October 30, 2009

College Football: Week 9 Preview

Surprising result in the UNC-Virginia Tech game last night. I didn’t watch because of both other plans and the fact that both teams have been disappointing, but it sounds like it was pretty exciting. Embarrassing loss for the Hokies in Blacksburg.

Friday, 7PM: #21 West Virginia at South Florida
Quick little check-in on the Big East here. I will be a proud attendee of a West Virginia/Cincinnati game in two weeks and a little scouting never hurt anyone. Speaking of Cincy, I’ll be interested to see how South Florida’s young team bounces back from last week's loss to the Bearcats.
Prediction: Haven’t seen the Mountaineers this season, but a look at their schedule reveals that:
a) they lost to Auburn, who as you may recall, was awful against Arkansas
b) their only game decided by fewer than 10 points was a win over Connecticut in which they were outgained 501-387
I predict a bounceback game, and an upset, for B.J. Daniels and the Bulls.

Saturday, 11AM: Nothing. This time, it's a selection of not only poor Big Ten games, but poor Big 12 games as well.

Saturday, 2:30PM: Channel Flip: Michigan at Illinois / Georgia vs. #1 Florida
Big Ten
Tough year for Illinois, but after having Michigan lose the last two games I’ve watched (and going one for their last four), I could use a pick-me-up. Hopefully, I’ll get a pretty convincing one
Prediction: Michigan bounces back, and against a (barely...) D-I team this time!
The Cocktail Party
A more interesting game than it appears on the surface. Yes, Florida is ranked #1, but they’ve looked pretty darn shaky lately. And Georgia put up 52 points on Arkansas, who you might remember did a wonderful job shutting down the Gators.
Prediction: Unfortunately, Georgia's blowout loss to Tennessee makes them unpickable. And I still say the Gators are due for a blowout!

Saturday, 7PM: Channel Flip: #3 Texas at #14 Oklahoma State / #5 USC at #10 Oregon
Big 12
Last trip wire for the Longhorns on their way to the championship? Plus a chance to test my ‘Zac Robinson is a more talented Colt McCoy’ theory. I sure wish the Cowboys had Dez Bryant.
Prediction: Texas. Try as he might, Robinson won't be able to keep 'em in this one.
Pac Ten
I usually don't get to see the West Coast games, so I'm thrilled to get this one. Oregon has made quite a comeback since playing in the world's worst game on September 3rd and has impressive wins over Utah, Cal, and Washington. Meanwhile, USC has only this game in the way of a decent shot at the national championship game. (Well, unless they're planning to lose another ridiculous one, which is always a possibility.)
Prediction: This one's hard. Playing at Autzen is a major home field advantage for the Ducks. And USC has a really bad habit of playing down to opponents. But in the end, I really can't imagine the Oregon team I saw winning this game, even if they are better. Trojans.

October 26, 2009

College Football: Week 8 Wrap-Up

Florida State def. North Carolina 30-27
I guess Florida State thought that playing Jekyll and Hyde by game was too boring, so this time, they did it by half! In the first half, they looked really undisciplined, which I thought reflected very poorly on their beleaguered coach. They missed blocks, committed penalties, had trouble with the play clock - ugly stuff. But they apparently all found phone booths to change in for the second half, so all's well that ends well. UNC, for its part, has discovered some extra talent since I saw them last. WR Greg Little and RB Sean Draughn (great name!) played a nice game, but they couldn't overcome the incredible accuracy of second half Christian Ponder. You can see the Tar Heels again on Thursday night (at Virginia Tech) if you like, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

#13 Penn State def. Michigan 35-10
As much as it stinks to watch your team get killed, it was hard to be really upset about this one. Michigan was very clearly outmatched all day. Penn State played its usual brand of conservative football, did a great job getting to manageable 3rd down situations, and executed when it counted. Meanwhile, the Wolverines had trouble executing and seemed to always be looking at 3rd and 11. And turnovers. Oh, turnovers. Nothing could be as bad as that 2008 Michigan/Notre Dame game, but the steady stream of turnovers in the driving rain brought back some bad memories.

Notre Dame def. Boston College 20-16
Didn't get to watch this one, but it sounds like about par for the course: Notre Dame is clearly the better team despite a relatively weak defense, Notre Dame drags it out until the very end and then emerges victorious...at home. Do they ever play away?

#2 Alabama def. Tennessee 12-10
Just caught a few minutes here, but oof, an ugly one. Once Tennessee's offense catches up with its defense, they'll really have something. And Alabama still looks ripe for a 'whoopin...but not from the Vols.

#1 Florida def. Mississippi State 29-19
I guess sometimes you have to win ugly. I really called the wrong top 3 blowout last week. Two weeks ago, I figured, 'well, Tiger Stadium is a hard place to play', but this Florida team really looks hard-pressed to score points. And considering that the defense was a bit cut off at the knees without Brandon Spikes, they needed points in this one. Add that to two interceptions returned for touchdowns, serious problems in the red zone, and some really questionable decision-making (three straight Tebow rushes with goal to go? throwing out of your own end zone up 16 points with four minutes left? punt returner picks up a bouncing kick at the 1 yard line?) and Florida almost let this one get away. I can't believe I forgot about the Dan Mullen angle last week (former Florida offensive coordinator/Tebow confidant, current Mississippi head coach), but I'd have to say he got the best of this matchup, even in a loss.

#3 Texas def. Missouri 41-7
Not too much to talk about here, other than Texas' offensive line, which was fantastic! You can't give a passer as accurate as Mr. McCoy as much time as the Tigers did without giving up a lot of points - 41 to be exact. The Longhorns defense was decent as well, but the Tigers really handicapped themselves with their lack of running game. Incomplete passes on first down are a pretty big killer of drives.

This week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: Back to the inappropriate celebrating. Up 22-13 with under 10 minutes remaining, Florida LB Dustin Doe intercepted a Tyson Lee pass and headed for the end zone with no one in front of him. He began high-stepping at the five yard line and was stripped very close to the goal line by hustling Mississippi State WR Brandon McRae. Replays appeared to suggest that Doe was stripped short of the goal line, but the play stood as a Florida touchdown (I believe Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen has lodged a formal complaint). The real question, of course, is what in the world was Mr. Doe thinking? Score the touchdown, and *then* make a fool of yourself.

In other news: Close calls for Alabama and Iowa this weekend - seems like no one wants to step up and be #1......Wussy punt decisions ruled the day - Florida State, down 17-3 in the second quarter, faced 4th at 4 at the UNC 45 yard line and punted, Penn State looked at 4th and 3 from the Michigan *33* and sent up a net 20 yard punt.....Matt Millen informed us during the Penn State/Michigan game that a pass "becomes a lateral if it's backwards".....They said before the Florida game that LB Brandon Spikes was 'on call', that he would play "if they needed him". Doesn't having an undefeated season call for your best effort? Either you're hurt or you're not.....While the hyper-religious athlete thing sort of creeps me out, I have to say I love how Tebow helps up defenders that tackle him.....I feel that it is my duty to let you know that Dartmouth has snapped the nation's second longest losing streak with a convincing 28-6 victory over Columbia

October 21, 2009

College Football: Week 8 Preview

Thursday, 7PM: Florida State at North Carolina
This ACC matchup is worth a look just to see a) if North Carolina can come with anything that even remotely deserves that top 25 ranking they used to have and b) which Florida State team shows up. When FSU QB Christian Ponder is good, he’s fun to watch and they’re playing for Bobby Bowden’s pride right now.
Prediction: I have to go with the Jekyll & Hyde Seminoles here. Consistency has been an issue, but they’re considerably more talented.

Saturday, 11AM: ...nothing. I have a wide selection of terrible and pointless Big Ten matchups. Might take a quick look at Oklahoma State/Baylor just to watch Zac Robinson.

Saturday, 2:30PM: Definitely #13 Penn State at Michigan plus looks at Boston College at Notre Dame and Tennessee at #2 Alabama if there's enough time.
Michigan's back at home this week, which is good because the Big House appears to be the only place they can play well. It's unclear what their quarterback situation is, relative to both Forcier's concussion and Robinson's recent success. Like last year, Penn State has looked good against all opponents except Iowa.
The SEC matchup is intriguing and I'm sure I'd be paying more attention to it if I weren't such an unabashed Michigan fan. I thought Alabama (with the exception of Mark Ingram) looked very weak last week against South Carolina. If safety Eric Berry and the Tennessee defense are ready to go, we could have ourselves a (shockingly low scoring) game.
Prediction(s): Michigan has looked mighty disorganized lately. I think the Nittany Lions can take 'em, even in Ann Arbor. Notre Dame should be able to handle a BC squad whose best win is over shaky Florida State. And as much as I'd like to, Tennessee just doesn't have the offense for me to pick the upset. In fact, they sometimes have no offense at all. Tide rolls.

Saturday, 6:30PM: #1 Florida at Mississippi State
I may not actually be able to catch this one depending on Saturday plans, but if you call yourself a college football fan, you gotta check in on #1 every once in a while. And actually, the Bulldogs played very close with LSU and may have an outside shot at the Gators.
Prediction: Tebow and company are due for a return to form. I'll be hoping for an Bulldogs upset and expecting a Gators blowout. In all honesty, though, the Gators have nothing to play for. They could lose this one and still get into the national championship over an undefeated Iowa.

Saturday, 7PM: #3 Texas at Missouri
Speaking of unimpressive top teams, Texas has played exactly two legitimate opponents - Oklahoma and Texas Tech, against whom the Longhorns looked terrible. Missouri isn't exactly the New Orleans Saints, but when Gabbert is on (and he says his ankle is ready to go), they can score in a hurry. If their defense has a good game, they could be a challenge for the Texas McCoys, especially in Columbia.
Prediction: Ugh, sorry to contradict my own interest-generating statement above, but gotta go with Texas. They can smell the championship bid now and they'll get the job done.

*If any of you Pacific coasters can watch Oregon/Washington and report, I'd much appreciate it!

October 20, 2009

College Football: Week 7 Wrap-Up

#8 Cincinnati def. #21 South Florida 34-17
Another in an increasingly long string of sloppy Thursday night games. This certainly wasn’t Cincinnati’s best game, but they managed to pull it out in the end thanks to the running of backup QB Zach Collaros and some very undisciplined play from South Florida. I’m generally a pretty big fan of Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, but add the dropped passes and penalties to the fact that South Florida apparently couldn’t figure out that Collaros wasn’t ready to pass and this game didn’t reflect well on the man who has built the program from scratch. Still, the Bulls have a fairly young team behind freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels and a lot to look forward to in the future.

#3 Texas def. #20 Oklahoma 16-13
This one was a disappointment for a lot of reasons. The obvious one is the re-injury to Sam Bradford, who could easily be the Detroit Lions starting QB right now (okay, maybe there is an upside for him!). I thought Oklahoma outplayed Texas everywhere except the scoreboard. They got great pressure on Colt McCoy, especially after Texas mysteriously abandoned their misdirection running game, and replaced their own weak running game with very effective screens to DeMarco Murray. Take away any one of the Bradford injury, the Bubba Franks fumbled punt, or the Oklahoma pass interference penalty that set up the Texas touchdown and I think it's a (rather sloppy) Sooners win.

#11 Iowa def. Wisconsin 20-10
Solid Big Ten game here. Wisconsin put most of its offense on the shoulders of John Clay and Iowa's defense is the core of the team, but this game really came down to quarterback play. Wisconsin's pass blocking was a little lacking (as it has been all year) and Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi certainly benefited from a great game from tight end Tony Moeaki, but overall the teams played relatively evenly, allowing for Tolzien's interceptions and Stanzi's efficient 218 yards to make the difference for their respective teams. Look out Ohio State (who loses to Purdue?!?), the Hawkeyes are coming.

#6 USC def. #25 Notre Dame 34-27
The more I think about it, the more I realize that this game was actually almost exactly what we all should have predicted. Notre Dame hangs on Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate (why in the world didn't USC keep track of Tate in the slot?!?) to stay close in the first half, USC uses its superior talent and Notre Dame’s relatively weak defense to pull away in the second half, USC starts thinking about Will Ferrell and Spike Lee (who were at the game) and allows a weaker opponent back into the game. In the end, the combination of Clausen's late game heroics (who does he think he is - Forcier?) and a veritable smorgasboard of dubious penalties fell just short for the Irish in the face of Barkley's 380 passing yards and the relentless pressure of the USC defensive line.

#19 Georgia Tech def. #4 Virginia Tech 28-23
Another one of those strange games where you sort of think that the losing team is better even after they have proved they aren't. I think the monotonous nature of that triple option offense has a lot to do with that. It seems like Georgia Tech is just spinning its wheels, but then suddenly they're up 21-10. And though I remain unimpressed with Tyrod Taylor (well, other than his unreal ability to avoid tacklers 1 on 1), the Hokies seemed to have the edge in speed. The best I can figure is that a running offense makes for very long Georgia Tech drives and ultimately short games - the Hokies just ran out of time. Virginia Tech was a rather silly #4, but it's still a big win for the Yellow Jackets and a nice statement especially for their defense just a week after giving up approximately 1 million yards to Florida State.

#2 Alabama def. #22 South Carolina 20-6
This was my second look at both Alabama and South Carolina and, well, I wasn't too impressed. While it was amusing that both quarterbacks had their first pass picked off, the game never really got a whole lot better. The South Carolina offense sputtered ineffectively all night, and sometimes even comically, as when they failed at three straight fade right calls at the goal line and then kicked a field goal. I was kind of waiting for Steve Spurrier to attempt to steal QB Stephen Garcia's jersey in order to play in his place. Meanwhile, poor play from QB Greg McElroy meant that the Tide had to lean heavily on RB Mark Ingram, who luckily responded with a monster game. Alabama stays undefeated, but loses a lot of style points.

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: I try not to complain about the refereeing because I'm aware it makes me sound like a child, but I think the refs have a lot to be ashamed of on the last drive of the Notre Dame game. On a critical 4th down play, receiver Robby Parris made the catch just across the first down marker and a USC player pulled him down by his neck. Parris's foot was firmly planted in the turf at the time and I wouldn't be surprised if his ACL was torn. Unfortunate, but part of the game. No bone-crushing hit, no snap-back, no helmet to helmet contact. Inexplicably, the refs call a personal foul for 'targeting a defenseless player.' Apparently it is now 'targeting a defenseless player' to tackle him. I guess you're supposed to subtly alert him to your presence first. On a subsequent play, the Trojans broke through the Irish offensive line for the 347th time in the game. They chased Clausen out of the pocket and then gave him a shove after he threw the ball. Simple shove within a split second of the ball being thrown, one hand on the chest, Clausen went down on his back. I admit I've seen similar plays deemed as penalties. but it's ticky tacky, especially with less than 30 seconds left! Let the players play the game. When I remember the final drive, I should remember Clausen's heroics or USC's defense, not your stupid stripey face. I was half afraid they were going to find a way to put the ball in the end zone. Notre Dame was awarded five first downs by penalty on Saturday! The refs may not have affected the outcome of the game, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

In other news: I was watching the Cincinnati-South Florida game with a friend who mentioned that Tony Pike bears an uncanny resemblance to "a 30-year-old French dude." Good quarterback though, hope he's okay.....Tough media day for Longhorns receiver and Colt McCoy co-dweller Jordan Shipley. Herbstreit accidentally called him Jeremy Shockley and Brent Musberger referred to him as "the roommate".....Down 10-3 with 3:22 left in the first half, Iowa got the ball on its own 21 and proceeded to run three times and punt to Wisconsin. Why were they so reluctant to try to tie it?.....The announcer during the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game informed us all after a nice play by a receiver on a long pass that there was no "analyzation" necessary.....Michigan and Penn State join the too little too late club with respective clubbings of Delaware State and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Ohio State joins the too little right now club with an embarassing loss to Purdue!.....I also watched the Missouri-Oklahoma State game (can't get enough!), which wasn't particularly interesting other than Barry Sanders' induction into the Cowboys Hall of Fame, but I have to wonder why Zac Robinson isn't in Heisman contention. He's like Colt McCoy with more foot speed and a stronger arm.

October 14, 2009

College Football: Week 7 Preview

Thursday, 6:30PM: #8 Cincinnati at #21 South Florida
I told you in Week 1 to get yourself a look at Cincinnati QB Tony Pike - if you didn't do it, here's your nationally televised chance. Huge game for the unbeaten Bearcats against a South Florida team that has gotten a major spark from backup quarterback B.J. Daniels (starting QB Matt Grothe went down in week 3 with a torn ACL). And Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, who built the program from scratch, is always good for some entertainment (of both the play calling and sideline antics variety). Somewhat irrelevantly, I'm headed to Cincinnati to see the Bearcats take on West Virginia in November and I'd really, really like them to be undefeated at that time.
Prediction: Tough since I haven't seen South Florida this year. It's hard to imagine they could keep up with Cincy's high octane offense. Cincinnati must find a way to keep Bulls DE George Selvie out of Tony Pike's face, but if they can do it, they'll win big. Arrgh. Bearcats by 10.

Saturday, 11AM: Two games taped and watched quarter by quarter to avoid crawler spoilers!
#20 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas (Neutral Site)
College football fans, even outside the Big 12, have been looking forward to this one since last year. Oklahoma’s drop out of the national championship race does dull the excitement a little, but not as much as you might think. The Sooners have their Heisman trophy winner back, a lot to prove after losses to second tier teams BYU and Miami (relax, Mormons and 'Canes fans: I mean this in the sense of ‘not a recent threat to win the national championship’), and can still play spoiler. Fans in Norman will appreciate ruining the Longhorns season almost as much as a national championship.
Prediction: This will be by far the best opponent to date for both teams, so it's a tough call. In the end, I haven't seen Oklahoma put together a game against a good team, with or without Bradford. And Texas does have that win over Tech. So....Texas in another wildly entertaining shootout.
#11 Iowa at Wisconsin
I realize it’s not on the scale of the Oklahoma-Texas matchup, but this is a huge Big Ten game between undefeated Iowa and a better-every-week Wisconsin team that is 5-1 with its only loss coming at the Horseshoe. Even though this should be an old school run-first football game (admittedly, I thought that about Iowa last week and I was…wrong), I would guess that this one will come down to the quarterback play. Badgers QB Scott Tolzien was originally a long shot to get the starting job, but he’s managed games well, even in the Horseshoe. Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi has been somewhat shaky, particularly at the beginning of games, but has stepped up in a big way when his team needs him. Consistency will be the key here.
Prediction: I have to take Iowa here. They have a more experienced quarterback, more big play threats, and a faster defense.

Saturday, 2:30PM: #6 USC at #25 Notre Dame
The last few years of this series have been embarrassingly lopsided, but this is the best start for a Notre Dame team in quite a while. Taylor Mays and the rest of the USC defense will be by far the best Jimmy Clausen and the Domers have seen. Meanwhile, the Trojans have a quality win at Ohio State (hey, you know I hate ‘em, but you have to admit that their defense is legit), but have been largely untested since then. Word on the street is that rookie QB Barkley gets better with every game – he’ll have to prove it here. Read: we’re about to find out right now how good both teams are.
Prediction: I sort of hope both teams lose, but failing that, a lot of people are saying either USC wins big or Notre Dame wins in a close game and I’d have to agree with that. Since the Trojans are far superior in talent (albeit possibly inferior in the ‘caring about winning’ sense) and have already proved themselves in a hostile environment, I have to go with the USC big scenario. Plus, it’d be fun to watch!

Saturday, 5PM: #4 Virginia Tech at #19 Georgia Tech
I have to admit that it's possible that my intense dislike of run first quarterbacks like Tyrod Taylor has kept me from giving Virginia Tech a fair shake, so I'm going to watch this one so I know for sure. Georgia Tech is probably not a worthy opponent for the Hokies, but that triple option offense can explode without warning, particularly if they don't have to play from too far behind, so you never know.
Prediction: VT's defense is reportedly good enough to handle a simple attack like this one. I'll take the Hokies by two touchdowns.

Saturday, 6:45PM : #22 South Carolina at #2 Alabama
More interesting than it looks at first glance. This is the beginning of a three game home stretch for the Tide and the next two opponents are Tennessee and LSU, whom you might remember as prominent opponents of the top-ranked Florida Tebows. If Alabama wins these games convincingly, they could be looking at a #1 ranking. So yes, Alabama should beat up on the Gamecocks, but they'll be on their way to some serious respect for doing it. I also haven't seen the Tide play yet and I'm anxious to compare 'em to the Gators.
Prediction: Tide rolls.

October 12, 2009

College Football: Week 6 Wrap-Up

#21 Nebraska def. #24 Missouri 27-12
They should really think about canceling Thursday night college football on grounds of dreadfulness. Between Oregon-Boise State (probably the worst game of all time), Mississippi-South Carolina, and this stinker in the pouring rain, Thursday nights have been the pinnacle of awful football. Nebraska's D-line did a good job of pressuring Blaine Gabbert (his bum ankle suffered on the first drive didn't help either), but essentially, this game was won in an ugly flurry of three Nebraska touchdowns helped mightily by Gabbert's first two career interceptions. The only bright spot: national television coming out party for Husker DE Ndamukong Suh (say it with me: En-dom-ah-ken Soo) . A few more games like that and he'll be in the Heisman talk. I heard that five inches of rain fell in Columbia on Thursday - I think the Tigers drowned.

Arkansas def. #17 Auburn 44-23
So did Auburn choke or were they simply overrated to begin with? Chris Todd looked just like I remembered, totally overwhelmed, and the whole team appeared to be sleepwalking in the first half. When they finally did wake up in the third quarter, their much ballyhooed no-huddle offense looked frantic. Todd's fumbled snap under center on 4th and 1 was a pretty good summary of the Auburn's day: unprepared, unenthusiastic, ineffective. Mallet looked just like I remember him from Michigan: huge arm, huge potential, a long way to go.

#9 Ohio State def. Wisconsin 31-13
Poor, poor Badgers. They did a great job containing the Ohio State offense (most OSU points were either scored or set up by the defense and special teams) and established an effective running game (I'm not sure I've ever seen a team run an up-tempo *running* attack before), but in the end, their pass blocking didn't cut the mustard, their inexperienced QB was clearly affected by the rush, and some crucial mistakes forced them to play from behind and took the pressure off of Terrelle Pryor. Still, the Badgers weren't anywhere near as bad as this score would suggest and I'll be looking forward to their matchup with Iowa.

#1 Florida def. #4 LSU 13-3
I was really disappointed with LSU here. First of all, Florida ran the dive basically every other play and gained positive yardage nearly every time. Strike one. The Tigers offense (what is it with all Tigers teams losing this week?) was unimaginative, particularly on third down, and it's extremely odd that they run their option from six yards in the backfield. Makes for a lot of instances with a ten yard run, two broken tackles, and a two yard gain. Strike two. And, as always, Tebow did what he had to do to win. He ran when they needed him and passed efficiently when they needed that. Three strikes. On the plus side, Florida looked pretty ripe for a whoopin' from Alabama, didn't they?

#12 Iowa def. Michigan 30-28

Despite the close score, I thought Iowa pretty handily outplayed Michigan. Ricky Stanzi threw what is becoming his standard pick-six early and that plus more kick return magic from Darryl Stonum kept the Wolverines in the game even though they turned the ball over three times and allowed 200 Iowa passing yards in the first half. The Michigan defense abandoned its poor tackling long enough to get the offense the ball with a chance to win, but the Wolverines (inexplicably minus their boy wonder) couldn't quite get it done. Two down for Iowa, two (Wisconsin and Ohio State) to go. I'll be rooting for them!

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: Don't ask a flanker to do a quarterback's job. Yes, Denard Robinson led the previous touchdown drive, but did you happen to notice that he did it with his legs? You're only down two points despite being outplayed and your defense gets you the ball back in time for the two minute drill, you've got the 4th quarter kid in your quiver and you sit him...to teach him a lesson? So we get the wild Wolverine (the MaizeCat? This is harder than you would think) instead and Robinson miraculously manages to move the ball a few yards before throwing the completely predictable overthrow INT. Hey, lesson learned, RichRod.

In other news: What is with the Huskers and quarterbacks named Zac? Wasn't one of the last ones hilariously named after president Zachary Taylor? Will there be a whole flood of Zacs coming up?.....Speaking of Zac Lee, how in the world did he not recover that fumbled snap after jumping on top of it?!? They might want to check him out to make sure there's not a giant hole in his torso.....A lot of Tigers fans had clearly painted their chests with water based paints, which didn't mix well with the rain. Gotta love that Mizzou education.....Great fake FG touchdown for the Badgers, but you could definitely tell that holder/safety Chris Maragos had practiced that diving reach for the end zone move about a million times with his little friends in junior high.....The Red Lobster Scholar Athlete during the Florida-LSU game was some LSU kid with a 3.3 GPA in Kinesiology. Awesome.....In soccer news, Slovenia beat Slovakia 2-0. Gotta love the crawler.

October 7, 2009

College Football: Week 6 Preview

Thursday, 8PM: #21 Nebraska at #24 Missouri
The only thing I’ve seen of either of these teams is a few minutes of the Missouri/Illinois matchup earlier this season. Missouri, and especially the hilariously-named QB Blaine Gabbert, looked great, but it has since been revealed that Illinois has fallen to new depths of terrible-ness. Still, Gabbert appears to be Chase Daniel 2.0 (i.e. taller) and is putting up some incredible numbers. Might be a lot for the Huskers to handle, since their schedule to date is three cream puff victories and a close loss to a Virginia Tech team with a fairly mediocre offense.
Prediction: (all based on hearsay) – Nebraska is back in the mix, but probably isn’t *enough* back in the mix to keep up with Mizzou in the scoring department.

Saturday, 11AM: #17 Auburn at Arkansas
Another chance to check out two SEC teams I don’t know too much about. Gotta see if all the Auburn and especially QB Chris Todd hype is justified. I remember watching him play last year and thinking he was absolutely terrible, but he’s reportedly a whole new man with a whole new arm. Speaking of arms, I’ll enjoy the look at former Michigan man Ryan Mallett and his bazooka arm. Arkansas hasn’t been too good this year, but they’ve always got speed to burn and should be enjoyable to watch.
Prediction: Despite all the controversy surrounding his hiring last spring, Gene Chizik has the Tigers on a tear. They have quality wins over Mississippi State, West Viriginia, and Tennessee and I think they’ll keep the train rolling here.

Saturday, 2:30PM Wisconsin at #9 Ohio State
Should be a pretty decent one. Wisconsin needs it, both for pride as the only unranked and undefeated team, and because Bret Bielema sorely needs a signature win. Wisconsin QB (and Fremd product!) Scott Tolzien looked great in the snippets I saw of games against Michigan State and Minnesota and appears to be the real deal, something the Badgers have sorely missed in the last few seasons. We'll see just how good he is on Saturday - the Buckeyes can be counted on to bring the run defense. Ohio State’s still the better team (despite having a pass-sad quarterback), but this is a bit of a trap game for them.
Prediction: If you can't keep Pryor in the pocket, you can't stop the Buckeyes. I'll be rooting pretty hard for the upset, but you have to like a much faster Ohio State team in this game.
*Might also take a look at Alabama/Mississippi to see if Jevan Snead looks any better (than awful).

Saturday, 7PM: Channel Flip: #1 Florida at #4 LSU / Michigan at #12 Iowa
SEC: Let’s just say I’d be extremely surprised if Tebow does not play in this game. Though Brantley is good enough to get the ball to the Gators speedsters, the game plan looks pretty different without Tebow (and you can bet that's why it's a big secret). Florida is obviously the consensus #1, but they don't yet have a quality win, their best opponents being Tennessee and Kentucky. You can't be totally certain that they're not the new Ole Miss. Meanwhile, LSU beat a decent Washington team and pulled out consecutive thrillers against BCS buster Mississippi State and then Joe Cox and Georgia. Does Florida know how to handle a close game, particularly without its unquestioned leader (or at least without him at 100%)?
Prediction: It's hard without a handle on the Tebow situation, but you can't ever count a Les Miles team out. It's fight night at Tiger Stadium and I gotta take LSU here.
Big Ten: Call it the big conference matchup that got a little less marquee when Michigan lost to its in-state rival last weekend. Iowa's defense and run game are probably best in the conference, but if you think about it, the Hawkeyes have been a bit inconsistent. They had that scare against Northern Iowa, handily beat a terrible Arizona team, played a fantastic second half against Penn State, and then let Arkansas State crawl back into a game they were winning easily. So which Iowa team is going to show up? Meanwhile, I'll be interested to see how a very young Michigan team (and especially their very young, icewater in his veins quarterback) bounces back from a loss.
Prediction: Tate Forcier gives Michigan a chance if they can keep it close near the end of the game, but Michigan's poor tackling + Iowa's run blocking + the speed of Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer (best LB name since Michael Stonebreaker) causing problems for a scrambling Forcier = too much Hawkeyes for the Wolverines to handle.

October 4, 2009

College Football: Week 5 Wrap-Up

Once again, I've called all games wrong (well, I guess I knew Dartmouth was going to lose, but that's like shooting fish in a barrel). To be fair, there were two overtime toss-ups, but still, let's take a look at why:

Pennsylvania def. Dartmouth 30-24
Well, it's the closest the Big Green have come to winning in a long time. Watching I-AA football is an odd experience. It looks sort of like the FBS, but everyone is a little smaller, a little slower, and probably is thinking about the philosophy paper he has to write on the bus on the way home. Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger is my new hero, but other than that, the only really impressive thing Dartmouth did was injure Penn's second and third string quarterbacks (QB1 was inactive for the game).

Michigan State def. #22 Michigan 26-20 (OT)
I didn't actually get to watch this one -- Big Ten Network is still in the doghouse -- but it sounds like Michigan did its thing, coming back in the 4th quarter (boy, if you had told me two years ago that Michigan would be a team known for coming back in the 4th quarter...) and Michigan State almost but not quite did its thing, which is failing to close out a game it has basically already won. And I'm really, really glad I didn't see Michigan's failed fake punt on its own 16. That would have been the Yell at the TV Moment for sure.

Notre Dame def. Washington 37-30 (OT)
Washington had every chance in the world to win this game. Notre Dame outplayed them, but couldn't find the end zone when it counted, partly because of odd coaching decisions (if you're averaging 10+ yards per run on the drive, there's really no reason to run a double reverse halfback pass out of the Wildcat formation) and partly because, try as he might, Robby Parris is no substitute for Michael Floyd. But you can't run seven unsuccessful plays from inside the 2-yard line (should have had more Chris Polk, who ran over people all day, and less Locker in my opinion) and expect to win the game. This is a game Notre Dame won with its defense (well, and some fantastic after-catch running from Golden Tate) and I'll certainly admit I didn't expect that.

#11 Miami def. #8 Oklahoma 21-20
Well, I guess Bradford should have entered the draft. No Heisman, no national championship...I really hope he enjoys the whole Big Man On Campus thing a whole lot. All in all though, I thought it was an odd game. At first, it looked like Oklahoma was going to run away with it in no time. Backup QB Landry Jones does a pretty uncanny Bradford impression, doesn't he? but then somehow, they lost their momentum and couldn't really get it back. And Bradford impression or not, Stoops clearly doesn't trust Jones with the ball. Too many draw plays on 3rd down. Jacory Harris, on the other hand, started slow and finished downhill all the way. At first, it looked like he had never seen a defense that fast and his "touch" quickly turned into "so much air the defender was checking his watch at the interception site". But he made very impressive adjustments and was greatly helped by Miami's truly spectacular kick coverage. Great win for Miami, over a most likely better team.

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: Proud moment for the Dartmouth punting unit - after the first 3-and-out, the snap goes at least five feet over the punter's head. He runs back to his own 10 or so, clumsily picks up the ball on the run and inexplicably attempts to punt it into the crowd of five or so Penn Quakers. It is, of course, blocked back into his face and the Penn players take it into the end zone. 7-0 Penn. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure the center snapped the ball further than the quarterback can throw it.

In other news: At one point during the Washington-Notre Dame game, the announcers mentioned that Clausen and Locker had bonded over their mutual love of chocolate labs and I almost vomited.....I loved how Washington didn't kneel on the ball with one minute left in the first half. Sarkisian clearly trusts his quarterback and he's been mostly rewarded.....What in the world happened on Jimmy Clausen's backwards pass to nowhere that was handily returned for a Washington touchdown? The face of every single Notre Dame player and fan was a match after that one.....Was it just me or was there a Miami defensive player hurt on pretty much every play? Wonder if they'll be thin this weekend....Incredible atmosphere provided by the Hurricanes fans with the kind of noise you don't usually see outside the SEC. Miami is a momentum team and their fans helped them out here

October 1, 2009

College Football: Week 5 Preview

Saturday, 11AM: Pennsylvania at Dartmouth
Yes, really. Thanks to the Big Ten Network's grievous error (choosing to show Northwestern at Purdue), I will not be able to watch Michigan/Michigan State. ABC has decided to cover Iowa/Arkansas State and Penn State/Illinois. Grrreat. Does free me up to watch the old alma mater though, which, much like the old Detroit Lions, has not won since 2007. I won't bother with a prediction (too sad), but I'll be sure to give you a full report.
Still, I will cover the real game for you - #22 Michigan at Michigan State

First real test for the Wolverines, who have a score to settle after losing to the Spartans for the first time in…forever.
Prediction: Michigan by a touchdown. Yes, I’m drinking the Kool-Aid.

Saturday, 2:30: Washington at Notre Dame
Big, big game for both teams. I’ve been looking forward to this one since I saw the Huskies’ opener. It's a chance for Notre Dame to prove itself against a team that's beaten USC and UDub needs to bounce back from a thumping at the hands of Stanford. Irish are already laying the groundwork for a loss with Toegate and the loss of Michael Floyd. Hopefully Sarkisian, Locker and crew can get it done.
Prediction: Washington is the better coached team and should win, but they'll have to score a little more than they have been to beat Notre Dame. I think Washington will come up with this game, but it won't be decided until the end.

Saturday, 7PM: #8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami
I've been looking forward to this one as well, because it just doesn't seem like the same match-up you see all the time. Oklahoma's got the edge in talent and probably size, but Jacory Harris and the Canes will be ready for a bounce back game at home after a poor showing in Blacksburg. Landry Jones has been terrific in replacing Sam Bradford, but this will be his first real test.
Prediction: Oklahoma's D will make the difference (after all, *they're* not missing Bradford and Gresham) and the Sooners won't have too much trouble.
Bonus Points: I’ll also be watching the crawler pretty intently to see what Ohio State does to Indiana in way-too-early anticipation of the Michigan-Ohio State game!