Gainesville, Fla. – They know the offense. They know pressure.
Ah, the experienced quarterback. Nothing beats him. The rookie QB? Many teams beat him, primarily Texas Christian and Georgia Tech, as Oklahoma and Auburn found out the hard way Saturday.
Yet despite those upsets, Oklahoma and Auburn have better quarterback situations than does California.
Veteran Paul Thompson and ballyhooed redshirt freshman Rhett Bomar debuted atop the Oklahoma throne once manned by Heisman Trophy winner Jason White by combining to complete only 13-of-31 passes for 128 yards and one interception.
“We’ve got to do a better job as coaches if we’re going to have a chance to have any kind of success at all,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said.
Meanwhile, Brandon Cox replaced departing Jason Campbell at Auburn and threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns, but the sophomore threw four interceptions, all in the second half.
In both games, defenses stacked the line to stop the run, forcing the inexperienced quarterbacks to beat them. Oklahoma tailback Adrian Peterson’s Heisman campaign is at least temporarily in the closet after he rushed 22 times for only 63 yards, no thanks to three new starters on the line.
Auburn junior Tre Smith, trying to replace first-round draft picks Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, debuted with only 51 yards rushing.
“If we have to throw the ball 44 times,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said, “we’re not going to win many ballgames.”
Cal won, but may not win many more unless it keeps playing the caliber of Division I-AA Sacramento State, which fell 41-3. Freshman starter Nate Longshore, successor to departed Aaron Rodgers, was shaky before breaking his leg and appears out for the season.
In came junior college transfer Joe Ayoob, who went 0-for-10 and was replaced by Steve Levy, a converted fullback.
“It was the sloppiest game I’ve ever seen offensively,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.
Tedford may take the redshirt off true freshman Kyle Reed, a highly regarded quarterback prospect from Oakland, Calif.
Meyer not happy
At Florida, new coach Urban Meyer was upset with an offense that produced 411 yards in a 32-14 victory against Wyoming and saw Chris Leak compete a school-record 17 straight passes.
“I must have been watching something else when that happened,” Meyer said.
He probably saw Leak get sacked four times and Skyler Thornton lead Florida tailbacks with only 36 yards rushing.
The Gators’ top returning rusher, DeShawn Wynn, sat out because of a suspension. But Florida’s veteran offensive line failed miserably.
“In case you’re wondering what the offense should look like,” Meyer said, “that wasn’t it.”
Fighting Irish awaken
Forget returning quarterback Brady Quinn and tailback Darius Walker. The reason for Notre Dame’s revival is the return of the entire offensive line.
In their 42-21 romp at Pittsburgh, the Irish gained more yards (319) in two quarters than they did in five whole games last year. The Irish scored 42 or more points only twice in three years under previous coach Tyrone Willingham.
“By halftime,” new Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said, “our players were starting to realize that they’re better than they thought they were.”
Footnotes
Your next great Texas Longhorns tailback: freshman Jamaal Charles, of Port Arthur, Texas. He debuted with 135 yards rushing in the Longhorns’ 60-3 rout of visiting Louisiana-Lafayette. … Central Florida wide receiver Javid James, who played Thursday at South Carolina not knowing whether his sister was alive after Hurricane Katrina, learned after the game that she’s alive and well. … Hawaii defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville, after Southern Cal star Matt Leinart hit 18-of-24 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 63-17 romp: “He’s better than he was last year.”
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
