romanian Nazi of the same name.
  • The team has two players, Devin McCourty and Rob Gronkowski, with siblings playing in the NFL.  If Jerod Mayo’s brother hadn’t been cut they’d have had three.
  • Three players are sons of former NFL players.  Matthew Slater’s dad Jackie was a Hall of Fame lineman with the Los Angeles Rams and Andre Carter’s dad Rubin played in Denver as part of the Bronco’s “Orange Crush” defense.  Practice Squad WR Kerry Taylor’s father, Keith, played 10 NFL seasons and his uncle is former San Francisco 49ers WR John Taylor.
  • The team has two native New Englanders in Aaron Hernandez (Bristol, CT) and James Ihedigbo (Northampton MA).
  • Counting eight practice squad players the team has players from 28 states and 4 countries.
  • The Patriots have the most players from California with 8; followed by Ohio with 6; and Georgia and Florida with 4 each.
  • The school most represented on the Patriots roster is Florida with four players, while Tennessee has three. Virginia, California, Fresno State, Michigan, Arizona State and Purdue all have two.
  • LB Tracy White and former UConn women’s basketball player and current WNBA player Kalana Greene share the same hometown of St. Stephen, SC.
  • For Libby Crews, a friend of Sox & Dawgs, the Patriots have one player from Mississippi State (Kyle Love), one from Ole Miss (BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and two Mississippi natives, Stevan Ridley is from Natchez, MS and Stephen Gostkowski is from Madison, MS, on the roster.
  • 14 players from the SEC; 10 from PAC 12 schools; 6 players are from Big Ten schools; 5 from ACC schools; 4 from the Big East; 1 from Big 12 schools; 1 Independent and 20 from non BCS conference schools (schools as slotted in their current conferences).

Authors Note: With the Labor Day holiday on Monday Tom Brady’s “Patriots Monday” appearance on WEEI-AM 850 in Boston was pushed back to Tuesday morning so it wasn’t included in this week’s “In The Red Zone”.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Lawrence Wilson Added To Panthers Practice Squad

Connecticut's Lawrence Wilson, left, tackles Syracuse's Antwon Bailey during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y. , Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010. Connecticut won 20-6.

After being cut by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, former UConn Huskies linebacker Lawrence Wilson found himself out of the NFL.

Well his stay out of the NFL didn’t last too long as the Panthers signed him to their practice squad on Monday. Wilson was the Panthers sixth round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Wilson saw action in three preseason games for the Panthers and recorded just one tackle in the Panthers 33-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers in the final preseason game.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

2011 BlogPoll Top 25 Ballot – Week 2

As many of you know, I am one of the voters in the BlogPoll Top 25. Each week, bloggers across the country representing the various FBS schools get together and put together their own top 25’s. Here at SOX & Dawgs, we are representing the UConn Huskies. The votes are then tabulated on Mondays (this week it’ll be Tuesday) .

Each week we are asked to do an initial ballot. This allows you the reader to let us know in the comments whether you agree with my choices or not. The initial ballots will normally be done on Sunday. But with a game on Monday night, I waited to submit my first ballot.

After I check the comments for the initial ballot, I then resubmit my final ballot for the week. If there are comments, I’ll take them into consideration before submitting the final ballot by 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

You can check out the ballot I submitted earlier today by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the homepage.

SB Nation BlogPoll Top 25 College Football Rankings

SOX & Dawgs Ballot – Week 2

Rank Team Delta
1 Oklahoma Sooners —
2 Alabama Crimson Tide —
3 LSU Tigers Arrow_up 7
4 Florida St. Seminoles Arrow_up 1
5 Nebraska Cornhuskers Arrow_down -1
6 Texas A&M Aggies Arrow_up 1
7 Wisconsin Badgers Arrow_up 1
8 South Carolina Gamecocks Arrow_down -2
9 Oklahoma St. Cowboys —
10 Boise St. Broncos Arrow_up 4
11 Stanford Cardinal —
12 Oregon Ducks Arrow_down -9
13 Arkansas Razorbacks Arrow_down -1
14 Virginia Tech Hokies Arrow_down -1
15 Mississippi St. Bulldogs Arrow_up 1
16 Ohio St. Buckeyes Arrow_up 3
17 Missouri Tigers Arrow_up 4
18 TCU Horned Frogs Arrow_down -3
19 Auburn Tigers Arrow_up 1
20 Florida Gators Arrow_up 2
21 Georgia Bulldogs Arrow_down -3
22 Penn St. Nittany Lions Arrow_up 1
23 Texas Longhorns Arrow_up 1
24 West Virginia Mountaineers Arrow_up 1
25 Arizona St. Sun Devils —
Dropouts: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »

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UConn Depth Chart For Vanderbilt

UConn Huskies @ Vanderbilt Commodores

In looking at the depth chart for the UConn Huskies football team for this Saturday’s game against the Vanderbilt Commodores, there are not many changes at all. In fact, the ones that have changed are on the defensive side of the ball and special teams.

As Paul Pasqualoni mentioned during Monday’s Big East Coaches Teleconference, the quarterbacks are still in the same situation they were before. He also expects D.J. Shoemate to be okay and play. That should be interesting either way especially with Lyle McCombs rushing for 141 yards and four touchdowns.

As for the changes, with Jesse Joseph out for the foreseeable future, Teddy Jennings has stepped into the starting spot at defensive end. He had been backing up Joseph but got the start last Saturday with Joseph out. Redshirt freshman B.J. McBryde will back up Jennings.

The one change on special teams sees Taylor Mack taking over the punt return duties from Nick Williams. Mack was backing up Williams last week along with Gary Wilburn.

Everything else on the depth chart is same from last week’s depth chart against Fordham.

For a full look at the depth chart, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

OFFENSE

LT: 71 Mike Ryan (RSr., 6-5, 335)
72 Jimmy Bennett (RJr., 6-9, 306)

LG: 70 Gary Bardzak (RSr., 6-3, 289) OR
69 Steve Greene (RSo., 6-4, 304)

C: 57 Moe Petrus (RSr., 6-2, 302)
70 Gary Bardzak (RSr., 6-3, 289) OR
50 Tyler Bullock (So., 6-4, 298)

RG: 63 Adam Masters (RJr., 6-4, 292)
65 Gus Cruz (RFr., 6-4, 288)

RT: 77 Kevin Friend (RSo., 6-5, 300)
61 Stephen Brown (So., 6-6, 290)

TE: 89 John Delahunt (RJr., 6-3, 247) OR
94 Ryan Griffin (RJr., 6-6, 248)
81 Corey Manning (RJr., 6-5, 247)

WR: 6 Kashif Moore (RSr., 5-10, 175)
84 Tebucky Jones (RFr., 5-11, 186) OR
31 Nick Williams (Jr., 5-10, 185)

FB: 39 Mark Hinkley (RJr., 5-11, 226)
47 Reuben Frank (RFr., 6-3, 238)

QB: 11 Scott McCummings (RFr., 6-2, 218) OR
18 Johnny McEntee (RJr., 6-3, 224) OR
2 Mike Nebrich (Fr., 6-1, 204)

TB: 24 D.J. Shoemate (Sr., 5-11, 219) OR
43 Lyle McCombs (RFr., 5-8, 172)

WR: 83 Isiah Moore (RSr., 6-1, 195)
85 Geremy Davis (Fr., 6-3, 211)

DEFENSE

DE: 48 Trevardo Williams (Jr., 6-1, 231)
26 Marcus Campbell (Sr., 6-3, 231)

DT: 4 Twyon Martin (RSr., 6-2, 273)
53 Ryan Wirth (RJr., 6-2, 268)

DT: 99 Kendall Reyes (RSr., 6-4, 295)
59 Shamar Stephen (RSo., 6-5, 315)

DE: 98 Teddy Jennings (RJr., 6-5, 248)
97 B.J. McBryde (RFr., 6-4, 277)

LB: 3 Sio Moore (RJr., 6-1, 232)
32 Jefferson Ashiru (Fr., 6-1, 210)

LB: 33 Yawin Smallwood (RFr., 6-2, 229)
36 Michael Osiecki (Fr., 6-1, 238)

LB: 28 Jory Johnson (RJr., 6-1, 227)
46 Marquise Vann (Fr., 6-0, 225)

CB: 7 Dwayne Gratz (RJr., 6-0, 195)
21 Gary Wilburn (RSr., 5-11, 197)

S: 15 Jerome Junior (RJr., 6-1, 215)
2 Gilbert St.Louis (So., 5-11, 183)

S: 25 Harris Agbor (RSr., 5-11, 199)
16 Byron Jones (RFr., 6-1, 187)

CB: 5 Blidi Wreh-Wilson (RJr., 6-0, 192)
29 Taylor Mack (So., 5-9, 169)

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK: 38 Dave Teggart (RSr., 6-0, 203)
13 Chad Christen (RSo. 6-2, 211)

P: 86 Cole Wagner (RSo., 6-2, 211)
13 Chad Christen (RSo. 6-2, 211)

H: 13 Chad Christen (RSo., 6-1, 201)
86 Cole Wagner (RSo., 6-2, 211)

DS: 67 Adam Mueller (So., 6-1, 207)
66 Dominick Manco (Fr., 6-1, 251)

KR: 31 Nick Williams (Jr., 5-10, 185)
16 Byron Jones (RFr., 6-1, 187)

PR: 29 Taylor Mack (So., 5-9, 169)
31 Nick Williams (Jr., 5-10, 185)

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Patriots Fill Out Practice Squad

In The Red Zone

Earlier Monday morning the New England Patriots filled out the remaining slots on their 8-man practice squad, there was also one change in the squad and I’m not sure why.  It was reported Sunday by the Boston media that Alex Silvestro was at Gillette Stadium with the others to sign their practice squad contracts but when Bill Belichick released the names this morning the former Rutgers players was not among them.

So here is the Patriots Practice Squad in full:

  • RB Eric Kettani
  • DE/LB Markell Carter
  • OL Nick McDonald
  • OL Matt Kopa
  • DE Aaron Lavarias
  • WR Kerry Taylor
  • S Ross Ventrone
  • OL Thomas Welch

Kettani, Carter, Lavarias and Ventrone were all with the team in camp and McDonald who signed last night came from Green Bay.

Kopa, originally an undrafted free agent out of Stanford, had signed with San Francisco in 2010.  He spent time on the 49ers practice squad and on the Miami Dolphins 53-man roster but didn’t see any game action.  Miami released him on Saturday.

Taylor was signed as an undrafted free agent this summer by Green Bay out of Arizona State, he was released on Saturday.

Welch was originally a 7th round pick of New England in 2010 out of Vanderbilt.  He was released by the Pats in the final cutdown last season and went to Minnesota as a practice squad player.  He was elevated to the 53-man roster in December but did not play in any of the remaining games.  The Vikings released him on Saturday.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Lyle McCombs Named To Big East Weekly Honor Roll

UConn's Lyle McCombs (No. 43) celebrates near the end zone after scoring yet another UConn touchdown during the second half of UConn football opener at Rentschler Field against Fordham on Saturday. UConn won 35-3.

As surprise last minute starter at running back for the UConn Huskies on Saturday afternoon, Lyle McCombs made the best of it in the 35-3 win over the Fordham Rams. He ran for 141 yards and four touchdowns replacing D.J. Shoemate who missed the game with an ankle injury.

McCombs was rewarded for his efforts as well as he was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on Monday morning.

Pitt Panthers running back Ray Graham was named the Big East Player of the Week while South Florida Bulls safety Jerrell Young was named the Big East Defense Player of the Week. West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Tavon Austin picked up Big East Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

Joining McCombs on the Weekly Honor Roll were Pitt  defensive tackle Chas Alecxih, USF kicker Maikon Bonani, Syracuse Orange quarterback Ryan Nassib and West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith.

McCombs and the Huskies are back in action this Saturday night when they travel to Nashville, TN for a non-conference matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

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Photo credit: Tia Ann Chapman – Hartford Courant