Pressure Football (NCAA 09)

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Sources tell ESPN's Chris Fowler that college football will make its long-awaited return after closing its doors due to the federal mandate banning the sport last year. In a bipartisan effort that included congress and the NCAA working together, college football -- which was banned due to the violence of sport -- is allowed to come back next season, but it'll look significantly different.

The 60-minute version of the sport is gone. Federal action banned it at both the amateur and professional levels, leading to the buying out of NFL franchises and the forced retirement of all college and NFL players in exchange for a one-time settlement. What the law, with the help of NCAA posturing, has decided is that college football may return in a much-abbreviated version in the fall.

News broke on Monday that the NCAA had come to Capitol Hill with an adjustment to the sport which gained popular support among politicians: College football can come back, but it must be started in overtime to eliminate dangerous special teams plays on kickoffs and limit the amount of time players are spent on the field. Here are the overtime rules in college football, if you need a refresher:



Currently, the expectation is that the previous football conferences in the 2008 college football season will be restored under the umbrella that is being called "pressure football" in Washington, D.C. Athletic departments across the country have been anticipating a green light for football to be restored in recent weeks and are ready to hire coaching staffs when the bill is officially signed. There have been no updates on whether or not a professional league will be created or restored. There also has been no word on the eligibility of student-athletes who received settlements to stop playing football after 2008.


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Game: NCAA Football 2009
Situation: Simulated five seasons for the sake of fresh rosters
Settings: Quarter length: Overtime, all other settings standard

[somecoach]

Table of contents

What is pressure football?

Year 1
Week 1

[somecoach]

As expected, the slimy NCAA was able to wiggle its way out of giving eligibility to players who had taken the settlement. Legally, the players were classified as workers when they signed the settlement, which makes them ineligible by NCAA rules to be amateur athletes, even though they were classified as such under the NCAA.

Week 1, Year 1



Welcome back to SportsCenter where we have you covered on all nine of the pressure football games that didn't kickoff but did play in college football on Saturday.

The first two pressure football games were actually not televised but ended in a 10-7 loss at home for Virginia Tech against the FCS’s Appalachian State and a one-play game between Louisville and Kentucky. The Cardinals forced a fumble on the first snap of their season, which safety Carlos Davis returned for a 77-yard touchdown.

Let’s get into the highlights from Week 1’s action.

Nationally Televised Games

Florida Atlantic @ Florida



The first major brand to return to our television screens was the Florida Gators, who took on the in-state Florida Atlantic Owls.

FAU found themselves in trouble early as a 3rd and 12 put them in the precarious position to play for a first down or field goal range to begin their first, and potentially last, series under these new set of rules. Calling in an under-center spread set, the Owls found an open dig behind Florida’s linebackers but the receiver fumbled the ball while diving at the first-down line, ending their drive. A hustle effort from a defensive tackle led to the recovery. From there, Florida took a check-down swing to the 11-yard line and on the second play of their series they kicked a field goal for a 3-0 win.

West Virginia @ Marshall



Next, West Virginia hit the short road to Marshall in a game where we might have seen the worst kick ever attempted.

If you thought college kickers were bad before, you’re not going to be ready for what the placekicking talent looks like now that entire high school classes of kickers have been forcibly retired from the game.

On the Mountaineers’ first drive, the spread option offense had to get out of their two-back set as they faced a third and four. A throw just short of the sticks on that down was flagged for holding, which Marshall declined.

Enter West Virginia freshman kicker James Bray. 33 yards AND IT FALLS SHORT. I’m sorry. If you can’t hit from the 15-yard line, you don’t have a kicker.

On the brink with the momentum swung entirely in Marshall’s way after the missed field goal, West Virginia picked off the Thundering Herd on the Mountaineers’ first play on defense. Ryan Simmons, Marshall’s quarterback, redeemed himself by putting the Herd up 7-0 on a touchdown pass in the second series. The problem? His hand was hit on the play, resulting in a bruise that kept him out of action for the rest of the game.

Back in their run game flow, the Mountaineers rushed for a 10-yard score that tied the ballgame at 7-7 going into the third series. On third down, quarterback Mike East was hit on a bang-bang play that nearly converted but was officially called out of bounds. Enter James Bray. Again. This time lined up for a 39-yard field goal, Bray confirmed what we were all thinking: You can’t trust the college kicker. It again fell short to the astonishment of West Virginia fans in the crowd.

Backup quarterback Matt Douglas was in the game for Marshall for the third series and threw a strike on the first play of the drive. The Thundering Herd said that was close enough for their own kicker and kicked a field goal to win 10-7.

Wisconsin @ UNLV



No team looked more impressive on Saturday than the Wisconsin Badgers. Sophomore running back A.J. Evans exploded with a 26-yard carry against the UNLV Running Rebels to put the team up 7-0. On the defensive side of the ball, Badgers senior defensive tackle Shawn Paul made a tackle for loss and sack in back-to-back plays to put the Rebels in a 4th and 18 position in a convert-or-lose situation. UNLV was sacked again and finished the day with -18 total yards.

If there were an NFL, Evans and Paul would already be on their radar because of their clear impact on the field, even in a limited sample size. Until then Wisconsin looks more than perfect going into Week 2.

Pittsburgh @ Iowa



Huge momentum swings are what defined Pittsburgh-Iowa today. A third-down conversion by Pitt set up a double-move touchdown to slot receiver Montrell Huffman at the goal line to put the Panthers up 7-0.

Iowa’s play-action heavy offense came up big when a 2nd and 12 dig popped open for the Hawkeyes and gave them a first and goal from the four-yard line. Jon Gruden’s Spider 2 Y Banana play then left a tight end wide open in the end zone for a tying scoring.

Back with the ball to start the second series, Iowa’s play-action luck ran out when their quarterback threw the ball right to a dropdown safety on 3rd and 10. Pittsburgh would be found in the same position on their second possession, but Huffman came up big again with a high-pointed catch in the end zone for a 13-7 win.

Minnesota @ Washington State



Some people thought they’d never see football on the West Coast ever again, but Washington State hosted the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Pullman on Saturday. After a poorly thrown ball on 3rd and 4, the Cougars kicked a field goal to go up 3-0.

Gophers quarterback Eric Mendoza almost threw away the game on a designed quarterback run that he fumbled on second down, but a teammate covered the ball somehow and kept the drive alive. Mendoza, this time on a read option and later a speed option, went the final 18 yards of the drive for a score and a 6-3 Gophers win.

Akron @ Ohio State



New rules. New sport. Same Ohio State. Same Akron.

With the help of a 22-yard strike and a 10-yard run finishing the drive, the Buckeyes went up 7-0 on the Zips early. From there, there was no hope for Akron’s offense. In a rocking Horseshoe, the Zips lost their starting quarterback and receiver in their first and third plays of the game, respectively. After converting a first down to start their possession, Akron was tackled in the backfield four times: on first, third and fourth down. Despite recording that first down, the Zips ended the game with negative yardage.

Iowa State @ Utah



The nightcap in Salt Lake City featured the Iowa State Cyclones and the Utah Utes.

The Cyclones moved the ball decently on their opening possession of the game but airballed a throw on third down that forced their kicker on the field and left just three points on the scoreboard.

Utah’s offense faired similarly, as they were stuffed twice on runs in short-yardage situations. A jet sweep and a toss? You only needed a few yards! Their kicker wasn’t so fortunate, though, as he missed a 37-yarder that hit the crossbar before bouncing out.

Players of the week

Our offensive player of the week this week is Pittsburgh’s Huffman, who caught two receptions for 32 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Iowa. The defensive player of the week has to be Davis, who kept Louisville’s offense from even seeing the field in the season opener.





Next week's nationally televised games

Oregon State @ Wisconsin
Alabama @ Penn State
Clemson @ Maryland
Texas Tech @ TCU
North Carolina @ Georgia Tech
South Carolina @ San Diego State
Notre Dame @ Stanford
Virginia @ Florida State