WASHINGTON — CBS and Fox have shared the sports broadcasting stage for almost 25 years as the upstart networks actually replace the old guard when they outbid them for the NFC package in 1993.
While fears of having Homer Simpson giving scores or the cast of “Beverly Hills, 90210” in the announcing booth with Summerall & Madden never came to fruition, Fox has experimented and brought how sports are presented on TV into this century. And while CBS has kept pace, the old “Tiffany Network” still represents tradition. Case in point, Saturday’s college schedule saw two thrilling games. The team of Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson announced the nationally televised Florida-Tennessee tilt while the high-octane duo of Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt called the USC-Texas game.
Both games provided plenty of thrills and chills and the Nessler-Danielson duo presented a national game with a finishing crescendo while Johnson-Klatt gave viewers a high-wire act with multiple exclamation points. How do you like your eggs? Evenly cooked with the right accents on the right parts? Or flame-broiled with every twist and turn highlighted beyond belief? Thank goodness there’s room for both approaches and the games are good enough that both are needed.
While I stated that Saturday was the perfect day for chores/apple-picking/antiquing, many will refer to the fantastic finish of Florida-Tennessee. And that’s exactly what was fantastic: a fourth quarter where 37 of the game’s 46 points were scored. Before that? Two teams that were conscious objectors to sustained offense and proof that the SEC East may the least again this year (despite multiple hot messes in Alabama’s fiefdom). What is it with the Vols and crazy endings? Seven of the school’s nine losses since the 2014 season ended have been one-possession affairs.
#16 Virginia Tech (3-0) looked like it was doomed to repeat its traditional September stumble when they fell behind East Carolina 17-7 in the first quarter, only to score the games final 57 points in a 64-17 win. Gone are the ghosts of Pirates past as coach Justin Fuente’s team is 3-0 for the first time since 2011.
- Hokie Highlights: Josh Jackson threw for 372 yards and five touchdowns-while finding Cam Phillips for 14 catches, 189 yards and three scores. Travon McMillan (72 yards on 11 carries) led a ground game that gained a season-high 287 yards. The defense tallied three take-aways while holding ECU to 4 of 15 on third down. Joey Slye made all three of his field goal attempts, and special teams blocked a Pirates’ attempt.
- Hokie Humblings: Hold on, we have to find an issue with something in a 64-17 rout? Tough room.
Next: 2 p.m. Saturday against 2-1 Old Dominion.
Virginia (2-1) equaled its victory total from 2016 by crushing Connecticut 38-18 after scoring the game’s first 31 points. Let the record show that this is a Huskies team still finding its feet under first-year coach Randy Edsall. And while previous years have seen September promise evaporate in the blink of an eye (or an interception returned for a TD), there have been enough positive signs over the first three games that the next nine games won’t be a disaster. We think.
- Cavalier Congrats: Kurt Benkert threw for a school-record 455 yards while three of his receivers (Olamide Zaccheus, Doni Dowling and Andre Levrone) reached the century mark. The running game averaged 5.5 yards per carry behind Jordan Ellis (95 yards on 20 carries) and the offense converted 7 of 12 third downs. Micah Kiser tallied 15 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery for a defense that notched two take-aways in the first half and pitched a shutout for the game’s first 44 minutes. Lester Coleman punted just once but posted a 51-yarder.
- Cavalier Concerns: Two more explosive plays allowed by the defense for scores-this week a 30-yard run and a 60-yard pass. U.Va. was fortunate to recover all three of its fumbles against the Huskies. Nine penalties for 109 yards will give the coaches plenty of “teaching moments” in film review.
Next: 8 p.m. Friday at 2-1 Boise State.
