By Morris Phillips
Stanford home games tend to be lightly attended, but blessed by a robust group of aging, but intensely proud fans who love watching football in a cool environment surrounded by a well-known, picturesque college campus.
That group has always been a smart group. The people who haven’t taken advantage of visiting this venue to see quality football are the ones missing out. So, with Stanford leading 14-7, and after TCU failed to convert a fourth down in Stanford territory, an alum stood proudly and announced, “There’s something different about this year’s team.”
A bold declaration, but not prudent and clearly premature as the home team fell 34-27, in their tenth, consecutive loss at Stanford Stadium, a streak that started on November 5, 2022.
Gotta love the enthusiasm, however. The new season is here, and I’m just as enthusiastic. Now, let’s see if my observations prove smart as well.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!” Need a jolt of adrenaline equal to Grade 5 hurricane? In Tallahassee, Florida, that undoubtedly leads you to Seminole Sports Radio and play-by-play announcer Jeff Culhane and color man William “Bar None” Floyd, the voices of Florida State football.
Floyd, the Super Bowl Champion fullback for the 49ers, and the 1993 FSU National Champion, is in his 15th season on-air. He connects by using the words “us” and “we” frequently during the broadcasts. Floyd is also a rapid-fire analyst who squeezes 100 yards of football into each of his 10-second observations.
Culhane is in his second year, and he beat out several talented broadcasters to overcome his humble background as the voice of North Dakota State for six seasons. A true wordsmith, Culhane can say, Uiagalelei twenty time real fast, Nole Nudge, and bring his voice to a crescendo when the play on the field intensifies.
For this rabid fan base, this pairing should be a fit, except neither man is Gene Deckerhoff, the legendary FSU radio voice who called 500 games beginning in 1979. In the South, change doesn’t digest well, and Floyd, who worked with Deckerhoff, receives harsh words from fans online, almost always without them saying what specifically they don’t like about the gridiron great.
Culhane has managed to get nearly universal approval, but he, too, has critics. What’s currently driving the dynamic, however, is the Seminoles depressing 0-2 start to the season, which doesn’t currently mesh with the pair’s unwavering enthusiasm to broadcast.
SMU’s QB TANDEM: In Dallas, the new, central hub for ACC sports, the Mustangs of SMU are off and polarizing by winning their August 4 opener over opener Nevada, experiencing a walkover against Houston Christian, then losing at home to BYU.
Concern starts with the quarterback tandem of Preston Stone and Kevin Jennings, neither of whom has established themselves after play in all three games. Stone is 25 of 43 passing in three games thus far, and he wasn’t the primary guy in Coach Rhett Lashlee’s game plan for BYU. Jennings was, but he was ineffective, completing 15 of 32 for 140 yards. Neither guy has beaten a formidable opponent, which is concerning with big games against TCU and Florida State looming.
What works, Lashlee said, is the chemistry of youthful quarterbacks’ coach D’Eriq King with Stone and Jennings. King keeps the pair informed from game to game, quarter to quarter, regarding their status, critical communication for two competitors trying to establish themselves at the top of the depth chart. Neither are established, but their camaraderie with each other is.
Sports Radio Service 