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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Chat wrap: Wake up to the Pac-10
On Sept. 13, ABC college football analyst Ed Cunningham answered your questions on the Michigan quarterback situation, and the offensive line issues facing Tennessee as the Vols prepare for Florida.
Mike Fina: Ed, Glad to see you've graduated from begging Tony Piro for extra sani-shorts, to your present position. There was never a doubt you'd be a success at whatever you attempted. Virginia's loss was certainly Washington's gain. What do you think of the top three in the Pac-10: UW, UCLA and USC?
Ed Cunningham: Tony was our equipment guy at Washington.
I think it is going to be a great race down to the finish. Of course, with the new scheduling that the Pac-10 has come out with about eight years ago, where teams rotate and miss each other, everybody here in Southern California where I live is a little upset. As they are in Seattle that USC and Washington won't get to play.
I think UCLA will go a long way in proving how good this conference has become against Michigan this week. I don't know if UCLA will beat Michigan this weekend, but I do know the Bruins will have another strong showing.
There is a chance that UCLA and USC will meet at the end of the year undefeated.
|  | | The Volunteers will need Travis Henry to have a big game to upset No. 4 Florida on Saturday. |
NcaaFan: As a great offensive lineman you probably welcomed the challenge of a team like Florida, but in the case of Tennessee they may be too inexperienced and overmatched in this game. What things might Tennessee be able to do to ease some of the pressure on their offensive line?
Ed Cunningham: Three people: Travis Henry, Travis Henry and Travis Henry. This guy is a legitimate big-time back. For Tennessee to have a chance in this game, Travis Henry has to help them control the football. Where the problem for Tennessee is going to creep up is on their inexperienced offensive line. We saw that in their earlier ballgame. In a front against Florida, they might struggle. But if Travis Henry is able to get established, it gives them a chance.
Pat Timm: I was at Camp Randall for the UW vs. Oregon game. A great win. What were your impressions of the Badgers? P.S. Enjoy you on the Men's Room every Friday with Bruce and Scott (on One on One Sports).
Ed Cunningham: I was a little surprised at how flat the Badgers came out. With over a week to prepare with the suspensions, I thought they would come out on fire, kind of a "Us-versus-Them" mentality. However, it appeared to me that Oregon came out more emotionally ready for the game than Wisconsin. Once Wisconsin comes back to full speed, especially with Chris Chambers and Nick Davis back, they are a legitimate Top 5 team. However, they didn't look like that on Saturday with the injury and the suspensions.
P.S. You're lucky Oregon can't catch the football, because if they could, Wisconsin would be 1-1 right now.
Jpac: Ed, You're an old center. Any you got your eye on this year?
Ed Cunningham: I think Casey Rabach, the center from Wisconsin, showed a lot of flexibility this week moving over to guard. His natural position is center. In hearing NFL scouts, they are very excited about him as an athlete. I would say he is one of top two or three guys right now in the country.
All reports say that Nebraska's Dominic Raiola is the best in the country, which is no surprise because Nebraska has always had great centers.
Chris Libenson: Does Ken Dorsey have the talent and mental discipline to raise his game and take Miami back to the Top 5?
Ed Cunningham: I thought coming into the season, absolutely. I saw him play as a true freshman last year and was very impressed with his poise and athletic ability.
Apparently, he became very rattled against Washington with the crowd noise up in Seattle. It goes one way or the other: it either helped him tremendously in experience and learning how to deal with that type of crowd noise, or maybe it rattled him and it will take him a few games to recover from that. I think it will be the first, that the experience of Seattle will help him go a long way, and that the players around him at Miami are the more important factor for them to return to the Top 5. They have three guys in the backfield that could play in the NFL someday.
TWaddle87: Weren't you a lineman in college? You look like a kicker now. What happened?
Ed Cunningham: Most coaches think I am an accountant when I walk in for our coaches' meetings.
At least you could have picked a wide receiver or quarterback. I lost close to 85 pounds close to my playing weight at Washington and the NFL.
TWaddle87: Were you surprised that Notre Dame was able to hang in with Nebraska until the OT period?
Ed Cunningham: No, because I was absolutely blown away that they physically dominated Texas A&M. I think that Notre Dame's offensive line was severely underrated coming into the season. That is the strength of that team right now.
And I am not sold on Nebraska being the No. 1 team in the country right now. They have some major concerns on the defensive front and that was proven against Notre Dame and also in the first game against San Jose State.
Will: Ed, If you're head coach Barry Alvarez, which of the next two games do you have Michael Bennett serve his suspension?
Ed Cunningham: That's a tough question. If I'm Barry Alvarez, because I hate what happened to me last year, I play Michael against Cincinnati this week and sit him against Northwestern. Just for the revenge factor.
Duck/Husky: How far do you think Washington will go this year?
Ed Cunningham: As far as Marques Tuiasosopo's legs and arms can take them. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the defensive pressure Washington was able to get on Miami. Pressuring the quarterback has been one of the biggest problems for the last four or five seasons for Washington.
Will: Congratulations to your alma mater. You said last week that history was on their side regarding the Miami game. What are your thoughts on this weekend's game in Boulder?
Ed Cunningham: I think that Washington better have gotten the celebration out of its system. I was able to catch the second half of USC-Colorado. It's obvious that Gary Barnett has the Colorado program headed in the right direction, and I think that the emotion for Colorado with Rick Neuheisel returning will play a major factor.
Jpac: Do you know what Steve Emtman is doing now?
Ed Cunningham: He's volunteering at the University of Washington's weight room and helping to develop strength of both the offensive and defensive linemen. They are very happy to have him around. He has had a positive influence on a lot of guys there.
With all that damn money, he can afford to volunteer.
Jpac: Is it weird to be working with Keith Jackson and people who called your games when you were a Husky?
Ed Cunningham: It was kind of fun. I shared a taxi cab with Keith in New York. I was blown away by how much he remembered, not just of our team, but of me specifically. It seems like yesterday that I was playing for the Huskies, but it was nearly 10 years ago. It is kind of fun that the voice of college football actually remembered lil' ol' me from the time when I was playing, even though I wasn't that little then.
I will get to go to Nebraska and do Iowa-Nebraska in two weeks, which was the site of our biggest win my senior year. Keith Jackson did that game. It was a primetime game on ABC that year.
TWaddle87: If you could watch two teams from any era play for the national championship, what teams would they be and why?
Ed Cunningham: That's easy -- the 1991 University of Washington Huskies against the 1991 Miami University Hurricanes. I would like to settle that argument for once and for all.
Winner: Washington by 15. On a neutral site. Of course, I would hope I would be at playing weight of 295 before the game, as long as we are in a fantasy world.
Tdog: So many people rag K-State for playing a weak schedule, but look at Nebraska, Florida State and Va. Tech. They don't play anyone either? I'm curious of your thoughts on scheduling of the top teams.
Ed Cunningham: I don't know how you can call Virginia Tech's schedule that easy considering that they play Georgia Tech, who took Florida State to the wire. And that they play East Carolina, who a lot of people thought East Carolina was going to upset Virginia Tech. So I don't know if I would lump Virginia Tech in with Kansas State. And Florida State has to play Florida every year. So I think it's unfair to lump those teams in with Kansas State.
If we are going to talk about these teams, let's talk about who they are playing out of conference. For a major college team that wants to be considered at the top of college football, if you have three non-conference games, you should play one big-name good team, one mediocre big-name team, and one automatic win. That way, it gets rid of all the arguments. You need two out of the three to be winnable games, but the third non-conference game, if you play three non-conference games, should be a very tough one.
Southern Mississippi probably takes a different approach. They play four tough non-conference games a year. I even picked them to upset Alabama this week. What they have done at Southern Mississippi is phenomenal, and they really should have beaten Tennessee two weeks ago.
GeorgiaDawgs: Does Georgia have any chance at regaining the respect they had at the beginning of the season, after the way they played Saturday?
Ed Cunningham: I think to do that, they will have to win out. I don't really look down at them for losing to South Carolina. What was disappointing was the lack of effort in that loss. It looked like they were plodding around the field. That was the most disappointing thing. For them to regain their respect, they are going to have to either win out or just have one more loss the rest of the way. And play hard every single game.
TWaddle87: For those of us on the East Coast, who is the best player in the Pac-10?
Ed Cunningham: Might be Ken Simonton at Oregon State. He has a chance to become the Pac-10's all-time leading rusher this year. In his fourth season, he has played on only one winning team.
Ultimately, we are going to see just how good Carson Palmer is. The unfortunate thing is that it may not be at this level that we get to see just how good a quarterback he is. There are some rumors that he might leave school early after this year. We might have to wait until he gets to the NFL to see how good he is.
Lukester: Wouldn't it be silly for Lloyd Carr to replace Michigan QB John Navarre with Drew Henson if Navarre beats UCLA?
Ed Cunningham: I couldn't agree more. However, most coaches go by the axiom that you do not lose your starting job because of an injury. I think John Navarre has a tremendous upside and before all is said and done, I believe John Navarre will be a better college quarterback than Drew Henson.
HookemHorns: Do you think Major Applewhite deserves to start, or would you continue rotating him with Chris Simms?
Ed Cunningham: Major Applewhite. Quit messing around and play the guy who has proven time and time again that he is a winner and a big-time talent. Play the guy who gives you the best chance at winning every game. And that's Major Applewhite. From the first time I saw that redhead take his first snap, I knew he was special.
And there will still be plenty of time for us to see how great Simms Jr. is.
Duck/Husky: How about that Stanford debacle to mighty San Jose St. again?
Ed Cunningham: Stanford. Every year that I have been around the Pac-10, and I started playing in 1987, Stanford goes out and blows a game what most people would consider an easy game against a non-conference opponent.
With that being said, let's knock San Jose State. They rushed for about 250 against Nebraska, at Nebraska. It's not like they were playing St. Mary's College. I think San Jose State is going to end up having a pretty solid season.
Lukester: I think Michigan may have run the table last year if Carr didn't rotate Henson in with Tom Brady. It messed with the Team chemistry. Your opinion?
Ed Cunningham: We can talk about that Syracuse game last year. I did that game. It was the third game of the season for Michigan. Henson played the second and third quarters and Tom Brady had to come in and win the game in the fourth quarter. At the time, I made the statement that I thought Lloyd Carr, by rotating quarterbacks, was going to cost his team a shot at the national title. I think they were among the top 5 teams in the country.
I think the same is true this year. Michigan probably has the best offensive line in the country, one of the best power backs in the country, and one of the top playmaking wide receivers in the country. And if you start seeing John Navarre as the quarterback of the future, it would be a big mistake doing the same thing (rotating quarterbacks) this year.
Ed Cunningham: Thanks for the questions. I am off this weekend, but I will be back on the air next week with Iowa-Nebraska. Go Huskies.
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Billy Joe Hobert hits Mark Bruener in the back of the end zone for six.