One Saturday of something that resembles college football down, one to go.
Like last week, which was filled to the brim with 43 spring games (a few were cancelled due to inclement weather), today will be packed with -- if our math is correct (again) -- 29 spring games from around the country.
As you probably figured out already, it’s darn-near impossible to touch on every single game. We’ll be writing up some thoughts on a few of the big programs/storylines today individually -- Arkansas, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Penn State, West Virginia and Virginia Tech... y’all are under the microscope -- so consider this to be a “best of the rest” post that we’ll be updating with happenings from the other couple dozen games as they enter our inbox.
So, be sure to check back here throughout the day if you’re not out supporting your program already.
And, remember, what you see today is exactly what you should expect come this fall.
-- WVU’s defense -- yes, the defense -- won the Gold-Blue game on Saturday. (11:50 p.m. ET)
-- Mike Gundy hopes to name a starting QB at Oklahoma State “this week.”
-- Keith Arnold gives you five things he learned at Notre Dame’s spring game.
-- It’s another year, but Penn State still has problems at quarterback. (8:53 p.m. ET)
-- What did we learn from Arkansas’ spring game? The Razorback offense is unfairly good (against backups) and Tyler Wilson should be getting more publicity than he is. And not just for his stats, but for his leadership in a trying time for the program. (8:53 p.m. ET)
-- The biggest takeaway from Maryland’s spring finale? The Terps defense accounted for what was described as “13 legitimate sacks.” That’s good news for the defensively, but, conversely, not so good for the line on the other side of the ball. (7:07 p.m. ET)
-- In the first spring game of the Mike Leach era at Washington State, Jeff Tuel passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars put the finishing touches on its allotment of 15 spring sessions. All told, four Wazzu QBs combined to throw for 568 yards in the exhibition game. (7:04 p.m. ET)
-- What did we learn from Tennessee’s Orange and White spring game? That Derek Dooley is happy with the Vols’ effort. Achievement level coachspeak unlocked!
-- Ladies and gents, we have, unless I’m mistaken, our first overtime of the 2012 spring practices when the Red team defeated the Blue team 24-23 in Ole Miss’ Grove Bowl. It looks like JUCO QB Bo Wallace will be leading the Rebels this fall. (5:31 p.m. ET)
-- Ohio State wrapped up their spring game with a 20-14 win by the Scarlet team over the Gray team. The emphasis on offense? Improving the passing game (5:22 p.m. ET)
-- Because of inclement weather, Virginia Tech’s spring game has been officially cancelled. In other news, the Hokies picked up 30 commitments today, completely oversigning nearly a year in advance. Take that, SEC. ( 5:11 p.m. ET)
-- Syracuse’s spring game ended in a 9-0 defensive crawl, resulting in no offensive points in the 90-minute scrimmage. Junior defensive tackle Jay Bromley forced a safety and later stripped the ball that would be returned Brandon Sharpe for a touchdown (4:27 p.m. ET)
-- A total of 3,500 diehards watched the curtain fall on Minnesota’s spring practice, although they didn’t see much offense as the Maroon team downed the Gold squad 3-0 in a spring game played amid the rain drops. Backup quarterback Max Shortell was the offensive “star” of the game with 98 total yards -- 68 passing, 30 rushing. ( 3:27 p.m. ET)