Red-zone offense, RCA Dome deflated and no more SAT? - Sep 24, 2008 | 10:46:52
posted by: Howard Smith
- You would think red-zone conversion percentage (how often a team scores when it gets inside the opponent's 20 yard line) would be a crucial statistic that would distinguish the best teams in college football from the rest of the pack. However, after the first three weeks, the results are a little surprising. Eight teams have scored every time that they have been in the red zone: Oklahoma, Northwestern, Toledo, Troy, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Hawaii and North Texas. The combined record of these eight teams is only 14-12. What do you make of this?
- Less than a mile from the NCAA National Office in Indianapolis, the roof of the RCA Dome is being deflated today. The RCA Dome held numerous college sporting events, including the 1991, 1997, 2000 and 2006 Men's Final Fours and the 2005 Women's Final Four. Lucas Oil Stadium was completed about a month ago, and will host a men's basketball regional in 2009, as well as the 2010 Men's Final Four.
- A panel is suggesting college admissions programs put a greater emphasis on high school academic performance and less of a focus on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT. William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, is on board with this new approach: ""It would be much better for the country to have students focusing on high school courses that, based on evidence, will prepare them well for college and also prepare them well for the real world beyond college, instead of their spending enormous amounts of time trying to game the SAT." Do you agree with Mr. Fitzsimmons?
- It is no secret that Syracuse's football program has struggled over the last several years under Greg Robinson (8-31 since 2005). Yesterday, Daryl Gross, Syracuse's athletics director, had this to say about the football program: "It isn't working out. It's very disappointing ... He (Robinson) has some work to do out in front of him." I'm all for a little motivation, but is the athletics director taking it too far by publicly calling out the coach in the middle of the season?
- On this date in 1994, Colorado's Kordell Stewart connected with Michael Westbrook on a 64-yard, game-ending Hail Mary pass to beat fourth-ranked Michigan, 27-26. What people don't remember is Michigan led by 12 points with just over two minutes left in the game. The seventh-ranked Buffaloes went on to finish the season 11-1.
