Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Bradford, who had missed three games after spraining the AC joint in his (right) throwing shoulder in the first half of the season opener, passed for 389 yards and a touchdown in a relatively easy Big 12 opener. The real test comes next Saturday when the Sooners take on No. 2 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas.
"It's extremely gratifying just to get back out on the field," Bradford said. "Just to be out there with the guys that I have put in so much work with in the offseason and just the simple things like handoffs. Everything out there, it's just exciting to be back."
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford seems like he wants to return to the field with the Sooners after being sidelined since the season opener with a Grade 3 sprain of the A-C joint in his throwing shoulder.
The burning question is when?
Bradford began throwing with the team for the first time last week, leading to speculation he might return in time for last Saturday's non-conference showdown at Miami. Soreness in his shoulder as the week progressed caused the coaching staff and Bradford to nix that plan even after doctors cleared him to play.
Now there is speculation the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback will give it a shot during Saturday's Big 12 opener against Baylor if all goes well in practice this week. That would seem most ideal with the rivalry game with Texas coming up on Oct. 17 in Dallas.
Every week during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.
Notre Dame receiver Tim Brown and (snicker) Miami quarterback Gino Torretta are joined by notables like Arizona's hard-hitting safety Chuck Cecil, Ohio State linebacker and ESPN analyst Chris Spielman, and West Virginia's Major Harris -- who was Pat White before there was a Pat White.
In a game that spans many eras, any task like this is exceedingly difficult and fraught with contradiction. With all the nostalgia built into the Heisman Trophy and the game of college football, we're buying into it with a less clinical, more emotional effort at ranking players. There's a bias towards the modern, towards a player being associated with the trophy and towards those that most captured peoples' imaginations.
Not lost among the excitement is the surprising ascent of Barkley, who also pulled a major upset in beating out Mustain for the No. 2 job and who Corp admitted is "right there". USC coach Pete Carroll says that although Corp has been named the starter, the competition will be pushed into the fall due to the unusual growth and possibilities offered by Barkley.
Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.
Zed's Dead, But Not The Spread -- Great find from Smart Football of UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel discussing in great detail the spread offense and UCLA's decision not to run it. Smart Football has his response as well, synthesizing Neuheisel's main arguments and where he gets confused before making the conclusion that the term has "quickly lost all use as a meaningful and descriptive term".
If there was one true loser on a night of winners, that man is Billy Sims.
The 1978 Heisman winner and College Hall of Famer made an absolute mockery of the ceremony when Sam Bradford was presented this year's trophy, hooting and hollering "Boomer" repeatedly until a fellow Oklahoman finally responded "Sooner" (based off of the school's fight song).
Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Sims has lampooned the presentation with his rah-rah antics. When the trophy was presented to quarterback Jason White in 2003, Sims did the same exact thing.
Video of the clowning and a rundown of message board vitriol after the jump...
Colt McCoy has, for all intents and purposes, said he always planned on returning to the Texas Longhorns for his senior season of college football. (And who can blame him? Have you ever been to Austin?)
However, McCoy had also mentioned testing the NFL draft waters. But now, per the Dallas Morning-News, Longhorn fans can (presumably) rest easy, as Colt reached out and told everyone that he will indeed be coming back next year.
"I'm coming back," McCoy relayed through a UT spokesman this afternoon.
[...]Late in the season, McCoy had mentioned getting feedback from an NFL advisory committee to gauge his possible draft status. He still could without jeopardizing his eligibility. But he won't have to worry about the draft itself for a year.
Well, he'd obviously be a fool not to at least listen to how many millions of dollars he could earn by leaving for the NFL. But at the same time, Colt's situation is one that definitely warrants -- in my oh-so-motivated opinion -- coming back for another year.
Texas more or less just gotjobbed by the BCS standings, thanks to a silly Big 12 tiebreaker rule, and can't play for a national title. Additionally, a strong run by Tim Tebow and a possible championship for the Gators could have squeezed Colt out of a potential Heisman Trophy, and one would have to think that in 2009 he'd be a pretty strong candidate to win. Looks like he feels the same way, or at least cares about unfinished business.
Remember Joe Hamilton? Diminuitive quarterback par excellence at Georgia Tech a few years back. Heisman Trophy runner-up. The last known relevant Georgia Tech season was played under his command. Then he disappeared into football obscurity because the No Fun League has no need for guys that good.
Anyway.
Hit and run DUI, folks. Aaaaaaand our football God returns just in time to beat a hasty retreat.
Former Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton resigned from his position at the school Wednesday, a day after he was charged with marijuana possession, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run.
The charges came about a week after the 31-year-old was hired as the school's assistant director of player personnel.
"Today, I sadly accepted Joe's resignation," said Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson.
YouTube of the good times below (on the right side of the law) in lieu of further commentary.
Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma quarterback 
Every week during college football's endless offseason, 
The 
With the 
Redshirt sophomore 
Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, 
If there was one true loser on a night of winners, that man is 
Colt McCoy
Remember Joe Hamilton? Diminuitive quarterback par excellence at Georgia Tech a few years back. Heisman Trophy runner-up. The last known relevant Georgia Tech season was played under his command. Then he disappeared into football obscurity because the No Fun League has no need for guys that good.
