The Wiz of Odds

Spring Reports

Our sixth and final look at spring scrimmages across the country. If you missed our previous reports, click here, here, here, here and here.

Kansas State: Quarterback Carson Coffman had his 15 minutes of fame — the third quarter. Coach Bill Snyder wants him to remember the other 45 minutes and work on his consistency. Snyder on the team's mistakes: "We made them, and that makes us not a very good football team at this particular point in time. This is a team that needs to learn how to stop losing. That's an old adage, but there's a great deal of truth to it." The Wildcats also unveiled a 4-2-5 defense.

Oregon: Quarterbacks Jeremiah Masoli and Justin Roper combined to complete 37 of 56 passes for 516 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. But the running game was nondescript and errant snaps were an issue. The kicking was atrocious, with three misses and three blocks in six attempts. Before the scrimmage, coach Chip Kelly gave his team this record for the spring: "We're probably 11-2 right now." Attendance: 12,400.

Spring Reports

Our fifth look at spring scrimmages across the country. Ohio State set a new record for a spring scrimmage, with an announced crowd of 95,722. If you missed our previous reports, click here, here, here and here.

Atlantic Coast

Boston College: A sluggish effort for the offense. Clearly, the Eagles haven't gotten to know the schemes of new offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill. "We need a lot of work," first-year coach Frank Spaziani said.

Maryland: No Darius Heyward-Bey? No problem. Sophomore Quintin McCree caught three touchdown passes and junior Adrian Cannon had two touchdown receptions as the Terrapins showed why receiver will be among the team's deepest positions.

Big East

Cincinnati: Coach Brian Kelly kept his new 3-4 alignment under wraps, often staying with last season's 4-3. "We didn’t want to show too much," he said. "I'm really pleased with [our defense]. We got our defensive coordinator [Bob Diaco] in place. We got our system in place. We made some changes and moved some personnel around that helped us."

Spring Reports

Our fourth look at spring scrimmages across the country. If you missed our previous reports, click here, here and here.

Atlantic Coast

Duke: The offense, which ranked 102nd nationally in yardage and 101st in scoring last season, showed it has made big strides. David Cutcliffe's goal is to have his team play in a bowl game. "We're certainly not a great football team, but we're a good football team," he said.

North Carolina State: Quarterback Russell Wilson passed for 195 yards in a half, then started at second base against Florida State in the evening. The offensive line remains a concern.

Virginia: Five quarterbacks combined to completed 35 of 53 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions out of the new no-huddle spread offense.

Wake Forest: Riley Skinner, who will be entering his fourth season as a starting quarterback, completed 15 of 23 passes for 272 yards. The Demon Deacons are 26-11 with Skinner starting at quarterback.

Spring Reports

Our third look at spring scrimmages across the country. If you missed our previous reports, click here and here.

Alabama Birmingham: Not many three-and-outs on this day, with the offenses totaling 755 passing yards and 246 rushing yards.

Army: Former offensive tackle Ali Villanueva is making an impact at receiver. Villanueva, who is 6 foot 10 and 283 pounds, caught a 38-yard touchdown pass and hauled in another pass for a 22-yard gain.

Brigham Young: No spring game, but Bronco Mendenhall was pleased with the development of the offensive line, which lost four starters.

Central Florida: The Knights were 119th in total offense last season, but that is likely to change with the introduction of a passing game that will try to stretch the defense by throwing the deep ball.

Clemson: A record 24,000 turned out to watch Kyle Parker take the lead in the quarterback race over Willy Korn.

Spring Reports

Our second look at spring scrimmages across the country. If you missed our first report, here's the link.

Air Force: Third-string quarterback Ben Cochran got to show his stuff after starter Tim Jefferson missed much of spring practice to concentrate on academics and backup Asher Clark suffered a knee injury.

Akron: Twenty-two players missed the scrimmage because of injuries. Senior quarterback Chris Jacquemain played well for a half, then struggled.

Arizona: The search for a quarterback to replace Willie Tuitama will continue into fall. Matt Scott, Nick Foles and Bryson Beirne all had their moments during the spring game, but nobody separated from the pack.

Baylor: Quarterback Robert Griffin completed 19 of 25 passes for 310 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the 130-play scrimmage.

Spring Reports

Some teams are just starting spring practice, while others are wrapping it up. Our first look at spring scrimmages across the country.

Miami: Running back Damien Berry was impressive, scoring on a 54-yard run that he finished with a backflip into the end zone. Quarterback Taylor Cook could have solidified his hold on the No. 2 spot behind Jacory Harris. Cook completed nine passes in a row and 11 of 14 overall.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels, trying to replace Hakeem Nicks, had 12 players catch at least one pass. Sophomore Dwight Jones had a diving, 46-yard grab. Only 2,000 attended, and Butch Davis said he will move next year's scrimmage to April to avoid a conflict with basketball-crazy fans.

Rice: Nick Fanuzzi, a transfer from Alabama, is battling John Thomas Shepherd and Ryan Lewis for the starting quarterback job. Fanuzzi was sharp, completing six of eight passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns.